My review of Legends ZA
I've been seeing a lot of people talk about Legends ZA and I thought I should throw my hat into the fray. It's also been a week since the game released so I want to give a review of it. I want to say the bullying on both sides needs to stop. People are allowed to criticize the game and people are allowed to like the game. Plain and simple. Now, onto my review.
I give the game a 6.5-7/10. This was not Pokemon's best but it definitely wasn't the worst.
Let's start with the positives. The character customization in this game is the best it's been since US/UM. Hair colors, eye colors, outfits, everything is just so good. SS had fine outfits but I hated that big ugly bag. Legend Arceus was better but the majority of the outfits weren't for me and I didn't like most of the shoes. SV is definitely the worst in terms of character customization. Only having that school outfits sucked a lot and no, the DLC didn't prove to be much better.
The characters in this game are still just amazing. Pokemon has been doing better with their characters in recent years, especially with SV. Hop was okay and the 3DS era definitely did not have memorable characters. (Don't believe me, what are the names of your five rivals in XY without googling them?)
The Pokemon look just amazing. The mega Pokemon are fantastic, except for Mega Starmie. That mega sucks. Talk about a lazy design. (Anyone have a favorite and least favorite New Mega that is not a starter or Mega Starmie? Let me know. I would love to hear opinions.) Favorite is definitely Froslass and Drampa. Least favorite is Clefable.
The Rouge Pokemon were fun. I loved battling the frenzied Pokemon in Legends Arceus so the Rouge Mega Pokemon were cool.
The end of the story is good. I enjoyed the ending and it definitely raised my score. (No spoilers here.)
Performance wise. I had zero issues. Compared to SV where the bugs were a plenty and the lag was heavy. This is definitely the best performing game. I will be honest. I played the Switch 2 version so I had no issues but did anyone who played the switch 1 version have issues?
The catching mechanics are nice. I wish there was more places for you to hide since this game heavy encourages battling but that's just a nitpick for me.
The shiny Pokemon are perfect. The shiny never despawns, unless it runs away or is defeated and you don't catch it in time. There is a sound and a sparkle animation when you see it. This brings back a beloved feature in Legends Arceus and uses something from SV where the shiny was easy to catch especially if it was a Pokemon that tended to run away.
Yeah, that's about all I can say positively about the game. Now for the negatives.
Voice acting. OMG, Pokemon NEEDS to add voice acting. When I played the game during its opening scene, I couldn't help but think, this really needs voice acting. I know that this has been a major complaint since SS but Yeah, we need this in game. It would help elevate the game and give a better reason for it to be as expensive as it is.
The graphics. Yeah, I will talk about this, no, it needs to be said. We deserve amazing graphics. The wall textures are so flat. Once you notice, it doesn't go away. It's kinda embarrassing that we are almost 10 generations in and this is a problem for a switch game. I would understand this in DS game, or a Nintendo 64 game but in 2025 and on the Nintendo Switch, that's not okay. The trees and the grass look like that are from the Nintendo 64 era. Am I expecting a level of AAA games or PC games? No, that's ridiculous. The PS5 and PC preform at a different level than the switch but let's be real, the flat walls, bad trees, bushes, and grass aren't great. I know most people don't pay attention to that, I'll admit I more will play a game for its story and not the graphics but I've seen people who argue about the game complain about this the most. I think these are valid. They want what's best for fans and we deserve something amazing.
The beginning of the story for Legends ZA is kinda boring. It takes almost two hours for you to get out of the stupid tutorial just to start exploring the city. TWO HOURS! I've been playing Pokemon for almost 20 years. I don't need a tutorial on how to battle or catch Pokemon. These should be optional. The only mandatory tutorial should be the new battle system. We should be getting tutorials on IVs and EVs, natures, base stats, and the STAB system. These are just as important for battling and yet most people are still unaware of these. Even people who have been Pokemon fans for years.
