Pokémon Legends: Z-A is the first game in the franchise to move from turn-based battles to real-time combat, and it sounds like it will take some getting used to. The first gameplay was revealed to content creators and critics ahead of the 2025 Pokémon World Championships in Anaheim, California, where it became clear developer Game Freak is unafraid to change-up some decades-old formulas.
The demos were brief, split between 10 minutes of regular trainer battles and 10 minutes of a raid-like encounter against a Mega Evolution Abso. Unlike in 2022’s Arceus, Pokémon Legends: Z-A has you move around a battle in real-time, telling your Pokémon which moves to use or when to get out of the way at will. VGC noted that you can even sneak up on enemy trainers to get an advantage in battle, while The Verge compared the Mega Evolution showdown to “a classic 3D Zelda boss.” Your trainer can even take damage herself during these battles.
You can see what they’re describing in some of the hands-on footage from Serebii Pokémon expert Joe Merrick:
According to IGN‘s preview, Pokémon Legends: Z-A makes some other drastic departures from series’ staples, like getting rid of PP points and relying on ability cooldowns instead. This lets you use any attack an unlimited number of times, but only once its meter is full. “Legends: Z-A didn’t feel like a full action game to me, but kind of more like an MMO, with its casting times, cooldowns, and behind-the-scenes math happening,” writes Casey DeFreitas.
Like everyone else, CNET demoed the game on Switch 2 in docked mode and noticed “no performance hiccups.” Nevertheless, Gamesradar was underwhelmed by the urban playground Pokémon Legends: Z-A takes place in “The streets and rooftops are bare and lack personality and, while appearing to be a bustling metropolis, Lumiose City is strangely quiet. The limited character animations are also quite noticeable,” writes Michael Leri. “It does make me wonder if the game is underwhelming in these areas because Z-A is still chained to the archaic original Switch compared to its more powerful successor.”
While Pokémon Legends: Z-A might still be visually hemmed in by the franchise’s history, it sounds like the city’s map still shows it being densely packed with points of interest. Combined with reworked moves to cater to the real-time flow of combat and mechanics like collecting orbs of energy in fights to trigger your own Pokémon’s Mega Evolutions, it feels like at the very least, this year’s release, the first new one in three years, is taking some fresh risks.
