After hopping into my 20th Hyperspace in Pokémon Legends: Z-A’s DLC, Mega Dimension, I realised something. I’ve been doing the same things over and over again for the past few hours.
Now, I know the series isn’t exactly known for varying things, but it feels particularly egregious within a condensed DLC experience. And for the entire 10-15 hours I’ve spent running around these Hyperspace pockets, I can probably count on one hand what I’ve done.
This is a pretty chunky DLC in Pokémon terms — the main story can probably be beaten in around 6-8 hours, but there are a lot of new Pokémon, new Side Missions, and more to dig into, including after the credits — but the bulk of Mega Dimension feels like empty calories. Here I am, back in Lumiose City, a place I already got bored with fast because of its lack of variety, and now I’m running around the same handful of randomly-generated Hyperspace pockets over and over again just to fulfil research tasks and progress the story.
Yes, you read that right: randomly-generated. Mega Dimension is sort of a roguelite, and that stopped me from completely sleepwalking my way through every single dimension. For what the liminal pearly white snapshots of Lumiose City lack in variety, they make up for in a handful of other ways. They’re home to an abundance of new returning creatures. Not only that, the ‘mons in these spaces are all over level 100, with many reaching way beyond 150 in the later stages.
I’ve grown up with this franchise, and if you think I don’t still get excited whenever I see a Cubone running around carefree or even newer ‘mons like Sandygast bobbing around in the concrete, then I’m sorry. It’s especially exciting to see these Pokémon at levels way beyond the level cap. Who knew a gang of level 120 Mankey would be lethal? I watched six of them beat up my Feraligatr in no time at all. I got the same level of thrill encountering Alpha Pokémon in Legends: Arceus whenever I jumped into a level 180 dimension and found something I hadn’t caught before.
The higher levels in these dimensions is easily the best thing about this DLC. It makes catching wild Pokémon fun in a different way; no longer am I guaranteed to get something just because it’s a Meditite or a Sandile. It might beat me and my Pokémon up before I get a chance to weaken it a little or sneak up on it. In fact, I found the compact corridors and rooftops of Lumiose worked to the DLC’s advantage, because I had to be a little more thoughtful about how to catch things here than in the base game’s Wild Zones.
Catching Pokémon and dealing with high-level monsters are the highs; the lows are the repetitive maps, the annoying platforming, and the list of random tasks that you complete to build up research points. The grind only gets longer the further in you get.
There’s nothing compelling about awkwardly floating from one rooftop to another, or scrambling around to find the right ladder to get to the top of the building you’re aiming for. Destroying boulders, watering down sludge, picking up items, breaking Poké Balls, catching ‘mons I already have 10 of in my box, or fighting trainers à la the Z-A Royale. It’s all the same stuff in the same spaces I’ve spent hours and hours running around a few months ago.
These alternate pockets of Lumiose City exacerbate all of my problems with the city in the base game. The city lacks character, and in these spaces, it’s all just a blank slate of whiteness. There’s no real way to jump, meaning you have to drop and float and hope you land in the right spot. They’re a chore to get around, with no map and a time limit determined by the type of donut you feed Hoopa before jumping in. And there’s maybe only about six variations of these spaces. When I’m excited to see a sewer, of all places, you know something’s up.
The aforementioned donut making could be cute, and initially, it kind of is – Hoopa and new character Ansha are a delightful pair, and who doesn’t like donuts? But like exploring Hyperspace, baking is a chore. Using berries from the base game (and eventually, Hyper berries), you make donuts that determine how much you increase your Pokémon’s levels and the amount of time you can spend in Hyperspace, depending on the dimension’s star rank and the donut’s rank.
You need to make a lot of these, and you can only make one at a time. It’s Animal Crossing crafting all over again. Weirdly, there’s an option to make the exact same donut you just made, but if your Coba-flavoured confection was a test and you know how to make it better, have fun making one at a time over and over again. And if you don't have any great donuts available, well, get ready to run around the city or Hyperspace or buy them one by one from a vendor.
