🔗 Share this article

I don't recall exactly how the tradition started, but I always name all my Pokemon characters Malfunction.

Be it a core franchise title or a spinoff like Pokkén Tournament DX and Pokémon Go — the name always stays the same. Glitch switches between male and female characters, with dark and violet locks. Occasionally their fashion is impeccable, as seen in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the latest addition in this enduring franchise (and among the most style-conscious releases). At other moments they're confined to the various school uniform styles of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Yet they remain Glitch.

The Ever-Evolving Realm of Pokémon Titles

Much like my characters, the Pokémon games have evolved between releases, some cosmetic, others significant. However at their heart, they stay the same; they're consistently Pokemon through and through. Game Freak discovered an almost flawless mechanics system some three decades back, and just recently truly attempted to evolve upon it with games such as Pokémon Legends: Arceus (new era, your avatar faces peril). Across every version, the fundamental gameplay loop of catching and fighting alongside adorable monsters has remained steady for almost as long as I've been alive.

Breaking Conventions with Pokémon Legends: Z-A

Similar to Arceus previously, featuring absence of gyms and focus on creating a creature catalog, Pokémon Legends: Z-A brings several deviations to that framework. It's set completely in one place, the French capital-inspired Lumiose Metropolis from Pokémon X & Y, abandoning the expansive journeys of previous titles. Pokémon are intended to coexist alongside humans, trainers and civilians, in ways we have merely glimpsed previously.

Even more radical than that Z-A's real-time combat mechanics. It's here the franchise's almost ideal core cycle undergoes its biggest transformation yet, replacing deliberate sequential bouts with more frenetic action. And it's immensely fun, even as I feel ready for a new turn-based entry. Though these changes to the classic Pokemon recipe sound like they form an entirely fresh adventure, Pokémon Legends: Z-A is as familiar as every other Pokémon title.

The Core of the Journey: The Z-A Royale

When first arriving in Lumiose City, whatever plans your created character had as a tourist are discarded; you're immediately recruited by Taunie (if playing as a male character; Urbain if female) to join her team of battlers. You receive a creature from them as your first partner and are sent into the Z-A Royale.

The Championship serves as the centerpiece in Pokémon Legends: Z-A. It's comparable to the classic "arena symbols to final challenge" advancement of past games. However here, you battle several opponents to gain the opportunity to compete in an advancement bout. Succeed and you'll be elevated to the next rank, with the ultimate goal of achieving the top rank.

Live-Action Battles: An Innovative Approach

Trainer battles take place during nighttime, while navigating stealthily the assigned combat areas is very entertaining. I'm constantly attempting to get a jump on an opponent and unleash a free attack, because all actions occur instantaneously. Attacks operate on cooldown timers, meaning you and your opponent may occasionally strike simultaneously at the same time (and knock each other out at once). It's a lot to adjust to at first. Despite gaming for almost thirty hours, I continue to feel like there's plenty to learn in terms of employing my creatures' attacks in methods that complement each other. Placement also factors as a major role in battles since your creatures will follow you around or move to specific locations to perform attacks (certain ones are distant, while others need to be up close and personal).

The real-time action makes battles go so fast that I find myself repeating sequences through moves in identical patterns, even when this results in a less effective approach. There's no time to breathe in Z-A, and plenty of chances to become swamped. Pokémon battles depend on feedback post-move execution, and that data is still present on screen in Z-A, but whips by rapidly. Occasionally, you can't even read it since taking your eyes off your adversary will spell certain doom.

Navigating Lumiose Metropolis

Away from combat, you will traverse Lumiose City. It's relatively small, although tightly filled. Far into the adventure, I'm still discovering new shops and rooftops to explore. It is also full of charm, and fully realizes the vision of creatures and humans living together. Pidgey inhabit its pathways, flying away as you approach like the real-life pigeons getting in my way while strolling in New York City. The Pan Trio monkeys gleefully hang from lampposts, and bug-Pokémon such as Kakuna attach themselves on branches.

A focus on urban life is a new direction for the franchise, and a welcome one. Nonetheless, exploring Lumiose becomes rote over time. You might discover an alley you haven't been to, but it feels identical. The architecture is devoid of personality, and most rooftops and sewer paths offer little variety. Although I never visited the French capital, the inspiration for the city, I reside in New York for almost ten years. It's a metropolis where no two blocks differs, and they're all vibrant with differences that provide character. Lumiose Metropolis lacks that quality. It features tan buildings topped with colored roofs and simply designed balconies.

Where Lumiose City Really Excels

Where Lumiose City really shines, surprisingly, is indoors. I loved the way creature fights within Sword & Shield occur in arena-like venues, giving them real weight and meaning. Conversely, fights within Scarlet and Violet take place on a court with few spectators observing. It's very disappointing. Z-A finds a balance between the two. You'll battle in eateries with diners observing while they eat. A fancy battle society will extend an invitation to a competition, and you'll battle in its rooftop arena under a lighting fixture (not Chandelure) suspended overhead. My favorite location is the elegantly decorated headquarters of the Rust Syndicate with atmospheric illumination and purple partitions. Several distinct combat settings brim with character missing in the overall metropolis as a whole.

The Familiarity of Repetition

Throughout the Championship, along with subduing wild Mega Evolved Pokémon and completing the creature index, there's an inescapable feeling of, {"I