Support NeoGAF

[Draugoth]

Game Information

Game Title: Pokemon Legends: Z-A

Platforms:

• Nintendo Switch (Oct 16, 2025)
• Nintendo Switch 2 (Oct 16, 2025)

Trailers:

• Pokemon Legends: Z-A - Official Trailer | Pokemon Presents 2025
• Pokémon Legends: Z-A Official Announcement Trailer

Publisher: Nintendo

Review Aggregator:

OpenCritic - 83 average - 60% recommended - 5 reviews

MetaCritic - 81 -100 - 40 Reviews

​

Critic Reviews

Gfinity - Alister Kennedy - 7 / 10

A decent enough game that fails to innovate in the same way Legends Arceus did, Pokemon Legends Z-A feels like a wasted opportunity that may only be worth it for die-hard fans.

Glitched Africa - Marco Cocomello - 9 / 10

Pokemon Legends: Z-A changes the pace with an exhilarating new combat system and exciting new Mega Evolutions to discover, all centred around a familiar yet oddly different setting that pays tribute to one of Game Freak's most underrated regions.

PPE.pl - Wojciech Gruszczyk - Polish - 9 / 10

Pokémon Legends: Z-A is exactly what this series needed – a fresh idea, technical refinement, and new energy. The developers finally dared to combine experimentation with classic elements, creating an adventure that is engaging, looks great, and proves that the world of Pokémon can evolve without losing its identity. It's not perfect – the pace is uneven and the difficulty level is too conservative – but it's still one of the most satisfying installments in the series in years.

Shacknews - Donovan Erskine - 9 / 10

Quote not yet available

XGN.nl - Luuc ten Velde - Dutch - 7 / 10

Pokémon Legends: Z-A offers a great, new way of play while offering an expansive city to explore. Though the game isn't pretty in the slightest, it's hard not to enjoy everything this package has to offer.

Sixth Axis - 100

Unlike the most recent Pokémon Scarlet & Violet, Pokémon Legends: Z-A is a game that really holds your attention. The spiritual successor to Legends Arceus, it's learned from the mistakes of the distant past and beautifully shows what city life is like in the Pokémon universe. I can see myself playing this for another hundred hours as I finish my Pokédex, shiny hunt and generally have a great time. This is easily the best Pokémon game on the market.

Shacknews - 90

Pokemon Legends: Z-A gave me just about everything I wanted from a new Legends game. It continues the trend of bucking against series norms while maintaining the essence of what makes these games so special for fans.

RPG Site - 90

Years ago, I said that Pokemon Legends: Arceus proved that there was room in the Pokemon world for more games like Pokemon Colosseum to exist, and to even thrive. While Pokemon Legends: Z-A wasn't quite what I had in mind, it feels like validation nonetheless. Pokemon is at its best when Gamefreak is allowed to experiment with what a Pokemon game can actually be, and Pokemon Legends: Z-A is an affirmation that the series isn't done evolving, much like the Pokemon themselves. If this is the future of the series - more experimental "Legends" titles which attempt to broaden the Pokemon world in ways that only they can, instead of merely retreading old ground with remakes - I couldn't be happier.

Siliconera - 90

Pokemon Legends: Z-A is a follow-up to Arceus that feels both similar and different due to its focus on living alongside Pokemon in a modern city. The two themes are Mega Evolution and embracing life alongside Pokemon, and Game Freak and Nintendo are constantly showing and telling how that works. Admittedly, I miss the more varied biomes and locations from Arceus. But I do appreciate the story, the ambiance, the attention paid to characters, and how much it feels like a real city. After over 35 hours with it, I'm quite pleased.

GamesRadar - 80

Pokemon Legends: Z-A offers a true slice-of-life Pokemon experience thanks to its anime-style real-time combat system and wholesome worldbuilding elements. While its single-city setting can sometimes feel a bit samey, Lumiose is densely packed with things to do and discover. This is a world worth getting lost in.

VG247 - 80

Hopefully Game Freak will continue using the Legends series as a playground (maybe a return to pixel graphics, just a suggestion), but, for now, Lumiose City has been a treat to revisit.

Nintendo Life - 70

Pokémon Legends: Z-A should be celebrated for its fabulous real-time combat and its largely smooth jump to the Switch 2, but in condensing things down to one single location, it loses part of the Pokémon magic that Arceus and many other entries managed to amplify. I'll forever find filling up my Pokédex fun, and for the Switch 2 generation, this is a good starting point for the franchise. But if the Legends series is to continue, it needs to recapture its personality and fuse that real-time system with a bit more freedom.

