Unpopular Opinions: Legends Z-A Edition

[bdt2002]

Before we begin, I want to use this first section of this post as an opportunity to extend my formal apologies to the community for the extensive complaining I’ve done about this game in my other posts over the past year and a half. I won’t spend too much time on this because I know I have trouble when I think way too hard into things, but to anyone this may concern, I hope there no hard feelings and I can try and turn over a new leaf.

Now, as for this thread itself. Back in 2022-23, I made a very similar thread to this one for Pokémon Scarlet & Violet where people can share and discuss their unpopular opinions and hot takes about the games. I was originally going to write this up in time for the release of the base game, but I decided to hold off until the release of the Mega Dimension DLC because of the specific way Nintendo announced this and so people would have more time to play Pokémon Legends Z-A and create their own opinions.

The premise for this thread idea is similar to what I had in mind for the Scarlet & Violet one, and I personally look at me wanting to make this thread as a sort of successor to that one. Just like last time, have fun posting, everyone, and I’ll get this started off with an opinion of my own: I think Jacinthe’s battle theme is pretty overrated. I can’t exactly put my finger on what kind of vibe they were going for with this theme, but it’s simply not my cup of tea personally. I feel like her theme focuses more on her as a character, which is fitting, but I feel like the other three “Gym Leaders that are t actually Gym Leaders” do a better job getting me excited to actually battle them while Jacinthe’s theme just kind of feels out of place for me in a Pokémon game.

 

[Biaxact]

Your opinions about the game even if negative are valid!!

 

[BlazingBarrager]

Hot(?) Take: Strong Trainer is the best OST song in the game.

 

[Coronis]

Hot(?) Take: Strong Trainer is the best OST song in the game.

The intro of the Rogue battles is so iconic, but without it I probably wouldn’t recognise the theme at all, due to focusing on the battles too much.

 

[Sami]

nihil light should be 1 pp

 

[bdt2002]

nihil light should be 1 pp

It probably will be in future games if the stuff Lysandre/L says in the postgame about Z-Moves is anything to go off of. Please feel free to correct me if I’m wrong, but all Z-Moves have 1 PP in the game files of Sun & Moon and the Ultra games, but the player simply doesn’t get to see that text like they do with Sketch. This may also help explain why Nihil Light reminds me so much of Light That Burns The Sky.

 

[R_N]

It probably will be in future games if the stuff Lysandre/L says in the postgame about Z-Moves is anything to go off of. Please feel free to correct me if I’m wrong, but all Z-Moves have 1 PP in the game files of Sun & Moon and the Ultra games, but the player simply doesn’t get to see that text like they do with Sketch. This may also help explain why Nihil Light reminds me so much of Light That Burns The Sky.

It's inspired by Z-Moves (and the japanese name is much more literally calling to Light That Burns The Sky) but that doesn't mean it'll be 1 PP. Especially since you have to jump through extra hoops to use it

I think if they do rebalance it, it'll either be in terms of Power (like knock it down to 100 and just have it be Core Enforcer but ignores Fairy, or up like 120) or slap on a negative effect like Blood Moon/Gigaton Hammer

 

[Azery]

It's inspired by Z-Moves (and the japanese name is much more literally calling to Light That Burns The Sky) but that doesn't mean it'll be 1 PP. Especially since you have to jump through extra hoops to use it

I think if they do rebalance it, it'll either be in terms of Power (like knock it down to 100 and just have it be Core Enforcer but ignores Fairy, or up like 120) or slap on a negative effect like Blood Moon/Gigaton Hammer

tbh if they balance it, they'd probably have to make mega zygarde immediately accessible from 50%. otherwise it just feels entirely unusable lol

 

[Samtendo09]

While I consider the new batch of Mega Evolutions an improvement over the old ones in term of design and selection, I am still nowhere as enthusiastic on them as before when it comes to the competitive side. I’m not talking about Z-A multiplayer specifically, but moreso Champions.

