🔗 Share this article

I'm not sure precisely when the tradition began, but I always name every one of my Pokemon characters Glitch.

Whether it's a main series game or a side project such as Pokkén Tournament DX along with Pokémon Go — the name never changes. Glitch alternates from male to female characters, featuring black and purple hair. Sometimes their style is flawless, like in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the newest installment in the enduring franchise (and among the more fashion-focused entries). Other times they're confined to the various school uniform designs of Pokémon Scarlet & Violet. But they're always Malfunction.

The Ever-Evolving World of Pokémon Titles

Much like my characters, the Pokemon titles have evolved across releases, some cosmetic, some substantial. However at their heart, they remain identical; they're always Pokemon to the core. Game Freak discovered a nearly perfect mechanics system some three decades back, and just recently seriously tried to innovate upon it with entries such as Pokémon Legends: Arceus (different timeline, your character is now in danger). Throughout all iteration, the core gameplay loop of capturing and fighting alongside adorable monsters has stayed steady for almost the same duration as my lifetime.

Shaking the Mold with Pokémon Legends: Z-A

Like Arceus before it, with its lack of arenas and focus on creating a Pokédex, Pokémon Legends: Z-A introduces multiple changes to that framework. It's set entirely in one place, the Paris-inspired Lumiose City from Pokémon X & Y, abandoning the region-spanning journeys of earlier games. Pokemon are meant to coexist alongside humans, trainers and non-trainers alike, in manners we've only seen glimpses of previously.

Even more radical than that Z-A's real-time combat mechanics. This is where the series' near-perfect gameplay loop experiences its most significant transformation yet, replacing deliberate sequential fights for more frenetic action. And it is thoroughly enjoyable, despite I find myself eager for another turn-based release. Although these changes to the traditional Pokémon formula sound like they create a completely new experience, Pokémon Legends: Z-A is as familiar as any other Pokemon game.

The Core of the Adventure: The Z-A Royale

When initially reaching in Lumiose City, whatever plans your custom avatar had as a tourist get abandoned; you're promptly enlisted by Taunie (for male avatars; Urbain for female characters) to join her team of battlers. You're gifted a creature from them as your starter and you're dispatched to participate in the Z-A Championship.

The Royale is the epicenter of Pokémon Legends: Z-A. It's comparable to the traditional "gym badges to Elite Four" advancement of past games. But here, you fight several opponents to earn the chance to compete in a promotion match. Win and you will be promoted to a higher tier, with the final objective of achieving the top rank.

Live-Action Combat: An Innovative Approach

Trainer battles occur at night, while sneaking around the designated combat areas is very enjoyable. I'm constantly attempting to surprise an opponent and launch an unopposed move, since everything happens instantaneously. Moves operate on recharge periods, indicating you and your opponent may occasionally strike simultaneously at the same time (and knock each other out at once). It's much to adjust to at first. Despite playing for nearly thirty hours, I still feel like there's much to master regarding using my Pokémon's moves in methods that work together synergistically. Positioning also factors as a significant part in battles since your creatures will trail behind you or move to specific locations to execute moves (certain ones are distant, while others must be up close and personal).

The real-time action causes fights progress so quickly that I often sometimes cycling of attacks in identical patterns, despite this amounts to a less effective approach. There isn't moment to breathe in Z-A, and plenty of chances to get overwhelmed. Creature fights depend on response post-move execution, and that information is still present on the display within Z-A, but whips by quickly. Sometimes, you cannot process it because taking your eyes off your adversary will spell immediate defeat.

Exploring Lumiose Metropolis

Outside of battle, you will traverse Lumiose Metropolis. It's fairly compact, though densely packed. Far into the adventure, I continue to find unseen stores and elevated areas to explore. It's also rich with character, and fully realizes the concept of Pokémon and people living together. Pidgey populate its sidewalks, taking flight as you approach similar to actual pigeons obstructing my path while strolling through NYC. The monkey trio joyfully cling from lampposts, and bug-Pokémon like Kakuna cling to trees.

An emphasis on urban life represents a fresh approach for the franchise, and a positive change. Even so, navigating the city becomes rote eventually. You might discover a passage you never visited, but it feels identical. The architecture lacks character, and most rooftops and sewer paths provide minimal diversity. Although I haven't been to the French capital, the model behind the city, I've lived in NYC for almost ten years. It's a city where every district are the same, and they're all vibrant with differences that provide character. Lumiose City doesn't have that. It has tan buildings topped with colored roofs and simply designed terraces.

Where Lumiose City Truly Shines

In which Lumiose City really shines, oddly enough, is indoors. I loved how Pokémon battles within Sword & Shield occur in arena-like venues, giving them real weight and importance. Conversely, battles in Scarlet & Violet take place in a field with few spectators watching. It's very disappointing. Z-A strikes a middle ground between the two. You will fight in restaurants with diners observing as they dine. A fancy battle society will extend an invitation to a tournament, and you'll battle in its rooftop arena with a chandelier (not the Pokemon) suspended overhead. My favorite location is the beautifully designed headquarters of the Rust Syndicate with its moody lighting and purple partitions. Various individual battle locales brim with character that's absent from the overall metropolis as a whole.

The Familiarity of Routine

Throughout the Championship, as well as subduing wild powered-up creatures and filling the creature index, there's an inescapable sense that, {"I