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Pokémon Legends Z-A: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Intro:

Andrew

The team and I are about the same amount of hours into Pokemon Legends Z-A, roughly, so we thought we would share how we felt up to this point. This will be in three sections: The Good, the bad and the ugly. So, let’s get going.

Our Backgrounds

Andrew

I started with Pokemon Gold & Silver, then went back to Red & Yellow. This was when I was 6 years old, during Christmas with my first Gameboy Color. Since then, I’ve been a Pokemon fan and have played every generation at least once. Most of the time, I try to buy both versions of a generation as well as any added games like Crystal and Emerald. Now, here we are with a new adventure with Z-A.

Downs

I’ve been a Pokémon fan since my junior high days, though I wouldn’t call myself a die-hard follower. Over the years, I’ve played several entries in the series and play whatever one catches my interest. My last full playthrough was Pokémon Sword and Shield, which left me a bit disappointed due to it not challenging me.

The most recent title I played was Pokémon Legends: Arceus was a refreshing change of pace that I thoroughly enjoyed. Its unique scenario and somewhat challenging gameplay intrigued me. However the sense of discovery was what would kindle excitement for Pokémon Legends: ZA.

Now that I’ve spent some time with it, let’s dive into what Pokémon Legends: Z-A does good, where it’s bad, and unbelievably ugly.

Charle

My last connection with Pokemon ended in about the early 2010s. I was still in college and I had time to game some, but I didn’t have the discipline to sit down and play through a game thoroughly. School took up most of my time, as well as spending time with friends and doing other things. I had time to play some quick online games, but Pokemon is a game that I wanted to give time to explore each chapter of the game in its entirety.

Pokemon holds a special place with my childhood because I was about the main character’s age when we all started. In the show, he was about 5-10 years old when he first set off on his adventure. I had to save up money every time a new game came out and I ended up collecting (paid links) Red, Yellow, Silver and Crystal. All outstanding games. After that era leading into the (paid link) DS and beyond, that’s when school picked up a lot more.

Now, in my adult phase of life, I have resources and some time to sit down and play through the games again, or start a new adventure. Pokemon Z-A is part of stepping into that new chapter of connecting the passion I had in the past for Pokemon into the current day. Let’s take a deep dive into this new game.

The Good

Andrew

The game is fun at its core. Once it opens up and you get to explore, you can find a bit of everything. The clothing choices and customization is much better than any other entry we’ve seen in a Pokemon game to date.

Obviously Mega Evolution has to be a part of this section. It’s just so nice to have it back with even new Pokemon. All of my favorites have been present so far.

Downs

I’m about 20 hours in, and compared to Charlee and Andrew, my playstyle leans heavily toward a completionist. So, how’s it holding up for a completionist?

Honestly, pretty great so far. I’m roughly a third of the way through, and I haven’t gotten tired of what the game offers. It doesn’t feel padded or repetitive. My system has been to take on side missions as they appear or go out hunting for screws and Pokémon until night falls. When day breaks, if I meet the requirements to progress, I move forward. It’s a satisfying rhythm — I make noticeable story progress every 1–2 hours, and I never feel over-leveled.

Combat has also been decent. It’s faster and more fluid than I expected, which keeps the pacing tight. Battles are also better than anticipated. Regular trainers and wild Pokémon are still ridiculously easy, but Alpha Pokémon definitely kept me on my toes. I’ve had a few team-wipe moments.  In one case, I caught an Alpha Arbok at the exact moment my final Pokémon fainted from poison. To me that was an actual battle even though I had higher level Pokemon. 

The soundtrack is another highlight. The music is consistently solid, fitting each area perfectly without ever getting repetitive. 

Charle

This experience I have with Pokemon Z-A is fresh for me. I skipped over (paid links) Scarlet, Violet, Shield, and Sword. Not because they were bad games, but there were qualities about them that I didn’t gravitate to. They are making these games for the newer generation, but how does it measure up to the past games? Arguably, I should evaluate the new game separately for what it is, but the older games represent the legacy of where Pokemon was going and how much it’s evolved from the early days.

The graphics: visually, the game looks great. It gives me a swift reminder of more modern games. I do enjoy how they took inspiration from the show and focus on making the user experience more organic.

The map: I like the diverse city that you start off in. The physical buildings and obstacles give you enough variety to challenge you to keep combing through the main area to progress the story, but also it will not be buried compared to other shapes that popped up in this region.

The Bad

Andrew

The battle system, while fun at first, does get a bit boring after a few hours. When I started, I thought it would be sort of elaborate, maybe some good strategies could be born from it. Unfortunately, no. I’m just spamming commands as they refill until I lose or win. Obviously type advantages exist, so it still plays a part. I was just disappointed overall.

Downs

One area that really needs improvement is the in-game map. I constantly find myself checking it just to figure out where I am. There aren’t enough landmarks to orient yourself in this game. It almost feels like wandering around (paid link) Silent Hill, compared to Lumiose City with the way the map flows. I am constantly trying to remember which street I’m on and it’s a pain to do because everything looks the same.

Another issue is you can’t place custom markers, only the main objective marker. That alone would help a ton. I would be able to mark where Pokémon I missed appear, areas to revisit, or places to avoid so I don’t get bodied. Markers alone would make exploration so much smoother. There’s a lot of stuff with unmarked locations/items in this game. A simple X on the map that would denote me a ladder or incomplete scaffolding challenges. It’s surprising that this feature is missing when games like (paid link) Breath of the Wild let you freely mark your map and that came out years ago.

