Players have been getting a good look atPokémon Legends: Z-Ain a gameplay overview trailer on February 27 during Pokémon Presents, and another one on March 27 during the Nintendo Direct. The game looks to take some of the ideas fromLegends: Arceusand try to move them forward, specifically with the combat, butZ-Ashows some drawbacks Game Freak is now known for. The visuals are still lackluster, and while this is somewhat understanding considering the Switch’s limitations, there is a sense that a series as big asPokémonshould look better.
Still,Z-Adoes have what looks to be the largest city inPokémon’s history,recreatingPokémon X & Y’s Lumiose City in a more lore-accurate fashion, but this comes with some restrictions. The entire game will be confined to the Kalos Region’s capital, showing off its heavily Parisian-inspired aesthetic. To make up for the lack of countryside exploration,Z-Ahas added Wild Zones, sectioned off areas where wildPokémoncan thrive and be caught as if outside the city, but this comes with some vast leaps in logic to accept, even if it makes mechanical sense.
Pokémon Legends: Z-A’s Wild Zones Break Logic
They Are Far Too Dangerous To Be In A Thriving City
Pokémon Legends: Z-A’s Wild Zones are dangerous for the average person, as stated in theNintendo Direct gameplay overview trailer, with the WildPokémondirectly attacking the player. With thePokémonin these zones attacking the player directly,it allows them to dodge with theirPokémonand maneuver in a way that the turn-based games in the series were unable toprovide. Still, this does make battling more dangerous for literal children getting started on their journey, as if running on their own into a world with animals able to shoot fireballs wasn’t deadly enough already.
ThePokémon Legendsseries is a subset of the main series,beginning withLegends: Arceus.
These Wild Zones do provide areas in an urban environment forPokémonto thrive, somewhat similar to green zones in real cities, which are added to help wildlife, increase livability, and aid in repairing the environment. In the real world,having something similar to Wild Zones would make sense in a European city like Paris, but thePokémonseries has far deadlier animals than in the real world. Having a dog that breathes fire like Arcanine is enough of a household concern, but walking out onto a street with deadlyPokémonon the way to the barbers doesn’t seem healthy.
It would be perfectly fine if these Wild Zones were put in areas that actually looked wild. If they were treated like sectioned-off zoo enclosures that emulated the areasPokémonlived in, then they would have to be accessed by people going out of their way to catch and battle, but this isn’t the case. In the trailer,these Wild Zones seem to be in some random streets, which works when converting toBattle Zones at night, but makes them dangerous for the average office worker trying to clock in while avoiding being mauled by a Gogoat.
Lumiose City Is More Dangerous Than It Should Be
It Is No Longer The Safe Urban Environment It Was In X & Y
While converting parks and river areas into Wild Zones would be relatively safe with enough warnings, even if some people will still get hurt biting off more than they can chew, it would have made more sense to put Wild Zones in the city’s outskirts. Most cities tend to spread out towards their borders, and this is where the Wild Zones could have thrived alongside parks and sections under bridgesfor waterPokémon. WhileLumiose City is walledoff, it is expanding and changing, so sections outside the city’s walls where Lumiose is growing would have perfect Wild Zones.
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Still, while confining the game within the walls of Lumiose City makes things convenient for Game Freak, it also makes the city ridiculously dangerous for the average person. Whilst many attempt to becomePokémontrainers, with the protagonist of each game making it look like light work,the average person is an office worker, train conductor, or cashier, for example. There are mundane jobs and not everyone has a powerfulPokémonto protect them, which normally would be fine in a city that doesn’t have wildPokémonrunning around causing havoc.
Legends: Z-Ais aiming for a Fall 2025release window.
There is a strong possibility thatplenty of people either live or work in buildings within a Wild Zone, and while it is probably safe enough if thePokémonthere are low-level, like a Fletchling, working in a river-side office near a Wild Zone could make a commute deadly if a Gyarados decides that the worker is too closer to its territory. The adventurous life of aPokémontrainer isn’t for everyone, but putting Wild Zones in urban areas means that everyone has to live it whether they want to or not, dangers included.
Wild Zones Make More Sense Outside Lumiose City
Keeping The Game Confined Could Be A Mistake
Pokémonhas always been about exploring a region in its entirety, from its cities to its countryside, andwhile Lumiose City has been created closer to its canonical size inZ-A,it does mean that players will see less of the region. Bringing more of the region to them with Wild Zones in the city is a way around this, but it does feel like Game Freak could have pushed a bit more and mademore of the Kalos region. The Wild Zones could have been more vibrant too, like butterfly houses where the environment inside is completely different.
Unless Lumiose is genuinely massive, it could feel very restrictive to only have one city to explore, and the Wild Zones aren’t going to help this feeling. There is also a chance that they feel out of place,considering that there are stalls in Wild Zone 8, shown in the Nintendo Direct trailer, despite the player being attacked by an angry Flaafy. Wild Zones almost feel like a compromise, and it doesn’t make any logical sense for the average person in Lumiose City, even though it gives the player plenty of opportunities to battle.
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WhilePokémongames have always revolved around the player and stretched logic, it did feel like there was a living community to interact with. With Wild Zones breaking logic inPokémon Legends: Z-A, it feels like the city is made for trainers only, despite being a place where services like barbers, clothing stores, cafés, and restaurants were added back withX & Y. Hopefully, more work is done with the Wild Zones to better integrate them into the city and the people living there, even if they can’t be moved and expanded out of Lumiose’s walls.