Ever since Sword and Shield, I refuse to believe Game Freak will get their act together to control power creep, and in fact, it have somehow gotten even worse in the base game of Scarlet and Violet, both Smogon Singles and VGC Doubles. Granted, it has more to do with some signatures going overboard than the Pokémon themselves, so those can be nerfed directly in worst case scenarios like with Mega Kangaskhan’s Parental Bond, but my point still stand.

I fear that the new Megas ended up even more hit-or-miss in overall viability than before, not helping with some rather blatant overlaps with five pure Electric-type Mega Evolutions, the minimal stat gains of Mega Pyroar…

Mega Dimension unrevealed Mega Evolution of a standard Pokémon

… or the stat overlap between Mega Victreebel and Mega Scovillain…

… I fear that we might see even more insane Abilities for several of the new Megas. Not everyone gets one, if Starmie’s +140 BST and 140 Attack is anything to go by, but this is something I hope it won’t end up making the Mega Evolution as a whole overstaying their comeback.

 

[Azery]

While I consider the new batch of Mega Evolutions an improvement over the old ones in term of design and selection, I am still nowhere as enthusiastic on them as before when it comes to the competitive side. I’m not talking about Z-A multiplayer specifically, but moreso Champions.

Ever since Sword and Shield, I refuse to believe Game Freak will get their act together to control power creep, and in fact, it have somehow gotten even worse in the base game of Scarlet and Violet, both Smogon Singles and VGC Doubles. Granted, it has more to do with some signatures going overboard than the Pokémon themselves, so those can be nerfed directly in worst case scenarios like with Mega Kangaskhan’s Parental Bond, but my point still stand.

I fear that the new Megas ended up even more hit-or-miss in overall viability than before, not helping with some rather blatant overlaps with five pure Electric-type Mega Evolutions, the minimal stat gains of Mega Pyroar…

Mega Dimension unrevealed Mega Evolution of a standard Pokémon

… or the stat overlap between Mega Victreebel and Mega Scovillain…

… I fear that we might see even more insane Abilities for several of the new Megas. Not everyone gets one, if Starmie’s +140 BST and 140 Attack is anything to go by, but this is something I hope it won’t end up making the Mega Evolution as a whole overstaying their comeback.

I'm just reminded of how a lot of Megas that were crazy for their time are now downright either balanced or meh lol. Mega Charizard X being a key example! Gunna be interesting to see what they came up with for the Z-A megas to make them unique, since they like givnig every Pokemon a new signature move or ability nowadays

 

[bdt2002]

While I consider the new batch of Mega Evolutions an improvement over the old ones in term of design and selection, I am still nowhere as enthusiastic on them as before when it comes to the competitive side. I’m not talking about Z-A multiplayer specifically, but moreso Champions.

Ever since Sword and Shield, I refuse to believe Game Freak will get their act together to control power creep, and in fact, it have somehow gotten even worse in the base game of Scarlet and Violet, both Smogon Singles and VGC Doubles. Granted, it has more to do with some signatures going overboard than the Pokémon themselves, so those can be nerfed directly in worst case scenarios like with Mega Kangaskhan’s Parental Bond, but my point still stand.

I fear that the new Megas ended up even more hit-or-miss in overall viability than before, not helping with some rather blatant overlaps with five pure Electric-type Mega Evolutions, the minimal stat gains of Mega Pyroar…

Mega Dimension unrevealed Mega Evolution of a standard Pokémon

… or the stat overlap between Mega Victreebel and Mega Scovillain…

… I fear that we might see even more insane Abilities for several of the new Megas. Not everyone gets one, if Starmie’s +140 BST and 140 Attack is anything to go by, but this is something I hope it won’t end up making the Mega Evolution as a whole overstaying their comeback.

