Topic: Pokémon Legends Z-A

This is why they didn’t make Pokémon Z for the Nintendo 3DS. It’s coming out on the Nintendo Switch 2.

@LinkxPeach I don't think Gamefreak is that good at planning ahead

But it is nice that they're revisiting it. Kind of expected them to abandon that era of Pokémon.

Well, in Gen VII games you can get Zygarde, and collect his cells. I heard they was gonna make X2, and Y2, but that seems like a rumor.

The rumour back then was that Pokemon Z would release in 2015 as a 3rd version for X/Y but it got cancelled so Game Freak could focus on Gen 7 for Pokemon’s 20th anniversary.

@Grumblevolcano I thought it was odd how X and Y are the only Pokemon games with no 3rd game, sequel or DLC.

So I've recently started a new game on Pokémon X after over a decade since I've last seriously touched either of the pair, in order to get a refresher on all things Kalos in preparation for Z-A next year - and to spice things up, it's a nuzlocke.
I'm nearly halfway through, and I have to say I have a little more appreciation for a few minor details of the narrative, characters and the setting. On the other hand, I forgot how horrendous the performance gets during battles.

I do find it odd how they always seem to waste potential when a region is based on an entire country. The first four generations were all based on Japan and have a ton of variety, Unova had a lot of unique areas too.
Alola was sort of like "what if we did Kanto, but on vacation? And with aliens?". At the moment I didn't love it, but it has its charms.

Kalos, Galar and Paldea were all a little flat for me. For XY I gave them a chance because it was their first 3D game. For Sword/Shield I thought I was too critical because it was based on my own country, first HD game etc.
...what's the excuse now?

Maybe the Legends series can finally flesh out the potential of these regions. We'll have to see how Z-A is, hopefully Lumiose City is enough by itself.

Say what you want about them but at least Gamefreak are consistent.

What do people think of the new trailer? I'm a little sad the art isn't as unique looking as Arceus. I'm also not a fan of the starters. I'm hoping the plot is good but it's hard to guess what it will be in that setting.

After many years we will finally be able to yell out “DODGE IT” while battling as it’s not real time battle instead of turn based.

Although it’s already confirmed to be a Switch 1 title, we’ll probably see a Switch 2 enhancements patch for it which will bring improved graphics and performance when played on Switch 2.

I'm kinda worried about how deserted L city looked in the trailer

@Princess_Lilly I was at first as well, but when I was analyzing the trailers frame by frame, there were a ton more NPCs than it looked at first glance. It just seems like a good chunk were off-screen or not in the shots they chose to showcase for whatever reason.

Okay, after watching the "extended look" trailer, I am officially hyped now. I think I will love it. The city feels pleasant too. I am curious about the real time battles. The game looks good.

Looks okay, battles look a bit inspired by Xenoblade, still no real-time catching I guess (Arceus style)? I wonder though If its interesting enough to base the entire game in a city. And late 2025 might mean Switch 2 also gets released late 2025, assuming that this game will be cross-gen.

@Henmii I’m pretty sure Legends style catching is still a thing. Watch the part where the trainer enters a Wild Zone and catches a Fletchling. It seems comparable to Arceus

@Henmii The catching is just like how it was in Arceus. You can throw Pokeballs to catch Pokemon without battling them, or use your partner to stun a Wild Pokemon so that they're easier to capture.

A good bit of PLA's action movement has actually been expanded in this game. The trainer can roll to dodge getting attacked by wild Pokemon (since it seems like some Wild Pokemon are still going to try to attack and knock the player out). The combat seems to be a response to how people criticized Noble battles. People liked the action focus of Noble battles, but they didn't like the fact that you didn't have to utilize your pokemon in those battles and could easily beat them without them. Here? They combined both. Normal battles now utilize action in the form of having trainer and Pokemon basically be cojoined a the hip.

Then there's new modes of movement. Instead of having ride Pokemon, it seems like you "fly" by bridging the gaps between buildings. You do this by utilizing the rotom phone. There's also the ability to climb ledges, or climb up to taller portions of roofs.

The game genuinely expands the action elements that PLA introduced to the series.

@VoidofLight ooh, that will be sad if you don't get to ride Pokemon. That was one of my favorite parts of the last couple games.

@FishyS It would be, but I guess it wouldn't fit very well if you could climb up the side of buildings with a Pokemon. There might still be room for things like flying with an actual pokemon, or swimming/riding.. but I feel like in this one, they're trying to experiment with how the player character can move without having to ride a Pokemon. Wouldn't be surprised if we end up unlocking the ability to skate again- just like in the original X and Y.

I hope they polish this because it does not look good.

It looks like they put very little effort in the game because they know it will sell well because of the Pokemon name alone.

@Zuljaras It actually looks way better than Scarlet and Violet. The textures are higher resolution, and the models are far nicer. It doesn't look as good as other games on Switch, but I'd say that it looks decent so long as it doesn't have major glitches and FPS issues.

Edit: Another thing is that the Youtube video is more compressed for some odd reason. The direct screenshots look waaay better.