Pokemon Legends: Z-A — No Plusles or Minuns

Or, Pokemon Legends: Z-A, A List of Grievances and Greavards.

It is my great privilege to complain about the latest Pokemon games, to balance the positive against the negative and, ultimately, enjoy myself. It’s hard to see what the franchise has become, in many ways. I repeat my complaints with every installment.

Mostly, it comes down to:

Why don’t they look better?

Why is the story so poorly written?

Why is everything so poorly presented?

Why are mega stones locked behind playing ranked multiplayer?

Alas, Pokemon is what it is now. So, as is tradition, permit me to share the latest game’s Plusles and Minuns.

(Full spoilers ahead!)

Make a Wish Foundation

The story of Pokemon Legends: Z-A is, at best, inoffensive. An old man lets you stay in his hotel, and you help save the city from mysterious phenomenon causing Pokemon to go mega and go rogue.

It is rarely at its best.

Perhaps its greatest issue is the lack of player agency. You are strung along, made to help CEOs, syndicates, old fogeys, Pokemon, and everyone in between. No longer do we walk up to Team Rocket or Team Magma of our own accord. Instead, we are dragged from mission to mission, task to task, by wordy (if sometimes charming) characters.

We are given dialogue choices that are most often the same side of the same coin. You either defend the kid unhealthily obsessed with a streamer, or defend him. In fact, the only time the dialogue options are meaningfully different is at the very end of the main story.

The winner of the tournament at the crux of the game’s plot and loop is awarded a wish. The corporation who controls the city provides it, and once you’ve saved the city, and everyone in it, you are given several options for your wish. There’s just one problem.

Two of the options are lies. Pick them, and you’ll be forced to make another selection.

Wish for harmony between Pokemon and people?

“The company already does that!”

Wish there were more Pokemon in the city?

“The company already does that!”

Which leaves wishing for more battles as the only option.

To which the company responds, “Okay! Push the software update!”

…So the company was already going to do that. Your wish was always a part of the plan, because it was never your wish, just as it was never your story.

Need even more proof? You fight a battle to decide who will save the town. After you win, the rival character decides to do it herself, anyway.

Excuse me? What am I here for, exactly?

Team Toothless

A generous reading of the story would be to suggest that Team MZ (the etymology of which is straight up stupid) is a twist on expectations. Pokemon’s teams are their bad guys. Rocket, Aqua, Flare, Skull…

And here, you’re the team—Team MZ!

But it would be an incredible stretch to say so.

Perhaps the Team is the game’s criminal enterprise, the Rust Syndicate. This organized crime collective is run by Corbeau, who is more loan shark than man. We are introduced to him in the story because Taunie/Urbain (the “rival” of the game) signed a loan for 100,000 Poké so that she could make a video for social media in order to market AZ’s hotel.

Forgetting the fact that she already has a phone and therefore requires no money whatsoever to do marketing, the Rust Syndicate makes this our problem. Unfortunately for Taunie/Urbain, this loan came with astronomical interest rates that he/she conveniently failed to read because it was, duh, in the fine print.

The Rust Syndicate is notorious for providing these loans and throwing their weight around to force debtors into doing manual labor for them. Forced child labor? Extortion? Genuine crime? Now we’re getting somewhere!

Except not two Pokemon battles later, Rust Syndicate are the…good guys?

What just happened?

On a dime, Corbeau goes from morally vacant to sad boy with a sad past who is secretly the hero of the city. “Forget all the messed up things he did,” the game doesn’t even bother to say. “He’s nice, now!”

(Let it also be said that the adults in the situation are content to just shrug their shoulders and say, “Guess you gotta pay back the mob, kids.” Which, alright, fair enough. This is a world in which 10-year-olds can travel the continents on their own and wage war against criminal enterprises on a whim—just not this criminal enterprise—after all.)

(At least the ladder scene was genuinely funny.)

