As announced by Nintendo, the official release date for Pokemon Legends: Z-A would be October 16th. Now Nintendo Switch also has a counterpart called Switch 2, coming into existence(Then unopened). Real-time catch, battle, and Mega Evolution controls are indeed active as the luminescent city is explored with the aim of becoming the greatest Pokemon Trainer. While preorders were commenced following the release of the most recent trailer, the community has expressed anything from tremendous hype to concern over graphics and pricing.
So just what does Pokemon Legends: Z-A have in store? Per the announcement, we are set to experience the whole adventure within Lumiose City, a Parisian-inspired metropolis from Pokemon X and Y with Prism Tower; something akin to an Eiffel Tower, but, you know, having some Pokemon_thrill into it. Real-time catching and battling for Trainers were depicted in the trailer; this sounds like they want to take whatever actually worked in Pokemon Legends: Arceus and advance it into being a bit more action-oriented? And Mega Evolution is back, people; this should be a welcome return after abandoning it in recent games.
Not everyone has been so excited, however. Online reception has been…mixed, to say the least. Some players are outright complaining about the graphics. “These graphics look awful,” tweeted one user @DudeBroNoWay with a screenshot that did look a bit dated indeed. Then came a response from @EU_Diplomacy, “What are you watching the video on, 2G?” which honestly made me laugh. Then @NeroRedwolf said, “Graphics aren’t nearly as important as you seem to think they are. It’s the gameplay that matters most,” a take I’ve heard a ton of old-school Pokemon fans express.
Wait, what was I saying? Ah, right, the graphics discussion. Several players thought improvements were noticeable! @EU_Diplomacy again commenting, “Is it just me or is the city looking more detailed in each new trailer” (eye emoji), implying Nintendo might be polishing things up since the initial reveal. Meanwhile, a rather balanced view from @DavidDa00361728 stated “Do I think the graphics could’ve been better? Absolutely. Is it a make or break deal for me? No.” For me, the main thing I look for in Pokémon games is the fun experiences.”
And then comes the pricing and content situation. “Price is too high,” @KipsNSips bluntly stated, which itself is the spirit of the debate. But that sparked the real drama once players started questioning if the certain Mega Evolutions for the Kalos starter Pokemon would maybe be locked behind paid online features or DLC. @Floorcina let loose with “I’ve defended Nintendo for years and years and years but at some point, I need to call a spade a spade. I can buy a Trails game for $60 and get 250 hours out of it on one play-through, yet Pokemon, the richest franchise in the world, needs to paywall a mega starter Pokemon.”
@DavidDa00361728 tried to calm things down by saying, “I’m not happy about the Kalos starter megas being locked behind paid online either, but at the same time this sorta thing is nothing new, the Gmax forms for the Kanto and Galar starters in Sword/Shield were also locked behind paid DLC and nobody was complaining as far as I know,” which-if I might say, is a pretty fair point? They’ve done it before.
The conversation got heated, with @GrayothGames telling critics to “move on to a new series and stop following a game just to complain all the time,” and @zay_tweets countered with “This remains one of the most nonsensical arguments of all time. Why would people stop criticizing a franchise they adore just because they can move on to a new series? It’s okay to criticize something you don’t support/like, especially when said criticism is valid.”
Meanwhile, some players remain excited nonetheless. “I had no interest at all in this game until the trailer. Now I am looking forward to it. I didn’t see the point in it at first, but now I have seen why it is Z-A and the other stories that will be followed, it definitely fleshes out the game more,” shared @KarlHps5. “Will be my first game on the Switch 2 so let’s hope it will be way better than Scarlet and Violet on the Switch 1 haha. That was not a great experience in terms of frame rate and quality,” shared @KevAnipoke. Ouch-too real. Scarlet and Violet’s performance woes were bad.
There’s also a little confusion on what exactly is going to be the game. @knightraan asked, “So it’s just a battle game in the end? Not what made me fall in love with Pokémon or Legends :/” which suggests maybe the trailer focused more on combat than exploration or story. And @FoundingFrogger is still waiting for that “Pokémon Gen 1 MMORPG,” which-dude, same.
The whole Palworld drama came up, with @AureusCrush commenting, “This would have gone hard if Nintendo wasn’t aggressively trying to fuck over palworld with sketchy business practices,” which-yikes, that’s a whole other can of worms.
With that being said, Pokemon Legends: Z-A might turn out to be a pretty good series entry, especially for players who enjoyed the more action-based gameplay of Legends: Arceus. The October 16th release gives Nintendo plenty of time to put some shine on things while the simultaneous release on Switch and Switch 2 means everyone is going to be able to play it regardless of when they choose to upgrade consoles. How well this actually turns out is yet to be decided, but the buzz around it already proves Pokemon fans remain as fired up as ever regarding the future of the franchise.
