Pokémon Legends: Z-A Review Praises Real-Time Combat and City Life That Feels Like the Anime Come Alive

The return to Lumiose City, originally featured in Pokémon X and Y, arrives 12 years after the sixth-generation games, marking the first time the series revisits Kalos. Acting as the spiritual successor to Pokémon Legends: Arceus, Z-A reimagines the franchise’s traditional formula. Instead of emphasizing exploration across vast wilderness, this entry narrows the focus to one enormous urban environment, filled with everyday interactions, evolving missions, and reworked battles.

According to Catherine Lewis’s detailed review for GamesRadar+, Pokémon Legends: Z-A captures what fans have wanted for years — a Pokémon world that feels alive, interactive, and visually tied to the anime experience. Released on October 16, 2025, for Nintendo Switch and Switch 2, the new Game Freak title pushes the series into a real-time combat direction while situating players within a single, sprawling city: Lumiose.

“A true slice-of-life Pokémon experience thanks to its anime-style real-time combat system and wholesome worldbuilding elements.” — Catherine Lewis

Lewis notes that Pokémon Legends: Z-A “feels comfier and easier to wear than ever” compared to previous titles, adding that it “proves the Legends moniker is more than a sub-series to the beloved turn-based series.” — Catherine Lewis

At the center of this change is a complete overhaul of the battle system. The traditional turn-based model has been replaced by dynamic real-time combat. Players now directly control their Pokémon in motion, dodging attacks, managing cooldowns, and issuing quick commands. Lewis explains that seeing Pokémon battle in full motion delivers on something fans have anticipated since the franchise’s early days.

“Combat is now real-time. That’s right, the Pokémon run around and actually fight, right in front of me, as I dish out commands. Fans such as myself have been begging to see this in action for years, and it’s finally here,” Lewis wrote in her review. — Catherine Lewis

The system introduces cooldowns for moves such as Razor Leaf, Tackle, or Tail Whip, forcing players to think tactically and time attacks efficiently. Each Pokémon’s abilities now interact directly with the terrain and opponent behavior, while the player character can also take damage, adding urgency to each encounter.

Encounters with wild Pokémon now require quick reactions, especially when facing aggressive or Mega Evolved opponents. Mega forms return as high-intensity boss battles with attack patterns, environmental hazards, and distinct “gimmicks” that make each confrontation feel cinematic. Trainer battles maintain their strategy focus but remain accessible, balancing complexity with fluid action.

In her review, Lewis mentioned that the new “trap moves” like Spikes and Whirlpool alter the battlefield dynamically, while techniques such as Volt Switch or U-Turn allow players to reposition their Pokémon mid-battle. She highlights that this creates more tactical depth without discarding the accessibility of the franchise’s earlier systems.

Beyond combat, Pokémon Legends: Z-A transforms how players engage with the Pokémon world. The urban landscape of Lumiose is densely populated, with citizens and their Pokémon living visibly alongside one another. The game replaces the sprawling regions of past titles with smaller, more detailed spaces filled with side quests and slice-of-life activities.

Lewis describes these missions as varied and personal, involving “folks befriending and interacting with the Pokémon around them.” From leading Trubbish away from a café’s leftovers to accompanying a moody Slurpuff to buy sweets, these minor objectives build a cohesive vision of daily life in the Pokémon universe.

While Legends: Arceus was praised for its wilderness design, Z-A focuses instead on intimacy and atmosphere. Players wake each day from their room in Hotel Z, watching Fletchling and Pidgey swoop between streetlights before venturing out into Lumiose’s districts. Lewis believes this grounded rhythm successfully mirrors the fantasy presented in the original anime series, where trainers coexist naturally with Pokémon in an everyday environment.

However, she points out that this single-city setup comes with tradeoffs. The uniform architecture of Lumiose sometimes creates repetition, and many of the city’s buildings serve as non-interactive backdrops. Lewis writes that “many buildings are there purely for decoration and can’t be interacted with at all,” which limits immersion in certain parts of the map.

The rooftops, an important part of exploration where rare Pokémon and secret items are found, are described as “visually difficult to set apart.” Navigation can become confusing because of similar textures and layouts. Despite that, areas like the Lumiose Sewers and the Saison Canal offer variation and serve as key highlights.

Performance-wise, Pokémon Legends: Z-A marks a noticeable improvement over Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Lewis reports that “everything runs butterfree smooth in both TV and handheld mode” on the Nintendo Switch 2, with no major technical issues. While textures can appear flat, the visuals present a clear upgrade, and the stability supports the game’s fast-paced combat.

The sense of nostalgia also plays a major role in the overall experience. For players who spent time in Kalos during the 3DS era, revisiting Lumiose brings a mix of familiarity and reinvention. Lewis acknowledges that this return “feels like playing the sequel we never got back in Generation 6,” bridging the past and present of the franchise.

Customisation also receives notable upgrades. Hairstyles, clothing options, and colour palettes allow players to personalise their trainer’s look extensively. Combined with a photo mode that can be activated freely in exploration or designated areas, it creates opportunities to capture detailed moments with Pokémon companions.

Lewis also highlights the soundtrack, noting its balance of new compositions and rearranged classics from the Kalos region. “Music has always been a strong suit of the series,” she wrote, calling the updated themes “some all-timers” and a standout aspect of the experience.

“Pokémon Legends: Z-A offers a true slice-of-life Pokémon experience,” Lewis wrote. “Fast, fluid real-time fights and a world worth exploring make this finally feel like the anime come to life.” — Catherine Lewis

In her overall verdict, Lewis summarises Pokémon Legends: Z-A as “a world worth getting lost in.” While she acknowledges the uniform design of the city and limited building interactivity as drawbacks, the game’s “fast fluid real-time fights” and emotional worldbuilding outweigh its imperfections. The streamlined yet immersive Lumiose City makes Z-A feel closer to the Pokémon anime than any title before it.