There’s a lot of interesting takeaways from your post, but something I want to zero in on is Pokémon Champions’s implementation of something we now know is called the Omni Ring. Omni. As in “every”. It’s not exactly a well-kept secret that Gen 6 was the start of a new standard of power in competitive play, but the extent to which Game Freak has continued to push the envelope is quite frankly baffling enough to the point where I think, especially for the restricted Legendaries, there needs to be some form of power reset. I’m personally sick of the Mega Rayquazas, Ultra Necrozmas, and Calyrex-Shadows of the world, as far as competitive health is concerned, but it’s not like “standard play” is much better off, what with Megas, Ultra Beasts, Paradox Pokémon, and Max Airstreams being spammed to high heaven.

This might just be wishful thinking, but I really hope the specific name they chose for the Omni Ring is a subtle implication they’re going to be moving away from generational gimmicks after this point. Or at least, not have the entire generation of multiplayer centered around each gimmick. Mega Evolution I can give somewhat of a pass because they’re species specific, but Z-Moves, Dynamax, and Terastalization are all universal mechanics for the most part, which by definition can “break” the balance of the game by introducing interactions and combinations of factors the Pokémon’s ere not designed around. Case in point, Regieleki and its infamous lack of type coverage. The moment you slap a Tera Type onto that thing, a previously very strong but manageable Pokémon due to having healthy counterplay suddenly becomes game-warping to the point where VGC Regieleki sets are arguably too fast in terms of EV optimization.

My point I’m trying to make is, I feel like there are levels to this stuff and it’s the game mechanics that break Pokémon more than actual buffs or nerfs do. Prior to the introduction of Hidden Abilities, starter Pokémon were much more balanced but still had strong options like Swampert and Infernape. But ever since Gen 5, starter Pokémon are often designed and rebalanced with their Hidden Abilities in mind. Or what about something overpowered outright like Mega Kangaskhan? Yes, Parental Bond is great and all but it admittedly helped a lot by the changes to the type chart nerfing Fighting, reworking Steel (which in turn also hurts Rock), and buffing Ghost offensively. Even in Gen 7 when people expected Mega Kangaskhan to be ruined completely, it could still make use of Parental Bond Seismic Toss which I can promise you would be extremely unhealthy in literally any other generation. I’m telling you guys, if you get rid of the generational mechanics, that fixes at least 90 percent of competitive Pokémon’s metagame problems on the spot.

Edit: This isn’t strictly relevant to Legends Z-A itself, but the changes to Mega Medicham and Mega Mawile (and possibly Mega Starmie, we shall see) highlight to me why giving formerly signature Abilities to Pokémon they weren’t designed for continues to be a bad idea. I already mentioned started Pokémon, specifically Speed Boost Blaziken being the original version of this concept, but I don’t think I need to point out the base stat disparity between something like Azumarill and the Huge/Pure Power Megas.

 

[Samtendo09]

There’s a lot of interesting takeaways from your post, but something I want to zero in on is Pokémon Champions’s implementation of something we now know is called the Omni Ring. Omni. As in “every”. It’s not exactly a well-kept secret that Gen 6 was the start of a new standard of power in competitive play, but the extent to which Game Freak has continued to push the envelope is quite frankly baffling enough to the point where I think, especially for the restricted Legendaries, there needs to be some form of power reset. I’m personally sick of the Mega Rayquazas, Ultra Necrozmas, and Calyrex-Shadows of the world, as far as competitive health is concerned, but it’s not like “standard play” is much better off, what with Megas, Ultra Beasts, Paradox Pokémon, and Max Airstreams being spammed to high heaven.

This might just be wishful thinking, but I really hope the specific name they chose for the Omni Ring is a subtle implication they’re going to be moving away from generational gimmicks after this point. Or at least, not have the entire generation of multiplayer centered around each gimmick. Mega Evolution I can give somewhat of a pass because they’re species specific, but Z-Moves, Dynamax, and Terastalization are all universal mechanics for the most part, which by definition can “break” the balance of the game by introducing interactions and combinations of factors the Pokémon’s ere not designed around. Case in point, Regieleki and its infamous lack of type coverage. The moment you slap a Tera Type onto that thing, a previously very strong but manageable Pokémon due to having healthy counterplay suddenly becomes game-warping to the point where VGC Regieleki sets are arguably too fast in terms of EV optimization.

