Pokémon Legends: Z-A

- Reviewed on Switch 2 -

Pokémon Legends: Z-A released on October 16th, 2025.

Developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo alongside The Pokémon Company, Pokémon Legends: Z-A is the second entry in the Legends sub-series. And in my opinion, it is far superior to the previous Legends title. 

Despite the fairly negative reception I’ve seen online, I genuinely had a fantastic time with this game. 

Honestly, online reviews aren’t something I take too seriously these days, and after spending a good amount of time with Legends: Z-A myself, I can confidently say it clicked with me almost immediately.

This review WILL have Major Spoilers so keep that in mind before continuing...

One of the biggest strengths of Pokémon Legends: Z-A is its setting. Unlike the wide-open wilderness of Legends: Arceus, this game places you inside a large, dense city environment—and surprisingly, it works extremely well. 

The city feels lively, full of Pokémon, NPCs, collectibles, and secrets tucked away in nearly every corner. 

Exploration is genuinely fun here, especially thanks to the smooth performance I experienced on Switch 2. 

Frame rates stayed solid for the majority of my playthrough, with the exception of Mega Battles, where things can dip a bit. 

I can’t speak for Switch 1 performance, but on Switch 2, the experience felt very smooth overall.

The Pokémon selection in Legends: Z-A is fantastic, and I was immediately sold when I realized my favorite Pokémon of all time—Slowpoke—was included. 

That alone was almost enough to win me over (immediate 5 / 5, honestly). 

But jokes aside, the roster feels carefully chosen, and seeing Pokémon roam the city environment never got old for me.

One feature I absolutely did not expect from a Pokémon game was parkour—and yet, it’s one of my favorite mechanics in the entire experience. 

Running across rooftops, vaulting obstacles, and later unlocking the Roto Glide opens the game up in such a fun way. 

Once gliding is introduced, rooftop exploration becomes addicting, and it completely changes how you navigate the city. 

Collectibles are everywhere, and between the parkour and the verticality of the world, exploration never felt dull.

Mega Evolutions also make their return in Legends: Z-A, and this was actually my first real experience with them, since I missed the games where they were originally introduced. 

Thankfully, one of the first Mega Evolutions I obtained was Slowpoke, which made the mechanic even more memorable for me. 

I also appreciated that the game allows you to choose when to evolve your Pokémon once they reach the required level. That small quality-of-life feature adds more control and strategy to team building.

Advancing through the Z-A Tournament requires battling in designated battle areas at night to earn Battle Tickets and experience. 

While functional, this system does feel like obvious padding at times. 

It’s not terrible by any means, but the inability to skip the day/night transition animations became frustrating, especially when those transitions could despawn Alpha Pokémon you were in the middle of battling or trying to catch. 

Speaking of which—Alpha Pokémon return in Legends: Z-A, and I’m very glad they do. They remain intimidating, rewarding encounters that add excitement to exploration.

Characters were another standout element for me. 

The allies you meet throughout the game are lively, memorable, and well-integrated into the story. 

Locations like Hotel Z and the towering city landmarks were also enjoyable to visit and helped give the world its own identity.

That said, I do partially agree with some of the online criticism regarding textures. 

While the city looks good from a distance, many buildings use flat image textures, and as a game developer myself, it’s hard not to notice that you’re essentially running around cubes with images slapped onto them. 

Some buildings do feature balconies and small details, but the flatness can be distracting if you’re paying close attention.

My biggest disappointment, however, was the music. Pokémon as a series usually delivers incredibly memorable soundtracks, but both Legends: Arceus and Legends: Z-A failed to meet that standard for me. 

The music isn’t bad—it’s just unremarkable, which is a shame considering how strong the rest of the presentation is.

Despite these issues, Pokémon Legends: Z-A ended up being one of my favorite Pokémon experiences in years. 

The city-focused world, parkour mechanics, fun exploration, memorable characters, and strong Pokémon lineup all came together to create something genuinely special. 

This is an excellent Pokémon entry, and one I’ll gladly revisit.

Pros: 

    - Lively and fun city-based world

    - Parkour and Roto Glide add fantastic exploration

    - Smooth performance on Switch 2 (mostly)

    - Great Pokémon roster (Slowpoke included!)

    - Mega Evolutions return

    - Alpha Pokémon return

    - Memorable and enjoyable characters

    - Tons of collectibles and exploration incentives

Cons:

    - Music is unmemorable compared to Pokémon standards

    - Unskippable day / night transitions can be frustrating

    - Frame drops during Mega Battles

My Rating for Pokémon Legends: Z-A (on Switch 2):

5 / 5

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Disclaimer

All Reviews, Ratings, Pros, Cons, and Opinions Shared on this Blog (Press A Reviews) are my (Connor Butler) own Thoughts and Feelings.