Pokémon Legends: Z-Afeels like a game on the edge. On the one hand, it is part of the franchise’s spin-off series, which, in theory, means that its quality isn’t reflective of the mainline games. On the other hand, it has to do a lot of heavy lifting after the somewhat disastrous launch ofPokémon Scarlet and Violet, and following the mediocreSword and Shield. After its predecessor,Legends: Arceus, proved itself to be the bestPokémongame on the Switch,Z-Adefinitely has a lot to live up to, even if it is, technically, a spin-off game.
As a result,Pokémon Legends: Z-Afeels like theultimate make-or-break pointfor thePokémonfranchise. So, it is lucky then that it appears to be taking ideas wholesale from a critically acclaimed RPG with a rather high Metacritic score. While in any other franchise, taking ideas from another game may be frowned upon, in this case, it should be encouraged, as thePokémongames have been a little creatively bankrupt as of late and are in dire need of inspiration. In fact,Legends: Z-Ashould take a lot more from this masterpiece than it already is.
Pokémon Legends Z-A Is Borrowing From Xenoblade Chronicles
Their Combat Is Almost Identical
Legends: Z-Ais rather obviously and liberally taking ideas from theXenoblade Chroniclesgames when it comes to its newreal-time Pokémon battles. Specifically,the battles inZ-Alook a lot likeXenoblade Chronicles 2’scombat, which sees the player use three Blades (which are ostensibly Pokémon), each with its own elemental type, and three abilities mapped to the X, A, B, and Y buttons. It is also a real-time game in which the player can reposition mid-combat in order to use specific moves and overwhelm their opponent.
Of course,Pokémon Legends: Z-Awill differ slightly, butpractically everything from the UI to the general approach feels like it has been lifted fromXenoblade Chronicles 2. I feel, though, it is crucial to state that I don’t have an issue with this. Beyond being an enthusiastic lover of all thingsXenoblade Chronicles 2, I also just feel like this new approach to combat is exactly the innovation the series needed to keepPokémonfrom feeling outdated.
In fact, it could also benefit fromXenoblade Chronicles 2’selemental synergies. They would greatly elevate combat and make it far more strategic, thus being themajor overhaulPokémonneeds. However,Pokémon Legends: Z-Aseems to have stopped taking ideas fromXenoblade Chroniclesbeyond its combat, and that is a genuine shame. If it were up to me,Legends: Z-Awould be taking far more from the legendary RPG series than just its combat. It should go one step further and look at its cinematic approach to storytelling as its next inspiration.
Legends Z-A Needs To Take More From Xenoblade Chronicles
It Should Borrow Its Knack For Storytelling
Storytelling has never beenPokémon’sstand-out feature. For a while, that was somewhat acceptable, as creature collection games were few and far between, and so there was still a novelty to be found in its engrossing gameplay loop. However, when the likes ofCassette Beasts,Monster Hunter Stories, andYokai Watchbegan delivering more mature, in-depth, and interesting narratives, as well as unique takes on creature-collecting mechanics,Pokémonbegan to feel a little antiquated.
BeyondPokémon Black and White, which, to this day, remain my favorite games in the series, at least for their narrative,the series has never attempted anything even remotely ambitious in terms of its storytelling. The cinematography is flat and lifeless, there’s still no voice acting, and the stories rarely amount to more than an evil villain wanting to rule the world or do something mean to Pokémon. The series' approach to storytelling is in dire need of a facelift, and that’s exactly whyRPGs should inspirePokémon, specificallyXenoblade Chronicles.
Xenoblade Chroniclesis one of the most cinematic and ambitious JRPGs on the market, with frequently good voice acting - at least if you choose to play in Japanese - epic cutscene direction, and heart-wrenching, mature narratives with a penchant for silly humor that helps break the melancholy of its excellent worldbuilding.Pokémon Legends: Z-Ataking a leaf out of its book and adopting a more cinematic and complex approach to its narratives would greatly benefit the seriesand elevate the experience dramatically.
Pokémon Should Lean Into Its JRPG Roots
It Needs To Evolve To Survive
There is value, I believe, in Pokémon leaning more into its JRPG roots than away from them. Right now, while it certainly adopts certain elements of the genre, it rarely feels like what modern JRPGs have amounted to. It, more or less, feels like an old-school JRPG, one hyper-focused on simplistic turn-based combat that’s easy to navigate as well as a narrative that serves as serviceable background noise.Pokémonhas still, even in its latest iteration, not added the basic tenets of storytelling that players expect, and that baffles me.
Pokémon Legends: Z-Aneeds to be the next evolution for the series, and I really hope it manages to deliver that.
I wantPokémonto be greater than its current offering, and I have hope thatLegends: Z-Acan deliver that. If it borrows more fromXenoblade Chroniclesor really any narrative-focused JRPG, then it can absolutely evolve to become something more substantial.Pokémonhas the potential to be amazing and to live up to the reputation it has garnered over the decades. It is no longer confined to limited hardware, so it should stop acting like it is.Pokémon Legends: Z-Aneeds to be the next evolution for the series, and I really hope it manages to deliver that.