My point I’m trying to make is, I feel like there are levels to this stuff and it’s the game mechanics that break Pokémon more than actual buffs or nerfs do. Prior to the introduction of Hidden Abilities, starter Pokémon were much more balanced but still had strong options like Swampert and Infernape. But ever since Gen 5, starter Pokémon are often designed and rebalanced with their Hidden Abilities in mind. Or what about something overpowered outright like Mega Kangaskhan? Yes, Parental Bond is great and all but it admittedly helped a lot by the changes to the type chart nerfing Fighting, reworking Steel (which in turn also hurts Rock), and buffing Ghost offensively. Even in Gen 7 when people expected Mega Kangaskhan to be ruined completely, it could still make use of Parental Bond Seismic Toss which I can promise you would be extremely unhealthy in literally any other generation. I’m telling you guys, if you get rid of the generational mechanics, that fixes at least 90 percent of competitive Pokémon’s metagame problems on the spot.

Edit: This isn’t strictly relevant to Legends Z-A itself, but the changes to Mega Medicham and Mega Mawile (and possibly Mega Starmie, we shall see) highlight to me why giving formerly signature Abilities to Pokémon they weren’t designed for continues to be a bad idea. I already mentioned started Pokémon, specifically Speed Boost Blaziken being the original version of this concept, but I don’t think I need to point out the base stat disparity between something like Azumarill and the Huge/Pure Power Megas.

While I don’t agree with formally signature things should not spreading out, at least on Pokémon that’s also designed for, I’m with you about the fact that generational gimmicks proved to be a larger problem for how powerful they are despite individual issues (Mega Rayquaza, for one) or the fact that it’s available to all Pokémon.

Huge/Pure Power Megas has no item and one per team in mind unlike Azumarill, though Mega Starmie being faster than them and can afford to go mixed if needed can make the latter a more blatant case of disparity.

 

[Azery]

While I don’t agree with formally signature things should not spreading out, at least on Pokémon that’s also designed for, I’m with you about the fact that generational gimmicks proved to be a larger problem for how powerful they are despite individual issues (Mega Rayquaza, for one) or the fact that it’s available to all Pokémon.

Huge/Pure Power Megas has no item and one per team in mind unlike Azumarill, though Mega Starmie being faster than them and can afford to go mixed if needed can make the latter a more blatant case of disparity.

In a weird way Megas having the item requirement both balanced them out but also kinda funneled their use cases so I get why they moved past that in gen 8/9, but this lead to the utterly broken Dynamax in gen 8 and in gen 9 tera being...interesting.

 

[Coronis]

nihil light should be 1 pp

Oh I hope not. It was my saviour vs Ray

 

[Kyuzeth]

Having analyzed all 45 new Mega Evolutions introduced across Z-A's base game and its DLC, I've decided to withhold judgment on any stat spreads until HOME compatibility has been established. Only then will we know what these new forms' Abilities are, although I've already been hazarding some semi-educated guesses. I'm certainly not ruling out that some of them will be granted brand-new Abilities, and ultimately there's no real point in speculating aside from the fun of the guesswork itself. Should anyone be interested in some of my guesses, then reply to this comment and I'll share them; naturally, I'll be mindful of potential spoilers.

In a weird way Megas having the item requirement both balanced them out but also kinda funneled their use cases so I get why they moved past that in gen 8/9, but this lead to the utterly broken Dynamax in gen 8 and in gen 9 tera being...interesting.

Dynamax was explicitly constructed to work within the Doubles framework; it was not designed to work in Singles. Granted, I understand the viewpoint of catering a battle gimmick to the official competitive scene (which is Doubles only), but it leaves Dynamax entirely unworkable in Singles contexts.

