Description:

While you can’t take full control of your own Pokémon Legends: Z-A movement, they will follow you around the battlefield, and dodging and timing your attacks just right will either save or cost your ‘mon’s HP. There are many decisions that have to be made on the fly because some attacks have longer wind-ups or longer animations than others; spamming each attack as soon as it is ready to be used again may not always be a wise choice. In my second part of my demo, I was tasked to make chase with a Zygarde in doggo form.

It’s worth mentioning everything I played was buttery smooth otherwise at 60fps. This game’s design in a concrete jungle though has not yet fully endeared me to it. I loved the wide open vistas found in Arceus; watching the sun rise, seeing the color of the landscapes change was a delight. I fear I’ll get tired of the back street imagery given me by Legends: Z-A at some point in time, but just haven’t gotten into it enough to find out. Early on, however, it is good to see that the game’s textures and performance (at least on Switch 2) are a whole lot better than Legends: Arceus.

Gameplay Pokémon Legends: Z-A:

That’s right, I was running after Zygarde! Where had it been, right? Then I turned a corner and soon Zygarde took me and dragged me up to the rooftops and got into one of the Mega Evolve Absol’s for a fight. You guys are all “2006” Davey Havok fans, but that’s an Absol, Zygarde! This part should be done at the beginning of the game, I only had 1 Chikorita on my team but luckily a neighbouring Lucario joined me and showed me how to use Mega Evolution. There was a gameplay loop that we already knew about.

Which I presume we’ll continue to participate in over and over again until we become Rank A then we get some…intentionally vague…wish. It’s a fun enough system, in that you walk down the streets of a specified zone at night, and run into other starry-eyed trainers. In expected Pokémon fashion, as soon as a trainer sees you, the battle is on–but in Legends: Z-A, if a trainer attacks you when you aren’t looking, that means the opponent’s Pokémon gets that free.

Key Features Pokémon Legends: Z-A:

• The first attack against: your Pokémon, and it will always be a critical hit. I personally don’t like this, as it is an extremely rude way to play, yet I see no real harm in it, as it doesn’t seem to be a friendly competitive game, and I don’t see how it would be that kind of game.
• Active Battle System: Turn based RPG loops are a thing of the past. Both trainers and Pokémon are able to move around the field, and battles are played in real-time.
• Other attacks use Move: Cooldowns, which have varying times between recharge, rather than Power Points (PP) as with normal attacks.
• Action & Strategy: Ambush trainers with your environment, strategically switch your active Pokémon in the middle of a battle, and use moves that need to be performed within a radius or area of effect.
• Dynamic Day/Night Cycle: You will be scouring the Wild Zones of the city during the day and competing in the ZA Royale tournament of the city at night.