Pokemon Legends: Z-A Might Help the Series Branch Out into…

Summary

Pokemon Legends: Z-A could push the series further into new genres with its Lumiose City setting, potentially featuring city-building mechanics.
Players can expect creative gameplay in Lumiose City, including wild mon catching mechanics and potentially life-sim features, like Animal Crossing.
The Urban Redevelopment Plan in Pokemon Legends: Z-A hints at settlement management mechanics, building upon the tension between people and wild Pokemon.

Pokemon Legends: Arceus was one of the most innovative Pokemon games in years when it was released back in 2022, so Pokemon Legends: Z-A has some big expectations to live up to. Not only did Pokemon Legends: Arceus shake up the series formula from the traditional Gym challenge storyline, but it effectively combined action RPG elements with the series' classic turn-based battles. As such, Pokemon Legends: Z-A is in a strong position to further expand the series' foray into other genres, and its Lumiose City setting could be the perfect excuse for elements of a few different genres to be included.

While some players are concerned that Pokemon Legends: Z-A being set entirely within Lumiose City might limit the game's scale when compared to a game like Pokemon Legends: Arceus, there are some creative ways it could make the city feel like a more substantial world than players might expect. Catching wild mons within Lumiose City might seem like a difficult system to design, but Pokemon Legends: Z-A might balance this gameplay with elements from other genres. If this is the case, city-building mechanics, and even some life sim mechanics, could be on the table for Pokemon Legends: Z-A.

Pokemon Legends: Z-A Could Feature City-Builder Mechanics

A core part of the information shared in the reveal trailer for Pokemon Legends: Z-A was the concept of the Lumiose Urban Redevelopment Plan. While there wasn't any gameplay shown for this title, the Urban Redevelopment Plan implies that players will be helping to build parts of Lumiose City in Pokemon Legends: Z-A. With this idea in mind, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to assume the game could feature some degree of city-building or settlement management mechanics.

Although it's unlikely Pokemon Legends: Z-A will feature as robust city-building mechanics as a game like Cities: Skylines, introducing some light features from the genre could be a great way to iterate upon the formula established by Pokemon Legends: Arceus. Depending on when in Kalos' history the game is set, Pokemon Legends: Z-A could feature a system where players will need to build and fortify parts of the city to prevent wild mons from attacking or natural disasters from destroying it, similar to a game like Frostpunk. Pokemon Legends: Arceus has already established the tension between people and wild Pokemon, and this mechanic would help build upon that idea.

Fans Might Finally See Some Animal Crossing-Like Features in a Pokemon Game

Another direction Pokemon Legends: Z-A could take includes more life-sim-like mechanics similar to the Animal Crossing series. Fans have long requested a crossover between Pokemon and Animal Crossing, and Pokemon Legends: Z-A might end up being the closest thing players will get to that game if it includes life-sim mechanics. Given that the game describes the Urban Redevelopment Plan as a way to make Lumiose City a place that belongs to both people and Pokemon, the game could feature a mechanic similar to Animal Crossing: New Horizon's island rating system where players will need to accommodate the needs of certain critters within the city.

To this end, Pokemon Legends: Z-A could make great use of mechanics from a game like Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer or the Happy Home Paradise DLC for Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Perhaps players will need to build parts of the city to the specifications of certain types of Pokemon, such as a park for Grass types or a pond for Water types, in order to meet the criteria for a perfect city rating. The concept of building a city for both people and Pokemon to thrive may be somewhat vague, but it opens the door for the franchise to dip its toes into these other genres in a main series game.

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