Eurogamer - 60

Lumiose City could do with work, but Pokémon Legends: Z-A is a much more tightly focused - and delightfully goofy - return to better form. At least by modern Pokémon's standards.

IGN - TBD

I'm just so genuinely excited about what Game Freak has done here. [Review in Progress]

Videos​

---

 

[Kacho]

Cfinity
Glitched Africa
PPE.pl
XGN.nl

Who the fuck are these sites?

 

[Kacho]

Sixth Axis - 100

Unlike the most recent Pokémon Scarlet & Violet, Pokémon Legends: Z-A is a game that really holds your attention. The spiritual successor to Legends Arceus, it's learned from the mistakes of the distant past and beautifully shows what city life is like in the Pokémon universe. I can see myself playing this for another hundred hours as I finish my Pokédex, shiny hunt and generally have a great time. This is easily the best Pokémon game on the market.

Shacknews - 90

Pokemon Legends: Z-A gave me just about everything I wanted from a new Legends game. It continues the trend of bucking against series norms while maintaining the essence of what makes these games so special for fans.

RPG Site - 90

Years ago, I said that Pokemon Legends: Arceus proved that there was room in the Pokemon world for more games like Pokemon Colosseum to exist, and to even thrive. While Pokemon Legends: Z-A wasn't quite what I had in mind, it feels like validation nonetheless. Pokemon is at its best when Gamefreak is allowed to experiment with what a Pokemon game can actually be, and Pokemon Legends: Z-A is an affirmation that the series isn't done evolving, much like the Pokemon themselves. If this is the future of the series - more experimental "Legends" titles which attempt to broaden the Pokemon world in ways that only they can, instead of merely retreading old ground with remakes - I couldn't be happier.

Siliconera - 90

Pokemon Legends: Z-A is a follow-up to Arceus that feels both similar and different due to its focus on living alongside Pokemon in a modern city. The two themes are Mega Evolution and embracing life alongside Pokemon, and Game Freak and Nintendo are constantly showing and telling how that works. Admittedly, I miss the more varied biomes and locations from Arceus. But I do appreciate the story, the ambiance, the attention paid to characters, and how much it feels like a real city. After over 35 hours with it, I'm quite pleased.

GamesRadar - 80

Pokemon Legends: Z-A offers a true slice-of-life Pokemon experience thanks to its anime-style real-time combat system and wholesome worldbuilding elements. While its single-city setting can sometimes feel a bit samey, Lumiose is densely packed with things to do and discover. This is a world worth getting lost in.

VG247 - 80

Hopefully Game Freak will continue using the Legends series as a playground (maybe a return to pixel graphics, just a suggestion), but, for now, Lumiose City has been a treat to revisit.

Nintendo Life - 70

Pokémon Legends: Z-A should be celebrated for its fabulous real-time combat and its largely smooth jump to the Switch 2, but in condensing things down to one single location, it loses part of the Pokémon magic that Arceus and many other entries managed to amplify. I'll forever find filling up my Pokédex fun, and for the Switch 2 generation, this is a good starting point for the franchise. But if the Legends series is to continue, it needs to recapture its personality and fuse that real-time system with a bit more freedom.

Eurogamer - 60

Lumiose City could do with work, but Pokémon Legends: Z-A is a much more tightly focused - and delightfully goofy - return to better form. At least by modern Pokémon's standards.

IGN - TBD

I'm just so genuinely excited about what Game Freak has done here. [Review in Progress]

 

[LordCBH]

Come on Amazon ship my shit already.

 

[Jack Videogames]

Before the inevitable shitslinging please keep in mind that Pokémon games have NEVER reviewed well. Pokémon is the world's most successful niche game. The best entries have scored between 75 and 85 almost religiously.

A Pokemon fan can easily add 10 to the OpenCritic score and will have a good approximation of their actual enjoyment.

 

[Eesha]

Before the inevitable shitslinging please keep in mind that Pokémon games have NEVER reviewed well. Pokémon is the world's most successful niche game. The best entries have scored between 75 and 85 almost religiously.

A Pokemon fan can easily add 10 to the OpenCritic score and will have a good approximation of their actual enjoyment.

Brand Royality at its finest.

People would buy a literal piece of turd if "Pokemon" is written on it.

