Pokemon Legends: Z-A - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition

An unshakeable gameplay core and some minor innovations save this technically completely outdated game from being a complete letdown.

Pokémon Legends: Z-A has a clear mission and, despite some shortcomings, it absolutely succeeds in doing so.

This second generation of Pokemon games on the Switch - Scarlet, Violet, and Legends: Z-A - has repeatedly gone back and forth between “we are so cooked” and “we are so back”. Pokemon Legends: Z-A has basically distilled that down to one game, because it feels like everything that annoyed me about the game was countered almost immediately by the game doing something I enjoyed or impressed me. Of the two Legends, I still prefer Arceus though, and I do hope a third Legends game is more focused on catching than combat.

Pokémon Legends: Z-A Review – With open-world exploration, urban evolution, and new mechanics, does it finally deliver the innovation fans hoped for?

Legends: Z-A still has a way to go in terms of graphics and story, but unique gameplay, great monster designs and a truly colorful world makes this a very fun new outing for the franchise nonetheless.

Pokémon Legends Z-A has a good ideas and executes them well. Beyond that, it fails to replicate the achievements of previous games or expand on its premise significantly.

Pokémon Legends Z-A is a fascinating mix of progress and stagnation. Its real-time combat is the most exciting evolution the series has seen in years, finally delivering action with impact and rhythm. The trainer ranking system and open battle zones add structure and purpose to the adventure, while the wild zones make exploration more dynamic than ever. Unfortunately, the visuals swing between charming and outdated, the city design feels flat, and the complete lack of voice acting drains emotion from key moments. Technically, it runs better than recent entries, but creatively, it still falls short of what Pokémon could be in 2025.

Overall, it’s safe to say that Pokémon Legends Z-A is a good game, albeit with some shortcomings. It’s fun, it’s enjoyable, and brings the return of the best battle mechanic in the series’ history. Both versions of the game (Switch 1 and Switch 2) run well on their respective platforms, with the Switch 2 getting a 60fps version of the game. Legends Z-A does also have its DLC expansion planned for release later on, bringing new story content and Mega Evolutions. It’ll also (presumably) bring in more Pokémon that aren’t already in the game, so there should be some fun surprises for all of us when we get to see the new Mega forms. Pokémon Legends Z-A marks an enjoyable breath of fresh air, but it could still do with some growth to catch up with the times.

Pokémon Legends: Z-A stays true to the classic Pokémon spirit while introducing meaningful gameplay changes. However, it still carries over many of the same issues the series hasn’t managed to overcome. It’s far from a bad game, but it’s clear that Game Freak needs to start giving the franchise the technical and narrative care it truly deserves.

After my time with Pokémon Legends Z-A, the overall impression I am left with is “good, but with room for improvement.” It achieves that addictive urge to explore and catch ’em all, but the world map is small and doesn’t do enough to make up for it. Real-time battle mechanics are a fresh twist and are the game’s stand-out achievement, but it is a little chaotic and cluttered in its current form. The game looks better than previous Pokémon titles, but continued half-hearted attempts to give itself a high-definition look seem to come at the expense of deeper, more complex content. It’s easy to ignore these cracks, complete the satisfying gameplay loop and vibe through Z-A’s Pokémon adventure, but I know Pokémon is capable of more than this.

Pokémon Legends: Z-A is a fun romp through Lumiose City thanks to its fun and engaging gameplay and stable framerate that's ultimately held back by an antiquated approach to world design and presentation.

Game Freak once again attempts to do something different with a series that's fast approaching its 30th anniversary. Pokémon Legends: Z-A puts a refreshed battle system front and centre, offering faster, real-time combat at its core. The change may not be for everyone; especially long-time fans who remain loyal to the classic turn-based formula. It’s a shame that some aspects, like NPC interactions, haven’t evolved to the same degree and there can be some repetition in traversing the Z-A world. Pokémon Legends: Z-A feels like a well-earned holiday for the series, where there's opportunity to try something new and explore. The adorable critters truly do thrive in Lumiose City and that's ultimately the heart of what drives a Pokémon adventure.

Pokémon Legends: Z-A dares to reinvent itself with action-driven battles and a lively world, but stumbles over its own ambitions. The ideas are strong, the execution less so. A step forward, but far from a revolution.

Pokemon Legends: Z-A is a fitting end to the Switch 1-era Pokemon games. Like Legends: Arceus and Scarlet and Violet, it takes some surprising risks, but it looks rough doing so. Game Freak's decision to overhaul the battle mechanics for the first time since Pokemon's inception is admirable, and it ultimately paid off. But after five 3D Pokemon games, it's frustrating how far behind Pokemon is when it comes to its presentation. It feels like the last piece missing to really bring Pokemon into the future.

Where Legends: Arceus focused on collecting, Legends: Z-A does the same for the combat system. Complemented by a fantastic soundtrack and a wealth of customization options, you're completely free to choose your own path in Lumiose City. Except for the slow opening hours, where the story requires patience before you can truly explore Lumiose City to your heart's content.

