As a foundational shakeup of a nearly 30-year-old game series, Pokémon Legends: Z-A makes a strong case for itself as the next big thing for Pokémon. It’s a fast-paced approach to the turn-based RPG series, allowing players to catch Pokémon more quickly and finally battle in real time. It’s revelatory at times, putting you in the shoes of a trainer like never before. All of those immediate strengths might leave you convinced that it’s time to do away with the old and make Legends the new mainline Pokémon series.
That’s how I felt during my first few sessions with Z-A, at least. As someone who has been playing since Red, the wish-fulfillment was undeniable in my first dozen or so hours. At last, I got to feel like a real trainer calling the shots during a live battle! But the more I’ve climbed the ranks, the more I’ve begun to accept just how much I’ve taken Pokémon’s turn-based combat for granted over the past few generations. The Legends series is a refreshing change of pace, but these games are no replacement for the Chess-like skill and drama of the classic RPG formula.
There are a lot of differences between Z-A and traditional Pokémon games, but the overarching change is to pace. As a real-time action game, everything happens a lot faster in Z-A. Catching a Pokémon is as simple as throwing a ball at a monster wandering around in a wild area. Battles have you calling out moves on the fly as two Pokémon clash right in front of you. Everything is rapid and streamlined, all while keeping you in the field. For players who have always seen menus as a barrier to immersion, Z-A is a dream come true.
The appeal isn’t lost on me. Z-A is breezy fun that’s heavy on instant gratification. There’s no denying how great it feels to sneak up on a Pinsir and lob a Pokéball at its head, rather than accomplishing the same thing by scrolling through menus mid-battle to select the right ball. Combat is similarly novel. It’s a delight to call for my Camerupt to use Earthquake and see it respond to me by running into position and letting it rip. All of this brings me a little bit closer to my childhood dream of being a real Pokémon trainer.
The reality, of course, is that I can never be a real Pokémon trainer. (Sad, I know.) The games are only a simulation of an imaginary job; throwing a digital ball is still just a button press on a controller, whether those presses happen through a menu or not. So when we talk about feeling like a real Pokémon trainer, what does that actually mean in a video game? Does it mean being in the body of a digital character, copying their physical actions 1:1, or does it mean being in their head?
That’s the real difference between Z-A and something like Red. The former offers a suitable fantasy for players who want to mimic the motions, recreating the playground feeling of running around at recess with your friends and commanding imaginary monsters. While I certainly feel more like a kid in that format, I don’t know that I actually feel any more like a trainer. In fact, I may feel less like one here.
A trainer isn’t an action hero; they are a playcaller. They share more in common with an NFL coach than Bayonetta. It is the trainer’s job to flex their expertise and guide their team to victory through strategic decision-making that the Pokémon execute. Like a wide receiver, the Pokémon can screw that plan up; their attack can miss or they can get confused, literally. But the experience of leading a team is about laying out the best gameplan, making smart decisions on the fly, and outmaneuvering the opposing team.
If you see it in those terms, turn-based Pokémon battles are already a perfect representation of what it’s like to be a trainer. It’s like you’re playing Madden, selecting the routes and plays that your team will then carry out. Should I use a turn to buff up my Scyther’s stats with Swords Dance, allowing my opponent to draw first blood on me? Does this attack have enough juice to land a KO, or do I need to stop and consider how my foe’s defense changes the math? Is it worth going for the equivalent of a hail Mary in a tough fight, hoping I’ll land a critical attack, or is it time to burn a turn and heal up? The drama and stakes are high in every battle, especially when a level of random chance comes into play. It’s your job to manage those heightened emotions and react accordingly.
Even the act of catching a Pokémon requires me to flex that part of my brain. I need to know exactly how far I can whittle down a monster’s health bar to have a shot at making the catch. I don’t want to gamble too much, risking a crit that takes it out entirely. I also need to build a party that has the tools it needs to make the job easier, whether it’s by including a Pokémon with a paralyzing move in my squad or making sure someone has False Swipe. Catching isn’t just about thoughtlessly tossing a ball; it’s a battle in and of itself. Nuances like this are absent in Z-A’s smoothed-out systems.
That doesn’t mean that there isn’t a place for the Legends format going forward. I love the faster play of it all and find it to be a surprisingly laid-back alternative to core RPGs. (You’d think that the slower combat system would be less stressful, but no!) Z-A still does capture that football feel of the turn-based system too, just in new ways. You get to actually see your Pokémon carry out routes here as they waddle into position for an attack. You’ll swear at your screen as you see an offsides error happen in real-time, resulting in a KO. If anything, the format better simulates the player side of battle.
But the mainline RPGs are still the main attraction for good reason. That’s where I really feel like a trainer, seeing my menu full of attacks the same way I imagine Patriots’ coach Mike Vrabel looks at a Surface tablet between plays. You just have to use your imagination to see the wish-fulfilling simulation that’s been in front of you this entire time.
