Pokemon Legends: Z-A Review

Pokemon Legends: Z-A reviewed by Rebekah Valentine on Nintendo Switch 2, also available on Nintendo Switch 1. Pokemon Legends: Z-A finally feels like Game Freak hitting its stride in Pokemon’s 3D era. Lumiose City may not be visually thrilling, but exciting Pokemon encounters, well-written characters, and amusing side quests still make it fun to explore while also serving as the ideal vehicle for a more intimate and emotionally mature Pokemon story. Z-A’s total battle system overhaul from turn-based to action also works surprisingly well, managing to be intuitive for series veterans and engaging to play casually while introducing all sorts of intriguing possibilities for deeper, competitive play. And while Z-A could use a little performance help on the Switch 1, it’s a marked improvement from its predecessors and significantly better if you’re playing on Switch 2. After several years of putting the controller down with a deep sigh at the end of a Pokemon review, it sure is refreshing to once again be excited to keep playing for hours more.