Gaming Editor Louis Wright gives insight into what is to be expected by Pokémon’s latest game announcement
Pokémon Day (February 27th) is always a special day for a lifelong, unconscientious Pokémon consumer such as myself. I know no matter what new mainline game they announce I will buy it and I will enjoy it, because even when the series has hit its lowest and most derivative points (looking at Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl) I still say “Eh, that’s a solid 7/10”. So when Pokémon Day 2024 rolled around and Game Freak announced a game that provides an interesting concept and execution, as well as reintroducing concepts from years past, there is actually a reason to get excited past my general ‘fanboyism’.
I still say “Eh, that’s a solid 7/10”
Pokémon Legends: Z-A (2025) is this announcement. Being a successor to Pokémon Legends: Arceus (2022), one of the most critically acclaimed Pokémon games in recent times, the new entry, just in concept builds excitement for its release. By providing a more open-area form of gameplay that allows for seamless encounters with wild Pokémon, the side-series to the mainline entries provides a fun gameplay loop that takes advantage of the series core mechanics. Therefore, an expected return to this style of gameplay already puts the new game into favour of the turbulent fanbase.
Seeing the game set entirely within Pokémon X and Y’s (2013) Lumiose City (the largest single city in the franchise’s history) sets a precedent for a new approach to world building and exploration. Like with Pokémon Legends: Arceus, the game can be expected to take place in a time period in the long past to the contemporary setting of the mainline games. While Legends: Arceus was based on the founding of Hokkaido in 1869, Legends: Z-A is likely based on Haussmann’s renovation of Paris (Lumiose City’s inspiration) between 1853 and 1870, given the trailer’s focus on the city’s redevelopment.
Providing more anticipation for the game’s release is finally seeing an expansion on the story and lore of the Kalos region (the setting of Pokémon X and Y). Unlike other regions featured within the series, Kalos has only received one entry and no DLC, being an outlier in terms of the content available for it, or rather lack thereof. Pokémon Legends: Z-A is therefore a chance for the Kalos region to have further development to finally fulfil the potential that was founded 11 years ago. Likewise, the reintroduction of Mega Evolution (Generation 6’s generational battle gimmick) bolsters this possibility, as the gimmick remains as, generally, the most well received for the power boosts and new forms it gave to older Pokémon.
Generation 6 provides a lot of potential for further development
While many fans were expecting a remake of Generations 2 or 5, as these are the games that have gone longest without a new entry, Generation 6 provides a lot of potential for further development and new ideas to be explored. How the game will function being set entirely within a single city, and how it will expand on the ideas laid out in Pokémon Legends: Arceus remain yet to be seen. Given the projected release date of 2025, the game still has plenty more development left before its release with a year of updates and reveals yet to come. Regardless, what (admittedly little) has been shown so far breeds a sense of excitement.
Watch the trailer for Pokémon Legends: Z-A here:
Read more gaming impressions here:
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