Overview

• Pokémon Legends: Z‑A launches October 16 on Nintendo Switch and Switch 2, with the game priced at $70 and a reported $500 Switch 2 bundle including the title.
• Set solely in Lumiose City, the game splits play into Wild Zones for catching and battling wild Pokémon and nighttime Battle Zones that host the Z‑A Royale ranking ladder in place of gyms.
• Combat drops turn-taking for real-time action with moves mapped to face buttons on cooldowns, positioning that can cause attacks to miss, and healing and revives constrained by cooldown timers.
• Rogue Mega encounters function as boss fights that have players gather Mega Energy mid-battle to trigger Mega Evolution, with preview sessions featuring a challenging Mega Victreebel.
• Early impressions praise the faster pace and tactical nuance but note issues like Pokémon snagging on geometry, occasional attack whiffs, and a visually bland presentation; some outlets also flag platform performance questions for the original Switch.