 

[begotten]

I watched a bunch of gameplay already - game visually and mechanically looks like a downgrade from Legends Arceus in every way.

 

[Woopah]

Arceus got an 83 on metacritic, let's see where this ends up.

 

[Jack Videogames]

Brand Royality at its finest.

People would buy a literal piece of turd if "Pokemon" is written on it.

See that's what I mean with shitslinging. People here can't understand liking something that doesn't have the big numbers associated to it. That's why we get Ghost of Yoteis.

Zero of what I said is a lie though. Look at Pokémon Emerald or Omega Ruby and what reviews said of them at the time.

 

[Evil Calvin]

Lets have non-Pokemon obsessed fans review the game. Looks like more of the same crap......that looks like it may be a PS2 or Gamecube game.

 

[ebevan91]

I watched a bunch of gameplay already - game visually and mechanically looks like a downgrade from Legends Arceus in every way.

Thankfully this is the last game that'll be on the Switch 1. Gen 10 is supposedly Switch 2 only which is good.

 

[daclynk]

Brand Royality at its finest.

People would buy a literal piece of turd if "Pokemon" is written on it.

Stop Enjoying things i dont like.

 

[TintoConCasera]

A Pokemon fan can easily add 10 to the OpenCritic score and will have a good approximation of their actual enjoyment.

Sounds like a lack of any kind of standards and probably the #1 reason of why those games have 0 effort put into them.

 

[Saber]

Before the inevitable shitslinging please keep in mind that Pokémon games have NEVER reviewed well. Pokémon is the world's most successful niche game. The best entries have scored between 75 and 85 almost religiously.

A Pokemon fan can easily add 10 to the OpenCritic score and will have a good approximation of their actual enjoyment.

They lack any form of critical thinking and brain maturing.
And I know theres some good stuff in there. I love megas, its the best concept they ever created. Theres even some cool megas I saw from the leaks. But theres also some Megas that are literally brain damage in terms of design(100% lazy, like a 3 year old kid could do that). And the game is lifeless, with hundreds of ctrl+c ctrl+v buildings.

 

[Dazraell]

PPE.pl

Who the fuck are these sites?

No clue about other ones but PPE recently had a fuckup where they accidentally forgot to remove a prompt they sent to ChatGPT to generate news article for them. This pretty much says everything about quality of their content

 

[Eesha]

Stop Enjoying things i dont like.

But i liked Pokemon.... until Gen 5

This genre shouldn't never gone full 3D.

 

[TintoConCasera]

This genre shouldn't never gone full 3D.

Checkout SMT V for an example of a 3D monster-taming game done right. It's perfectly doable, it's just that Gamefreak won't put the effort.

 

[Fake]

Imagine the audacity of expecting better.

 

[Eesha]

Checkout SMT V for an example of a 3D monster-taming game done right. It's perfectly doable, it's just that Gamefreak won't put the effort.

Game Freak just won't bother, they can just rack billions upon billions whit a game whit an AA budget.

 

[pulicat]

People playing Pokémon for gameplay and not graphics.

 

[Germuso]

Must be the worst company ever.

 

[DarkShadowXI]

I think this franchise falls into "guilty pleasure" territory these days. It's my comfort food during the holidays.

Would I want better graphics? Of course. Is it going to happen? No. Am I okay with that? Sure.

It's also one of the few games I can enjoy with my wife, so I'll take it.

 

[Nephryte]

Cfinity
Glitched Africa
PPE.pl
XGN.nl

Who the fuck are these sites?

This sound like some AI-made review websites, lol.

 

[Werewolf Jones]

And I know theres some good stuff in there. I love megas, its the best concept they ever created. Theres even some cool megas I saw from the leaks. But theres also some Megas that are literally brain damage in terms of design(100% lazy, like a 3 year old kid could do that).

Megas have always been and always will be bad.

 

[MagiusNecros]

Checkout SMT V for an example of a 3D monster-taming game done right. It's perfectly doable, it's just that Gamefreak won't put the effort.

SMT is Pokemon for adults. Gamefreak doesn't have incentive to do better since a large majority will buy every Pokemon game regardless of quality. Sales prove this.

 

[Saber]

Megas have always been and always will be bad.

I like megas more from the competitive balancing aspect, but its ok.
You should have see the last event they made that was as usual bugged and there were fanboys doing logical explanation for that. Imagine doing reasoning for a bug? Thats the level we are.

