🔗 Share this article

I don't recall exactly how the tradition started, but I always name every one of my Pokémon trainers Malfunction.

Be it a core franchise title or a side project like Pokkén Tournament DX and Pokémon Go — the name always stays the same. Glitch alternates between male and female avatars, with black and purple hair. Occasionally their style is flawless, like in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the newest installment in this enduring series (and among the most style-conscious releases). Other times they're confined to the various school uniform designs from Pokémon Scarlet & Violet. But they remain Malfunction.

The Ever-Evolving World of Pokémon Games

Similar to my trainers, the Pokémon games have evolved between releases, with certain cosmetic, others substantial. But at their core, they remain the same; they're always Pokémon through and through. The developers discovered a nearly perfect gameplay formula approximately three decades back, and just recently truly attempted to innovate on it with games like Pokémon Legends: Arceus (new era, your character is now in danger). Across all version, the fundamental mechanics cycle of capturing and battling with adorable monsters has remained steady for nearly the same duration as my lifetime.

Breaking Conventions with Pokémon Legends: Z-A

Like Arceus previously, with its absence of gyms and focus on compiling a Pokédex, Pokémon Legends: Z-A brings several deviations into that framework. It's set completely in a single location, the Paris-inspired Lumiose Metropolis from Pokémon X & Y, abandoning the region-spanning journeys of previous titles. Pokémon are intended to live together with people, trainers and non-trainers alike, in manners we've only seen glimpses of before.

Even more drastic is Z-A's real-time combat mechanics. This is where the series' near-perfect gameplay loop experiences its most significant evolution to date, replacing methodical sequential bouts with more frenetic action. And it's immensely fun, even as I feel ready for another traditional release. Though these alterations to the traditional Pokémon formula seem like they form a completely new adventure, Pokémon Legends: Z-A feels as recognizable as any other Pokemon game.

The Core of the Journey: The Z-A Championship

Upon first arriving at Lumiose Metropolis, any intentions your created character had as a tourist get abandoned; you're promptly enlisted by the female guide (for male avatars; Urbain if female) to join her team of trainers. You receive a creature from them as your first partner and are sent into the Z-A Championship.

The Royale is the epicenter in Pokémon Legends: Z-A. It's similar to the classic "arena symbols to final challenge" progression of past games. But here, you battle several opponents to gain the opportunity to compete in an advancement bout. Win and you'll be elevated to the next rank, with the ultimate goal of reaching rank A.

Live-Action Combat: An Innovative Approach

Trainer battles take place at night, and navigating stealthily the assigned combat areas is quite entertaining. I'm always trying to surprise an opponent and launch a free attack, because all actions occur instantaneously. Attacks operate on recharge periods, indicating both combatants may occasionally strike simultaneously concurrently (and knock each other out at once). It's much to adjust to initially. Even after gaming for almost thirty hours, I still feel that there is plenty to learn regarding employing my creatures' attacks in methods that work together synergistically. Positioning also factors as a significant part in battles as your Pokémon will trail behind you or go to designated spots to execute moves (certain ones are distant, whereas others must be up close and personal).

The real-time action causes fights go so fast that I find myself repeating sequences of attacks in identical patterns, despite this results in a suboptimal strategy. There isn't moment to pause in Z-A, and plenty of chances to become swamped. Creature fights rely on feedback after using an attack, and that data remains visible on the display within Z-A, but whips by rapidly. Occasionally, you can't even read it since diverting attention from your opponent will result in immediate defeat.

Navigating Lumiose Metropolis

Away from combat, you will traverse Lumiose Metropolis. It's relatively small, though densely packed. Far into the adventure, I'm still discovering unseen stores and elevated areas to visit. It's also rich with character, and fully realizes the concept of Pokémon and people coexisting. Common bird Pokemon populate its sidewalks, flying away when you get near similar to actual city birds getting in my way while strolling through NYC. The Pan Trio monkeys gleefully hang from lampposts, and insect creatures like Kakuna attach themselves to trees.

An emphasis on city living is a new direction for the franchise, and a positive change. Even so, exploring Lumiose becomes rote eventually. You might discover a passage you never visited, but you wouldn't know it. The architecture is devoid of personality, and most rooftops and sewer paths provide minimal diversity. Although I never visited Paris, the inspiration for Lumiose, I reside in New York for nearly a decade. It's a metropolis where no two blocks differs, and they're all alive with uniqueness that provide character. Lumiose City doesn't have that. It has beige structures with blue or red roofs and simply designed terraces.

The Areas Where Lumiose City Really Excels

In which the city truly stands out, oddly enough, is indoors. I loved how Pokémon battles within Sword & Shield occur in football-like stadiums, providing them real weight and importance. On the flipside, battles in Scarlet and Violet happen on a court with few spectators watching. It's a total letdown. Z-A strikes a middle ground between the two. You'll battle in eateries with patrons watching as they dine. A fancy battle society will invite you to a tournament, and you will combat on its penthouse court under a lighting fixture (not the Pokemon) suspended overhead. The most memorable spot is the elegantly decorated headquarters of a certain faction with its moody lighting and magenta walls. Several distinct combat settings brim with character missing in the overall metropolis as a whole.

The Comfort of Repetition

During the Championship, along with quelling rogue Mega Evolved Pokémon and filling the creature index, there's an inescapable sense that, {"I