Pokemon Chronicles: Z-A - An Innovative Evolution While Staying Faithful to Its Origins

I'm not sure precisely when the tradition began, however I consistently call every one of my Pokemon characters Glitch.

Be it a main series title or a spinoff like Pokkén Tournament DX along with Pokémon Go — the name always stays the same. Glitch alternates between male and female characters, with dark and violet hair. Occasionally their style is impeccable, as seen in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the latest installment in this enduring franchise (and one of the most fashion-focused entries). Other times they're confined to the assorted academic attire styles from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Yet they're always Glitch.

The Ever-Evolving Realm of Pokemon Titles

Similar to my trainers, the Pokémon games have transformed between installments, some cosmetic, some significant. However at their core, they remain the same; they're always Pokemon to the core. The developers uncovered an almost flawless gameplay formula some 30 years ago, and just recently seriously tried to innovate on it with games like Pokémon Legends: Arceus (new era, your avatar is now in danger). Throughout every iteration, the core gameplay loop of capturing and fighting with charming creatures has remained consistent for almost as long as I've been alive.

Shaking Conventions with Pokémon Legends: Z-A

Similar to Arceus before it, featuring absence of gyms and focus on creating a creature catalog, Pokémon Legends: Z-A introduces several changes to that formula. It's set entirely in one place, the Paris-inspired Lumiose Metropolis of Pokémon X & Y, ditching the expansive journeys of previous games. Pokémon are meant to live together alongside humans, battlers and non-trainers alike, in ways we've only seen glimpses of previously.

Even more radical than that Z-A's live-action battle system. It's here the series' almost ideal gameplay loop experiences its biggest transformation to date, replacing deliberate turn-based fights with something more chaotic. And it's immensely fun, even as I find myself eager for a new turn-based release. Though these alterations to the classic Pokémon formula seem like they form an entirely fresh adventure, Pokémon Legends: Z-A is as familiar as every other Pokémon title.

The Core of the Journey: The Z-A Championship

Upon first arriving in Lumiose City, any intentions your created character had as a tourist get abandoned; you're immediately enlisted by the female guide (for male avatars; the male guide if female) to become part of her team of trainers. You're gifted one of her Pokémon as your first partner and you're dispatched into the Z-A Royale.

The Royale serves as the centerpiece of Pokémon Legends: Z-A. It's similar to the classic "arena symbols to final challenge" progression from earlier titles. However here, you fight a handful of trainers to earn the opportunity to compete in a promotion match. Win and you will be elevated to the next rank, with the final objective of achieving rank A.

Real-Time Battles: An Innovative Approach

Character fights occur at night, and sneaking around the designated combat areas is very entertaining. I'm always attempting to get a jump on a rival and launch an unopposed move, because all actions occur in real time. Attacks operate on cooldown timers, indicating you and your opponent can sometimes attack each other concurrently (and knock each other out simultaneously). It's much to adjust to at first. Despite gaming for almost 30 hours, I still feel like there's much to master in terms of using my Pokémon's moves in methods that work together synergistically. Positioning also factors as a major role in battles as your Pokémon will trail behind you or move to designated spots to execute moves (some are long-range, whereas others must be up close and personal).

The real-time action causes fights progress so quickly that I often repeating sequences of attacks in identical patterns, even when this results in a suboptimal strategy. There's no time to pause in Z-A, and plenty of opportunities to become swamped. Pokémon battles rely on feedback after using an attack, and that information is still present on the display in Z-A, but flashes past rapidly. Sometimes, you can't even read it since taking your eyes off your adversary will result in immediate defeat.

Navigating Lumiose Metropolis

Away from combat, you will traverse Lumiose Metropolis. It's fairly compact, although tightly filled. Far into the adventure, I'm still discovering unseen stores and rooftops to visit. It's also full of charm, and perfectly captures the concept of creatures and humans coexisting. Common bird Pokemon inhabit its pathways, flying away as you approach like the real-life pigeons obstructing my path when walking through NYC. The Pan Trio monkeys gleefully hang on streetlights, and insect creatures such as Kakuna cling to trees.

An emphasis on city living represents a fresh approach for Pokémon, and a positive change. Nonetheless, exploring Lumiose becomes rote eventually. You may stumble upon an alley you never visited, but you wouldn't know it. The building design lacks character, and most rooftops and underground routes provide minimal diversity. While I never visited Paris, the inspiration for the city, I've lived in NYC for nearly a decade. It's a city where every district are the same, and they're all vibrant with differences that give them soul. Lumiose City lacks that quality. It has beige structures with blue or red roofs and simply designed balconies.

Where The Metropolis Truly Shines

Where Lumiose City truly stands out, surprisingly, is inside buildings. I adored how Pokémon battles within Sword & Shield occur in football-like stadiums, providing them real weight and importance. On the flipside, battles in Scarlet and Violet take place on a court with few spectators watching. It's a total letdown. Z-A finds a balance between the two. You'll battle in eateries with patrons watching as they dine. An elite combat club will extend an invitation to a tournament, and you will combat on its penthouse court with a chandelier (not the Pokemon) hanging above. My favorite location is the elegantly decorated headquarters of a certain faction with atmospheric illumination and purple partitions. Various individual combat settings brim with character that's absent from the overall metropolis in general.

The Comfort of Routine

Throughout the Royale, along with quelling rogue Mega Evolved Pokémon and completing the Pokédex, there's an inescapable sense that, {"I