🔗 Share this article

I don't recall precisely when the custom began, but I always name every one of my Pokemon characters Malfunction.

Be it a main series title or a spinoff like Pokkén Tournament DX and Pokémon Go — the name always stays the same. Malfunction switches between male and female characters, featuring dark and violet locks. Sometimes their fashion is impeccable, like in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the newest addition in this enduring series (and one of the most fashion-focused entries). At other moments they're limited to the various academic attire designs of Pokémon Scarlet & Violet. Yet they remain Malfunction.

The Constantly Changing World of Pokémon Titles

Much like my trainers, the Pokémon games have evolved across releases, with certain superficial, some substantial. However at their core, they remain identical; they're always Pokemon through and through. The developers discovered an almost flawless mechanics system some three decades back, and just recently seriously tried to innovate on it with games like Pokémon Legends: Arceus (different timeline, your avatar is now in danger). Throughout all version, the fundamental mechanics cycle of capturing and fighting with adorable monsters has remained consistent for nearly as long as my lifetime.

Shaking the Mold in Pokémon Legends: Z-A

Similar to Arceus previously, with its absence of gyms and emphasis on compiling a creature catalog, Pokémon Legends: Z-A brings multiple deviations into that framework. It's set completely in a single location, the French capital-inspired Lumiose City of Pokémon X & Y, ditching the region-spanning adventures of previous titles. Pokémon are intended to coexist alongside humans, trainers and non-trainers alike, in ways we've only seen glimpses of before.

Far more drastic is Z-A's live-action battle system. This is where the franchise's near-perfect gameplay loop experiences its most significant evolution to date, replacing deliberate turn-based bouts with something more chaotic. And it's thoroughly enjoyable, even as I feel ready for another traditional release. Although these changes to the classic Pokémon formula sound like they create a completely new experience, Pokémon Legends: Z-A feels as recognizable as any other Pokémon title.

The Core of the Adventure: The Z-A Championship

When first arriving at Lumiose Metropolis, any intentions your custom avatar had as a tourist get abandoned; you're promptly enlisted by the female guide (for male avatars; the male guide for female characters) to join her team of battlers. You're gifted one of her Pokémon as your first partner and you're dispatched into the Z-A Championship.

The Royale is the epicenter of Pokémon Legends: Z-A. It's similar to the classic "arena symbols to final challenge" advancement from earlier titles. But here, you fight a handful of trainers to gain the opportunity to participate in a promotion match. Succeed and you will be elevated to the next rank, with the final objective of achieving the top rank.

Real-Time Combat: A New Approach

Character fights take place during nighttime, while navigating stealthily the designated combat areas is very enjoyable. I'm always attempting to surprise a rival and launch a free attack, since all actions occur instantaneously. Moves operate on recharge periods, indicating you and your opponent can sometimes strike simultaneously concurrently (and knock each other out simultaneously). It's much to get used to at first. Even after gaming for almost thirty hours, I still feel that there is plenty to learn in terms of using my Pokémon's moves in ways that complement each other. Positioning also factors as a major role during combat as your Pokémon will follow you around or move to specific locations to execute moves (certain ones are distant, whereas others need to be up close and personal).

The live combat makes battles progress so quickly that I find myself sometimes cycling of attacks in identical patterns, even when this results in a suboptimal strategy. There isn't moment to pause in Z-A, and numerous opportunities to become swamped. Pokémon battles rely on response post-move execution, and that data remains visible on the display in Z-A, but whips by quickly. Occasionally, you can't even read it since diverting attention from your adversary will result in certain doom.

Exploring Lumiose City

Outside of battle, you will traverse Lumiose Metropolis. It's fairly compact, although tightly filled. Far into the adventure, I continue to find new shops and rooftops to visit. It's also full of charm, and perfectly captures the vision of creatures and humans coexisting. Pidgey inhabit its pathways, flying away as you approach like the real-life pigeons obstructing my path while strolling in New York City. The Pan Trio monkeys gleefully hang on streetlights, and insect creatures like Kakuna attach themselves on branches.

A focus on urban life represents a fresh approach for Pokémon, and a welcome one. Nonetheless, exploring Lumiose becomes rote eventually. You may stumble upon an alley you never visited, but you wouldn't know it. The architecture lacks character, and most rooftops and sewer paths offer little variety. While I never visited Paris, the inspiration for the city, I've lived in NYC for almost ten years. It's a metropolis where no two blocks are the same, and all are alive with uniqueness that provide character. Lumiose City doesn't have that. It features tan buildings topped with colored roofs and flatly rendered balconies.

Where Lumiose City Truly Shines

Where the city really shines, surprisingly, is inside buildings. I adored the way creature fights in Sword and Shield take place in arena-like venues, giving them real weight and importance. On the flipside, battles in Scarlet and Violet happen on a court with two random people watching. It's a total letdown. Z-A strikes a middle ground between both extremes. You'll battle in restaurants with diners observing as they dine. A fancy battle society will extend an invitation to a tournament, and you will combat in its rooftop arena with a chandelier (not Chandelure) hanging above. My favorite location is the elegantly decorated base of a certain faction with atmospheric illumination and magenta walls. Several distinct combat settings overflow with personality that's absent from the larger city as a whole.

The Comfort of Repetition

Throughout the Championship, as well as quelling rogue Mega Evolved Pokémon and filling the Pokédex, there is an unavoidable feeling of, {"I