🔗 Share this article

I don't recall precisely when the tradition began, however I consistently call every one of my Pokemon characters 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. Malfunction switches between male and female characters, with dark and violet locks. Sometimes their fashion is flawless, like in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the newest addition in this enduring series (and among the more style-conscious entries). At other moments they're confined to the assorted school uniform styles from Pokémon Scarlet & Violet. But they're always Malfunction.

The Ever-Evolving World of Pokémon Games

Much like my trainers, the Pokémon games have evolved between installments, some cosmetic, others significant. However at their heart, they stay identical; they're always Pokemon to the core. Game Freak discovered a nearly perfect mechanics system approximately 30 years ago, and has only seriously tried to evolve upon it with games like Pokémon Legends: Arceus (new era, your avatar faces peril). Throughout every version, the fundamental mechanics cycle of catching and battling alongside charming creatures has stayed steady for almost the same duration as my lifetime.

Breaking Conventions with Pokémon Legends: Z-A

Similar to Arceus before it, with its absence of gyms and focus on compiling a creature catalog, Pokémon Legends: Z-A introduces several deviations to that formula. It takes place entirely in one place, the Paris-inspired Lumiose Metropolis of Pokémon X & Y, abandoning the expansive journeys of previous titles. Pokemon are intended to live together with people, battlers and civilians, in manners we have merely seen glimpses of before.

Far more drastic than that Z-A's live-action battle system. This is where the series' near-perfect gameplay loop undergoes its biggest evolution yet, swapping methodical turn-based fights for more frenetic action. And it is immensely fun, despite I feel ready for another turn-based entry. Though these alterations to the classic Pokémon formula seem like they create an entirely fresh experience, Pokémon Legends: Z-A is as familiar as every 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 immediately recruited by Taunie (for male avatars; Urbain for female characters) to join her team of battlers. You receive a creature from them as your first partner and you're dispatched to participate in the Z-A Championship.

The Royale serves as the centerpiece in Pokémon Legends: Z-A. It's similar to the classic "arena symbols to final challenge" advancement from earlier titles. However here, you fight several trainers to earn the chance to compete in a promotion match. Succeed and you'll be promoted to the next rank, with the ultimate goal of reaching rank A.

Real-Time Combat: A New Frontier

Character fights take place at night, while navigating stealthily the designated battle zones is quite entertaining. I'm always trying to get a jump on an opponent and launch an unopposed move, since everything happens instantaneously. Moves function with recharge periods, indicating you and your opponent may occasionally attack each other concurrently (and knock each other out simultaneously). It's much to adjust to at first. Even after playing for nearly thirty hours, I still feel like there's plenty to learn in terms of employing my creatures' attacks in methods that work together synergistically. Positioning also plays a significant part in battles as your Pokémon will follow you around or go to designated spots to execute moves (certain ones are distant, whereas others need to be up close and personal).

The real-time action causes fights progress so quickly that I find myself repeating sequences through moves in identical patterns, even when this results in a less effective approach. There isn't moment to pause in Z-A, and numerous chances to become swamped. Pokémon battles rely on response post-move execution, and that information is still present on screen within Z-A, but flashes past rapidly. Sometimes, you cannot process it since taking your eyes off your opponent will spell certain doom.

Exploring Lumiose Metropolis

Outside of battle, you'll explore Lumiose Metropolis. It's relatively small, though tightly filled. Far into the adventure, I continue to find unseen stores and rooftops to visit. It's also full of charm, and fully realizes the vision of Pokémon and people coexisting. Pidgey inhabit its pathways, flying away when you get near like the real-life city birds obstructing my path while strolling in New York City. The monkey trio gleefully hang from lampposts, and bug-Pokémon such as Kakuna cling to trees.

A focus on urban life represents a fresh approach for Pokémon, and a welcome one. Nonetheless, navigating the city becomes rote over time. You may stumble upon a passage you haven't been to, but you wouldn't know it. The architecture lacks character, and many elevated areas and underground routes offer little variety. While I never visited Paris, the model behind Lumiose, I reside in New York for almost ten years. It's a metropolis where every district are the same, and all are vibrant with differences that provide character. Lumiose Metropolis doesn't have that. It features beige structures with blue or red roofs and flatly rendered terraces.

Where The Metropolis Truly Shines

In which Lumiose City truly stands out, oddly enough, is inside buildings. I adored the way creature fights within Sword and Shield take place in arena-like venues, giving them genuine significance and importance. On the flipside, battles in Scarlet & Violet take place on a court with few spectators watching. It's very disappointing. Z-A strikes a middle ground between the two. You'll battle in restaurants with diners observing as they dine. A fancy battle society will invite you to a competition, and you will combat in its rooftop arena under a lighting fixture (not the Pokemon) suspended overhead. My favorite location is the elegantly decorated base of a certain faction with atmospheric illumination and purple partitions. Several distinct battle locales brim with character that's absent from the overall metropolis as a whole.

The Comfort of Repetition

Throughout the Royale, as well as subduing wild Mega Evolved Pokémon and filling the creature index, there is an unavoidable sense that, {"I