🔗 Share this article

I'm not sure exactly how the tradition started, but I always name all my Pokemon characters Glitch.

Whether it's a core franchise title or a side project like Pokkén Tournament DX and Pokémon Go — the moniker always stays the same. Malfunction alternates from male to female avatars, featuring black and purple locks. Occasionally their style is flawless, as seen in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the latest installment in the long-running franchise (and among the most fashion-focused releases). Other times they're limited to the various school uniform styles of Pokémon Scarlet & Violet. But they remain Malfunction.

The Ever-Evolving Realm of Pokémon Games

Similar to my characters, the Pokemon titles have transformed between installments, with certain cosmetic, some substantial. But at their heart, they remain the same; they're consistently Pokemon to the core. Game Freak uncovered a nearly perfect mechanics system some three decades back, and has only truly attempted to innovate upon it with entries like Pokémon Legends: Arceus (different timeline, your character is now in danger). Across all iteration, the fundamental mechanics cycle of capturing and fighting alongside charming creatures has stayed consistent for nearly as long as I've been alive.

Breaking the Mold in Pokémon Legends: Z-A

Similar to Arceus before it, featuring lack of arenas and emphasis on creating a creature catalog, Pokémon Legends: Z-A brings multiple changes to that formula. It's set entirely in a single location, the Paris-inspired Lumiose Metropolis of Pokémon X and Y, ditching the expansive adventures of earlier titles. Pokémon are meant to coexist alongside people, trainers and civilians, in manners we've only seen glimpses of previously.

Even more drastic is Z-A's real-time battle system. This is where the series' near-perfect gameplay loop undergoes its biggest evolution to date, replacing deliberate sequential bouts for more frenetic action. And it is thoroughly enjoyable, even as I find myself ready for another turn-based release. Although these alterations to the classic Pokémon formula sound like they form an entirely fresh experience, Pokémon Legends: Z-A feels as recognizable as every other Pokemon game.

The Core of the Adventure: The Z-A Championship

When first arriving in Lumiose City, whatever plans your custom avatar had as a tourist get abandoned; you're promptly recruited by Taunie (for male avatars; Urbain if female) to join her team of trainers. You're gifted a creature from them as your first partner and are sent to participate in the Z-A Royale.

The Championship is the epicenter of Pokémon Legends: Z-A. It's comparable to the classic "arena symbols to final challenge" advancement from earlier titles. But here, you fight several opponents to gain the chance to participate in an advancement bout. Win and you will be elevated to the next rank, with the ultimate goal of achieving the top rank.

Live-Action Battles: A New Approach

Character fights take place during nighttime, while sneaking around the designated battle zones is quite enjoyable. I'm constantly trying to surprise an opponent and launch an unopposed move, because everything happens instantaneously. Attacks function with recharge periods, meaning you and your opponent can sometimes attack each other at the same time (and knock each other out at once). It's much to get used to initially. Even after gaming for almost 30 hours, I still feel like there's much to master regarding using my Pokémon's moves in ways that work together synergistically. Positioning also plays a significant part during combat since your creatures will trail behind you or move to specific locations to execute moves (certain ones are distant, while others need to be up close and personal).

The live combat makes battles go so fast that I often repeating sequences through moves in the same order, even when this results in a suboptimal strategy. There's no time to pause during Z-A, and numerous opportunities to become swamped. Creature fights depend on response post-move execution, and that data remains visible on the display in Z-A, but whips by quickly. Occasionally, you cannot process it because taking your eyes off your adversary will result in immediate defeat.

Navigating Lumiose Metropolis

Away from combat, you'll explore Lumiose City. It's relatively small, although tightly filled. Far into the adventure, I continue to find unseen stores and elevated areas to explore. It is also rich with character, and fully realizes the concept of Pokémon and people coexisting. Common bird Pokemon populate its sidewalks, flying away as you approach similar to actual pigeons obstructing my path when walking in New York City. The monkey trio gleefully hang from lampposts, and bug-Pokémon such as Kakuna attach themselves on branches.

A focus on city living represents a fresh approach for the franchise, and a welcome one. Nonetheless, navigating the city becomes rote over time. You may stumble upon a passage you never visited, but you wouldn't know it. The building design lacks character, and most rooftops and sewer paths provide minimal diversity. Although I never visited the French capital, the inspiration for the city, I reside in New York for almost ten years. It's a city where no two blocks are the same, and all are alive with uniqueness that provide character. Lumiose Metropolis lacks that quality. It has beige structures topped with colored roofs and flatly rendered terraces.

Where The Metropolis Truly Shines

In which the city truly stands out, surprisingly, is inside buildings. I loved how Pokémon battles in Sword and Shield take place in arena-like venues, providing them genuine significance and meaning. Conversely, fights within Scarlet & Violet happen on a court with two random people observing. It's a total letdown. Z-A strikes a middle ground between the two. You will fight in restaurants with diners observing as they dine. An elite combat club will extend an invitation to a tournament, and you will combat in its rooftop arena with a chandelier (not Chandelure) hanging above. The most memorable spot is the beautifully designed headquarters of a certain faction with its moody lighting and purple partitions. Various individual battle locales overflow with personality that's absent from the larger city in general.

The Comfort of Routine

Throughout the Royale, along with quelling rogue powered-up creatures and completing the creature index, there is an unavoidable sense that, {"I