As much as the Pokémon franchise is popular, it still pulls lots of debates surrounding their quality and other various attributes. Pokémon diehards will consume these games with no complaints and even launch full frontal assaults on those that even mention a downside. On the other hand, you also have those “bro” gamers that say Pokémon games are for kids and lack in quality, substance, innovation, and challenge. I tend to fall in the middle, giving each mainline game (in recent years at least) a chance and kept in mind these aren’t your industry-defining titles. With all that said, I’ve easily put in at least ten hours in the last four days I picked up Pokémon Legends: Z-A. Even for a franchise as forgiving as Pokémon, I’m starting to wonder if Pokémon Legends: Z-A is too easy.
Note: This banter discusses the single-player main game of Pokémon Legends: Z-A.
I was very much looking forward to Pokémon Legends: Z-A after how much I enjoyed the change of pace in Pokémon Legends: Arceus. In this latest title, you arrive in Lumiose City, based on Paris, France. This circular metropolis attempts to cultivate a place where Pokémon and humans can live in harmony with the introduction of Wild Zones and Battle Zones. There’s an extensive introduction where you follow your new friend, Taunie, around town to accomplish small tasks. You capture Pokémon, learn about side missions, battle a few friends to learn the battle system, and take on research “assignments” to earn TMs. The entire intro section was rudimentary, but I excused it in the event this may be someone’s first Pokémon game (boy, do I feel old).
After rising a few ranks in the Z-A Royal battle system, I felt like things were pretty rinse and repeat. You battle and/or catch Pokémon in the Wild Zones by day and battle trainers to earn a Challenger’s ticket to get a promotional match to rise up another letter. Side missions, research, and exploration are things I’d do to kill time in between.
The challenge curve hasn’t felt steep so far, and the only time I had to back away was when I started to encounter Alpha Pokémon. Outside of that, battles with trainers and promotional matches were pieces of cake. The new battle system may pose a challenge to some, and even I haven’t perfected the real-time movement to dodge attacks. However, you don’t need to master it to beat most battles. I’ve been running circles non-stop in my battles, and the tactic works fine.
It isn’t just the battles that were simple. The economy, from items to currently is extremely lopsided. I could spend a few minutes before evening or daybreak running the streets of Lumiose City and collect TONs of items. I never felt the need to buy anything. There are even several NPCs in the early game that have a yellow speech bubble and give you free Poke Balls and other things. Currency also quickly became a non-issue with each night of tackling the Z-A Royal battles. I’d mow down trainer after trainer, and by the end of the night, there’s a multiplier that rewards you with a stupid amount of money.
I understand that Pokémon games aren’t known to be notoriously difficult or punishing like the Dark Souls games; however, I was frankly surprised at almost how flat the difficulty curve felt to me. When everything comes easily like the money, items, side quests (which are mostly fetch quests or a battle), and battles, it doesn’t give me much to look forward to the next forty hours I may sink into Z-A. Sure, the Mega Evolutions are cool, but it applies to only a limited number of Pokémon (versus terastallizing in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet)
Have you tried Pokémon Legends: Z-A yet, and what do you think of its difficulty? Please share your thoughts with us on our Boss Rush Facebook Group or our Boss Rush Discord.
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