Pokémon Legends: Arceus isn’t a perfect game by any means, but that didn’t stop it from syphoning all of my free time when it launched back in 2022. This was the first time in a while where I truly felt the desire to “catch ’em all”. While Arceus still borrowed a lot from the mainline games, it did enough to make the world of Pokémon feel fresh and alive in ways the franchise previously hadn’t for many players, including myself.
Legends: Arceus isn’t an open-world game, though the zones it offered still did a solid job of making me feel immersed in the environment. Not only would you find Pokémon walking around all over the place, you could sneak up on them and toss a ball without the need for a battle. This could backfire as a Pokémon might be alerted to your presence and lay the smackdown on you. Yeah, you – the trainer. There was a sense of danger and mystery that really couldn’t be found in any previous Pokémon games.
Now, even with all of my love for Legends: Arceus, I’ve been quite nervous to go hands-on with Pokémon Legends: Z-A. This whole city vibe hasn’t really won me over with the gameplay footage we’ve been shown so far, and while I enjoyed Mega Evolutions when they were introduced in Digimo- I mean, Pokémon X & Y back in 2013, they’re not something I have any gripping nostalgia for either, so I wasn’t fussed either way to see their return. I rather enjoyed the turn-based battling of old that was used in Arceus, too, so was I going to like Legends: Z-A’s real-time combat?
Kindly, Nintendo and Pokémon gave us behind closed doors access to Pokémon Legends: Z-A on Switch 2 at this year’s Pokémon Worlds event, and even though our brief 20-minute demo didn’t show their entire hand, I was able to get a better grasp on this new combat system and I truly think this might be the most fast paced and exciting Pocket Monsters game we’ve seen yet. Now please, Nintendo, let me play more of it soon.
The demo was broken up into two sections. The first part let me loose in a back alley Battle Zone, which tasked me with taking down as many trainers as I could lock eyes with. I hate confrontation, though, so I was thrilled to learn I could surprise and sneak-attack these trainers instead by moving cautiously and targeting their active Pokémon standing by their side. This first strike gives you a little advantage at the start of a battle and this also makes for a nice evolution of the stealth mechanics we saw in Arceus.
It’s this section where I got my first taste of the new combat. You have full control of your trainer during battle, can sprint and dodge at the press of a button, use items (more on that later), and by holding ‘ZL’ you’ll pull up a list of moves your active Pokémon can use. Each move can be used one after another and have their own cooldown meters.
While you can’t take full control of your own Pokémon’s movement, they will follow you around the battlefield, and dodging and timing your attacks just right will either save or cost your ‘mon’s HP. You have to make a lot of decisions on the fly as some attacks have longer animations and wind-ups than others, so spamming each attack once it’s ready to be used again might not always be the right decision.
The second portion of my demo had me make chase with a Zygarde in doggo form. This section was a little too scripted and stilted for my liking, and it’s here where I first noticed a little bit of pop-in in the background details. It’s worth mentioning everything I played was buttery smooth otherwise at 60fps. But the design choice to set this game within a concrete jungle hasn’t totally won me over yet. I loved the wide open vistas found in Arceus; watching the sun rise, seeing the color of the landscapes change was a delight. I’m worried I’ll quickly grow bored of the damp, back street visuals over time, but I’ve not even scratched the surface of what Legends: Z-A has to offer to know if that’s the case. Early on, though, it’s nice to see that the game’s textures and performance (at least on Switch 2) are a big step up from Legends: Arceus.
Oh yeah, that Zygarde I was chasing after! Right, where was it now? I turned a corner and before I knew it, Zygarde had tackled me and dragged me up to the rooftops and picked a fight for me with a wild Absol that had the power to Mega Evolve. Look, we’re all fans of “2006” Davey Havok, but that’s an Absol, Zygarde — thanks for that! This part must take place pretty early on in the game, as I only had a Chikorita on my team, but thankfully a neighbouring Lucario joined up with me and taught me how to activate Mega Evolution.
When facing off against a Mega Evolved Pokémon, you’ll have to pick up these Mega Power pellets by dealing damage. With enough Power, a tap of the right stick will transform your active Pokémon into something greater, faster, and all around more powerful, so it’s important to take advantage of this as often as you can.
Even though this Absol battle was framed as a seemingly easy tutorial for Mega Evolution, I got through by the skin of my teeth. Lucario sprinting around with me, I had to make snap decisions offensively while I avoided projectile blasts from Absol and scooped up all of the Mega Power I could. It all felt, well, for a lack of a better word, epic. Sure, maybe if I had used some of those potions I had tucked away in my satchel earlier in the fight, I wouldn’t have had to worry so much, but without them it honestly was a better, fairer fight, and I’m glad I didn’t need to rely on them. There’s also a cooldown timer on items that you have to contend with, so you can’t just douse your Pokémon with multiple potions at once. All of this added up could make for a really fun and engaging multiplayer, but that hasn’t been confirmed yet.
While I’m still trying to temper my excitement and expectations for the overall city exploration, I’m relieved to report the combat, from what I’ve played, feels like just the thing the series needs to take it into the next generation. I’ll always have a longing for the turn-based battles that have been prevalent for the last nearly-30 years, but there’s no questioning the fact that this series has needed some reinvention and this new real-time battle system has certainly captured my attention. Pokémon Legends: ZA may not be for everyone, but I think the hardcore fans will be pleased.
Maybe next time we go hands-on with the game we’ll get to see that new Dragonite Mega Evolution in action, too.
Travel costs for this trip were provided by Nintendo.
Are you looking forward to Pokémon Legends: Z-A? Let us know in the comments below!