00:00Twelve years ago, when I was exploring Kalos in Pokemon X and Y, I never could have imagined that I'd
00:05be revisiting the same region a decade later, with the series' arguably biggest innovations to date.
00:12Jump forward to today, and after an hour of playing Pokemon Legends ZA, I believe it has what it takes
00:17to rejuvenate Game Freak's tried and tested RPG formula.
00:21In this extended play session, the star of the show, the real-time combat system, is given even more of
00:27a chance to shine than it was during my shorter Gamescom demo.
00:31Following my previous 20 minutes of the game, I was already pleasantly surprised by how engaging lower-level fights feel
00:37in the RPG,
00:38with battles that would have been a dull series of back-and-forth tackles transformed into something much more fast
00:43and frantic, arguably demanding actual thought.
00:52In this preview session, I'm clearly a bit further ahead into the RPG than before, with higher-level Pokemon by
00:59my side, who also boast a wider range of attacks.
01:02Here, I get a better sense of how different moves behave on the field in real-time, and I'm immediately
01:06excited to see how deep this system goes.
01:09The MVP of my team is a Gyarados, whose waterfall attack crashes straight-forward in a line, dealing devastating damage
01:16to anything unlucky enough to be in its way.
01:17At one point, a handful of rowdy Houndour discovered this the hard way, all being knocked out at the same
01:23time after being hit with a super-affected move.
01:26Gyarados also has Whirlpool, a move I'd normally totally avoid using, given that, historically, it's very weak,
01:32with its gimmick of stopping throws from switching out and doing chip damage for a number of turns generally being
01:37profoundly unhelpful when compared to stronger attacks.
01:40Here, though, it's far more interesting, actually remaining on the field for a short duration, and pulling Pokemon into its
01:47vortex if they get too close,
01:48giving you a safer way to reposition yourself if needed, especially if your other moves are still on cooldown.
01:54Other moves, like Bulldoze, attack in a wide area around the Pokemon, hitting anything close.
01:59Not every move is as notable as this. Some, like Ember, simply shoot towards their target.
02:05But I was very pleased to see how much thought has gone into differentiating moves beyond their attack power and
02:10status effects.
02:11It's clear that there's going to be good reason to try out even the moves you'd normally overlook when playing
02:15the turn-based games,
02:16as the effects and situational benefits they offer in Legends EA might just make them worthwhile.
02:21Higher power doesn't seem to be everything here, and I love the idea of underused options potentially being used in
02:28strategies that weren't previously feasible.
02:30On the flip side of attacking, something I didn't notice during my shorter demo last month, was the fact that
02:35healing items now have a cooldown during battles too.
02:38During the middle of a fight with a particularly tough Alpha Hound Doom, my trusty Gyarados falls, and nothing else
02:44on my team is able to withstand its attacks.
02:46Thankfully, I have a pile of revives and potions in my bag,
02:49but after bringing the big ol' fish back into the fray, I'm quickly struck with the realization that I can't
02:55immediately bring it back to full health.
02:57Use one item when actively engaged in combat, and a bar appears on your screen, gradually depleting to indicate when
03:03you can use another.
03:04Admittedly, this initially caught me off guard, and my poor Gyarados paid the price. Again.
03:09But it's a great way to balance what could have easily trivialized harder battles with constant item spamming.
03:15It's not too harsh, but if you walk into a fight underleveled, you're not going to be able to keep
03:20your team healthy at all times.
03:21Considering those wild foes are aiming at your trainer, too, you really want to be ready before taking on any
03:26huge threats.
03:27So far, there are no bigger threats than the Rogue Mega Revolt Pokémon, boss fights which continue to be a
03:33huge highlight.
03:34In this session, I take on a rogue Mega Victrabel, and it appears that these big battles might bring different
03:39gimmicks to the table.
03:40The huge grass poison type spits out piles of toxic sludge, covering the field and forcing me to dodge between
03:46them as I dive out of the way of other incoming attacks,
03:49all while leading my own Pokémon away from them so they don't take damage.
03:52This definitely makes it a harder fight than the Mega Absol I took on at Gamescom, which was comparatively a
03:57much more standard battle,
03:59albeit still a fun challenge with its robust health bar and waves of attacks.
04:05If there's anything I'm still concerned about, it's Lumiose City as a setting.
04:09How interesting will it be to stay in one city for an entire RPG?
04:13Some of my exploration has partially alleviated these worries.
04:17There are plenty of smaller details to spot that bring the city to life.
04:20I spend arguably too long squeezing my trainer into a tiny souvenir stall to look closely at the postcards on
04:26the shelves,
04:27each decorated with adorable Pokémon art.
04:29I even spot a manhole cover adorned with a Hawlucha design, making me wonder if there are any more like
04:34this hiding elsewhere.
04:36It's clear that the dev have put effort into making areas feel fuller with the verticality of the wild zones
04:41too.
04:41The wild zone I explored during the preview session, for example, isn't just a section of road,
04:45as I'm also able to drop down into a lower level near a body of water and climb up to
04:50the roofs of certain buildings to reach new locations.
04:52Doing so, I also encounter a particularly strong Alpha Pikachu.
04:57Although, this discovery also illustrates that the real-time combat shift hasn't necessarily made enemy AI smarter,
05:03as the electric mouse spends most of the entire battle using non-attacking moves when it could knock out most
05:08of my team in a single hit.
05:10Pacifist Pikachu aside, I also see some of this verticality in the second zone I explore,
05:15competing in the ZA Royale and fighting against trainers on the streets at night.
05:19In some places, I'm able to climb up some sort of scaffolding to look for items above ground,
05:23which keeps everything from being left scattered on the pavement.
05:26However, it's in this nighttime segment that I realize how similar a lot of the zone looks.
05:31It's difficult to navigate without relying on the map since there aren't many obvious landmarks to set things apart
05:36and know you're actually going somewhere new, something I worry could be a recurring issue.
05:41That's not to mention my concern over the overall map's size, which I've been troubled by since the game was
05:46revealed,
05:46but that's not something I'm able to measure in just one hour of gameplay.
05:50All in all, though, I'm still very optimistic about Pokémon Legend ZA.
05:54I've been playing Pokémon for 17 years, and after many successful Nuzlocke challenge runs
05:59and plenty online battles against fellow trainers, I've been very confident in my skills for the best part of two
06:04decades.
06:05With Legend ZA, though, I feel like I have so much to learn about its new combat mechanics,
06:09as the experience so far feels like relearning so much of what I knew,
06:13especially after seeing just how different certain moves can behave compared to the turn-based games.
06:18It's safe to say that even the most hardened veterans won't just be able to rely on their
06:23old knowledge of the series when revisiting Lumiose City, and I'm excited to see what this
06:28means not just for this game, but for the series' future.
06:32So, what are your thoughts on this new Pokémon title? Are you excited to revisit Lumiose City?
06:37And how do you feel about these new battle mechanics?
06:40Let us know and stick with GamesRadar for the latest on the greatest games of 2025.