 

[Azery]

Dynamax was explicitly constructed to work within the Doubles framework; it was not designed to work in Singles. Granted, I understand the viewpoint of catering a battle gimmick to the official competitive scene (which is Doubles only), but it leaves Dynamax entirely unworkable in Singles contexts.

Having played VGC cursorily during Gen 8, I think Dynamax was frankly stupid even in a Doubles context. Certainly more bearable but so horrifically overpowered that it combined the worst aspects of Mega Evolution and Z-Moves both.

Having analyzed all 45 new Mega Evolutions introduced across Z-A's base game and its DLC, I've decided to withhold judgment on any stat spreads until HOME compatibility has been established. Only then will we know what these new forms' Abilities are, although I've already been hazarding some semi-educated guesses. I'm certainly not ruling out that some of them will be granted brand-new Abilities, and ultimately there's no real point in speculating aside from the fun of the guesswork itself. Should anyone be interested in some of my guesses, then reply to this comment and I'll share them; naturally, I'll be mindful of potential spoilers.

I'm curious what you have to say on these actually! I've got a lot of ideas myself since it feels pre-emptive to write some of these guys off, especially the ones with weaker statlines like Malamar and Chimecho who feel made with specific new abilities in mind.

 

[Suspicious Derivative]

Let's see here.

For me, Z-A is the best Pokémon game since OR/AS. It is my favorite Pokémon game on the Switch and my fifth favorite Pokémon game on the whole.

I think Z-A is much better than Legends: Arceus. Those two games are total opposites for me, and I hope future Legends games will follow in the footsteps of Z-A, not Arceus (except for the very few things Arceus did better than Z-A).

I think the graphics in the game are fine.

 

[Omastar68]

So this likely isn't unpopular, and it is only just barely an opinion when you compare to most games, but this game went by way too fast for me. I DID like it, but for like a few days(not even 24 hrs gameplay before it all done lol.) 20 some years ago yea ok, but they clearly could.done more in modern times. I read dlc adds MAYBE 2X time only, so was easily not worth it either to me. Even with that it didn't put me off mons(9 took care of that for now.lol,) but if I beat champions as fast it just might.

On a more positive note, I feel clefable will be among the worst megas, possibly worst. It already gets GREAT abilities(not that that's been enough recently witheh stats,) and competes with togekiss as a flying fairy. In other thread someone pointed out it acts like boots kiss but like...why not run boots kiss then? Assuming we will have all mons/that line. In a big new world of mega it seems like a waste of the slot. I have nothing against them ofc, even slightly liking clef, but idk how to salvage it since stats have been rolled out. It's not like it can feasibly have wonder guard, maybe magic bounce? Imo it'd take a new ability that groups what it has WITH bounce to make it relevant ish.

I will also saying ADORE some new megas. Some.things like drampa and malamar that many people are probably finding weird to get megas are among my faves. Oh and victreebel too, I liked sprout tower even if that was cause I played hgss, not gsc(never got that, started in 3.) oh, and canari plush are absurd. So hard to get, weird reward for all, and idk how a construction company Imbues plushies of a random girl with magical powers. I guess they have their charms though...and it's true you NEED to have the effects they give, so they'd have had to make them obtainable anyway ...

 

[Esserise]

I actually quite like the art direction for Hyperspace Lumiose. Yeah it’s mostly monochrome with a holofoil sheen but I find it effective for what the concept is. The whole place is a false and incomplete existence inadvertently created by Darkrai’s rampant power mashing together peoples’ subconscious thoughts and dreams. It doesn’t feel like a place that could truly sustain life.

The washed-out monochrome also calls a lot of interesting gestures to my mind. Pre-color photographs. The surface of the moon (feels relevant, considering). Sunlight bleaching the color out of things if they sit in it for too long. People who dream in black and white. The monochrome Pokémon bug from XY:

Hide

(Truthfully, I’m not sure how legit that bug actually was, as it doesn’t seem to be very well-documented, but it also doesn’t really matter — even if it was a hoax, it’s still in my consciousness after all this time, and is a tiny part of XY’s history.)

