🔗 Share this article

I don't recall exactly how the tradition started, however I consistently call all my Pokemon characters Malfunction.

Whether it's a core franchise game or a side project like Pokkén Tournament DX and Pokémon Go — the name always stays the same. Malfunction switches from male to female characters, featuring black and purple hair. Sometimes their style is impeccable, like in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the newest installment in this enduring franchise (and one of the most style-conscious releases). At other moments they're limited to the various academic attire designs of Pokémon Scarlet & Violet. But they're always Glitch.

The Constantly Changing Realm of Pokemon Games

Similar to my characters, the Pokémon games have evolved between installments, with certain cosmetic, some substantial. But at their core, they stay identical; they're always Pokémon to the core. The developers discovered a nearly perfect gameplay formula approximately 30 years ago, and just recently seriously tried to evolve upon it with games such as Pokémon Legends: Arceus (different timeline, your avatar faces peril). Throughout every version, the fundamental mechanics cycle of capturing and fighting alongside adorable monsters has remained consistent for almost the same duration as I've been alive.

Breaking the Mold in Pokémon Legends: Z-A

Similar to Arceus previously, featuring absence of gyms and emphasis on compiling a creature catalog, Pokémon Legends: Z-A brings several changes into that formula. It's set entirely in one place, the Paris-inspired Lumiose City of Pokémon X and Y, ditching the expansive journeys of previous titles. Pokémon are intended to coexist with humans, battlers and civilians, in ways we have merely seen glimpses of previously.

Far more drastic is Z-A's real-time battle system. This is where the franchise's almost ideal core cycle undergoes its biggest evolution yet, swapping deliberate turn-based fights for more frenetic action. And it's thoroughly enjoyable, despite I feel ready for a new traditional entry. Although these alterations to the classic Pokémon formula sound like they form an entirely fresh experience, Pokémon Legends: Z-A is as familiar as every other Pokemon game.

The Core of the Adventure: The Z-A Championship

Upon first arriving in Lumiose City, any intentions your created character had as a tourist are discarded; you're promptly recruited by Taunie (if playing as a male character; the male guide for female characters) to join their squad of trainers. You're gifted a creature from them as your starter and you're dispatched to participate in the Z-A Royale.

The Championship serves as the centerpiece in Pokémon Legends: Z-A. It's comparable to the classic "arena symbols to final challenge" advancement from earlier titles. But here, you fight a handful of opponents to earn the chance to participate in a promotion match. Succeed and you will be elevated to a higher tier, with the ultimate goal of reaching the top rank.

Live-Action Combat: A New Frontier

Trainer battles occur at night, while sneaking around the designated battle zones is very entertaining. I'm always trying to get a jump on a rival and unleash an unopposed move, because all actions occur in real time. Moves function with recharge periods, indicating both combatants can sometimes attack each other concurrently (and defeat each other at once). It's much to adjust to initially. Even after gaming for almost 30 hours, I still feel that there is plenty to learn regarding employing my creatures' attacks in methods that complement each other. Positioning also plays a significant part in battles since your creatures will trail behind you or move to specific locations to perform attacks (certain ones are distant, whereas others need to be up close and personal).

The live combat makes battles progress so quickly that I often repeating sequences through moves in identical patterns, even when this amounts to a suboptimal strategy. There's no time to pause in Z-A, and numerous opportunities to get overwhelmed. Creature fights rely on feedback post-move execution, and that information remains visible on screen in Z-A, but flashes past quickly. Occasionally, you cannot process it because taking your eyes off your adversary will spell certain doom.

Exploring Lumiose Metropolis

Outside of battle, you will traverse Lumiose City. It's fairly compact, though tightly filled. Far into the adventure, I continue to find new shops and elevated areas to explore. It is also rich with character, and fully realizes the concept of Pokémon and people living together. Common bird Pokemon inhabit its pathways, flying away as you approach like the real-life pigeons obstructing my path while strolling in New York City. The monkey trio gleefully hang on streetlights, and insect creatures like Kakuna attach themselves to trees.

An emphasis on city living represents a fresh approach for Pokémon, and a positive change. Even so, navigating the city becomes rote eventually. You may stumble upon a passage you never visited, but you wouldn't know it. The architecture lacks character, and many elevated areas and sewer paths offer little variety. Although I never visited Paris, the inspiration for the city, I reside in New York for nearly a decade. It's a metropolis where every district are the same, and they're all vibrant with differences that give them soul. Lumiose City doesn't have that. It has tan buildings topped with colored roofs and simply designed terraces.

Where The Metropolis Truly Shines

Where the city really shines, surprisingly, is inside buildings. I adored how Pokémon battles in Sword and Shield take place in football-like stadiums, providing them genuine significance and importance. Conversely, fights within Scarlet and Violet take place on a court with two random people observing. It's a total letdown. Z-A finds a balance between both extremes. You'll battle in eateries with diners observing as they dine. An elite combat club will invite you to a tournament, and you will combat in its rooftop arena under a lighting fixture (not Chandelure) hanging above. The most memorable spot is the beautifully designed headquarters of the Rust Syndicate with atmospheric illumination and magenta walls. Various individual battle locales overflow with personality that's absent from the larger city as a whole.

The Familiarity of Routine

Throughout the Championship, as well as quelling rogue powered-up creatures and completing the creature index, there is an unavoidable sense that, {"I