Alright, so the Rust Syndicate’s leader isn’t the game’s villain, either. Oh, I know! It must be X/Y’s villain, Lysandre, who returns as the mysterious L—

What’s that? He’s lost his memory, and stalks Zygarde as it protects the city?

That’s fine. Team Flare is (kind of) here. Maybe they’ll—

Oh. It’s just a couple of guys who run a food truck and whine about how people don’t like them because they’re Team Flare. The Team that tried to make the world beautiful by destroying it.

Then if it’s not them, is it Quesartico Incorporated? This megacorp has been cutting up Lumiose into Wild Zones without consulting the citizenship, after all. And this Jett lady seems pretty suspicious, the way she takes advantage of children and lies about granting wishes—

Never mind. She’s not the villain, either. Par for the course for a series who has made environmentalists the bad guys twice, I guess.

So far, it seems like the protestors who demanded the megacorp answer for what they’ve been doing to the city are the closest thing this game has to antagonists. Except they only showed up for one scene so that Corbeau could help save the day and show he’s a good guy, which, sorry, I’m still not buying.

Ultimately, Pokemon Legends: Z-A has no antagonist. No bite. Rampant Mega Energy makes Pokemon go crazy, and eventually turns the central tower into a monster. But no person was trying to make that happen. AZ built it, I guess? He’s hardly a satisfying antagonist considering he did that thousands of years ago and is helping to rectify his mistakes in the modern day.

Perhaps my read of the plot is uncharitable. But when the good guys are megacorps and extortionists (who target CHILDREN); when the player lacks any and all semblance of agency; and when past villains are treated as heroes because they’ve lost their memory, it’s hard to be charitable. At BEST maybe it’s about how naïve children get taken advantage of.

Otherwise, there’s no villain. No agency. No point.

Porous Presentation

You can effectively copy and paste my complaints about the game’s presentation from the other Switch Pokemon games, so I’ll try to be brief:

The game’s cutscenes are designed as if they’re voiced, but they’re not. Game Freak should either pay for global voice acting (not likely), use gibberish a la Animal Crossing or Monster Hunter, or leave characters silent, but design sequences for that scope.

Such as with text boxes the player can advance as they read. You know, like the rest of the game.

There is a disconnect between the way these scenes are staged and the way they are presented, and it’s past time the developer figured out a way to bridge the two.

It’s also crazy how much camera flashes, black outs, and cutaways do all the work. This doesn’t bother me as much as the cutscenes, especially in a time of ballooning budgets and crashing companies, but sometimes the game could use a little more actual animation. I mean, did we really have to black out when Taunie jumps to the next rooftop?

And let’s not forget how unlivable this city is. There’s no sense of place or purpose to most of the buildings. Are these all residential buildings? Office buildings? Why does every inch of the city look like every other inch of the city? This city and tower are ancient, so why is there no sense of history?

But I digress.

At least the character models are more expressive!

Do Me a Favor

The side quests in Pokemon Legends: Z-A are interspersed throughout the game’s run time, often providing worthwhile rewards such as TMs and held items on completion, but they are mostly boring fluff in execution. Even when they have a semblance of a story, they never really have a semblance of character. Help boiler plate NPC 1 catch a big Bergmite!

They basically run the gamut: catch a Pokemon; catch an alpha Pokemon; talk to this NPC, now talk to him here, now talk to him here; talk to an NPC in the rain; battle an NPC—it’s a good thing they usually only come around 3-5 at a time, because they can get very repetitive.

And while I appreciate not having to run back to deliver many of the quests, having the quest giver show up the second I’ve found the missing item or Pokemon they’re searching for does beg the question of why I was sent to look in the first place. Are they just making up tasks? It feels like the whole town is conspiring to keep me busy!

Be that as it may, some of the side quests in Pokemon Legends: Z-A do a decent job of showing off the personalities of specific Pokemon, or standing in as tutorials for how certain moves and strategies operate.

