Pokémon Legends: Z-A is favored by critics, but is review-bombed by fans. Read on to learn more about the community’s thoughts on the game and the criticisms it has received.
Pokémon Legends: Z-A Polarizing Reviews
Favored by Critics, Bombed by Fans
Pokémon Legends: Z-A had a polarizing start with its reviews, as critics favored the new Legends title, while fans were quite dissatisfied with Pokémon’s latest entry. As of writing, the game has received an 80 for its Metacritic aggregate score, which tags it as "generally favorable."
Most review sites deem it as an upgrade from Legends: Arceus, and an even more step-up from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Despite its visual flaws, the introduction of new Mega Evolutions and experimenting outside the classic Pokémon formula were the highlights of this new title.
However, the majority of fans feel otherwise, as Legends: Z-A received a 4.6 on its user ratings, making it one of the worst Pokémon titles based on fan reviews. In comparison, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet garnered a user score of 4.1, followed by Pokémon Sword and Shield with 4.8.
The game’s user scores typically range from either 8-10 or 0-2, which is why the overall user rating is dragged down. Notable negative reviews revolve around its small map size, subpar visuals, poor animations, lack of voice acting, and more.
Here at Game8, we gave Pokémon Legends: Z-A an 88 out of 100 for continuing and improving Legends: Arceus’ gameplay, seemingly laying the groundwork for the creative direction of Generation 10. To know more about our thoughts on the game, check out our review below.
Small Map Size and No Voice Acting
Unlike Legends: Arceus, which received love from both critics and fans with its Metacritic review score of 83 and user score of 8, players were more critical when it came to Legends: Z-A. The community had a plethora of complaints about the game, mostly focusing on its small map size and lack of content outside of combat.
One user posted on r/pokemon on Reddit that it only took them around 6-7 minutes to run around the entirety of Lumiose City. Additionally, other comments under the thread mentioned the game’s minimal exploration and uninteresting story, making it not worth its Switch 2 price of $69.99.
Meanwhile, a fan on Twitter (X) pointed out that even though the game has fully animated and lip-synced cutscenes, it does not have voice acting. This has been a constant point of contention within the Pokémon community, as, despite being the norm for Pokémon games, not having voice acting is becoming more and more frustrating as the years and generations go by.
Regardless, fans of the franchise continue to enjoy and take their adventures to the next level with the new Mega Evolutions. However, Pokémon has no time to rest on its laurels as the monster-taming genre is jam-packed with amazing titles, with Digimon Story: Time Stranger taking a huge leap with its recent release, and Palworld targeting a version 1.0 launch in 2026.
Pokémon Legends: Z-A is available exclusively on the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2. To stay up to date with the latest information about the game, check out our article below.
Source:
Pokémon Legends: Z-A Metacritic
It takes less than 7 minutes to run the circumference of the map in Pokemon Legends ZA.
@golden_anomaly Twitter (X) post on Pokémon Legends: Z-A No Voice Acting
