Aftera threeyearhiatus– the longestgapthe serieshasevertakensinceitsinception back in 1996 – we are going to be receiving a new mainline Pokemon game this year, with PokemonLegends: ZA scheduled for release in a little under a month now. As a return to the fan favorite and perennially under visited Kalos region, as well as a follow up to the fan favorite PokemonLegends, it hasa lot of eyes on it. If you are one of the millions planning on getting it when it launches in October, here are a few things you should probably know before you spend money on it.
THE GAME WILL HIT NINTENDO SWITCH AND SWITCH 2
Marking the very firs time that a mainline Pokemongame hasreleased on multiple platforms on the same day, PokemonLegendsZA is launching day and date with native versions for both, the original Nintendo Switch, and the Switch 2. The Switch 2 version will be $10 more expensive than the Switch version, but thankfully enough, you can upgrade your Switch version to the Switch 2 version at any time, so you’e not stuck with the version you bought.
THE GAME SUPPORTS NINTENDO’S VOUCHERS
This here is arguably the most important pricing “hack” for PokemonLegends; while Nintendo hasannounced the discontinuation of the Switch vouchers for their first party game in the coming months, till such time that happens, their games are still covered by the program – at the very least on the Switch 1. This means that you can effectively get the Switch 1 version for $10 off with the vouchers, and then upgrade it to Switch 2 for $10, in turn leading to you getting the Switch 2 version of the game for the same price that you would otherwise only be able to get the original Switch version for.
60FPS ON SWITCH 2!
Being on Switch 2 day and date means we are getting a Pokemon game enhanced for a new system very early on in a new platform’s life; in this case, having a Switch 2 version of PokemonLegendsZA means that we actually get the first Pokemon game that runs in 60fps at all times sincePokemonEmerald on the GameBoy Advance in 2005 – 20 years ago!
BUNDLED WITH SWITCH 2
If you are hoping to play this game on the Switch 2, but you haven’t actually bought one yet, you may want to hold off just a little more. Nintendo hasconfirmed that PokemonLegendsZAwill be bundled with Switch 2 systems starting this October, meaning if you are a Pokemonfan who wants to play ZAin the best way possible, and you haven’t upgraded to Nintendo’s newest system yet, then you have a chance to save yourself some money by getting the bundle. The Switch 2 system itself will be a regular Switch 2, though – so you’re not getting any special edition dock or system with the bundle or anything. Best to keep that in mind!
REAL-TIME BATTLES
This is one of the big selling points for PokemonLegendsZA – the entirely new battle system that is even more ambitious than the changes to battling that the original PokemonLegends had introduced. In LegendsZA, fights are no longer turn based, and are instead real-time, utilizing a style system of attacks tied to cooldowns, and a brand new stat system, compared to the strictly turn based affairs that the serieshasadhered to so far.
CUSTOMIZE YOUR CHARACTER AND POKEMON
PokemonLegendsZA is set in Lumiose City in the Kalos region; Kalos region debuted in PokemonX and Y, and was actually the first instalment in the seriesthat introduced the ability to customize your trainers, a feature that hassincegone on to become a mainstay in the franchise. That means that it is returning in ZA as well, where, in fact, players will find Lumiose City full of parlours and boutiques to customize not just their own look and style, but also that of their Pokemon.
SIDE QUESTS
PokemonLegendsArceus introduced a seriesof side quests for players to focus on while they explored that game’s wilderness; it was the most elaborate quest system that the serieshad featured until then. PokemonLegendsZA will also be doubling down on this aspect, with Lumiose City populated with all manner of side quests, some that tie into your main objectives and goals, and others that take you out of the way and have you getting more and more involved with the colourful cast of characters that you will be interacting with over the course of the game.
POKEMONHOME COMPATIBILITY
One of the critical things that hardcore Pokemon fans rely on is the ability to bring their Pokemon team from game to game, a feature that hasbeen facilitated for over two decades, and for the present batch of Pokemon games, is handled by the PokemonHOME app. LegendsZA will also be getting support for PokemonHOME, albeit it won’t be added until next year. Nintendo and Game Freak also caution against importing your older Pokemoninto ZA indiscriminately – as they point out, while you can bring your Pokemoninto ZA just fine, the game’s overhauled stat system does mean that they lose compatibility with other games in the process. In other words, there’s a high chance that if you bring your Pokemoninto ZA, you can’t bring them into other games from then on. Beware!
ZYGARDE
PokemonLegendsZA is also going to be righting a wrong, a decade in the making. When PokemonX and Y came out in 2013, fans around the world expected an enhanced version to follow up on those; the mythical PokemonZ was expected, which would flesh out the often barebones framework of the base game, polish up the rough edges, and perhaps most importantly, focus on Zygarde, similar to how PokemonEmerald had focused on Rayquaza, and Platinum focused on Giratina. Unfortunately, PokemonZ never materialized, and Zygarde never got itsown starring adventure as had been expected. LegendsZA is promising to fix that, with a focus on Zygarde through itsentire story. Feel happy for the guy who hasbeen waiting so long for his time in the sun!
MEGA EVOLUTIONS
It goes without saying, but with this game being set in the Kalos region, and as a follow up to PokemonX and Y, it will be bringing back the signature feature that debuted in those games and that region – Mega Evolution, the fan favorite feature that lets your Pokemontemporarily evolve into a super powerful state. Not only are existing Mega Evolutions returning in ZA, but there have also been entirely new Mega Evolutions announced, from Mega Dragonite to Mega Victreebell, and more.
DLC
PokemonLegendsArceus famously got no post-launch content, which was viewed as a missed opportunity by fans at the time; LegendsZA is not only going to get proper DLC, that DLC has already been announced a month ahead of the games release. Among other things, the DLC is going to introduce even more Mega Evolutions, so fans of that mechanic probably want to keep an eye out for it, if nothing else.
