🔗 Share this article

I don't recall precisely when the tradition started, however I consistently call all my Pokémon trainers Glitch.

Be it a core franchise game or a spinoff such as Pokkén Tournament DX and Pokémon Go — the moniker always stays the same. Malfunction alternates from male to female characters, featuring dark and violet hair. Occasionally their style is impeccable, as seen in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the newest installment in the long-running series (and one of the more fashion-focused releases). Other times they're limited to the assorted academic attire styles of Pokémon Scarlet & Violet. Yet they remain Glitch.

The Constantly Changing Realm of Pokemon Games

Much like my characters, the Pokémon games have transformed across releases, with certain superficial, others significant. However at their core, they remain identical; they're always Pokemon through and through. Game Freak uncovered an almost flawless mechanics system approximately 30 years ago, and just recently truly attempted to evolve upon it with games such as Pokémon Legends: Arceus (different timeline, your character is now in danger). Across all version, the core gameplay loop of catching and battling with adorable monsters has stayed steady for nearly as long as I've been alive.

Shaking Conventions in Pokémon Legends: Z-A

Similar to Arceus before it, with its lack of arenas and emphasis on compiling a Pokédex, Pokémon Legends: Z-A introduces multiple changes to that framework. It takes place entirely in one place, the French capital-inspired Lumiose City of Pokémon X and Y, ditching the region-spanning journeys of previous games. Pokémon are intended to coexist with people, battlers and civilians, in ways we have merely seen glimpses of previously.

Even more radical is Z-A's real-time combat mechanics. This is where the series' near-perfect gameplay loop undergoes its biggest evolution yet, swapping deliberate sequential fights for more frenetic action. And it is thoroughly enjoyable, despite I find myself eager for a new turn-based entry. 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 Heart of the Adventure: The Z-A Royale

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

The Royale serves as the centerpiece of Pokémon Legends: Z-A. It's similar to the traditional "gym badges to Elite Four" progression from earlier titles. But here, you battle a handful of trainers to gain the opportunity to compete in a promotion match. Win and you'll be promoted to the next rank, with the final objective of achieving rank A.

Real-Time Battles: An Innovative Frontier

Trainer battles occur at night, and navigating stealthily the designated battle zones is very entertaining. I'm always attempting to get a jump on an opponent and unleash an unopposed move, since everything happens instantaneously. Attacks function with recharge periods, indicating both combatants can sometimes strike simultaneously at the same time (and knock each other out simultaneously). It's a lot to adjust to at first. Despite playing for nearly thirty hours, I continue to feel that there is plenty to learn in terms of employing my creatures' attacks in methods that work together synergistically. Positioning also factors as a significant part during combat since your creatures will follow you around or go to designated spots to perform attacks (some are long-range, whereas others must be up close and personal).

The real-time action makes battles go so fast that I often repeating sequences of attacks in identical patterns, even when this results in a suboptimal strategy. There isn't moment to breathe during Z-A, and plenty of chances to get overwhelmed. Creature fights rely on feedback post-move execution, and that data is still present on the display in Z-A, but whips by quickly. Sometimes, you cannot process it because taking your eyes off your adversary will result in immediate defeat.

Navigating Lumiose City

Outside of battle, you will traverse Lumiose City. It's fairly compact, though densely packed. Deep into the game, I continue to find new shops and rooftops to visit. It's also full of charm, and fully realizes the concept of creatures and humans living together. Pidgey inhabit its pathways, taking flight as you approach similar to actual city birds getting in my way while strolling through NYC. The Pan Trio monkeys gleefully hang on streetlights, and insect creatures like Kakuna attach themselves to trees.

An emphasis on urban life is a new direction for the franchise, and a positive change. Even so, navigating the city becomes rote eventually. You might discover a passage you haven't been to, but it feels identical. The architecture lacks character, and most rooftops and underground routes provide minimal diversity. While I never visited Paris, the inspiration for the city, I've lived in NYC for almost ten years. It's a city 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 Lumiose City truly stands out, surprisingly, is indoors. I loved the way creature fights in Sword & Shield take place in football-like stadiums, giving them real weight and importance. Conversely, battles in Scarlet & Violet take place on a court with few spectators watching. It's a total letdown. Z-A strikes a middle ground between the two. You'll battle in restaurants with diners observing while they eat. A fancy battle society will extend an invitation to a tournament, and you'll battle in its rooftop arena under a lighting fixture (not Chandelure) suspended overhead. My favorite location is the elegantly decorated base of the Rust Syndicate with atmospheric illumination and magenta walls. Various individual battle locales brim with character that's absent from the larger city as a whole.

The Familiarity of Routine

During the Championship, along with quelling rogue powered-up creatures and filling the creature index, there's an inescapable sense that, {"I