Visually, the game is a mixed bag. The Pokémon and character models look good, but the environments don’t always mesh well. It almost feels like the world was built for a different game, and Pokémon were dropped in as the project fell apart. The layout reinforces that feeling. It is like the team made a city first, then had a “Oh crap” moment to fence off sections for Pokémon spawns. (Story wise it mentions this issue with Wild Pokemon, but it clearly feels like the game designed it after the fact)

If the idea was to have parts of the city “claimed” by Pokémon, the zones should reflect that better. Seeing an Eevee or Dratini hanging out on rooftops just feels off.  They should be in grass, water, or anywhere other than a roof in a middle of a busy city.

Some spots make sense, like the Houndour and Houndoom areas. These Pokemon are territorial, which fits, but for most locations, there’s little ecological logic.

Imagine if the outskirts had a rock quarry filled with Ground and Rock types, or a cave full of Dark types. Even a junkyard could be home to Poison and Bug Pokémon. Instead we have a graveyard that has one ghost type pokemon and a bunch of spiders, a sword and some random fairy that runs away. A logical form of environmental coherence would of gone a long way.

While some may disagree, I actually don’t mind the lack of voice acting. In a game built around repetitive gameplay loop, the last thing you want is the same voice lines grating on you over and over. I’m also not the biggest fan of typical anime voice acting it’s hit or miss besides knowing that my jelly donut is actually a rice ball.

Still, there are moments where silence feels awkward. Big emotional or dramatic scenes lose impact when everyone just stands there and text scrolls by. A good middle ground would’ve been short vocal cues such as a grunt, laugh, or catchphrase like in Danganronpa. It would make characters more memorable without being intrusive. However that just my thought it could make the game sound like (paid link) Banjo Kazooie compared to Pokemon.

Another minor gripe is how quickly the game hands out starter Pokémon. By the time you unlock Mega Evolution, you could already have five starters. This is all within the first 10 hours. That’s a powerful team too early on. Sure, you can choose not to use them, but that feels like self-imposed difficulty. Starters are supposed to be long-term companions to carry you into the late game. Saving these extras for the late or post-game would’ve balanced things better. As is it feels like they are giving you a more viable set to play with over the in game choices. Still, I appreciate that you can catch all the starters here instead of having to trade.

Charle

The main thing that I consider an issue for Pokemon Z-A is how long the tutorial part is. While I was just playing through to get to the main part of the main quest storyline. If I’m going to grind through a book with characters, I would welcome a cut down version of the intro in the game so we aren’t spending the whole time reading instructions.

The Ugly

Andrew

I really can’t think of anything about this game that I find awful. Sure, some aspects could be better such as the battle system, but it isn’t necessarily a bad game. Though, the graphics could use some work, which is normal for a Pokemon title truth be told.

Downs

The worst part of Pokémon Legends Z-A is its painfully long, on-rails introduction. While not as torturously long as (paid links) Sun and Moon’s infamous opening hours, it still drags. It takes around four hours before you’re finally free to explore without invisible walls blocking your path.

I’m also not a fan of the boss-style Pokémon battles. They quickly devolve into dodge-spamming like a bad (paid link Dark Souls clone. The boss locks onto you, largely ignoring your team, and tanks everything with their massive health pools. These fights feel like endless slogs. They probably only last a few minutes, but they feel like twenty as you essentially paper cut them to death.

Then there’s the science experiment side quest or more specifically, two of its ridiculous requirements. One is completing 1,000 trainer battles and the other breaking 1,000 mega crystals. The trainer battle goal is especially stupid. Even if you fight 20 trainers a night, that’s 50 in-game nights to finish. That’s like 30 hours of non stop battles. As for the crystals, I’ve been smashing them consistently since early on, and I’m only at 600. At this rate, it’ll take another 10 hours to finish. Tedious doesn’t even begin to describe it.

Charle

For this game, there were a couple of things on the lowest tiered quest list. Out of the things that I considered a terrible thing, is the restrictions on the overall map. The entire game takes place in one city,  but as you exist, you’ll start to see more things about this city evolve.

I would love it if we get DLC that pushes the area of the map of the game to be more than COVID, or makes it easier to access.

Final Thoughts

Andrew

Is Pokemon Legends Z-A as good as (paid link) Arceus? That’s yet to be determined. All I can say is that I’m really enjoying my time with it up to this point and I think I’ll continue to.

Downs

With about 20 hours in, I can confidently say I’m enjoying Pokémon Legends Z-A. It’s far from perfect, but it never feels like a waste of time. Every task contributes to something meaningful, which keeps me engaged. My only concern is that the late game might devolve into grind-heavy challenges.

For now, though, I’d recommend Pokémon Legends Z-A — especially if you can snag it at a discount.

Lastly below is the team I have been using.

Feralgatr

Dratini

Lucario

Charizard

Gardevoir

Gabite

(I’ll likely replace one for Metagross and another for Salamence.)

Charle

Pokemon Legends Z-A feels like the game is being held hostage of what the city offers in terms of physical land space. I think they should cut things down to give you better space for Pokemon Z-A. With enough time invested behind the mandatory preview of this game, it has the potential to be the flagship game of run approval right now.

Conclusion

There are the teams’ thoughts on Pokemon Legends Z-A up to this point. We’ll be sure to give an update in the future along with the official review. Make sure to go buy yourself a (paid link) copy if interested. Until next time, happy gaming.