Pokémon Legends: Z-A (2025)

[Glen-i]

2 starters from the same generation feels strange. Tepig just stands out like a sore thumb now!

I'm not complaining though. There's a real chance that Feraligatr will pull a Samurott and go from decent to awesome, and let's face it, Meganium is the most useless starter ever, so whatever new form it gets here can't possibly be worse.

I haven't been able to see the footage, but going by Serebii, the battle system seems to have some Strategy RPG positioning elements. Intriguing... No idea whether abilities are a thing though, so still sitting on the fence.

I dig the HUD element that show battle messages on the side. ("Not very effective", etc) Long overdue!

@Julius, you asked this in the presents thread, but I'll answer it here. 2 Flying types with one Rock Slide, you know?

The main thing is that I want battles to be the focus again. Legends: Arceus and Scarlet/Violet treat battles as such an afterthought.

Scarlet/Violet doesn't have trainers force you into battle, and Legends actively punishes you for engaging in battle with wild Pokémon. Although that second game is a moot point, because the battle system in Legends is utter crap.

Look, nothing wrong with experimenting, but Legends' battle system does nothing right. It needs to be thrown out, but these are the biggest issues I have.

- The speed stat determines how often your Pokémon attack instead of when they go, so really fast Pokémon get to have twice, or sometimes three times as many turns as their opponent. It's so incredibly unfair in a series where turn economy is so important.

- There's no abilities. Which sucks. Toxicroak might as well be the same Pokémon as Sneasler, except Sneasler has a higher speed stat, so Toxicroak is pointless.

- The EV's in this game are wack. You can maximise every stat like in the Game Boy games. No strategic thought needed and it makes every Pokémon far too tanky. Let's Go did a similar thing and there's no competitive scene for that. Gee, I wonder why? Then again, you can't battle other players in Legends, almost like Game Freak knew the battles sucked.

- The moves themselves. There's so few. And some unique ones, like Stealth Rock, got changed to just be stuff like "Rock version of Fire Spin". It's awful, and makes the Pokémon blend into each other even more.

- Wild Pokémon can run away if you decide to battle them. Freaking why? No-one likes this, if you say you do, you are a liar.

Anyway, non battle stuff I'll change? The open world, that's a given. I want actual landmarks with people to talk to, not just a field with a mountain somewhere. There's been two games with that now, and I'm sick to death of it. Z-A taking place in Lumiose City is promising, but unless I can barge into people's homes and demand they spout a sentence or two at me, what's the point? I fully expect to be sent out into boring fields that look nothing like Kalos at some point though, so...

The Pokédex in Legends is cute, but filling it got old, really fast. I love catching them all. But I don't love having to catch 20 Magikarp, and then watch it use Splash 15 times for it to actually count. Catch it once, get the Pokédex entry. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Legends is just a glorified catching simulator, and that's not why I play Pokémon. If it was, I would've played Pokémon Go. I don't care if you can manually throw the ball, it just amounts to sneak up behind Pokémon (Stealth? Ugh...), Huck at ball at it, done. It's boring. Glad Sca/Vi didn't do that...

So yeah, still on the fence, need to know more about how progression works.

Edited Thursday at 05:03 PM by Glen-i

[MindFreak]

Looks fine, the new battle mechanics look interesting and are sure to spice things up. However, I'm not keen on the city being the only place to explore, as it can't possibly be as varied as Sinnoh was in Arceus. 

We also didn't get any hints as to what the story is in the game in the trailers.

[Ashley]

1 hour ago, Glen-i said:

unless I can barge into people's homes and demand they spout a sentence or two at me, what's the point?

 

[bob]

Looks like pure shit. 

Honestly the relationship between Pokemon fans and Pokemon games is like that of an abusive husband and his wife. Everyone keeps telling her that he's bad news, and she should leave him, but she reckons he can change, and this time it'll be different. But he ain't going to change, not if she keeps coming back even when he refuses to change his behaviour.

[EEVILMURRAY]

Because Arceus was set in the past, I was expecting something similar here, like some scandal while the Eiffel Tower was being built or something, or even further back than that. Helping out and watching Jubilife Village grow was most satisfying. But this appears to be set after X and Y(?), unless AZ was a hotelier before he got into the war business.

I was looking forward to checking out pre-gameworld landscapes like Arceus and doing the random shit they wanted - except to evolve, the stuff they made you do with Basculegion was bollocks. Instead we have small wild zones which you know will be small and if they have themed ones in this city, like a small active volcano area where the fire types are and everyone just walks on the pavement outside as if poses no danger, s'gonna look stupid.

Instead it seems they're doing the usual thing of adding small extra mechanics as if it was something people had asked for, going on roofs of buildings, wow... I always thought something was lacking in previous entries, not just the top floor of buildings.

 

The Onix looked a bit tiny too. 

[Ashley]

Yeah I did expect the Legends line to be set at different times in the past. 

I assume the legend in this instance is AZ but even so, the previous Legends game felt unique because of its setting and this 🤷‍♂️

[bob]

Is this not set in the future? I thought that's what the whole bit at the beginning was about - the growth of technology and the holograms etc.

[Ashley]

56 minutes ago, bob said:

Is this not set in the future? I thought that's what the whole bit at the beginning was about - the growth of technology and the holograms etc.

I think it is meant to be set in the future, but looks like its about 2 years later than Scarlett/Violet. 

[Glen-i]

54 minutes ago, bob said:

Is this not set in the future? I thought that's what the whole bit at the beginning was about - the growth of technology and the holograms etc.

Kinda? Not sure how far, but it is deffo set after X/Y.

Although whether they frame it as the future, or "current time" is still to be seen. Scarlet/Violet has an android implanted with memories that totally cheats at Pokémon battling, so who the hell knows?

And @Ashley there, replying with my guess while I'm typing it. Bloody mod privileges, I tell you!

[Ashley]

1 hour ago, Glen-i said:

And @Ashley there, replying with my guess while I'm typing it. Bloody mod privileges, I tell you!

My base speed is obviously higher than yours