For Legends: Z-A’s battle system, I rewired the Pokémon part of my brain
1 min read
Summary
Despite knowing the Pokemon type chart off by heart, the authors still made a mistake in Pokemon Legends: Z-A by sending out the wrong Pokemon against an NPC’s Pidgeotto in the new spin-off game.
Pokemon Legends: Z-A is the second game in the Legends spinoff series and is the first RPG in the franchise to feature real-time battles, rather than the usual turn-based format.
This change in gameplay style meant the author had to change their whole style of thinking about Pokemon battles and had to adapt to thinking more quickly and on their feet.
The use of cooldown timers also meant the author had to reconsider their use of status moves, teaching their Pokemon moves they may not have otherwise done in a typical Pokemon game.
Overall, despite the difficulty in changing gameplay style, the author enjoyed the new type of challenge and liked having to think more actively about Pokemon than they usually would.