Nintendo’s Pokémon Legends: ZA was a huge hit. Just ask my kid

I would love to tell you all about it Pokemon Legends: ZAup this week and how it was playing out Nintendo Switch 2. I can do that most of the time, but for most of the past five days, I haven’t really been playing. What started out as joint play together quickly turned into my child completely taking over as he became addicted. Honestly, I would say that’s a good sign.

Nintendo makes a lot of Pokemon games, many of which I can’t keep up with. But Legends ZA is the first game optimized for Switch 2, although you can play on the original Switchs as well. I can’t tell you what it’s like, although having access to the early review meant I could play Pokemon Legends: ZA on just the Switch 2 at home. I was skeptical about how a city-based game would feel like a must-play experience, but so far it’s become one of my favorite Pokemon games of all time.

I’ll let my son tell you. He’s delved into the trading card game and played most of the latest Pokemon games over the past year, and says this is his favorite so far. When I asked him why, he said it’s because the game completely rethinks how combat works. The fast, real-time system feels more immediate and much less sluggish than it did in previous Pokemon games. Plus, he loves the story…and honestly, so do I.

A city full of surprises

My son loves the “weird” story, the fast-paced battles (which he now wants in every Pokémon game) and the constant feeling of surprise while exploring Lumiose City.

All of Pokemon Legends: ZA (at least from what I’ve seen over 10 hours so far) takes place entirely within Lumiose City – a Paris-like city where the CEO of a company called Quasartico Inc. To rebuild everything into a new world where Pokemon and humans can coexist better. The setting reminded me of the movie Detective Pikachu during my demo a few weeks ago, and it turns out my hunch was right.

Pokemon roam the wild areas within the city, occasionally spilling over into urban areas, while a mysterious rogue Pokemon, “Mega Evolution”, has begun to appear and threaten the tranquility of the city. There’s clearly a deeper mystery at play, and while I’m still uncovering it, I won’t spoil anything here.

The game seems to mostly involve a journey to rank up from Z to A by fighting various Pokemon trainers, but that’s not the whole story. There is a group of friends that you spend time with at a local hotel, along with research missions that you must carry out. Side quests are everywhere. The city, although it may seem a bit sparse at times, extends all the way up to the rooftops, with all kinds of hidden locations waiting to be discovered. It feels like a living maze, and I’m still navigating it.

And the city is always changing, too. Wilderness areas continue to multiply, and city dynamics change from day to night. Battles take place at night, with trainers gathering in new pop-up locations each time. It’s not as lively as I would have liked – this is not a Grand Theft Pokemon game – but the cozy, vibrant world still makes me daydream about what a real Universal Pokemon theme park could look like one day.

Shine Pokemon

I keep reminding myself to take extra time to discover and level up my Pokemon. At least that’s what my son tells me to do. He loves how many Pokémon can become Mega Evolved in this game, and how fun the battle moves are. I’m glad he’s happy. I thought I’d get lost in the RPG aspects of the game, but I think the real-time Pokemon battles put me in a more flexible frame of mind, more able to explore and not feel restricted by systems and rule sets. Swapping and remapping Pokemon battle moves to buttons is also easy.

The strong focus on trainer battles – and the sheer variety of Pokémon capable of Mega Evolving – gives the game more of that classic Pokémon-centric energy than its own. Pokemon Legends: Arceus Ever done. I found myself more excited to see how different Pokemon look and act than discovering new worlds to explore. After all, for all of Lumiose City’s secrets, you spend a lot more time wandering around one massive location than in any other Pokémon game I can remember. Fortunately, the visual upgrades on Switch 2 make Pokemon look great in battle.

I’d love to spend more time in Lumiose City, and I can’t help but wonder if this is a glimpse into how all Pokemon games will continue to evolve. It’s hard to say, since Legends games like ZA and Arceus were more experimental than the rest of the series. But, like Arceus, ZA is now one of my favorite Pokemon games on Switch. And on Switch 2, gameplay runs smoother and feels better than any Pokemon game before.