Pokémon Legends: Z-Ais the next entry into thePokémon Legendsspin-off series that aims to re-explore a setting from a previous game but from a different perspective. The first game in the series,Arceus, took players back to the Sinnoh region from theDiamondandPearlgames. However, it was set 200 years before the events of those games, allowing players to see how the region had evolved, and even how its Pokémon had changed and adapted over the years.
There is a lot fans alreadyknow aboutPokémon Legends: Z-A, from its setting of Lumiose City from theX & Ygames to its story of how the city is undergoing an urban redevelopment plan in order to better accommodate the lives of Pokémon and its existing inhabitants. However, as much as players may be excited to revisit Lumiose City,Pokémon Legends: Z-Ahas already fumbled its interpretation of it by not sticking to the precedent set byPokemon Legends: Arceusa few years before.
Lumiose City Map Compared To X & Y
There Are Some Key Differences
Lumiose City’s map inPokémon Legends Z-Ahasn’t been completely revealed. However, via the officialPokémon Legends: Z-Awebsite,players can see an illustrated version which reveals that the city is significantly larger than the version fromX & Y. While Lumiose City was impressive inX & Y,a lot of space was taken up with areas where players couldn’t go. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case with theZ-Aversion, as, in the game’s first official trailer, we get to see far more expansive streets with shops that can be visited and areas for battling wild Pokémon.
Naturally,considering that the entirety ofPokémon Legends: Z-Ais set within Lumiose City, players can expect a far more expansive version of it. It also helps that this is running on the Switch - and potentially the Switch 2 - and not a 3DS. So, there will naturally be more details and areas for players to explore that were absent inX & Y, which is just one of the reasons whyLumiose City is a great settingforPokémon Legends: Z-A.
Pokémon Legends Z-A’s Map Hasn’t Changed Enough From X&Y
It Is Mostly The Same In Terms Of Structure
However,while Lumiose City is certainly bigger inPokémon Legends: Z-A, it isn’t really different. That is largely because it doesn’t look likePokémon Legends: Z-Ais set that much longer after the events ofX & Y- there are evencharacters fromX & YinZ-A. The city looks almost identical from screenshots and the aforementioned map, which is a huge shame, especially considering thatLegends Arceusseemed to imply that the series would focus on a different time period that completely changes how the original region looked.
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Pokémon Legends: Z-A has showcased a lot of new features unique to it, but one particular update to catching methods is major and easy to miss.
It isn’t thatPokémon Legends: Z-Ahad to be set in the past - as much as the word “legend” quite literally implies it will be - but that it needs to do more than just replicate the region from a pastPokémongame on a new console. It is great that Game Freak has put so much effort into bringing Lumiose City to life,but it feels like a waste when it just looks like a remastered version of a city from the 3DS era, rather than taking the opportunity to do something new and daring.
Arceus Shook Up Sinnoh In A Major Way
It Made It Feel Like An Entirely New Region
Perhaps we were spoiled withPokémon Legends: Arceusand its hugely different interpretation of the Sinnoh region. It took recognizable elements of the region from theDiamondandPearlgames - namely Mt. Coronet - while stripping it back, focusing on what the region would have looked like hundreds of years before its inhabitants had constructed enormous cities and robbed it of its natural beauty.There’s something rather blissful about exploring the ruins and forests ofPokémon Legends: Arceusand slowly getting an idea of how the region could change so drasticallyfrom the ambitions of the game’s main characters.
Pokémon Legends: Z-Ais seemingly not set far enough into the future or past for Lumiose City to feel substantially different.
Exploring what a region was like before the protagonist of the original game arrived there or how it changed after they left was seeminglywhat made theLegendsgames differentfrom the mainline ones. However, evidently, that concept was a one-time deal, asPokémon Legends: Z-Ais seemingly not set far enough into the future or past for Lumiose City to feel substantially different. That is disappointing, especially as the region has plenty of history briefly touched upon inX & Ythat could have been explored in greater detail inPokémon Legends: Z-A.
Z-A Needs To Change Lumiose City More
It Needs To Make It Feel Different, Not Just Bigger
In an ideal world,Pokémon Legends Z-Awould have changed Lumiose City more. It is possible, especially as the game’s narrative is centered around an urban redevelopment plan, that the city will evolve across the course of the game, expanding in a myriad of ways that are both visually and functionally interesting. However, even were that the case,it’s hard to imagine Lumiose City looking little more than an updated version of theX & Yversion, rather than an entirely different place that either grew from that or was the inspiration for it.
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Pokémon Legends: Z-A introduces a new battle system to the franchise that will likely prove to be extremely influential on future titles.
It would have been fascinating to have seen an 18th-century version of Lumiose City inspired by Paris during that era, or even a hyper-futuristic one that explores how technology has impacted the world of Pokémon and people’s reliance on them. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case, which feels like a missed opportunity. Hopefully, whateverLegendsgame comes afterPokémon Legends: Z-Adoes more with its setting than merely updating the original ever so slightly.
