The very first time you run through Lumiose City, discover a corner cafe, and sit down for a Flamethrower Roast coffee with your favorite Pokémon, it feels amazing. Similarly, that first battle against a hulking Mega Evolved Absol is utterly thrilling. But by the fifteenth time you do those things, the novelty has worn off a bit.
Pokémon Legends: Z-A is an inventive spinoff that diverges in a wild new direction, taking place in the single location of Lumiose City and shifting to a more action-focused timing-based combat system. Those two particular changes are smartly executed and help give Z-A a dynamically different feel from anything the series has done. And yet, some of the lingering problems that have faced modern Pokémon games still rear their ugly heads – including a sense of building monotony, a lack of polish, and some cut corners. It’s a game that simultaneously feels like it pushes Pokémon in a step toward the future, while also being unable to escape its past. What results is a strong follow-up that gets the important things right, but never quite realizes its full potential.