Luckily, what is great about the base game is still great here. The action-oriented combat is still largely excellent, perhaps let down by some of the chaotic forced double battles peppered throughout the story. The Rogue Mega Evolution fights are actually even better in Mega Dimension, because your foe actually moves around and engages with the space. I even lost to one of them because I jumped in unprepared and was shocked at just how fast it moved and how hard it hit.
When you’re fighting something that matches your level, or something that exceeds it, things get nail-biting, a scramble of defensive choices, Pokémon-swapping, and dodging. But when the DLC basically requires you to be level 100 in the first few hours, but still throws mandatory trainer fights at level 70 your way, it’s a little baffling.
The repetitiveness of Mega Dimension really does let the DLC down because, like with Legends: Z-A, there are some really good foundations here. A Pokémon roguelite could work really well, but there’s little variety to take much advantage of the randomness, besides the Pokémon you encounter.
The combat is great, but give me a set of consistent, high-level fights. Even the Side Missions are a step-up here, for the most part, but for every good battle, story of a city struggling with change, or brand new Mega Evolution encounter, there’s another fetch quest or “trail the Pokémon” task.
Conclusion
The core of Pokémon and the highs of Pokémon Legends: Z-A just about manage to shine through in the Mega Dimension DLC, but the repetitive Hyperspace dimensions, bland level design, and dull donut making stop this from being a true Mega Evolution for the game.
If you’ve grown up with this series, you’ll find it hard to resist the lure of the expanded Pokédex and seeing your favourites almost looking their best is a joy. Repetition is not freeing, though, and as with the base game, I’m missing the freedom of the core series again.
Comments 63
I bought this while I was enjoying the main game, but I have zero motivation to even boot it up and try it with the likes of Kirby Air Riders, Prime 4, and Age of Imprisonment to play. I imagine it’ll eventually appeal to me more after I get through some other games.
Hopefully the above Level 100 wild Pokémon don't make this DLC too difficult, because I really want to play this when I finish the base game after I get said base game.
Remember when Pokemon postgames were free? I can't believe they are charging $30 for a postgame that was already made before the game released.
I loved the base game but I feel no incentive to buy this DLC for $30. The previous Pokemon DLCs were expensive enough and those had 2 waves, each of which came with new maps. This just has WD Gaster Lumiose, some missions, and what looks to be more of the same. I hope future Pokemon DLCs aren't this uninteresting.
On an unrelated note, I predicted the design of Mega Meowstic which was also my most wanted mega evolution for this game, so that's cool.
Thanks for the review, first and foremost I'll finish the base game and only after that I'll consider getting Mega Dimension myself - that said, wouldn't be surprised if I ended up enjoying it more personally considering the positives mentioned and that I might mind the negatives less (also considering that I'd play it in much smaller doses than what most certainly was required to write this)!
Interesting, I saw Joe from Serebii also complain about the grindy nature, so far it doesn't seem that bad to me but I am playing at a more casual pace just did the 2nd boss battle so maybe that's a reason why others may find it more grindy?
I will say so far donuts are a massive improvement over the sandwiches form SV
Also the boss battles not being in that boring space is a massive improvement, agree there!
Story seems solid so far and character interactions still top notch!
@ThatOneLevel I remember Pokemon gold and silver had a real post game and no dlc was required. It was amazing to go back to Kanto
the DLC is bad. Easily the worst, laziest experience yet from Game Freak.
The time limits on the portals are beyond asinine
@ThatOneLevel Well before DLC we had them having us rebuy games after 1-2 years to get new content. Not sure that's the model we want to aspire to. I also think base Z-A has plenty of content. Maybe not the most of any game ever...but it didn't feel incomplete to me.
That said, I do agree with the review on this DLC. As someone who really enjoyed the base game, I do get some enjoyment of having more content...but it's exactly that, just more content. The gameplay loop of going into the alternate dimension was interesting at first, but got repetitive quite quickly.
@ThatOneLevel Nooooo, they totally needed an extra month for this! (But also don't ask why they couldn't just delay the game a month if it wasn't cut content.)
