Pokémon™ Legends: Z-A

[BLUEVOODU]

Pokémon™ Legends: Z-A has come out for the Switch 2.  There appeared to be some dogging on the early game.  However, It appears to be getting decent ratings though lower for a Pokemon game.   I watched my son play some of the newer Pokemon games... but I didn't get into them like I did many of the older variants (yellow, red, blue...etc).  Pokémon™ Legends: Z-A looks interesting for sure... just curious if it's worth the price of admission.

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Have you played this game?  What are your thoughts on this game so far? 

Thoughts, comments... post it up!

[Mai Valentine]

I've played Pokemon since Pokemon Silver came out in 2000 and I have been a fan of Pokemon in general since before that because of the anime. So I may be biased, I suppose. But I love Pokemon Legends ZA. I find the battle system pretty fun. I also think that being limited to one city is not as bad as it sounds. It's big enough that I wish they had added the skates from the original XY.  I mean you can fast travel once you visit a place once but it would have been fun to skate around.

As for the price issue. Did I pay more for it than I did for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33? Yes. Am I going to play it more? Also yes. The way the story in Legends ZA is structured, I am finding it fun to start new save files on different profiles so I can play through the game with a different team. For now, there isn't a whole lot after you beat the main story to do besides shiny hunt or do pvp (which is pretty fun), but they'll add more stuff like they did with Pokemon Scarlet/Violet, which is still getting 7 star Tera raids even now (if you didn't play ScarVi, the 7 star raids are a chance to get Pokemon with a special title that displays when you send it out in battle).

The player customization in Legends ZA is also top tier. I've spent a lot of time and in game money checking out all the clothing stores and buying different things. It's definitely a step up from ScarVi. It could use more hairstyles but I assume they will add more with DLC.

My only real complaint about Pokemon Legends AZ is that it's clear that they are trying to go in a direction where they really need to add voice acting to the game to have the kind of impact they are going for. They can keep a silent protagonist but the NPCs should definitely be voiced.

[BLUEVOODU]

@Mai Valentine  --> Did you ever go back to Pokemon Blue, Red, and Yellow at any point?

I think my son is going to get this game at some point.  This looks like a great addition to the Pokemon Series.  I've had my fair share of complaints of the last couple releases (long story)... but I also dig the series a lot and have many things that I like as well.  I think it was mostly the odd looking "motorcycle" that was off-putting.  I know... picky.

[Mai Valentine]

I don't go back to the older games often. The QoL in newer games is just too hard to give up. I always hated having to designate Pokemon to be HM mons especially if the move wasn't a good one to actually use in battle. Starting with gen 7 (Sun/Moon) you just have ride Pokemon that can fly or surf for you.

Also starting in gen 8 you can access your Pokemon boxes at any time without having to go to a Pokemon Center each time.

And starting with Legends Arceus, (technically also gen 8 ), you can even change Pokemon's moves easily without a move tutor/move deleter.

So basically if you're looking for a Switch experience that's closer to the classic style, Sword/Shield or Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl are closer to what you would want. Scarlet/Violet is more open world although it still follows the gym battle style.

Legends Arceus and Legends ZA both have more experimental styles so they're good if you're tired of classic Pokemon.

Let's Go Eevee/Pikachu have really cute graphics but they're basically just Kanto remakes with Pokemon Go (yes the mobile one) catching mechanics. Good for kids, though.