Pokemon Legends: Z-A Might Be Packing Too Many Eggs in the…

One of the most interesting aspects about Pokemon Legends: Z-A is its setting, not because the setting itself is inherently odd, but because the choice to pack an entire Pokemon game, let alone a Legends title, into a city feels like a strange one. Traditionally, Pokemon games span entire regions, not boxed-in urban areas, where Pokemon can be found in their natural habitat, each one more diverse than the last. There seems to be only so much an urban map is capable of in terms of design and scope, and that is even more evidenced by that of Pokemon Legends: Arceus' world. Size and variety may not be the only thing holding back Pokemon Legends: Z-A's Lumiose City, however.

With wild zones, rogue Pokemon outbreaks, ranked nighttime battles, detective side quests, population research tasks, and faction-based storylines, Pokemon Legends: Z-A's Lumiose City is starting to resemble something more akin to a pressure cooker than a hub. It's ambitious, sure, but cramming so many mechanics into one urban area could end up backfiring in the end. If it's all not carefully placed and paced, Pokemon Legends: Z-A could turn what should be a rewarding and immersive Pokemon experience into something that feels repetitive, bloated, and maybe even downright claustrophobic at times.

Pokemon Legends Z-A Nintendo Switch 2 Bundle Flagship Title Game Freak

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By Josh Cotts

Pokemon Legends: Z-A's One-City Design Risks Overstuffing an Already Crowded Formula

Each System Sounds Strong, But Stacking Them Could Break the Flow

On their own, most of Pokemon Legends: Z-A's gameplay systems sound exciting. The idea of battling rogue Mega Evolutions in the wild, solving mysteries alongside detective Emma, and climbing the competitive ladder through nighttime ranked battles all sound like worthwhile ways to rack up some hours in the game. Then there's the worldbuilding happening in the background through factions like the Rust Syndicate and Team MZ, both of which are likely rooted in deeper storylines within Lumiose itself. Add in all the different Pokemon players will be able to find as they explore Lumiose, and Pokemon Legends: Z-A looks like it could have more going on than any Pokemon game before it.

However, stuffing all of that into a single city means things could get stacked high rather quickly, and not necessarily in a clean and organized way. Open-world games do tend to overdo it with content at times and become bloated as a result, but at least they have the size to compensate for layers upon layers of activities. Pokemon Legends: Z-A's Lumiose City, on the other hand, almost seems like it's trying to be an open-world game even though it isn't one. Instead of enhancing the game's variety, all of these systems at play could make the flow of gameplay feel choppy, scattered, and out of breath. It's the kind of design that could be fun for a few hours, only for exhaustion and burnout to set in by the umpteenth time players have accomplished something.

Lumiose's Narrow Scope May Limit Exploration and Replay Value

The appeal of Pokemon Legends: Arceus wasn't just in its mechanics, but in the way those mechanics gradually unfolded across its sprawling world that gave the game's pacing some room to breathe. Pokemon Legends: Z-A is taking a different approach by shrinking that sense of scale into a dense, urban core. While that's not inherently a bad thing, Arceus had something Z-A may not have being stuck in one location: environmental diversity. Pokemon Legends: Z-A does have its day-night cycle to occasionally shake things up, but as players circle through districts, alleyways, and plazas, things could get old really fast, regardless of whether they're tackling a variety of activities.

Pokemon Legends: Z-A's replay value might also take a hit if the city doesn't somehow evolve as the game progresses. In Arceus, new areas were unlocked and revisited with different traversal options, which in turn allowed its world to feel continuously fresh. If Pokemon Legends: Z-A's Lumiose just stays static, however, then all of its content might feel like a one-off. Of course, time will tell just how well Lumiose City does as the game's only location, especially considering the fact that it still feels like not much of it has been shown off.

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