I get the criticism, but I’m not too against the repetition myself. It adds a gameplay loop that extends my playtime. I’ve only been playing it a little bit at a time, so it doesn’t feel too repetitive to me. I’d rather that than a DLC I beat in 2 hours.
Remember when you didn't have to pay extra to catch em all?
@Bats1234 agreed. I’ve been going at a slow pace so the repetitiveness doesn’t bother me. I think that’s the optimal way to play it
@Axecon versions exclusives have been a thing since Red and Blue. You’ve always had to pay more to catch em all.
Chiming in just to say that's a 10/10 subheading lol.
I love the gameplay style of the Legends games but I really hope grinding research tasks doesn't become a staple for every one they do.
@thesilverbrick I was the same when the DLC dropped for Scarlet and Violet, telling myself I'll pick it up at some point...and just never did. Sometimes DLC is just unnecessary.
If they release a version of this game bundled with the DLC, I'll get it. If not, I think this is safely missable. A perk to usually being a Pokemon game behind is I can safely wait for this stuff to materialize lol. Plus, there are other fun monster collection games out there (MonHun Stories, Digimon, Cassette Beasts, etc.) with which I can keep myself busy in the meantime.
There was a lot of whinging about 1000 battle grind but I just did a day of catching and then night royal and it never felt like a grind to me.
Waiting until my long flight to Japan next week to play the dlc.
This DLC costs more than Silksong lol
Overpriced DLC that should have just been post-game content in the first place? Who would ever have suspected?
@Buizel Back then, it was done (most of the time, I know not always) to port the game to other console generations or handheld game > console. They added content to give people a reason to double dip if they already bought the game in the previous generation.
They also didn't announce they would be releasing the same game with more content later on before the game released. Pokemon Z-A announced the DLC before the game even came out.
They also didn't cut content that was completed already from their games to add later on in a later release. You can't tell me the Pokemon Z-A DLC wasn't already done, the amount of reused assets is immense. I'd say the Donkey Kong Bananza DLC was already done as well. It released way too quick
@DominionGamma The DS era had the best postgames. gens 4 and 5, and especially gen 2 remake HeartGold/SoulSilver. Even the Pokemon Mystery Dungeons on the DS had great postgames.
@Shhh Sadly, the DLC is going to sell more than Silksong.
honestly, I hate modern Pokemon games. they are just plain ugly.
@ThatOneLevel To your first point...I'm not sure what you're saying here? I'm not talking about remakes generations later...I'm talking about them selling basically the exact same game 1-2 years later (Yellow, Crystal, etc.)
As for the second point...why is this worse? Surely knowing what's on the horizon is better than buying into a game and then having the rug pulled under you when they later announce you've bought an "incomplete" version.
For the final point - do you have any evidence of this? In fact there have been countless instances of content being "cut" from Pokemon games in previous generations (for better or worse).
Don't put returning pokemon as a plus, people were expecting this would happen in 2019
So they took PokeRogue and turned it into DLC. I can only play that for a day or two before going to something else so I can't imagine I'll enjoy this DLC. I haven't bought a single one for any of the Switch Pokemon games for different reasons; Sword/Shield was so boring I never want to return even tho I'm told the DLC for the games are pretty solid, Scarlet/Violet were the most fun but I read you have to do the 1st pack before you can do the 2nd and I only want the other academy, and now this is just a rehash of a browser game without any extra love put into the surrounding areas. Bummer
It really just feels incredibly cheap, like they were trying to figure out a way to make it drawn out as long as possible while putting in the absolute bare minimum amount of effort.
Also god would it kill this game to shut up every once in awhile? So tired of constantly checking in with the useless friend groups in these games to endlessly hear about food, no clue why nearly every Pokemon game does this now but it gets to be infuriating.
@ThatOneLevel I highly doubt that tbh. Hollow Knight sold more copies than Arceus which still seems like it will have outsold this game when the dust settles. Silksong had a stronger start than HK and has a lot of DLC planned. I guess we'll see.
