Pokemon Legends Z-A review: It's a whole new (familiar) world we live in

Pokemon Legends Z-A is finally here, and I’m going to be honest: I’ve had way more fun with it than I originally anticipated. Personally, I’m not really a big fan of X & Y, and Lumiose was one of my least favorite cities in the entire game. Unique? Without question. Annoying? Also yes. However, while I do think this is a flawed game, far from perfect, it’s also the most fun I’ve had with a Pokemon game in ages.

A game doesn’t have to be perfect to be fun, and that’s an important thing to keep in mind. We played the game on the Nintendo Switch 2, and while I’ve heard reports of performance issues on the Switch 1, it’s not something I can confirm with my own two hands. I wouldn’t be surprised, after Scarlet & Violet, though. With that out of the way, let’s talk about Pokemon Legends Z-A!

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Pokemon Legends Z-A returns players to Lumiose and the Kalos region

Pokemon Legends Z-A naturally brings players back to Lumiose, and while the city itself is kind of on the bland side, the story definitely delivers. I won’t spoil anything major here, but it’s an unforgettable story, especially in the world of Pokemon. In some small ways, it reminds me of Yakuza, particularly in its civic-minded approach.

Lumiose may not be special, but the gameplay and content of the game sure are (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Lumiose is seeing more and more of these Wild Zones get developed, so Pokemon and people can live side-by-side safely, but it feels like there’s no rhyme or reason to how and where these Wild Zones are being put up. Given what I know about local government, that tracks with me.

It’s also giving me Kamen Rider Ryuki vibes, with the Z-A Royale. All the participants do battle to grind their way from Rank Z to Rank A, with a reward of a “wish” awaiting whoever makes it to the end. It’s something like Highlander, but without the fatalities, or Kamen Rider Ryuki’s battles in the Mirror World. All told, the story is fantastic, and while I have issues with some things, that’s not one of them.

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Combat is where Pokemon Legends Z-A truly shines

I didn’t play much, if any, of Pokemon Legends: Arceus, but I love the combat of Legends Z-A. The more active system, where you no longer have to stress about running out of moves, opting for a cooldown system instead? Made me feel right at home as an MMO player. I love watching the Pokemon run around in the battle arena, trying to get out of the way and counterattack.

Combat is easily the best part of Pokemon Legends Z-A, that's for sure (Image via The Pokemon Company)

It’s also one of the few Pokemon games I find myself using the Growl/Leer/et cetera moves outside of the first few hours of the game. Yeah, I’m one of those “If it doesn’t deal damage, it’s not worth having” players. Never having to worry about losing moves forever is another major change that I adore in Pokemon Legends Z-A. If you need specific moves because you want to capture Pokemon, you can just swap in Hypnosis, Confuse Ray, Sleep Powder, whatever you need! Then, swap back to your more powerful, one-shot attacks when you’re grinding exp.

Leveling feels good, just in general in Pokemon Legends Z-A, that’s for sure. Though I have done a lot of grinding to catch rare Pokemon (Looking at you, Gible...), it didn’t feel boring, or as if it were a chore. It was fun! Though that does lead me to the Z-A Royale. I enjoy that you have to earn your way into promotion battles; that much makes sense.

The trainer battles can get pretty intense as you climb the Z-A Royale ladder (Image via The Pokemon Company)

I’m on the fence about the actual implementation of it all, though. The game obviously doesn’t make you grind all the way from Z-A; that would take forever. The way they do it, without spoiling it, does feel kind of silly, but I mean, that’s at least on-brand for a Pokemon game. I can’t really get too mad at that.

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Not all Megas are equal in Pokemon Legends Z-A

The other major concept of the game is that there are Rogue Megas running amok. Naturally, it’s up to a 12-year-old trainer to put a stop to it, because this is still Pokemon. Compared to what I know of the Frenzied Battles of Legends Arceus, I think this is a much better design. You need to use your Pokemon to batter the Rogue until it coughs up orbs, so you can Mega Evolve, and fight on a more even keel.

What a truly bizarre design (Image via The Pokemon Company)

These are longer battles, but it’s not simply a matter of your Pokemon beating theirs. You, the player, must also get out of the way, because if you get hit too many times by Pokemon moves, you black out! This can happen with the Alpha Pokemon (Pokemon that are much larger and stronger than normal), too, so you really have to be careful when in combat.

While I do wish it were more obvious when you’re about to be defeated (other than the screen darkening a bit), it’s a system that I think adds some spice and stakes to Pokemon battles. You must concern yourself with everything going on around you.