 

[MagiusNecros]

I'd like Megas more if they were a permanent final evolution.

From a competitive standpoint I laugh in Mega Rayquaza.

 

[Kacho]

People playing Pokémon for gameplay and not graphics.

Tis true. I enjoy the vibe of the games too. It's comfy.

My main thing is breeding badass Cubones but you can't do that in the Legends games sadly. Never played Scarlet/Violet so I might pick that up early next year.

 

[daclynk]

Sooo much Salt. i wonder ......

Oh its a Nintendo related thread.

People expected it to score lower......

i wonder

 

[daclynk]

I think this franchise falls into "guilty pleasure" territory these days. It's my comfort food during the holidays.

Would I want better graphics? Of course. Is it going to happen? No. Am I okay with that? Sure.

It's also one of the few games I can enjoy with my wife, so I'll take it.

 

[DarkShadowXI]

 

[Dodo123]

Cfinity
Glitched Africa
PPE.pl
XGN.nl

Who the fuck are these sites?

95% of human population on Earth: exists
Random GAF user from the US: pikachu face

 

[Kacho]

95% of human population on Earth: exists
Random GAF user from the US: pikachu face

Not every site is worth highlighting. Established standards are good.

 

[nikos]

I have zero nostalgia for Pokemon, as I didn't grow up with it. The only Pokemon game I REALLY got into was Sword. That may have had to do with the pandemic and, probably as a result, people I know also playing it. Made the experience incredibly fun.

That said, I've been looking forward to Z-A. I like real time battles, the game's environment and it should finally look/run decent on Switch 2. More than likely going to pick it up at launch.

 

[Sebastian1295]

The gameplay looks insanely boring, you know the story is going to be non existent, and the graphics are horrific. Pokémon is just riding off the nostalgia of the brand nowadays.

 

[DarkShadowXI]

My Walmart has it in stock and I was able to order the Switch 1 version for same day delivery.

Let's see if it shows up today?

I'll buy the Switch 2 upgrade on the eshop on the 16th.

 

[MagiusNecros]

The gameplay looks insanely boring

Big turnoffs for me is UI and the 4 moves being cooldown based. Feels like a cheap mobile MMO. I can't unsee the design philosophy.

 

[LordCBH]

Twitter complaining about building balconies. As if I'm going to be wandering around the city looking at balconies instead of catching pokemon.

 

[Kacho]

My Walmart has it in stock and I was able to order the Switch 1 version for same day delivery.

Let's see if it shows up today?

I'll buy the Switch 2 upgrade on the eshop on the 16th.

Guess I'll throw up an OT? I got it digitally preordered.

 

[Lokaum D+]

 

[Kacho]

Twitter complaining about building balconies. As if I'm going to be wandering around the city looking at balconies instead of catching pokemon.

That's been the discussion surrounding Pokemon in enthusiast spaces for the past 6-7 years. I just tune it out now.

"OMG they copy and pasted houses! Look at the textures!!!"

 

[Dodo123]

Not every site is worth highlighting. Established standards are good.

Ohh please forgive me my ignorance! I forgot that reviewing games is reserved only for Americans.

 

[LordOcidax]

A green 81 is going to generate some
salt here….

 

[Lokaum D+]

A green 81 is going to generate some
salt here….

at least its not looking bad as Scarlet did, but, as always i ll wait for the users scores.

 

[Kacho]

Ohh please forgive me my ignorance! I forgot that reviewing games is reserved only for Americans.

Easy with the inferiority complex. It's unbecoming.

You're on an American site btw.

 

[Bondo]

My eyes tell me it looks like crap but reviews are telling me its pretty good.

 

[daclynk]

The gameplay looks insanely boring, you know the story is going to be non existent, and the graphics are horrific. Pokémon is just riding off the nostalgia of the brand nowadays.

looks can be deceiving. Why not play the game before..........

 

[Sgt.Asher]

I'll wait to see how fast the battle system is. My god Scarlet was painful with how slow it could be, start stacking end of turn effects and it's absolutely laborious.

 

[VGA-Games]

I personally have always the feeling that Pokémon Games gets judged by the Graphics instead of the Gameplay Loop.

 

[Kacho]

I'll wait to see how fast the battle system is. My god Scarlet was painful with how slow it could be, start stacking end of turn effects and it's absolutely laborious.

It's totally different than Scarlet. Real time battles.