Pokémon Legends: Z-A review: near perfection in a Pokémon game

Pokémon Legends: Z-A feels like a mega evolution for the franchise.

It draws on elements from the core series of games, the battle mechanics ripped from the anime, the exploration and freedom pioneered by Legends: Arceus, and a story focus that I feel we haven’t seen since the Gamecube’s XD: Gale of Darkness – which, alongside its predecessor Colosseum, are my two favorite Pokémon titles.

The final concoction produces a game that lands perfectly between familiar and fresh. It’s so delightfully moreish, I have struggled to rip myself away to write this review – or really do anything else other than play it since being sent my copy to try ahead of the game’s launch.

While there are a few areas where Legends: Z-A narrowly missed the mark – namely, difficulty scaling, there’s some battle bugginess, and Lumiose City isn’t quite varied enough to carry a whole ...