Pokémon Legends: Z-A - Four positives and negatives that the future of Pokémon can learn from

Pokémon Legends: Z-A is a strange game to me because it's clearly a mediocre title at best but I also can't get enough of it. When you wander around Lumiose City and see the repetitive architecture and the lack of meaningful things to do, matched up with a narrative that is hard to fall in love with due to the ridiculous lack of voiced dialogue, it all comes together for an experience that's safe, predictable, and feels uninspiring. But again, Pokémon has this draw to it, an allure that even though I know this game is not up the standards we should expect from such an enormous brand, I can't put it down.

So as there are clearly pros and cons to this year's game, else it wouldn't have that draw, let's pick out four things that Pokémon Legends: Z-A has done right and should be used in the future of the series and four things that need to be left behind.

• Don't miss: We review Pokémon Legends: Z-A

Winner: Battling is better than it ever has been

The best part about Pokémon Legends: Z-A is the battling system. There's actually a lot on this front that works really well and signifies a great direction for the future of the franchise, perhaps surprisingly as Legends Arceus wasn't the best battling game at all. Game Freak clearly got their affairs in order and realised that the other main pillar of playing Pokémon (beyond catching pocket monsters) is battling and it shows in this follow-up, as the action is faster, more rewarding, easier to access through the Z-A Royale Battle Zones, and thanks to the Mega Evolution conflicts, offers some truly memorable encounters that somewhat resemble the Gigantamax scenarios from Sword/Shield and Tera Raids from Scarlet/Violet. While small things can be tweaked, this battling system should be at least the foundation of future Pokémon games, as frankly battles have never felt so rewarding.

Loser: Looting is far too overtuned

It used to be that picking up items around a Pokémon region was quite an exciting affair. Back in the sprite days, you used to go out of your way to snag a Poké Ball to see what it was holding, but the switch to the more open level third-person format made looting so common and easy that after a few hours of gameplay your backpack will be chock-full of items and valuables. The point is that it has become too much. It needs to be tuned down or tweaked in such a way that there's less trash around the world and more meaningful things to loot. It's reached the point in this game where you actively don't feel the need to grab every Poké Ball you jog past because whatever it might hold isn't actually that unique. Tone it down, make it more rewarding again.

Winner: Movement is trending in the right direction

I enjoy riding on Pokémon as a tool for traversal but there's also no denying that in Scarlet/Violet, it became a bit overused with Koraidon or Miraidon being able to do everything. As much as Legends: Z-A is more rigid in its exploration, the movement is better thanks to the ability to climb certain objects, leap across buildings, glide over gaps, and even crouch in bushes to sneak up on wild Pokémon. There is a lot that can be done to improve and take this to the next level, but as a foundation, as far as human movement goes, Legends: Z-A is trending in the right direction.

Loser: The world design is a massive bummer

Pokémon has been struggling for years to create dynamic and visually-pleasing worlds, especially in the open-level and third-person era, but Legends: Z-A is perhaps the worst of them all. Lumiose City is boring and pretty one-dimensional, with little of interest worth exploring or visiting. Gone are the days of the thrill of climbing a twisting and confusing mountain to reach the secret at its summit, gone are the voyages beneath the waves to find sunken treasures, and likewise so are the wondrous trips into shadowy and dark forests to be ambushed by wild creatures. Wandering around Lumiose City is like getting excited for a hiking trip in the centre of London. There are things to do, don't get me wrong, but it's not what makes Pokémon great - and the endlessly repeated architecture doesn't do anything to help...

Winner: The Pokédex layout and structure is much easier on the eye

I do adore when Pokémon games take a few risks and change how Pokédex's are structured, displaying them in more unusual and creative manners. As fun as that is, the Pokédex is often a bit of a nightmare to flick through, as when you have 400 entries that can only be moved through on a singular horizontal plain, it means that getting to #321, for example, can be a hassle. That's why I appreciate the Pokédex in Legends: Z-A because it's laid out in a more structured sense that makes navigation easier and likewise finding information is more intuitive. Need to know which Pokémon you're missing? Just open it up and it's very evident from the get-go, something that wasn't always the case in the past. Oh, and the catching mechanics are still just as good as Legends Arceus except without the necessity to catch 40 Starlys now to complete an entry...

Loser: The smaller Pokédex takes away some of the fun

As much as I think the layout of the Pokédex is a strength, having just over 250 Pokémon is too few. There are over 1,000 Pokémon in the complete Pokédex, so having only a fraction of these available in the game feels like a cop-out. In the past you might still be hunting for creatures after 30-40 hours, but in Legends: Z-A, it's more just shiny Pokémon that will occupy your time. For the majority of players without the patience for this hunt, the typical 150 creatures that are missing in this game are very, very noticeable.

Winner: The Z-A Royale is a solid replacement for gyms and the Pokémon League

I'm a traditionalist so I'll always miss the days of moving between various cities and collecting gym badges to ultimately gain access to the Pokémon League for an opportunity to face the Elite Four and the champion. That's what I grew up with and that hunt for greatness still permeates what I love about Pokémon games. But that being said, as I mentioned in the battling point above, the Z-A Royale is a fantastic replacement and gives me most everything I want from a competitive experience. There are tons of trainers to take on, additional challenges to motivate me, useful monetary gain opportunities, and a ranking system that I want to progress through. I wish it was less connected to the narrative and perhaps had a few more tiers, but admittedly I'm also happy that you don't need to go through all 26 Z-A ranks, because that would have taken an eternity.

Loser: The approach to storytelling needs to go back to the drawing board

I appreciate that Game Freak is trying to offer a better narrative for Pokémon games and that does show in Legends: Z-A, but if there's going to be an adamant plan to not include voiced dialogue, then lengthy talkative scenes need to go in favour of something else. Frankly, it's not interesting at all to see emotionally-lacking characters smiling or frowning while a text box delivers the necessary information as generic music plays overhead to break up the deafening silence. It worked in the sprite games, we dealt with it for several of the modern era projects, but it has now reached a point where something needs to change. I'd genuinely rather have a button to skip all dialogue and story beats than to sit through the ones on offer in this game, they are simply that uninteresting.

Are there any points that we missed? Let us know in the comments below.