🔗 Share this article

I'm not sure precisely when the custom started, however I consistently call every one of my Pokémon trainers Malfunction.

Be it a main series game or a side project like Pokkén Tournament DX along with Pokémon Go — the moniker never changes. Malfunction switches between male and female avatars, with black and purple hair. Sometimes their style is flawless, as seen in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the latest installment in the enduring series (and among the more fashion-focused releases). At other moments they're limited to the assorted school uniform styles from Pokémon Scarlet & Violet. Yet they remain Malfunction.

The Ever-Evolving Realm of Pokémon Games

Much like my trainers, the Pokémon games have evolved between installments, with certain cosmetic, others significant. But at their core, they stay identical; they're always Pokemon to the core. Game Freak uncovered an almost flawless gameplay formula approximately 30 years ago, and has only seriously tried to innovate on it with games such as Pokémon Legends: Arceus (different timeline, your avatar is now in danger). Across every iteration, the core gameplay loop of catching and battling alongside charming creatures has remained consistent for nearly as long as I've been alive.

Shaking the Mold with Pokémon Legends: Z-A

Like Arceus before it, with its absence of gyms and focus on compiling a creature catalog, Pokémon Legends: Z-A brings multiple changes into that formula. It takes place entirely in one place, the Paris-inspired Lumiose Metropolis from Pokémon X & Y, abandoning the region-spanning adventures of previous titles. Pokémon are intended to coexist with people, trainers and civilians, in ways we've only glimpsed before.

Far more radical is Z-A's real-time battle system. It's here the franchise's almost ideal gameplay loop experiences its most significant transformation yet, replacing methodical turn-based fights for something more chaotic. And it's thoroughly enjoyable, even as I feel ready for a new traditional release. Though these alterations to the traditional Pokemon recipe seem like they form an entirely fresh adventure, Pokémon Legends: Z-A is as familiar as any other Pokemon game.

The Core of the Journey: The Z-A Royale

Upon initially reaching at Lumiose Metropolis, whatever plans your custom avatar had as a tourist get abandoned; you're promptly enlisted by the female guide (for male avatars; Urbain for female characters) to join her team of battlers. You receive one of her Pokémon as your starter and are sent to participate in the Z-A Royale.

The Royale serves as the centerpiece of Pokémon Legends: Z-A. It's similar to the classic "arena symbols to final challenge" progression of past games. However here, you battle several trainers to earn the opportunity to participate in a promotion match. Succeed and you'll be promoted to a higher tier, with the ultimate goal of reaching rank A.

Live-Action Combat: An Innovative Frontier

Character fights occur at night, and navigating stealthily the assigned combat areas is quite enjoyable. I'm always trying to surprise a rival and unleash a free attack, because all actions occur instantaneously. Moves operate on recharge periods, indicating you and your opponent can sometimes strike simultaneously concurrently (and defeat each other at once). It's much to adjust to initially. Despite playing for nearly thirty hours, I still feel that there is plenty to learn in terms of employing my creatures' attacks in methods that work together synergistically. Placement also plays a major role in battles since your creatures will trail behind you or go to specific locations to perform attacks (certain ones are distant, while others need to be in close proximity).

The live combat causes fights go so fast that I often sometimes cycling of attacks in identical patterns, despite this results in a less effective approach. There isn't moment to pause during Z-A, and plenty of opportunities to get overwhelmed. Pokémon battles depend on response post-move execution, and that data remains visible on the display within Z-A, but flashes past quickly. Occasionally, you cannot process it because diverting attention from your adversary will spell certain doom.

Exploring Lumiose Metropolis

Outside of battle, you will traverse Lumiose Metropolis. It's fairly compact, although densely packed. Deep into the game, I continue to find unseen stores and elevated areas to visit. It's also full of charm, and fully realizes the concept of Pokémon and people coexisting. Pidgey populate its sidewalks, flying away as you approach similar to actual city birds getting in my way when walking through NYC. The Pan Trio monkeys gleefully hang on streetlights, and insect creatures like Kakuna attach themselves to trees.

A focus on city living represents a fresh approach for Pokémon, and a positive change. Even so, exploring Lumiose grows repetitive eventually. You might discover a passage you never visited, but you wouldn't know it. The building design lacks character, and most rooftops and underground routes offer little variety. Although I never visited the French capital, the model behind the city, I reside in New York for nearly a decade. It's a metropolis where no two blocks differs, and all are alive with uniqueness that provide character. Lumiose Metropolis doesn't have that. It has beige structures with blue or red roofs and simply designed balconies.

The Areas Where The Metropolis Really Excels

In which the city truly stands out, surprisingly, is indoors. I loved the way creature fights in Sword and Shield occur in arena-like venues, giving them genuine significance and meaning. On the flipside, battles in Scarlet and Violet happen on a court with few spectators observing. It's very disappointing. Z-A strikes a middle ground between the two. You'll battle in restaurants with diners observing as they dine. An elite combat club will invite you to a tournament, and you'll battle in its rooftop arena under a lighting fixture (not Chandelure) suspended overhead. The most memorable spot is the elegantly decorated headquarters of a certain faction with its moody lighting and magenta walls. Various individual battle locales overflow with personality missing in the overall metropolis as a whole.

The Familiarity of Repetition

During the Royale, as well as quelling rogue powered-up creatures and filling the Pokédex, there's an inescapable feeling of, {"I