During yesterday’s Pokémon Day festivities, a new trailer for the upcoming Nintendo Switch game Pokémon Legends: Z-A was showcased which gives us our best look at the game yet. After a year or so of silence, we now can see that Legends: Z-A isn’t deviating too much from what made Legends: Arceus so special, though it does have new tricks up its sleeve.
The biggest change right off the bat is that traversal is seemingly adopting the parkour mechanics from Assassin’s Creed. It’s obviously not as in-depth as Ubisoft’s flagship franchise, but instead of sticking to the streets or jumping on the back of a Pokémon, Trainers can now take to the rooftops and hop between buildings. It’s an exciting prospect and something that hasn’t exactly been touched by the series yet.
Who are the starters in Legends: Z-A?
Another takeaway from the trailer is the confirmation of the starter Pokémon. Strangely, two of them hail from the Johto region while the other comes from Unova. They are Totodile, Chikorita, and Tepig. It seems Game Freak either forgot its own legacy or, more likely, is mixing up the order to highlight how Legends: Z-A will take familiar concepts and remix them for a new generation. In Legends: Arceus, Cyndaquil was featured as a starter, but that game had critters from three different regions. It’s certainly an odd pairing here.
Legends: Z-A Mega Evolutions
The last major mechanic to mention is that Mega Evolutions will be included in Legends: Z-A. Legends: Arceus did not include any of the mechanics introduced from Pokémon X and Y, likely because it acted as a prequel to the entire series. With Legends: Z-A potentially filling in the gap from X and Y and the later games, it makes sense why Mega Evolutions are back. The trailer shows off Charizard X and Y as well as a few others, but there are bound to be many others throughout players’ journeys.
All in all, Legends: Z-A seems like a solid evolution over the previous Legends title. As one of the most interesting Pokémon games in quite some time, Legends: Arceus laid solid groundwork for a great spinoff series to happen. If Legends: Z-A can continue that momentum, it might wind up being a modern classic. Now we just need to see what it looks like on the Switch 2.
More Pokémon Presents February 2025
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Written by Peter Glagowski
Peter has been a freelance gaming and film critic for over seven years. His passion for Nintendo is only matched by the size of his collection.
