Pokemon Legends: Z-A Review – A Fun New Direction for the Series

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For years, fans said Pokémon games felt stuck in a rut. Then, in 2022, Game Freak surprised everyone with Pokémon Legends: Arceus, a completely new take on the classic formula. It was a huge success, becoming one of the best-rated Pokémon games ever. When Pokémon Legends: Z-A was announced, many hoped it would follow the innovative style of Arceus, and initial excitement was high. Although leaks dampened some enthusiasm, after playing through the main story and side quests, Pokémon Legends: Z-A is still a great choice for fans of Arceus and Pokémon in general.

Pokemon Legends: Z-A is set in Lumiose City, a location inspired by Paris, France, and featuring a landmark similar to the Eiffel Tower. The game doesn’t offer a completely open world, but like Pokemon Legends: Arceus, it has large, explorable zones. Players can freely wander around Lumiose City, discovering items and shops. There are also dedicated ‘Wild Zones’ with more Pokemon and natural environments, providing a contrast to the urban setting. The game boasts over 200 Pokemon to find and collect, making exploration exciting.

Set in the Kalos region, Pokemon Legends: Z-A heavily features Mega Evolutions. The game’s story centers around a new phenomenon: Pokemon undergoing ‘Rogue Mega Evolution’ – transforming without a trainer, which is painful for them and causes trouble in the city. These Rogue Mega Evolutions serve as challenging boss battles, requiring players to carefully choose their Pokemon and moves to avoid lengthy and difficult fights.

Rogue Mega Evolution battles are bigger and more impressive than regular Pokémon fights, and they’re a fantastic way to show off the new Mega Evolution designs created for Pokémon Legends: Z-A. Many of the Mega Evolutions from older Pokémon games are back in Legends: Z-A, but there are also completely new ones to find. These new designs are quite varied – some, like Mega Starmie and Mega Victreebel, are unusually strange, while others, such as Mega Skarmory and Mega Malamar, are beautifully designed and stand out.

Pokemon Legends: Z-A Shakes Up Combat

Similar to Mega Evolutions in past Pokémon games, special transformations are a key part of battles in Legends: Z-A. However, this game changes things up with a new real-time combat system, moving away from the traditional turn-based battles the series is known for. Pokémon still have four moves to use, but each move has a cooldown period. While type matchups remain crucial, players now also need to consider their Pokémon’s positioning, how long a move takes to execute, and whether it’s better to wait for a move to become available instead of using something else immediately. The combat in Pokémon Legends: Z-A is enjoyable, and it streamlines battles by removing some of the slower parts of turn-based combat, like waiting for status effects to appear – though status effects still exist, they happen in real-time instead of as text updates each turn.

As a longtime Pokemon fan, I was really excited to hear about the changes to Mega Evolution in Pokemon Legends: Z-A! For so long, we were limited to just one Mega Evolution per battle, but that rule is gone now, and honestly, it’s a huge improvement. Now, if you’ve collected enough Mega Energy, you can Mega Evolve your Pokemon whenever you want, as long as they’re capable of it and you have the right stone. It can make some fights a little too easy, but for the really tough battles, it adds a whole new level of strategy. You really have to think about which Pokemon to Mega Evolve and when to get the most out of it!

Focusing heavily on Mega Evolution creates a problem: Pokemon that can’t Mega Evolve can feel less useful. I really like Arbok, but I eventually had to take it out of my main team because I needed the strongest possible lineup to battle powerful opponents. While these Pokemon don’t get the full benefits of Mega Evolution, they can use Mega Energy to power up special ‘Plus Moves’ – stronger attacks that deal extra damage. It’s still better to save Mega Energy for actual Mega Evolutions, but it’s good that the game at least tries to keep non-Mega-Evolving Pokemon relevant.

Pokemon Legends: Z-A’s Multiplayer Mode

Pokemon Legends: Z-A includes ranked multiplayer battles where you can compete against other players for rewards. Unfortunately, unlocking the Mega Stones for the starter Pokemon from the original X and Y games is tied to this multiplayer mode’s seasonal rewards. While the mode works okay, it feels like it wasn’t a major focus during the game’s development.

In Pokemon Legends: Z-A, players will not only face the new Rogue Mega Evolutions, but also compete in the Z-A Royale. Since the game takes place entirely in Lumiose City, the Z-A Royale offers trainer battles that would usually be found on different routes. These battles happen at night in certain parts of the city, and the goal is to earn points for a Challenger’s Ticket. This ticket allows you to battle the next-ranked trainer and climb the ranks from Z to A. To add extra challenge and rewards, optional tasks encourage players to try out various Pokemon and moves for bonus points, making the battles even more engaging.

As a Pokémon fan, I’m really excited about the side quests in Pokémon Legends: Z-A! They seem a lot like the ones in Arceus – some are quick and funny, while others are surprisingly engaging and give you awesome chances to expand your Pokémon collection. There are over 100 of them alongside the main story, and when you add in the always-fun goal of catching every Pokémon and the Research challenges for unlocking moves, it looks like this game will keep me hooked for a long time. Honestly, there’s so much to do!

While Pokemon Legends: Z-A offers a lot of content for Pokemon fans, the game’s visuals might leave some players wanting more. It’s built for the original Switch, not the newer Switch 2, which explains some of the limitations. Though the Pokemon themselves look vibrant and seeing them roam freely is charming – even small moments feel special – the game world generally appears to be lacking in detail.

Pokemon Legends: Z-A Has Underwhelming Graphics and Audio

Lumiose City in Legends: Z-A doesn’t quite feel alive. Many characters just stand still, and the buildings look simple and repetitive. While the Wild Zones are more visually appealing with moving Pokémon and nice details like swaying grass, the city itself is disappointing. The idea of a Pokémon game focused on a single city isn’t flawed, but Legends: Z-A doesn’t execute it well.

Beyond the graphics, the audio is a bigger issue in Pokemon Legends: Z-A. While reusing old sound effects isn’t necessarily bad and can even feel nostalgic, the Pokemon cries sound very dated. The complete absence of voice acting is also noticeable, and feels strange for a game releasing in 2025. While the game could mostly function without spoken dialogue, the important story scenes feel awkward without it.

While the graphics and sound in Pokemon Legends: Z-A could be improved, even for a Switch game, it runs much smoother than Scarlet and Violet. I haven’t encountered any technical problems or visual glitches while playing, and it feels like a much more refined Pokemon experience, which is a big plus.

It took me around 22 hours to finish Pokémon Legends Z-A, though I completed about half of the optional side quests beforehand.

Pokemon Legends: Z-A is a significant improvement over Scarlet and Violet, though it doesn’t quite reach the level of Pokemon: Arceus. The new battle system is enjoyable, and completing the Pokedex remains satisfying, but the game’s visuals and overall presentation hold it back. Despite this, it’s easy to spend hours playing, and the upcoming Mega Dimension DLC promises even more Pokemon to discover.

Pokémon Legends: Z-A is now available on both Nintendo Switch and the new Nintendo Switch 2. Game Rant’s review was based on the Switch 2 version.

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2025-10-26 12:05