Pokémon Legends: Z-A - A Fresh Transformation Yet Remaining Faithful to Its Roots

I don't recall exactly how the custom began, but I consistently call all my Pokémon trainers Malfunction.

Whether it's a core franchise game or a spinoff such as Pokkén Tournament DX along with Pokémon Go — the name always stays the same. Glitch switches between male and female avatars, with black and purple locks. Sometimes their style is impeccable, like in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the latest installment in the long-running franchise (and one of the more style-conscious entries). Other times they're confined to the assorted school uniform styles of Pokémon Scarlet & Violet. Yet they remain Glitch.

The Ever-Evolving Realm of Pokémon Games

Similar to my trainers, the Pokémon games have evolved across installments, with certain superficial, others significant. However at their core, they remain the same; they're consistently Pokemon to the core. Game Freak discovered a nearly perfect mechanics system some 30 years ago, and has only seriously tried to evolve upon it with games such as Pokémon Legends: Arceus (new era, your avatar is now in danger). Throughout every iteration, the core gameplay loop of capturing and fighting alongside adorable monsters has remained steady for almost the same duration as I've been alive.

Shaking Conventions with Pokémon Legends: Z-A

Like Arceus before it, with its lack of arenas and emphasis on creating a Pokédex, Pokémon Legends: Z-A introduces several changes into that framework. It's set entirely in one place, the French capital-inspired Lumiose Metropolis of Pokémon X and Y, ditching the region-spanning adventures of previous titles. Pokemon are meant to live together with people, battlers and non-trainers alike, in ways we've only glimpsed before.

Far more radical than that Z-A's real-time battle system. This is where the series' near-perfect core cycle undergoes its biggest transformation yet, replacing deliberate sequential bouts with more frenetic action. And it's immensely fun, despite I find myself eager for another traditional release. Though these alterations to the classic Pokemon recipe seem like they form a completely new adventure, Pokémon Legends: Z-A feels as recognizable as every other Pokémon title.

The Core of the Adventure: The Z-A Royale

When initially reaching at Lumiose Metropolis, any intentions your created character had as a tourist get abandoned; you're immediately enlisted by the female guide (for male avatars; the male guide if female) to become part of her team of trainers. You're gifted a creature from them as your starter and are sent into the Z-A Championship.

The Royale is the epicenter in Pokémon Legends: Z-A. It's comparable to the traditional "arena symbols to final challenge" advancement of past games. However here, you battle a handful of trainers to earn the opportunity to participate in an advancement bout. Succeed and you'll be elevated to the next rank, with the ultimate goal of reaching rank A.

Live-Action Combat: An Innovative Approach

Character fights occur at night, while navigating stealthily the assigned battle zones is very enjoyable. I'm constantly trying to surprise an opponent and launch an unopposed move, since everything happens in real time. Attacks function with recharge periods, meaning you and your opponent may occasionally strike simultaneously concurrently (and defeat each other at once). It's much to get used to initially. Despite playing for nearly thirty hours, I continue to feel like there's much to master regarding employing my creatures' attacks in methods that complement each other. Positioning also plays a major role during combat as your Pokémon will follow you around or move to specific locations to perform attacks (some are long-range, whereas others need to be in close proximity).

The real-time action causes fights progress so quickly that I find myself sometimes cycling through moves in identical patterns, even when this amounts to a less effective approach. There's no time to pause during Z-A, and plenty of chances to become swamped. Pokémon battles rely on response post-move execution, and that information remains visible on screen within Z-A, but whips by rapidly. Sometimes, you can't even read it because taking your eyes off your adversary will result in immediate defeat.

Navigating Lumiose City

Outside of battle, you'll explore Lumiose Metropolis. It's fairly compact, although densely packed. Deep into the game, I continue to find unseen stores and rooftops to explore. It is also rich with character, and perfectly captures the concept of Pokémon and people coexisting. Pidgey populate its sidewalks, flying away as you approach like the real-life pigeons obstructing my path when walking through NYC. The Pan Trio monkeys gleefully hang from lampposts, and insect creatures like Kakuna cling on branches.

A focus on urban life is a new direction for Pokémon, and a welcome one. Even so, navigating the city becomes rote eventually. You may stumble upon an alley you never visited, but you wouldn't know it. The architecture is devoid of personality, and many elevated areas and sewer paths offer little variety. Although I never visited the French capital, the model behind the city, I reside in New York for nearly a decade. It's a city where every district are the same, and all are alive with uniqueness that provide character. Lumiose City doesn't have that. It features beige structures with blue or red roofs and simply designed terraces.

Where The Metropolis Really Excels

Where the city really shines, surprisingly, is inside buildings. I loved the way creature fights in Sword & Shield take place in arena-like venues, providing them genuine significance and importance. On the flipside, battles in Scarlet and Violet take place on a court with two random people watching. It's very disappointing. Z-A strikes a middle ground between the two. You will fight in restaurants with diners observing as they dine. A fancy battle society will invite you to a tournament, and you will combat in its rooftop arena under a lighting fixture (not the Pokemon) hanging above. The most memorable spot is the elegantly decorated headquarters of the Rust Syndicate with atmospheric illumination and purple partitions. Various individual battle locales overflow with personality that's absent from the larger city as a whole.

The Familiarity of Routine

Throughout the Championship, along with quelling rogue powered-up creatures and completing the creature index, there is an unavoidable feeling of, {"I