While I like the Mega battles, it really does highlight that not all Mega Pokemon designs are equal. There are 26 new Mega Evolutions in Pokemon Legends Z-A, but they’re not all cool! However, there’s one that people are knocking that I don’t agree with. That’s right, the meme that is Mega Starmie.

If nothing else, I love the Mega Battles. They offer something fresh compared to normal wild Pokemon fights (Image via The Pokemon Company)

With its long legs, people are making tons of memes out of it, but it, like many of the designs I’m sure, has roots in Japanese culture and filmmaking. It comes from a classic Tokusatsu film called Warning From Space. Not all the designs are that great, though. Mega Excadrill, Mega Pyroar, and Mega Victreebel stand out in my mind as mediocre designs. It’s not the worst thing about the game, and of course, everyone will no doubt have different opinions on designs.

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Lumiose is kind of a bland, sometimes frustrating city, with plenty to do

I’m not crazy about the design of the city, because I think it’s kind of bland, generic, and on the boring side. While there are tons of side quests, which I certainly appreciate, actually navigating the city isn’t really that enjoyable for me, at least. I think the problem really comes down to the fact that this is a city where you can do a lot of parkour.

When night falls, the Z-A Royale begins in earnest (Image via The Pokemon Company)

While parkour is great (just look at Assassin's Creed), this is a game with parkour without any real movement tech! You can’t jump, climbing is slow and tedious, and it’s filled with movement puzzles, despite that. I haven’t disliked a movement puzzle this much since the last time I played Guild Wars 2.

I love that not everything in your side quests involves Pokemon trainers, though. In that, it also kind of has a Yakuza feel to it. You’re helping the regular people of Lumiose, learning about their troubles, and solving problems in creative, Pokemon-flavored ways. While I’m not the cities’ biggest fan, I have enjoyed my adventures in it.

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We have to talk about the visuals and sounds of Pokemon Legends Z-A

Lumiose itself feels kind of.... I don’t know, bland? The people of the city are anything but dull, but I feel like the overall design and colors used in the city are just boring. For a city inspired by Paris, it’s sure ugly. The details of the city are just mediocre at best. The interiors of buildings look great, but the outside is just bland.

I won't deny that the game would have probably been enhanced with some voice acting (Image via The Pokemon Company)

I like the character designs, character customization, and how brilliantly the Pokemon stand out against the blandness of Lumiose. In particular, AZ is probably my favorite character design, not to mention character, in the whole of the Legends Z-A story. While I love the Pokemon sound effects and their little battle cries, we have to talk about Voice Acting.

Personally, I’m not upset that there’s no voice acting. Do I think it should have had it? Absolutely. Does it take away from the gameplay experience? Normally, I’d say no. But the cutscenes for the major story beats feel like they were supposed to have voice acting, but didn’t. I say this because there’s a brief delay when a character’s dialogue appears on screen, before you can move on.

To me, it feels like it was originally designed for voice acting, but at the last minute, for whatever reason, it wasn’t put in. So, in that way, it definitely feels like a lack of voices detracts from the game, just a little bit. That said, it does run at a smooth 60 FPS on the Switch 2, and the load times are fantastic. If nothing else, Pokemon Legends Z-A plays great.

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Final thoughts

Pokemon Legends Z-A is definitely a fun game. There are little things here and there that I find to be frustrating, but overall, I’ve had more fun in it than I have in a long time with the Pokemon franchise. Some people think the series is given too much leeway. Like, if it didn’t have the Pokemon name on it, this would be a 4/10 game at best. I don’t really know if I agree with that.

While far from perfect, I've really enjoyed my time in Pokemon Legends Z-A (Image via The Pokemon Company)

I’m not going to pit Digimon and Pokemon into a heated battle. Both this and Digimon Story Time Stranger are different games, with different goals. Both can be good, and both are!

While I wish the actual world of Legends Z-A weren’t so bland, I’m still having the time of my life in Lumiose. I will say that at least within the confines of the story, the small Wild Zones make sense. That’s well and good. I still find their size and scope to be annoying, but at least it fits into the narrative.

If you’re on the fence, but enjoyed Legends Arceus, I think you’ll also find something to love about this one. If you just want a nice, fun Pokemon game that does something different from the mainline entries, you'll be satisfied with Pokemon Legends Z-A.

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Pokemon Legends Z-A

Pokemon Legends Z-A is a real treat, and while there are some downsides, the combat and story lift this game up (Image via The Pokemon Company & Sportskeeda)

• Platforms: Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2
• Reviewed on: Nintendo Switch 2 (Code provided by Nintendo)
• Developer: Game Freak
• Publisher: Nintendo
• Release Date: October 16, 2025

Edited by Adarsh J Kumar