Summary
Pokémon Legends: Z-Acould atone forArceus’biggest sin. An open-world action RPG in which players could control both players and Pokémon,Legends: Arceusdelivered on what many players had always wanted for the series. Itteased a sequel inPokémon Legends: Z-A, which was officially revealed at a Pokémon Presents event in February 2024. It promises further action RPG adventures in the long-ignored region of Kalos, and moreover, stands a chance to correct its predecessor’s biggest misstep.
Because for all of its popularity,Pokémon Legends: Arceushad one fatal flaw that held it back from its full potential. In its next installment, though, the series stands poised to change that for good, and set a new standard forPokémonspinoffs going forward.
Pokémon Legends: Z-A May Already Be Avoiding Arceus’ Biggest Plot Hole
Pokémon Legends: Z-A can easily avoid a major plothole that made the lore of its predecessor, Legends: Arceus, rather confusing on close examination.
Pokémon Legends: Z-A Can Include The DLC Arceus Never Had
Pokémon Legends Has Potential For Expansion
For all the long-sufferingPokémonfans' wishlist items it fulfilled,Legends: Arceusnever had a DLC, butZ-Acertainly has the potential to.Arceusremains a standalone title, even today. It never got an expansion of any sort, despite plenty of opportunities for one. There’s something to be said for a game being a complete experience out of the box, but players wanted morePokémon Legends: Arceus, and it failed to deliver on that front.
Thatlack of DLC madePokémon Legends: Arceusan outlieramong recent entries in the series.SwordandShieldhadThe Isle of ArmorandThe Crown Tundra, andScarletandViolethadThe Indigo DiskandThe Teal Mask. The era of mainlinePokémongames having DLC is well and truly here, and in the recent spate of titles that have had expansions,Legends: Arceussticks out.
Pokémon Brilliant DiamondandShining Pearlalso didn’t have DLC, but these were remakes of earlier DLC-free mainline games.
Of course, it can be argued that, as a technical spinoff,Legends: Arceusisn’t subject to the same DLC rules as mainline games likeScarletandViolet. And it did get a sort of free DLC in the form of a “free content update” released just a month after launch. But as an open-world action RPG, it was rife with potential for expansion. New sections of Hisui tacked onto its map, new entries inits limited Pokédex, even a little epilogue to its epic, but somewhat anti-climactic story - all of these and more could’ve featured in a DLC. None of it ever did, butZ-Acould correct course.
Pokémon Legends Z-A Leak Reveals Starters & New Evolutions
A potential leak could provide some information about Pokémon Legends: Z-A’s starters, new forms, and evolutions.
Pokémon Legends: Z-A Has The Perfect Setup For DLC
Exploring The Kalos Region
But as perfect asPokémon Legends: Arceuswas for DLC,Z-Aseems to have a setup that’s just as good - if not better. Every bit of promotional material forPokémon Legends: Z-Aappears to suggest it’s set mostly in or around Lumiose City, the Paris-inspired centerpiece ofXandY’s map. That’s all well and good, but the Kalos region is much bigger.Pokémon Legends: Z-Acould explore the further corners of the regionthrough DLC, taking players to the frozen wilds around Snowbelle City or the hallowed halls of Shabboneau Castle.
The fact of the matter is thatLegends: Z-A’s map will probably be much smaller than its inspiration, just likeLegends: Arceuswas before it. The original spinoff doesn’t include the entirety of the Hisui region map either, instead focusing on a small segment of it. That may be by necessity; open-world action RPGs do tend to be a little more demanding on hardware, so a smaller map might play better with the Switch’s limited specs.
But DLC could fix that. By corralling a map expansion into a separately loaded area that can only be accessed through DLC,Legends: Z-Acould include more of Kalos without ballooning hardware requirements out of control.
10 Kalos Pokémon That Must Be In Pokémon Legends: Z-A
Pokémon Legends: Z-A is set in the Kalos region so players will likely expect to see these fan-favorite Legendary and normal Pokémon in the game.
The most likely reason thatLegends: Arceusskipped DLC is that The Pokémon Company was just testing the waters with this first game in a new subseries. Since it was a huge critical and commercial hit, that experiment could be considered a success. In other words, there’s clearly a demand for more games in theLegendsmode, and players have the patience with them to want DLC. For these reasons and many more,Pokémon Legends: Z-Aseems perfectly poised to correctArceus' mistake by coming out with DLC.
Pokemon Legends Z-A
Lumiose City is undergoing redevelopment to create a space shared by people and Pokémon. This second entry in the Pokémon Legends sub-franchise builds off the unique catching and exploration mechanics first established in Pokémon Legends: Arceus.