The ranking system is a bit boring. I like the Infinite Royale since it makes up the ranks you skip mid-game but again, just going up the ranking system as being part the "main story" is just weird. Not bad, but weird and again, it's just a bit boring.
The battle system is weird. Not bad, just weird. I think it's cool but only battling at night is kinda bizarre and I don't know how to feel about it.
The city feels small and limited.. Let me be clear, there is a lot to do in the city but only staying in Lumiose City is not okay. For all of XY's faults, I still enjoyed the Kalos region and would be fine with exploring the region again but you can't leave the city. With the price of the game, only staying in Lumiose just doesn't feel worth it.
The wild areas are so small. Each wild area has about 6-7 Pokemon with some areas having 8 and area 20, which isn't available till the post game, having 14. This doesn't make catching Pokemon fun. I have to go to each wild area just to find a specific Pokemon and most areas are the size of my backyard or it's even smaller. (This does fall into the city being small and limited.) The main reasons the wild areas worked in Legends Arceus is that you had a wide area to explore with some places having stronger Pokemon that would be impossible to catch. Seeing a strong alpha trigger a sense of fear in me. This game does the same but it's not as strong as it was in Legends Arceus. In this aspect, the wild areas are one of the more frustrating aspects of the game.
I found the game to be pretty easy. Course, I've been playing for over 20 years and my team consisted of Emboar, Gardevoir, Ampharos, Gyarados, Garchomp, and Absol. All mega Pokemon, with many of them being the best in terms of their typing. So, this was more of a nitpick rather than something else. I just wanted to add a point about the easiness of more recent games.
I know I had a lot more negative things to say about the game but overall, I still had fun with the game despite my grievances with it. I don't think the game is worth $60-$70. It's worth at least $30 maybe $35 but I wouldn't go higher than $40. If you want the game, then by all means, get it. But it's not a game that you need to rush out to buy. Keep in mind, it's being theorize that they only spent about $12 million to make this game. I'm sorry but that is ridiculous. Pokemon is one of, if not, the most recognizable things on the planet. They should not be spending just a few million on a Pokemon game. They shouldn't be doing a AAA budget like what Concord did last year or many other AAA games but I want these games to be done right. It doesn't matter if it's mainly a kids game. Kids deserve amazing games, movies, and shows. We, as Pokemon fans, deserve the best Pokemon has to offer and sadly I don't think Legends ZA delivered on that.
Again, I want to point out that people are allowed to have issues with the game. I have seen plenty of YouTubers, especially the ones that I follow say that they won't buy the game. Their main criticism do involve the graphics. Palworld looks way better than a main line Pokemon game and that game only costs $30! I'm not saying that Palworld is better, I haven't played it so I can't say if it is or isn't. But it's ridiculous that we are still experiencing these many common issues within the main line games. I do agree with what the critics say and that Nintendo/the Pokemon Company take advantage of their fans. However, we should not resort to being bullies online because we disagree with what others say. That is wrong. People are allowed to have their own opinions about these games.
You don't have to agree with them but you have to see why they are saying this and where they are coming from. Many people, including myself, have been Pokemon fans for decades, I feel since the 3DS era, Pokemon has gone downhill with some wins, like US/UM, Legends Arceus, and SV and some losses, like SS, XY, and SM. If you have played the game, don't say it's the best game ever, 10/10 unless you absolutely feel that way. When you say it's the best game ever, you put high exceptions on the game for other people and when they play it, they are disappointed by the end.
Be honest in the game review. I don't think the Metacritic score is right on either side. Game Journalists are idiots. There's a video of a game journalist with his poison type team losing to an alpha bellsprout. Which is embarrassing. I caught that sucker early on. (Course, Game Journalists are terrible at video games.) But on the average score, I don't think the game is a 4.5. 6.5-7/10 is my score. Not the best game, but not the worst. Is it replayable? Yeah but it will depend who you ask.
Anyway, that's my take on it. To those who have played the game or seen gameplay of it, what did you think? Favorite new mega? Least favorite mega? Favorite character design? Favorite new character? What score would you give this game?