There are highlights among them. Restaurants provide a gauntlet of trainer battles that don’t allow for healing items. A run of ten is specifically designed to be as painful as possible, starting with Pokemon who apply toxic and ending with powerhouses like Gyarados and Mega Tyranitar. It requires a visit back to the drawing board, a reexamination of held items and move choices with an eye for longevity.

But such interesting side quests are few and far between.

The other activities fair better, mostly because they aren’t bogged down by inane chatter. Scaffold platforming challenges offer up items that increase EXP gain, Mega Shard drop rates, and Pokeball efficacy. This game’s research tasks are much more broadly applied than they were in Pokemon Legends: Arceus (Catch 50 fire types, rather than catch 15 Ponyta), but they lose a little something for that lack of specificity. And keeping up on the Pokedex is as satisfying as it’s ever been.

Ultimately, the side quests attempt to change things up during the course of the story. Instead of just engaging in battles, you talk and fast travel. Which, to be honest, is the bulk of what the story is, anyway.

Brand New Battles

NOW is the time to talk about the good! Because, as with every Switch Pokemon game, the outright mind-numbing elements of the game are counterbalanced by actual fun. Pokemon Legends: Arceus had what I consider to be an atrocity of forced innovation in its trainer battles. New maths in speed and damage values made an approachable, understandable, and predictable set of mechanics more obtuse.

Pokemon Legends: Z-A avoids this issue by avoiding classic Pokemon battles altogether. Instead, we have real-time, cool-down based combat that reimagines the same-old type charts and moves in new ways. Battles are fun, full stop.

Moves like Spikes, Whirlpool, and Fire Spin that make positioning a consideration are the big winners. Quick Attacks feel great, and Detect rewards patience in a satisfying way. Ranged moves can feel sluggish, since they force your Pokemon to first come to the trainer when what you want your Pokemon to do is just attack. They’ll occasionally get hung up on stage geometry, too, turning them into sitting Psyducks as they fail to reach their assigned spot and leaving themselves wide open to close combat. Some Alpha Pokemon (basically just bigger than average) will find themselves firing their range attacks above their opponents, too.

Alright, so there are some things that need to be smoothed out before the next iteration. At least there are fun windows of invulnerability to try and play with, moments that can turn moves like Heat Crash into a dodge/attack combo and elevate the skill ceiling of battles.

The bulk of battles take place during the nighttime sessions. Participation in the Z-A Royale may ultimately lead to an unsatisfying conclusion, but the nights themselves are anything but. Players are confined to small sections of the map and must battle trainer after trainer to grind out Points. These points are required to progress in the story, but are doled out in such bulk that achieving all of them in a single night is a cake walk.

Really, you’re in it for the money. By fighting more and more trainers, your earnings for the night are multiplied. Additionally, Bonus Cards provide missions that change up your approach, rewarding the use of certain moves, status effects, or stealth. Gathering and completing cards, beating trainers, and designing your loop to ensure they respawn with no downtime is the crux of these exciting sequences.

Too bad the trainers are pushovers. Some of the arenas weren’t conducive to rhythmic runs, either, but those are small complaints for what is probably the game’s best part.

That’s not to say there’s no challenge. While most of it comes in some of those aforementioned restaurant gauntlets, you can’t fall asleep at the wheel or your whole squad will be taken out.

A promise of greater challenge was sorely dropped. One early trainer battle presents an over-leveled Pidgeotto/Onix combo that forces players to use their wits to come out on top. But such a trainer was never repeated, which begs the question: what was he doing there in the first place?

Catching can be a little bit of a nightmare. Many Pokemon run away, which gives you at best a handful of chances to catch them. Mostly, these Pokemon (Eevee, Abra, Dratini and the like) spawn in very few locations and have low catch rates. Fail to catch them and you’ll have to come back when they’ve respawned.

On the one hand, I don’t mind this. Sneaking up to get a good angle can be thrilling, and having to work for a Pokemon isn’t new to Pokemon.

