After years of being criticized for relying on the same old formula, Game Freak did something completely different with 2022's Pokemon Legends: Arceus. Abandoning the traditional Pokémon formula for a whole new kind of experience, Pokemon Legends: Arceus was an instant hit and stands as one of the highest rated games in franchise history. Many had hopes that Game Freak would return to Legends style of play, and so there was a lot of fanfare for Pokemon Legends: ZA when it was first announced. Leaks hurt enthusiasm too Pokemon Legends: ZAbut after spending a lot of time with both its main quest and side quest, it's still an easy recommendation for Arceus fans and Pokémon fans in general.
Pokemon Legends: ZA takes place in the Kalos region's Lumiose City, in practice Pokémon franchise version of Paris, France, complete with its own version of the Eiffel Tower. Although it is still not fully open world, Legends: ZAas Arceus before it has open zones to explore. Players are free to roam Lumiose to take in the sights, find items and shop, but there are also segmented wild zones that have increased wild Pokémon populations and natural landscapes that offer a break from the concrete jungle of the city. Find wild Pokémon in Legends: ZA is a thrill, with the game featuring over 200 Pokemon for players to add to their lists.
With Pokemon Legends: ZA set in the Kalos region, it's no surprise that the entire game revolves around Mega Evolutions. The driving force behind the story is the fact that there are some Pokémon that experience Rogue Mega Evolution, which means they transform without a trainer – a process that is painful and causes them to start wreaking havoc on the city. Boss fights against these Rogue Mega Evolutions are some of the more challenging battles in the game, with players having to be especially strategic about which Pokemon and moves they take if they don't want to have a particularly long and drawn out fight on their hands.
The Rogue Mega Evolution battles are larger in scale than typical Pokémon battles, and they're a great way to show off the new designs in store for Pokemon Legends: ZA. The majority of Mega Evolutions established in the past Pokémon game back for Legends: ZAbut there are also completely new patterns to discover. The new Mega Evolution designs range from the downright bizarre, like the leggy Mega Starmie and the onion-shaped Mega Victreebel, to the quite striking like the golden Mega Skarmory and the glowing Mega Malamar.
Pokemon Legends: ZA Shakes Up Combat
As in previous Pokémon games with Mega Evolutions feature plays a big role in Legends: ZAs battle. However, the dispute is that Pokemon Legends: ZA features a real-time combat system, abandoning the tried-and-true turn-based combat that the franchise has relied on for years. As usual, Pokemon have access to four moves in a given battle, with ZA puts everything on cooldown timer. Type matchups are still by far the most important factor in any given Pokemon battle, but players also need to consider the position of their Pokemon, how long it takes to perform a move, and whether they might be better off waiting out a move's cooldown timer instead of wasting time using something else. Pokemon Legends: ZAs combat system is fun, and it removes some of the more boring parts of the turn-based battles that can sometimes get stuck with status effects (they still feature ZAbut happens in real time instead of appearing as text messages every turn).
There used to be a strict rule governing Mega Evolutions in Pokemon battles where players could only Mega Evolve one Pokemon per battle. That has been thrown out the window Pokemon Legends: ZAand it is for the better. Whenever players have enough Mega Energy stored, they can click the right stick and as long as they have a Pokémon that can and their corresponding stone, Mega Evolution is possible. Being able to Mega Evolve multiple times in a battle can sometimes trivialize certain encounters, but it adds an extra layer of strategy to the game's tougher battles, as players must be smart about which Pokémon they choose to Mega Evolve, and when, if they want to succeed.
One downside to having so much focus on Mega Evolution is that it can sometimes feel like a slot is wasted when it's used for a Pokemon that can't Mega Evolve. One of my favorite Pokémon is Arbok, but eventually I couldn't justify keeping it in my party if I wanted the most effective squad to fight Rogue Megas and higher level trainers. While unable to reap the benefits that come with a proper Mega Evolution, Arbok and the other Pokémon in the game who cannot Mega Evolve can still benefit from Mega Energy through Plus Moves. Plus Moves are extra powerful versions of attacks that deal significantly increased damage in exchange for Mega Energy. It's still much more efficient and it makes much more sense to save Mega Energy to Mega Evolve a Pokemon, but I appreciate that it was at least a consideration to keep Pokemon without Mega Evolutions relevant.
