The new 'Pokemon' shakes up the formula, but it's not enough.
From the countryside to the city. Pokémon Legends: ZERO , the new video game in this popular franchise released today for Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 , begins with its protagonist on a train bound for the great metropolis. The natural landscapes that have been the main setting of the saga for almost thirty years are left behind. On the horizon looms Luminalia, the city partially inspired by Paris where this new adventure is set.
The change of location is one of the main new features of the latest Pokémon , but not the most important. Above all, the game stands out for introducing a more dynamic combat system, a twist on the traditional turn-based formula that is a surprising positive, but not enough to shake off the stigma that has long plagued the series, which is none other than titles that could have been much more.
Two notable changes The main new features are the city that serves as a setting and a new, much more dynamic combat system.Game Freak 's latest isn't considered a main installment in the franchise, like Pokémon Scarlet/Purple , but rather a new iteration within the Legends subseries, which are titles that allow themselves to be more experimental. This more daring branch of Pokémon premiered in early 2022 with Pokémon Legends: Arceus , and the truth is that —despite its poor visual performance— its more open and adventurous gameplay experience captivated us.
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Pokémon Legends: ZA also dares to try new things, starting with the aforementioned urban setting and combat that almost feels like real-time combat, but also on other fronts. Another notable new feature is the so-called "ZA Games," a sort of league in which the player must battle to rise in rank from Z to A; a competition that takes place throughout the city and through which the game's plot unfolds.
Image from the video game 'Pokémon Legends: Z-A'
Despite Luminalia being a drab, bleak, and boringly grid-like city, the overall gameplay is addictive—in a good way—and it's easy to get caught up in a gameplay loop that successfully combines the agile capture system from Pokémon Legends: Arceus with battles where movement and positioning become essential. Also adding a touch of freshness are the so-called uncontrolled Mega Evolutions, which are Pokémon that have evolved without a trainer to control them and that must be faced in very challenging battles.
It's a shame that all these new features don't shine as brightly as they should, given the many other aspects in which Pokémon Legends: ZA feels outdated. The narrative is one of its main problems. Between the characters being inexpressive and lacking animation, the fact that each of their actions is interrupted by constant and unnecessary ellipses, and the fact that the game lacks voice acting, it's easy for someone who isn't a huge fan of the series to lose interest in what the game is trying to tell—a story that, on the other hand, is irrelevant and, worse still, is marked by a questionable sense of competitiveness for a game aimed partly at children. In fact, it seems as if the title has no intention of reaching new players, as its tutorials don't offer sufficient explanations of how the game works for those unfamiliar with it.
Image from the video game 'Pokémon Legends: Z-A'
With its leap from the wild to the urban, Pokémon Legends: ZERO brings interesting new features to an already solid gameplay foundation. However—and this isn't surprising at this point—it's a shame how in many other areas, such as the aforementioned narrative or its visual design, it's a completely outdated game. We return, then, to the lack of ambition we mentioned at the beginning of this article, to the fact that despite being one of the highest-grossing franchises, its games never quite live up to the phenomenon. And yet, they're capable of selling tens of millions of copies with each new installment. That's the paradox.
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