On the other hand, my brother and cousin both heard the little jingle that says there’s a shiny Pokemon, both turned to see it, and both watched it run/fly away before they could catch it.

Now that’s tragic.

The other tragedy is that there are no abilities in Pokemon Legends: Z-A, a swift and silent nerf to several Pokemon. What’s a Medicham without Pure Power? Mega Manectric without Intimidate? At least there are held items to inject some more strategy back into proceedings.

Abilities aside, Pokemon Legends: Z-A’s new style of combat is ultimately a successful attempt at trying something new, and I’d be remiss not to say so.

When Everyone’s Mega…

Mega-Evolutions are back, as well as basically every Pokemon who has ever had a Mega Evolution. Additionally, there are 25+ NEW Mega Evolutions, most of which were held secret for the game’s release. New Mega surprises were doled out at a great clip during the adventure, too, which helped with momentum.

Not every new design is great (Sorry, Pyroar). “More is more” isn’t exactly the more creative design space. But some are legitimately sweet, like Mega Drampa, Scolipede, Falinks, and Emboar. Unfortunately, the lack of abilities hurts here. Mawile and Medicham feel the loss of Huge and Pure Power acutely, and without abilities, the timing of using Mega Evolution is significantly less strategic.

As it stands, it’s just a “win more” mode, or, in specific boss battles, an “actually do damage” mode. This is even truer when so many of the game’s Pokemon have Megas. By the end of the game, only one Pokemon of my entire team of six DIDN’T have a Mega form. Sorry, Watchog.

In a way, every Mega just devalues every other Mega. Abilities would have mitigated this sufficiently, because they would have helped each one stand out more. Alas, press R3 to increase stats.

Mega evolving is less a tactical option and more a necessary part of the combat flow in Pokemon Legends: Z-A. Gather energy, do as much damage while Megad as possible, repeat.

Fashion Forward

When you’ve cashed in your medals after a night of Royale Pokemon battling, you’ve more or less got two choices when it comes to spending your money. Mega Stones? Snooze. Fashion?

Now you’re talking!

There is a multitude of options available in Pokemon Legends: Z-A, from shorts and pants to shirts and trainers. Ear rings? Check. Hats? Sure. Socks and shoes? Separate or together. The selection isn’t perfect, per se. There are startling holes in the fashion options, flip-flops among them.

No absence is more surprising than skirts and dresses. Even X and Y had many options of the latter, but here there’s no dresses and one skirt/tights combo. The other skirts are skorts, skirts in front, shorts in back.

It is a bizarre lack that cripples the variety of fashion on display.

At least nothing is gender locked (other than your rival, of course), letting everyone mix and match pieces to create unique looks.

The shopping experience in Pokemon Legends: Z-A itself is kind of bothersome. Several shopping centers dot the map of Lumiose, with each shop only selling a handful of items. Frequently, I’d have go to multiple shops to try and piece together an outfit that worked. The game would have been better for fewer shops, or at least an Animal Crossing-style closet where you can try on multiple pieces at once to get a better sense of how the finished ensemble will come together before you buy.

Speaking of shopping: why are we kicked out of the colorful screw upgrade menu every time we buy something?

Final Thoughts

Perhaps I’m too hard on Pokemon Legends: Z-A. After all, I did pour 30 hours into it over 9 days. Clearly I enjoyed myself. But that’s always the case with Pokemon. Even the Switch games. Even when the story is aimless. Even when the quests are vapid. Even when a lack of abilities leads to less identity and strategy for the Pokemon. Even when the Minuns are so hard to ignore (in part because they’re not here).

I wish Pokemon could find its stride again, to be so good in every facet that I can be swept up in the adventure like I was in the days of Heart Gold and Black, the days of Red and Crystal. Alas, the juggernaut stumbles along, missing even when it hits. A minus for every plus.

For more Pokemon rants, check out my feelings on Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, Pokemon Legends: Arceus, and Pokemon Sword and Shield.