5 mistakes Pokemon Legends Z-A needs to avoid

Pokemon Legends Z-A was revealed to be in development during Pokemon Day 2024 and is the follow-up title to the well-received Pokemon Legends Arceus. With expectations for this game being incredibly high after the popularity of the first game in this new series, fans are on the edge of their seats for any details regarding it.

However, Game Freak has been rather silent about the title since its initial reveal trailer, leading many to wonder about its progress. Given the recent track record of Pokemon games, Pokemon Legends Z-A has many issues it needs to overcome before it launches. Here are some things the developers should look to address.

---

5 issues Game Freak needs to avoid with Pokemon Legends Z-A

1) Setting high expectations

The Pokemon Company has been releasing less trailers about their recent projects following the release of Scarlet and Violet (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Many online fans feel that recent Pokemon games have been perceived as low-quality upon first launch due to the game failing to meet high expectations after the release of trailers and social media posts detailing various aspects about the region, its gameplay, and the designs of many new creatures.

The Pokemon Company should opt to do away with this method of building hype in favor of keeping details secret from the community. Since the game also has a noticeably longer development time, fans can only assume that the quality of this game will be much better than what has been seen in the past, but this is mere speculation considering the lack of available information.

---

2) Performance

Recent Pokemon games have been ridiculed for their lackluster performance on Nintendo hardware ever since the series made its way to the platform (Image via Game Freak)

It is no secret that the recent Pokemon games have struggled to keep up with the market's standards for quality. Recent games have been incredibly stuttery, with frequent drops in frames per second. Since the Nintendo Switch being an older console at this point, the experience doesn't have to be up to par with modern titles.

However, most fans are not in the wrong for expecting a consistent 60 frames per second from a game coming out in 2025. With a lot of these issues being linked to poor optimization, the longer development time could mean that the performance will be a big focus for the team behind Pokemon Legends Z-A's development.

---

3) Voice Acting

Pokemon's storytelling has been significantly weaker since its debut on the home console due to its lack of voice acting (Image via The Pokemon Company)

The Pokemon franchise has been notorious for its lack of voice acting since the transition to home consoles. As the games focus more on character development and layered plots such as with their most recent games, and the impact of the storytelling only seems to weaken and annoy fans due to its dialogue only being portrayed through text boxes.

With Pokemon Legends Z-A appearing to be the most ambitious in the franchise following Legends Arceus, many fans are hoping that this game is the one every fan has been waiting for; the first game with some voice acting. Legends Arceus took a step in the right direction by adding grunts and shouts for the player character, but it would really be nice to get some full or partial voice acting for cutscenes.

---

4) Visuals

The Pokemon franchise is also heavily criticized for its dated visuals (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Pokemon Legends Arceus was a big step in the right direction for the franchise, and the updated art style gave it a very unique style similar to ancient Eastern folk art. However, being the first time Game Freak had to make a game that renders such large maps, the visual quality did take some hits.

Hopefully, now that the team is more experienced after Legends Arceus and Scarlet and Violet, Pokemon Legends Z-A may be the best-looking game to date. This will most likely be a focus of the development team as well, contributing to its longer development time and lack of frequent update trailers.

---

5) Limited setting

Pokemon Legends Z-A is set to revolve around the progression of Lumiose City throughout the years (Image via The Pokemon Company)

From what we have seen from the only trailer so far, Pokemon Legends Z-A is set to have its plot revolve around the progression of Lumiose City throughout its many years of development. A place in the center of the Kalos region built to resemble the harmony between people and Pokemon, Lumiose City is an excellent choice for the next Legends game.

However, what has many players concerned is the fact that it was said to take place entirely within Lumiose City during its reveal trailer. While this will allow the game's plot to focus on one point to keep it from getting too scattered, this greatly limits the amount of exploration players can do. Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see how Game Freak pulls it off.