Pokemon Legends: ZA's multiplayer mode
Pokemon Legends: ZA features ranked multiplayer where players battle each other to get special rewards. Mega Stones for X and Y starters are locked behind this mode's seasons, which is very unfortunate. The mode itself is serviceable, but it's clearly an afterthought compared to the rest of the game.
In addition to dealing with Rogue Mega Evolutions, Pokemon Legends: ZA players must also battle their way up in ZA Royale. With the game entirely in Lumiose City, ZA Royale is a possibility for Pokemon Legends: ZA players to participate in trainer battles that would normally be scattered across routes. ZA Royale battles are available at night in specific parts of the city, with the ultimate goal of earning enough points to obtain a Challenger's Ticket, which allows players to battle the person ranked ahead of them and advance in the rankings (from Z to A). Optional Challenges encourage players to experiment with different Pokemon and moves in exchange for bonus points, making these fights a little more interesting.
Side quests are also available, and the like Arceusthey are a mixture of laughable short adventures to quite interesting diversions that lead to great opportunities for Pokemon collectors. Pokemon Legends: ZA is filled with over 100 side quests to complement the meaty main quest. Combined with the ever-rewarding task of catching them all and the research challenges to unlock special moves, and there's enough content here to keep Pokémon fans engaged for dozens of hours.
Pokémon fans will get a lot for their money Pokemon Legends: ZA purely in terms of content, but they can't be blamed if they feel short-circuited by the presentation. Pokemon Legends: ZA is technically a Switch 1 game, not a native Switch 2 release, and so there's an element of it being held back by the older hardware. Still, it's hard not to be disappointed by the graphics. While the Pokemon are bright and colorful and the novelty of seeing them out and about never gets old (even simple things like when a Magikarp jumped out of the water and landed on the bridge in front of me feels magical), the world they live in clearly cut some corners.
Pokemon Legends: ZA has underwhelming graphics and sound
Lumiose City doesn't feel like a city. Most NPCs stand around, and the buildings are flat with a bunch of repeating textures. Wild Zones look better thanks to the wild Pokemon running around and small details like detailed grass blowing in the wind, but the city leaves a lot to be desired. The concept of a Pokemon game taking place entirely in a centralized location like a city isn't a bad idea, though Legends: ZA doesn't do a good job with the concept.
An even bigger problem with Pokemon Legends: ZAs presentation that is even more awesome than the graphics is the sound. Pokemon Legends: ZA recycles many old sound effects from the past Pokémon game, which is fine and can be nostalgic, but Pokemon “cries” desperately needs an update. Pokemon Legends: ZAThe total lack of voice acting is also distracting and in the greatness of 2025 it's downright weird. Pokemon Legends: ZA is the kind of game that could get away with not having voice acting for the vast majority of its dialogue, but not having it for the more important cutscenes makes them unnecessarily awkward.
Pokemon Legends: ZA could have done a lot better with graphics and sound, even though it's technically a Switch 1 game, at least its performance is significantly better than Scarlet and Violet. Especially on Nintendo Switch 2, Pokemon Legends: ZA provides solid performance. I haven't experienced any technical issues or any kind of weird graphical quirks during my time with the game. It's a much more polished experience than the previous mainline Pokémon game and it is very much appreciated.
I rolled credits on Pokemon Legends: ZA after about 22 hours, but that was also with doing about half of the side quests first.
Pokemon Legends: ZA is much better than Scarlet and Violet around, even if it doesn't reach the heights reached with Arceus. The new battle system is fun and completing the Pokedex is as rewarding as ever, but the lackluster presentation keeps the game from reaching its full potential. Even so, it is easy to get lost Pokemon Legends: ZA for hours and with the hefty Mega Dimension DLC on the way, there will be even more Pokémon to catch soon.
Pokemon Legends: ZA is available now for Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2. Game Rant reviewed the Switch 2 version of the game.