@ThatOneLevel Silksong's already most likely sold more copies than Arceus, which ZA does not appear to be selling as well as, and DLC tends to have a pretty low attach rate compared to the base game. There is zero chance this DLC outsells Silksong.
@Buizel It was generally accepted and predictable back then. Some people could wait until the third version of the generation to come out and buy it. The cost was also cheaper. $40 for the third version plus $40 for the first one. Now its $70 for the main game (Switch 2), $30 for the DLC. DLC used to be $20 as well.
Well, again, the third version of Pokemon was predictable, so people already knew it was coming. I don't recall other games doing other than the enhanced editions and remakes for the next console generation. Announcing DLC before the game comes out makes you wonder why they didn't delay the game and release it completed with that DLC in the game already.
Gamefreak isn't going to come out and say "yeah, this DLC we are releasing later is already done." In only 2 months they were able to create everything in the DLC? All of the art, coding, modelling, coming up with new megas, composing the music, writing, and translations? I doubt it.
@ThatOneLevel "I don't recall other games doing other than the enhanced editions and remakes for the next console generation."
It certainly happened in places. Look how many versions of Street Fighter 2 there are after all, plus you have stuff like the alternate versions of Persona 3 and Shin Megami Tensei 3, there being two separate SNES versions of the first Final Fight one of which was a rental-exclusive, and how a number of the early Harvest Moons have separate boy and girl versions.
Pokémon is Nintendo's COD, change my mind
Aww, that's a bummer to hear. Also, yet another roguelite for DLC from Nintendo. That's interesting. I can see why that would make sense, but it could get stale. Maybe with adjustments they can improve this DLC?
@Jborgy COD has military aesthetics and is a 1st-person shooter. Did I change it?
DLC that was clearly cut from the main game and it's not even that good. Another scummy move from Nintendo but some people will defend them as usual.😐
@AussieMcBucket It's probably because, "Just throw a time limit and random item spawning on an existing map," is a very cheap, low effort way to pad out content. Be it this or the DK DLC they're both just minimum budget nonsense designed to waste your time.
If you have 30$ to spare, go buy Silksong and plenty of drinks.
Hi @AlanaHagues… thanks for the review. Are there new Pokémon that can be transferred to HOME? Or are all just Mega Evolutions that are just triggered by items that we cannot transfer and obtain in each new entry?
If there are no new Pokémon then I don’t need this to continue my collection.
@Yoshi3 The only newly obtainable Pokemon in ZA at all is AZ's Floette. Everything else is just new Megas.
Though there are a ton of previously event-only things that can be gotten from the DLC. Now the only ones not permanently obtainable from some game or other are Victini, Zarude, Walking Wake, and Iron Leaves, though you need a 3DS to get Celebi, Deoxys, Battle Bond Greninja, and Spinda.
@Lizuka thank you. I can skip this then.
@AussieMcBucket whoooooosh
I think the biggest problem I have with the DLC is that it's all end game content, and the method in which you actually engage with the DLC demands repetition. It would be a good addition to the game overall if it were spread out through longer stretches of game play. I think the loop itself is fine enough - Cook donuts, bust into hyperspace, do a few missions, catch some new pokemon, then leave - but because it's all you do in the DLC, it feels more like a chore?
My ideal situation would be:
Do main story content - > do some hyperspace hunting - > do some base side missions - do Z-A battles- > do DLC side missions - > more story content - > do some hyperspace hunting, repeat.
But because I needed to beat the game first, I'm already done with all of the story content, and I've already done all of the base side missions and AZ battles. So now I'm just left with hyperspace - > hyperspace - > hyperspace.
I like the 100+ level Pokemon mechanic, so I get why it's endgame. I just wish that there were more to do; as is, it feels kind of weak compared to Scarlet/Violet and Sword/Shield DLC.
Also, they made both Mega Raichu's pure electric and that's no fun.
Complaining about grinding and repetitiveness in a Pokemon game is like living in London and complaining about the weather. YOU SIGNED UP FOR THIS!
Tfw you sign up for DLC before knowing it's literal repetition.
That's...ultimately the worst thing about Legends ZA on the whole.