I also really like how the huge portal window to Lumiose sits in the sky at all times. It’s foreboding, kind of like a cross between the Ark Cradle in Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s and the moon in Majora’s Mask, which, along with the timer-based nature of Hyperspace expeditions, reinforces my impression of how the realm is only temporary. And it’s used for the very nice touch where Darkrai’s Mega Evolution bubble/sphere/egg blocks out the “moon” that is the portal window, creating the image of a new moon.

 

[Antihaxxer]

Let's see here.

For me, Z-A is the best Pokémon game since OR/AS. It is my favorite Pokémon game on the Switch and my fifth favorite Pokémon game on the whole.

I think Z-A is much better than Legends: Arceus. Those two games are total opposites for me, and I hope future Legends games will follow in the footsteps of Z-A, not Arceus (except for the very few things Arceus did better than Z-A).

I think the graphics in the game are fine.

What ? Arceus is the best Pokemon game on Switch ! Some functionalities are done better on Z-A but otherwise, the story, the fight, the lore are excellent. What is the lore in Z-A ? I've just finished playing Arceus for the 3rd time (doing DLC quests right now), I don't know if I want to replay again Z-A !

PS : I like Z-A but Arceus is better.

 

[tentaghost]

What ? Arceus is the best Pokemon game on Switch ! Some functionalities are done better on Z-A but otherwise, the story, the fight, the lore are excellent. What is the lore in Z-A ? I've just finished playing Arceus for the 3rd time (doing DLC quests right now), I don't know if I want to replay again Z-A !

PS : I like Z-A but Arceus is better.

Ladies ladies! you're both beautiful!

But seriously to me LA just barely inches out ZA, i did have my fun with both games but LA in particular just appealed to me more with its setting and (really unpopular opinion incoming) the battles.

 

[Karxrida]

On a more positive note, I feel clefable will be among the worst megas, possibly worst. It already gets GREAT abilities(not that that's been enough recently witheh stats,) and competes with togekiss as a flying fairy. In other thread someone pointed out it acts like boots kiss but like...why not run boots kiss then? Assuming we will have all mons/that line. In a big new world of mega it seems like a waste of the slot. I have nothing against them ofc, even slightly liking clef, but idk how to salvage it since stats have been rolled out. It's not like it can feasibly have wonder guard, maybe magic bounce? Imo it'd take a new ability that groups what it has WITH bounce to make it relevant ish.

imo we should reserve judgment on the competitive viability of the new Megas until we know their abilities. (Outside of Mega Starmie I guess cause it's obviously getting Pure Power.) A good ability can be make or break, especially if Game Freak feels generous and fabricates completely new ones. Or, in Mega Delphox's case, it's almost guaranteed to be busted in Doubles with Expanding Force spam unless it gets Levitate lol.

 

[Coronis]

Ladies ladies! you're both beautiful!

But seriously to me LA just barely inches out ZA, i did have my fun with both games but LA in particular just appealed to me more with its setting and (really unpopular opinion incoming) the battles.

Its ok because S/V outstrips them both.

So this likely isn't unpopular, and it is only just barely an opinion when you compare to most games, but this game went by way too fast for me. I DID like it, but for like a few days(not even 24 hrs gameplay before it all done lol.) 20 some years ago yea ok, but they clearly could.done more in modern times. I read dlc adds MAYBE 2X time only, so was easily not worth it either to me. Even with that it didn't put me off mons(9 took care of that for now.lol,) but if I beat champions as fast it just might.