A decent enough game that fails to innovate in the same way Legends Arceus did, Pokemon Legends Z-A feels like a wasted opportunity that may only be worth it for die-hard fans.

Like so many other modern Pokémon games, Pokémon Legends: Z-A paints a promising picture of what the future of Pokémon could look like. It's an enjoyable return an underappreciated region in Pokémon that fans are sure to appreciate.

It’s still as embarrassingly low-tech as ever but this is easily the best of the 3D games, with a surprising amount of ambition and invention, not to mention real-time combat that actually works.

Pokémon Legends: Z-A should be celebrated for its fabulous real-time combat and its largely smooth jump to the Switch 2, but in condensing things down to one single location, it loses part of the Pokémon magic that Arceus and many other entries managed to amplify. I’ll forever find filling up my Pokédex fun, and for the Switch 2 generation, this is a good starting point for the franchise. But if the Legends series is to continue, it needs to recapture its personality and fuse that real-time system with a bit more freedom.

I will not explain away or excuse Game Freak's bizarre way of constructing their games, nor will I claim that it makes sense for these AAA titles to be so incredibly stingy with rudimentary details such as 3D-modelled balconies in a city inspired by Paris, or voice acting. But at the same time, this is fundamentally a game that is once again about collecting, developing, and battling with Pokémon. That's what you do most, and that's what works best.

I have never played a game in this series with a world that felt this lifeless.

Pokémon Legends Z-A is a game that tries to shake up the franchise with some interesting ambitions, but unfortunately, the technical and artistic resources don’t keep up. Between a fresh urban setting that is poorly utilized, a struggling graphics engine, and archaic level design, the open-world experience is disappointing and fails to convince. The streets are empty, the buildings are rudimentarily cloned, flat textures and constant clipping make the city of Illumis feel like a cardboard movie set.Yet, not everything is bad. The real highlight of this episode is the real-time combat. Abandoning the classic turn-based system is a risky move, but here the gameplay gains pace and tension. Positioning, timing, and strategy take center stage, while the variety of attacks and the reintroduction of Mega Evolutions add tactical depth.On the other hand, all other aspects of the game fall short: the story is somewhat flat, side quests are repetitive and uninspired, and the overall art direction suffers from a glaring lack of personality. In the end, the game feels like an ambitious prototype, limited by an outdated graphics engine and insufficient resources. Younger players and long-time fans of the franchise will find enjoyment here, but for adult or more demanding players, the experience remains frustrating. It’s clear the franchise has potential to evolve, but Game Freak needs to seriously invest in its tools and design to deliver a truly modern Pokémon open-world game.

Pokémon Legends: Z-A is fun, but it's clearly light-years behind industry standards and what one would expect from the most profitable franchise in video game history. The good ideas are completely drowned out by shoddy graphics and dialogue that still believes children need to be banal and simple, ruining a plot that works at its best and finally gives dignity to the characters and the plot holes that Game Freak missed in the sixth generation.

Pokémon Legends: Z-A tweaks the standard formula to deliver more active monster catching and battling, but it takes place in a disappointingly boring city with little else to do.

Where Arceus dared, Z-A retreats, offering an experience that neither innovates, excites, nor engages. The return of Mega Evolutions, while interesting, isn’t enough to save a game that feels built with minimal effort for maximum commercial gain. The “Legends” series thus loses its original meaning, and Z-A stands as a symbol of a creative crisis that Game Freak doesn’t yet seem ready to confront. For those curious about the new battle system and the thrill of catching Pokémon — which still manages to inspire some excitement — there’s something here for you too.

Pokémon Legends: Z-A is a game that will please fans of collecting battle creatures, yet deeply disappoint with how much potential this massive franchise leaves untapped. A series of this stature deserves far more than what it gets here.

In terms of gameplay, Pokémon Legends: Z-A has some good points, such as real-time catching and battles, while the city seems limiting. Technically, it's still lagging behind, but at least it runs reasonably well on the Switch 2.

Pokémon Legends: Z-A dares to try something new, but its flaws prevent the otherwise good ideas from reaching their full potential.

Pokemon Legends Z-A is one of the most disappointing Pokemon games i have ever played. Besides the wide variety of creatures to catch, some QoL changes and the Mega Evolutions - there's not much else to find enjoyable in this experience.

While the Pokémon Legends series may at first seem eager to break free from the limitations of the mainline episodes, it still falls short of the long-awaited reinvention fans have been hoping for. Z-A shows plenty of good ideas and offers the most engaging battle system the franchise has seen in a long time, but it struggles to make up for its eternal shortcomings: dull and underwhelming visuals for the modern era, a still overly childish narrative, a glaring lack of personality, and gameplay inconsistencies that gradually erode the experience over time. Though die-hard fans of the series will no doubt overlook these flaws, the average player (who only hunts monsters from time to time) will find Pokémon Legends: Z-A to be a pleasant attempt, but far from essential.

Pokemon Legends Z-A delivers fast, polished battles in Lumiose City, but limited exploration and shallow side content hold it back from being truly great.