I've been playing the DLC and I agree with the joys and cons. Ive skipped the main body of the review for fear of spoilers, though.
6 - Not Bad feels fair
@ThatOneLevel And it's still selling well, which means this formula won't go away in future games. It will only encourage more bland games.
Who knew that I had to ' Raise my Pokemon ' and the first trailer said that??? 😂 I train My Pokemon to level 45 and My in game rival had a level 65 Jolteon and Still had to grind... 👾
P.S. I still won the game that way in Yellow. 💛
@Lizuka Well, possibly true on the one hand, but I think they also are a simple way to offer a continued experience for the player. And they can push out special events or trophies or whatever.
@shoeses XD
Greed, thy name is Pokemon.
@Waluigi451
I have been playing the game slow as well. Idk why but it's been fine for me.. I know my friend already beat it. Kirby Air Riders might be the problem though cause I kept going in so I could unlock a certain thing.
I don't even mind paying for DLC, but the donuts/timers make the gameplay absolutely excruciating. I love to see the new megas and returning Pokemon, but I haven't been this disappointed in Pokemon content in... ever. I'm not even sure I'm going to bother finishing.
This review did NOT sound like it was going to say 'not bad' at the end
Does the Pokemon series also get extra points on this site, just because Nintendo releases it?
@DominionGamma was like 2 for 1! The only disappointment with it was the Safari Zone being shut but that's being really picky!
@Buizel A new game is objectively better. In past instances, they added QoL, readjusted the story/balancing/locations with further texture details & trainers teams & Pokemon availability, and improved the performance to name a few. All baked into the game. There's almost no reason to play, say, Diamond/Pearl over Platinum.
DLC usually leaves the base game unchanged and in ZA's case, feels like withheld content (because it is let's not kid ourselves).
Pokemon games held their value. You could sell a game and buy its 'third version' for almost no loss (can't sell paid DLC). The Mega Dimension is priced the same to a Pokemon game for the handheld pre Switch era funnily enough.
The DLC sucks.
It's so grindy it makes you lose interest fast.
Nah this is shouldn't be a DLC, it really feels like a post game that have been cut from the base game, and sold it separately. I'm disappointed cause everything they use are the same assets and just reverted the color and add new pokemon. that's it nothing more, and the donuts new feature aren't that impressive, it is the same as sandwich feature in scarlet and violet which is basically a cheat to get shiny, before having a shiny such a big accomplishment but now I felt nothing from getting new shiny pokemon. legendaries pokemon getting easier to get there's no secret or puzzle to get legendaries pokemon anymore like it use too.
@Lizuka Event-only things, huh?
I was definitely going to be looking for Furfrou forms in this one, but is there any chance you can get a pokeball-design Vivillon in this?
@Troubbble Forgot about Vivillon, only forms of it you can get are Garden and Marine.
I find the base game repetitive with all of the research tasks and repetitive Z-A battles at night but I've been playing it in short sessions so boredom doesn't set in. Reading this Review I must admit I'm not as enthusiastic for playing the DLC to what I was, I hate time limits and again more repetitive research tasks. I'm going to have to take a time out from the game I think after I finish the base game before I attempt this and honestly making everything higher than lv 100 just seems like a cheap way to pad it all out. It all sounds like artificial difficulty to me rather than a genuine challenge.
What I am more shocked about, is the rampant hacking that is going on in the Ranked Battles. And for a while now.
Thank god, they lowered the rank requirements to get the Mega stones, so I was done with it, with just a few battles.
I enjoyed the first Season Ranked battles and even made it to Rank F, but now its just not fun anymore, with the rampant hacking that is going on now.
When it comes to the DLC, yeah.... disappointment and wasted opportunity doesn't come close to describe this DLC.
The base game and story was so good and then this DLC brings it all down. The fact they charged the same amount of money for this DLC as to the double DLC packs of Sword/Shield and Scarlet/Violet is just beyond greed. But we already seen the new road Nintendo has taken, after that scam of a DLC drop with Donkey Kong Bonanza.
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