Z-A Entirely Thanks To One Major Problem

As much as I am looking forward to it, I may skip Pokémon Legends: Z-A entirely because of one major problem the game may present once it is released. Legends: Z-A is the next main core game in the series. The title will be set in a reimagined version of Lumiose City from the Kalos region, first presented in the Generation 5 games, Pokémon X and Y. The game will take on an open-world area approach, much like Legends: Arceus. This will eliminate traveling through towns in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, like in the original Gen 5 titles.

It’s expected that the game will be innovative in many ways, as a successor to Scarlet and Violet’s legacy. The title will also feature a big change to gameplay, as it will take on a more action-based approach. While trainers will still use moves, Pokémon will not be limited to PP and, instead, cooldown times. Furthermore, the big battle changes in Pokémon Legends: Z-A include the ability to control your Pokémon around the arena, effectively allowing you to dodge attacks based on placement rather than the Evasiveness stat.

Pokémon Legends: Z-A Looks Worse On Switch Than Switch 2

The Version For The New Console Enhances Resolutions & Frame Rates

Gameplay for the upcoming title has already been presented in several instances during Nintendo’s promotional period for the game, and as a part of an effort to promote the Nintendo Switch 2, it has been shown how Legends: Z-A looks on the most recent hybrid console. As has been announced for Pokémon Legends: Z-A’s upgraded Nintendo Switch 2 version, the game will feature “enhanced resolutions and frame rates,” according to the company. This has already proven to be true thanks to marketing material.

I’d Be Even More Excited For Pokémon Legends: Z-A If It Used These Two Nintendo Switch 2 Features

Pokémon Legends Z-A would absolutely benefit from incorporating two of the Nintendo Switch 2’s newest and most intriguing features into its gameplay.

During the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct event earlier this year, gameplay of Legends: Z-A’s Switch 2 Edition was shown, highlighting how smoothly the game runs on the new console. Compared to the previous gameplay trailers, the game is astonishingly better, with a notably stable performance and much better lighting and graphics than before. This makes sense, given that the console has better hardware to process software, but the dichotomy between both versions of the game has made me cautious about the release of Pokémon Legends: Z-A.

I Don’t Want Performance Issues After 100s Of Hours In Scarlet & Violet

I Enjoyed S&V, But Won’t Subject Myself To Another Poorly Polished Game

A player character looking out over an empty Casseroya Lake in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.

I love the franchise and am very much looking forward to exploring this new interpretation of Kalos, but after spending over 200 hours in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, almost incessantly accompanied by technical problems, I’m not ready to subject myself to the prospect of long-lasting performance issues once again. The Gen 9 games are extremely fun, and I wouldn’t have spent hundreds of hours with them if I hadn’t had a good time, but it’s impossible to say I didn’t suffer during my playthrough because of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s performance issues.

Pokémon Legends: Z-A's NPC trainers get ready to battle at night.

It’s Time For Pokémon Legends Z-A To Steal The Anime’s Best Idea

Pokémon Legends: Z-A should borrow the best idea from the anime in order to both help the series evolve and offer a completely new gameplay feature.

As soon as I booted the game for the first time, I was shocked by how poor its graphics were, especially in comparison to Pokémon Legends: Arceus, which was released months earlier. Surely, Scarlet and Violet were on a much larger scope, but the overall graphics and rendering problems were significant and took away from the immersion experience I was looking forward to having. Constantly, because of this, I was being reminded that this was a product, and a poorly polished one at that.

Beyond that, the Gen 9 titles also had severe performance issues, many of which remain to this very day, despite some updates trying to fix them. It’s annoyingly common for players to experience FPS rate drops while exploring Paldea. Complete game crashes aren’t too common nowadays, following a series of patches, but the FPS rate drops persist. Casseroya Lake, for example, is notorious for having serious rendering problems that also affect the FPS rates, something that has only been truly fixed with the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet update for Switch 2.

Sadly, I Might Skip Pokémon Legends: Z-A Until I Get A Switch 2

These Pokémon Games Shouldn’t Be Released Until They’re Fully Optimized

Mega Amphoreus attacks in Pokemon Legends: Z-A.

My big concern is that, on the regular Nintendo Switch, Legends: Z-A will be plagued by the same issues that affected Scarlet and Violet. As I’ve mentioned, I had a great time playing the Gen 9 titles, but I was negatively affected by their poor performance issues. I want to experience the renewed version of Kalos in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, but I’m not comfortable subjecting myself to hundreds of extra hours of technical issues that shouldn’t be a problem to begin with. These are AAA games that should be fully optimized for the console they are being released on.

A trainer from Pokemon Legends Z-A wearing sunglasses with the protagonist behind them.

I’d Be Worried About Pokémon Legends Z-A If It Wasn’t For One Stand-Out Feature

Pokémon Legends Z-A is at risk of being a controversial entry in the franchise, but one standout feature could save it from being a total washout.

As such, I don’t see myself paying full price on a potentially poorly optimized title. I do intend to purchase a Nintendo Switch 2 at some point, and only then will I consider actually playing the upcoming title, with the guarantee that it will run smoothly. That could, however, take a few months, which is a pity for an avid Pokémon fan. Nevertheless, Nintendo really has to improve the quality of the games in the franchise, and unless Pokémon Legends: Z-A proves to be fully optimized for the original Nintendo Switch, I’m not playing it anytime soon.