Pokémon fans were treated to a delight a couple of months ago when the company announced Pokémon Legends: Z-A. These presentations have, even for Nintendo at large, not held a lot of exciting information of late. This is not surprising given that the Nintendo Switch is in the last stage of its life cycle, so a brand-new title, and a major one at that, being announced at all was a big surprise. Here’s what we know about the game.
The first and perhaps most important thing to know about the latest Pokémon title is the release date. Unfortunately, it is as vague as it gets right now. The trailer showcased a 2025 release date, meaning it could come out as quickly as in eight months or as slowly as 20 months from now. It’s not a very helpful release date, but it’s all Pokémon fans have to go on for the time being.
The reality is that the game will come out somewhere in the middle of that. It’s not going to come out in either January or December of 2025. It’s unclear what Nintendo has planned for the sequel to the Switch, but it is reasonable to think that Z-A will play a big role. No Nintendo console has been launched without a flagship game attached to it. For the Switch, it was The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. This time around, they could use the newest Pokémon in that role.
Regrettably, we don’t know when the Switch 2 will come out, either. Nintendo hasn’t even officially confirmed it, but it has been leaked. It also makes sense given the slate of games announced for the Switch and that it’s seven years old this year. It is expected to come out sometime in mid-2025. That puts it on the same rough timeline as the upcoming Pokémon game. Once Nintendo officially reveals the newest console, it’s very likely that a lot of games, including Pokémon Legends: Z-A, will get official, detailed release dates.
The newest game from the Pokémon Company will once again be a Nintendo exclusive. It will not be available on PC, Xbox Series X|S, or PlayStation 5. It’s very possible, though, that it comes out for both Switch consoles. For a little while, Nintendo will put new games out for both the active platform and the most recent one as well. Eventually, they will “retire” the old and make games exclusively for the new, but that won’t happen immediately.
Very few details have been revealed surrounding the gameplay and story of Pokémon Legends: Z-A. It will revisit Lumiose City in Kalos, the sixth generation in the Pokémon franchise. With the trailer in mind and how the franchise is shifting, a few things are certain. First, it will involve Zygarde. Much like Legends: Arceus focused on that Pokémon, the Z in the title of this one refers to Zygarde. Secondly, the Unowns are also heavily featured in the trailer, making them a likely important character. Finally, it will probably be open-world since Arceus, its predecessor, and Scarlet and Violet were.
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