When Pokemon Legends: Arceus arrived in 2022, it smashed open the box that Pokemon had been kept in for decades and offered an entirely different approach to gameplay. The series' fixed routes and strict adherence to traditional turn-based encounters were exchanged for a sizable semi-open world and a combat system that, while still turn-based, incorporated elements that made it feel more dynamic and engaging than the Pokemon games before it. For arguably the first time, Pokemon Legends: Arceus felt experimental in a way that no prior entry had ever tapped into. Now, Pokemon Legends: Z-A looks to take that philosophy even further by breaking two massive series traditions.
If Pokemon Legends: Arceus was bold, Pokemon Legends: Z-A looks even bolder — at least, mechanically speaking. Its one-city setting, visuals, and core identity all still appear to play it safe at first glance, but a couple of its most transformational gameplay designs are not just a far cry from anything Pokemon Legends: Arceus did but the Pokemon series as a whole. In essence, Pokemon Legends: Z-A could end up having a considerable impact on the franchise if these changes are executed and received well, simply due to how much of a grand departure they truly are.
Pokemon Legends: Z-A's Battle Club Marks a Big Break from Tradition
From Turn-Based Duels to Real-Time Free-For-Alls
For decades, competitive Pokemon has involved either one-on-one or two-on-two battles where trainers each take turns issuing commands to their Pokemon. As a result, the series' strategy has largely revolved around prediction, type matchups, and careful planning ahead to ensure victory. Now, with Pokemon Legends: Z-A, that era looks like it may be coming to an end with the new Z-A Battle Club. In this real-time multiplayer competitive scenario, four players attempt to defeat as many of each other's Pokemon as they can within three minutes, making battles both more chaotic and instinctive, rather than the calculative nature of turn-based battles in the past.
Needless to say, this is a major shift for Pokemon, and it will require players to adjust their tried-and-true strategies accordingly. With the design of Pokemon Legends: Z-A's Battle Club, these encounters are no longer about who has the better counterpick or the best IV spread. Instead, each player's success depends on how well they can navigate three opponents at once in real-time. While the change might feel rather uncomfortable for long-time fans, it also opens the door to a level of excitement the franchise has never seen before.
From Isolation to Online Competition
The other major shift Pokemon Legends: Z-A is taking with its Battle Club mode is in its online functionality. Whereas Pokemon Legends: Arceus featured a single-player, story-driven experience with no online battles, Pokemon Legends: Z-A's Battle Club revolves around both local and online battles between players. Its Ranked modes let players climb through tiers and earn seasonal rewards, while Private battles offer ways for friends to either experiment with different setups or simply enjoy the thrill of battling someone they know. It's not the first Pokemon game to feature online PvP, but it is still a break in tradition for the Pokemon Legends series.
In short, Pokemon Legends: Z-A is taking some risks that the franchise has rarely entertained, and while the outcome is far from a guaranteed positive, they are still some bold and arguably necessary moves. Real-time four-player battles and a heavier focus on online play could easily divide competitive Pokemon players, but they also have the potential to breathe new life into a series that has often struggled with innovation. Whether these ideas end up changing competitive play for the foreseeable future or simply become a one-off experiment, Pokemon Legends: Z-A will likely still serve as an example, in one way or another, for the games that follow it.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 79 /100 Critics Rec: 66%
- Released
- October 16, 2025
- ESRB
- Everyone 10+ / Fantasy Violence, In-Game Purchases
- Developer(s)
- Game Freak, Creatures Inc.
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo, The Pokemon Company