On a more positive note, I feel clefable will be among the worst megas, possibly worst. It already gets GREAT abilities(not that that's been enough recently witheh stats,) and competes with togekiss as a flying fairy. In other thread someone pointed out it acts like boots kiss but like...why not run boots kiss then? Assuming we will have all mons/that line. In a big new world of mega it seems like a waste of the slot. I have nothing against them ofc, even slightly liking clef, but idk how to salvage it since stats have been rolled out. It's not like it can feasibly have wonder guard, maybe magic bounce? Imo it'd take a new ability that groups what it has WITH bounce to make it relevant ish.

I will also saying ADORE some new megas. Some.things like drampa and malamar that many people are probably finding weird to get megas are among my faves. Oh and victreebel too, I liked sprout tower even if that was cause I played hgss, not gsc(never got that, started in 3.) oh, and canari plush are absurd. So hard to get, weird reward for all, and idk how a construction company Imbues plushies of a random girl with magical powers. I guess they have their charms though...and it's true you NEED to have the effects they give, so they'd have had to make them obtainable anyway ...

Is this 24 hours including all the side content? Or just the main storyline?

imo we should reserve judgment on the competitive viability of the new Megas until we know their abilities. (Outside of Mega Starmie I guess cause it's obviously getting Pure Power.) A good ability can be make or break, especially if Game Freak feels generous and fabricates completely new ones. Or, in Mega Delphox's case, it's almost guaranteed to be busted in Doubles with Expanding Force spam unless it gets Levitate lol.

Watch them give it Huge Power instead, to spite you. Starmie too goofy to be pure.

 

[Suspicious Derivative]

What ? Arceus is the best Pokemon game on Switch ! Some functionalities are done better on Z-A but otherwise, the story, the fight, the lore are excellent. What is the lore in Z-A ? I've just finished playing Arceus for the 3rd time (doing DLC quests right now), I don't know if I want to replay again Z-A !

PS : I like Z-A but Arceus is better.

Well... I disagree! I definitely prefer the story in Z-A, it had many good and memorable moments. Truth be told, I don't even remember much from the story in Arceus, it didn't leave a particularly big impression on me. I think the fights and the battle system is much better in Z-A, I really hope they will keep this system for future Legends games and improve upon it. I really disliked the battle system in Arceus since it turned every battle into a luck-based revenge kill fest, completely removing all strategy from the battles. Z-A had many more memorable battles for me, while the only one I can remember from Arceus (in a somewhat positive light) is the battle against Volo. I'd rather forget everything else. In many cases, I have already forgotten about them.

Regarding the lore, I don't think it was that well done in Arceus. The game was supposed to show a sort of backstory for the Sinnoh games, but it feels like it raised more questions than it gave answers, and I felt that some of the events the game actually showed weren't all that interesting (notably the Shaymin event, which was a big disappointment for me). Z-A might not have a lot of lore, but I think what it had was much better handled and more interesting than what Arceus had. I definitely prefer how Z-A was set in the present (after X/Y), as opposed to being set in the past.

As for replayability, I could never replay Arceus, that game is just unreplayable to me. That said, I don't think I'll ever replay Z-A either. In general, most video games are a "one and done" for me. Plus, I have never really been that interested in replaying the main game of Pokémon games, I prefer to complete the story and then play around in the post-game instead.

Overall, I think Arceus was okay in the end, but it doesn't compare to Z-A, which I think is actually really great. Here's how I rank the four Pokémon games I have played on the Switch: Z-A > Violet > Sword > Arceus

 

[RocketSurgery]

Personally, I prefer PLA's environment and artstyle to ZA's (except for the weird purple tinge everything had), but I loathe the battle system and much prefer ZA's. PLA's battle system wasn't too bad during the main campaign, but fighting 4 alphas at once really showed how bad it could be. Not being able to do anything for several 'turns' just left such a bad taste in my mouth. ZA's real-time system felt awkward at first, and getting your attacks blocked by a bench or nullified when a trainer spots you at the last second is annoying, but overall it was refreshing and fun. I'd still prefer a return to the traditional turn-based combat for the gen10 traditional game, though.