🔗 Share this article

I don't recall exactly how the tradition started, but I always name all my Pokémon trainers Malfunction.

Whether it's a main series game or a spinoff such as Pokkén Tournament DX along with Pokémon Go — the moniker never changes. Malfunction alternates between male and female avatars, featuring black and purple hair. Occasionally their style is flawless, as seen in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the latest addition in this enduring franchise (and among the most fashion-focused releases). At other moments they're limited to the assorted academic attire styles from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Yet they're always Malfunction.

The Ever-Evolving Realm of Pokémon Titles

Much like my trainers, the Pokemon titles have evolved across releases, some superficial, some significant. However at their core, they stay identical; they're always Pokémon through and through. The developers discovered an almost flawless gameplay formula some 30 years ago, and has only seriously tried to innovate upon it with games such as Pokémon Legends: Arceus (different timeline, your avatar faces peril). Across every version, the fundamental mechanics cycle of capturing and fighting alongside adorable monsters has remained consistent for nearly the same duration as my lifetime.

Shaking the Mold with Pokémon Legends: Z-A

Similar to Arceus before it, featuring lack of arenas and focus on creating a creature catalog, Pokémon Legends: Z-A introduces multiple changes to that framework. It takes place completely in one place, the French capital-inspired Lumiose Metropolis from Pokémon X and Y, abandoning the region-spanning adventures of earlier titles. Pokémon are meant to live together with humans, trainers and non-trainers alike, in manners we've only glimpsed before.

Even more drastic is Z-A's live-action combat mechanics. This is where the series' almost ideal core cycle undergoes its biggest evolution to date, swapping deliberate turn-based bouts for something more chaotic. And it is immensely fun, despite I feel eager for another turn-based release. Though these changes to the traditional Pokemon recipe sound like they form an entirely fresh adventure, Pokémon Legends: Z-A is as familiar as every other Pokemon game.

The Core of the Adventure: The Z-A Championship

When first arriving at Lumiose Metropolis, any intentions your created character planned as a visitor get abandoned; you're immediately recruited by Taunie (for male avatars; the male guide if female) to join their squad of trainers. You receive a creature from them as your first partner and you're dispatched to participate in the Z-A Royale.

The Royale is the epicenter of Pokémon Legends: Z-A. It's comparable to the traditional "arena symbols to final challenge" advancement of past games. But here, you battle several opponents to earn the chance to participate in an advancement bout. Win and you'll be elevated to the next rank, with the ultimate goal of reaching rank A.

Live-Action Combat: An Innovative Approach

Character fights occur during nighttime, while navigating stealthily the designated battle zones is quite enjoyable. I'm always trying to get a jump on an opponent and launch an unopposed move, since all actions occur in real time. Moves operate on cooldown timers, meaning both combatants can sometimes attack each other at the same time (and defeat each other at once). It's much to get used to initially. Despite playing for nearly 30 hours, I still feel like there's much to master regarding employing my creatures' attacks in methods that complement each other. Positioning also factors as a significant part during combat as your Pokémon will follow you around or move to specific locations to execute moves (certain ones are distant, while others must be up close and personal).

The real-time action causes fights progress so quickly that I often repeating sequences of attacks in the same order, even when this amounts to a suboptimal strategy. There's no time to pause in Z-A, and plenty of opportunities to become swamped. Creature fights rely on feedback after using an attack, and that information remains visible on the display in Z-A, but flashes past quickly. Sometimes, you cannot process it because taking your eyes off your adversary will result in immediate defeat.

Exploring Lumiose Metropolis

Outside of battle, you will traverse Lumiose Metropolis. It's fairly compact, though tightly filled. Far into the adventure, I'm still discovering unseen stores and elevated areas to visit. It's also full of charm, and fully realizes the vision of Pokémon and people living together. Pidgey inhabit its pathways, flying away when you get near like the real-life city birds obstructing my path when walking through NYC. The Pan Trio monkeys gleefully hang from lampposts, and insect creatures such as Kakuna attach themselves on branches.

A focus on city living is a new direction for Pokémon, and a welcome one. Nonetheless, exploring Lumiose grows repetitive over time. You may stumble upon a passage you never visited, but it feels identical. The building design lacks character, and many elevated areas and underground routes provide minimal diversity. While I haven't been to Paris, the model behind the city, I reside in New York for nearly a decade. It's a metropolis where no two blocks differs, and they're all alive with uniqueness that give them soul. Lumiose Metropolis doesn't have that. It features beige structures with blue or red roofs and simply designed balconies.

The Areas Where The Metropolis Really Excels

Where Lumiose City really shines, oddly enough, is inside buildings. I loved the way creature fights in Sword and Shield take place in football-like stadiums, giving them real weight and importance. On the flipside, fights within Scarlet & Violet take place in a field with two random people watching. It's very disappointing. Z-A finds a balance between the two. You'll battle in restaurants with diners observing while they eat. An elite combat club will extend an invitation to a competition, and you'll battle in its rooftop arena under a lighting fixture (not Chandelure) suspended overhead. The most memorable spot is the beautifully designed headquarters of the Rust Syndicate with atmospheric illumination and magenta walls. Several distinct battle locales brim with character missing in the overall metropolis as a whole.

The Familiarity of Repetition

Throughout the Championship, as well as subduing wild powered-up creatures and filling the Pokédex, there is an unavoidable sense that, {"I