Earlier this month, I was provided the unique opportunity to get some hands-on time with the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 release Pokémon Legends: Z-A. Nintendo of America brought me into the heart of Manhattan, and from their penthouse event space, I was further transported into that other booming metropolis, Lumiose City. Across a four-part demo spanning approximately one hour of gameplay, I explored the city’s daytime Wild Zones, its nighttime Battle Zones, and encountered more than a few surprises.
Before being handed a Switch 2 Pro Controller, the other attendees and I were greeted by the local Nintendo team and shown a brief introductory speech from Jett, CEO of Quasartico Inc. Also, since Lumiose City is largely modeled after Paris, I ate a respectable number of flaky breakfast pastries. (Surely my Francophone ancestors were smiling down on me from that big bistro in the sky.)
As my gameplay experience began, I was afforded ample time to customize my in-game avatar. Being the dress-up gamer that I am, I relished the chance to adjust not just the physical characteristics and clothing options of the female trainer model, but the various colors and patterns of her gear as well. With so many customization options, I could have easily spent the whole hour outfitting my protagonist, but I tried to exercise at least a modicum of restraint. Once I had settled on an overall aesthetic and color palette, it was off to the proverbial races.
With Pokémon X and Y and Pokémon Legends: Arceus being two of my family’s favorite franchise entries, I went into my first encounter predictably cocky. Lumiose’s Wild Zones, Pokémon preserves set up within the city proper, are where trainers battle and capture wild Pokémon in real-time encounters—à la the hills, valleys, and wetlands of Hisui in Legends: Arceus. However, the Wild Zones of Lumiose City feel decidedly more… urban.
Rather than wide open spaces with convenient greenery to hide in, the Wild Zones instead reflect the geometry of the city. Pokémon wander outside of shops and into alleys, alternately frolicking and resting in their new home. In truth, it all felt rather claustrophobic at first, as I summoned Pokémon, attacked our quarry, and just tried to stay out of the way. It put me off my game so badly that, even with the wild ‘Mon appropriately stunned, I whiffed my first few capture tosses.
Eventually, though, I was able to get my bearings. Sneaking still has its place in Lumiose City, and I came to rely on approaching stealthily, deploying a Pokémon from my party, and then trying to manage the action without A) soaking up too much damage myself or B) alerting other nearby creatures.
The traditional Pokémon Type system is still very much at play in Legends: Z-A, with Water dealing additional damage to Fire types, Fire to Grass types, and the like. However, I found that buffs and status effect moves—which I often tend to shy away from in core Pokémon games in favor of straight-up attacks—have increased utility in Lumiose City. Managing your character, your partner Pokémon, and maintaining some semblance of situational awareness in such tight quarters can be a bit of a challenge, so any advantage is welcomed.
Another returning element from Legends: Arceus is Alpha Pokémon, larger and more ferocious creatures with increased combat abilities. I realized this when I chased a wild Houndour right into a sleeping Alpha Houndoom. Not only did said Alpha manage to defeat me and my entire party, but it later decided to chase us into a low-lying concrete structure (a bit like a drained swimming pool), wherein I was attacked by yet another aggressive Alpha.
As day turned to night, the city itself began to change, to take on new aspects, and I moved on from the Wild Zones into the equally fascinating Battle Zones. These contain rival trainers, and defeating them earns the points needed to advance up the titular Z-A ranking system. Like the wild Pokémon, they too seemed to post up in specific areas, and catching them unawares required patience.
While I found plenty of helpful items lying on the ground in the Wild Zone, the Battle Zone was positively littered with them, as well as special bonus cards. These contain additional mini-challenges that the player can take on—like launching a preemptive strike on a Pokémon or using a Normal Type move in battle—to earn additional points. The nighttime trainer battles gave me an even deeper appreciation for the unique landscape of Lumiose City, as I used ladders and elevators to take on rooftop dwellers as the city sparkled below.
While I fell shy of earning enough points to graduate to the next letter level during my late-night Z-A Royale, I was still offered a chance to experience a rank promotion match. This third phase of the demo pitted me against a local waiter, who, I’m proud to say, I properly trounced, earning a rank up from W to V.
It was during this battle that I realized how helpful area effect moves are in Pokémon Legends: Z-A. While they tend to have longer cooldown times than your standard moves, I found it pretty easy to lure enemy Pokémon into these swirling attack areas, racking up some additional damage as I planned my next action.
Finally, as the end of my time in Lumiose drew close, I was at last pitted against a Mega Evolved Pokémon. One of the mysteries of this game seems to be the appearance of Rogue Megas, and I was faced with the recently revealed Mega Victreebel.
It was a pitched battle—despite the fact that I had some support from an NPC—with Mega Victreebel continually seeding the terrain with damaging poison, making navigation treacherous for me and my Pokémon alike. I was well stocked with potions and other items, but, like Pokémon moves, use of these was limited by a cooldown timer, preventing me from spam-healing.
Obviously, the coolest part of this encounter was the Mega Evolution effect itself, which, in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, is slightly modified.
In addition to damaging Mega Victreebell, attacks made the Pokémon shed blobs of Mega Energy, which I could (carefully) collect to fill up my own Mega Energy meter. Not only could I use this energy to Mega Evolve my own Pokémon, but I could also spend it to power up some moves for even non-Mega Evolved Pocket Monsters.
Known as Plus Moves and indicated by a plus sign next to the move name in the Pokémon’s attack menu, these moves are executed by pressing the + button before the corresponding move button, spending a segment of the Mega Energy meter to enhance the attack. Though this does add one more element to Z-A‘s already hefty list of combat logistics, it’s a nice new mechanic that puts another fun spin on the Pokémon Legends experience.
After finally besting this super-sized foe, my demo experience ended, but not without leaving a few pivotal questions unanswered. Why, for example, was the otherwise squeaky-clean and ultra-modern Lumiose City plagued with unsightly pink crystals blooming on its building walls and byways? Is Quasartico’s seemingly benevolent vision of Pokémon-centric urban renewal as altruistic as it seems? And why was Zygarde, the protector of the Pokémon world’s ecosystem, silently observing my exploits?
Surely these will be answered when Pokémon Legends: Z-A arrives on store shelves next month. In the meantime, we have much fierce speculation and, hopefully, a few more of those charming Mega Evolution reveal videos to look forward to.
Regardless, one thing remains certain. Pokémon Legends: Z-A blends the world of Pokémon X/Y and the gameplay of Pokémon Legends: Arceus in a way that’s sure to please the Pokémon faithful and prime a whole new generation of trainers for the many adventures ahead.
Access to this special event was provided by Nintendo of America. This post contains affiliate links. No Pokémon were harmed in the making of this post… Ok, so maybe a few were harmed.
Fonte: GeekDad - Leia mais