Pokémon Legends: Z-A Review - Kinda Funny Gamescast

Summary

Kinda Funny Gamescast: Pokémon Legends: Z-A Review

Date: October 14, 2025
Panel: Andy Cortez (Host), Greg Miller, Tim Gettys
Episode Focus: In-depth panel review and discussion of Pokémon Legends: Z-A

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Episode Summary

Overview

This episode of the Kinda Funny Gamescast offers a comprehensive and lively review of Pokémon Legends: Z-A for the Nintendo Switch 2. The crew—Andy Cortez, Greg Miller, and Tim Gettys—discuss the game’s mechanics, its evolution from previous titles, personal experiences (both from a veteran and a newcomer), and where the series might go next. The conversation dives deep into gameplay structure, presentation, city design, narrative, and overall enjoyment, providing a nuanced look for both longtime fans and franchise newcomers.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Opening Thoughts and Review Round-Up

• The review opens with Andy referencing aggregate scores:
  • Z-A is currently at an 82 on OpenCritic, similar to prior "Legends" entry Arceus.
  • Highlights from other outlets: GamesRadar praises its slice-of-life feel and dense city, Eurogamer appreciates its focus but acknowledges issues with Lumiose City, and VGC calls it a "grand adventure."
  • (06:05) Greg Miller: “Even as a newcomer, I understand what’s happening. I’m enjoying myself. I think it’s a great game.”

2. Greg Miller: The Newcomer Perspective

• (08:46) Greg’s playtime: 21 hours, almost to the end (Rank B out of Z-A's tiered system).
• Finds Z-A is “my Pokémon game”—finally clicks after bouncing off earlier entries.
• Loves Lumiose City, character customization (fashion!), side missions, and feels deeply engaged in the world and cast.
• (12:00) Greg: “The amount when I first got the game… just the grinding I was doing for money to then go buy new glasses, a new outfit... I have all the stuff that I’m rotating and having so much fun playing dress up with my character. I really love this game... 8.5 on this game, I think this game is that great. It’s just shy of amazing.”

3. Tim Gettys: The Veteran's Analysis

• (14:16) Tim draws on his “day one” perspective, comparing Z-A to past entries.
• The game feels like “a very successful experiment” — lays the bones for “the best cartoon accurate combat system” Pokémon has ever had.
• (16:20) Tim: “This is more similar to Final Fantasy VII Remake than I could have ever imagined in terms of its battle system and how it works... so, so, so fast-paced, which I really love.”
• Praises: direct sequel to X and Y, love letter to longtime fans, more mature story about a city recovering from attacks, anime vibes in presentation and side character integration.
• Sees major step forward in animations and direction (“very well directed camera”), but laments lack of voice acting—a persistent, immersion-hurting flaw.
• (21:04) Andy: "It's a cool piece of dialogue, and it's just somebody with their idle animation."
• (21:09) Tim: "Even that...the animations are a major step up... But it's just missing voice acting... It is a legit criticism that makes this game demonstrably worse throughout."
• Points out that Z-A encourages real team bonding moments that mirror the anime ("my little guy clutched up...then evolved from friendship!"), even with a more numbers-oriented experience.
• Final verdict: 7.5/10 — very good, but still a step or two away from real greatness.

4. Core Gameplay & Innovations

• Battles are real-time, energetic, and intense, using a system reminiscent of FFVII Remake—fast, able to switch Pokémon and moves actively.
• The new Mega Evolution takes center stage and is generally liked (28:08); Tim calls it “the best and always has been” of Pokémon’s evolving gimmick roster.
• The game is mostly set within a single, densely-packed city (Lumiose), which makes for a focused experience. While this enhances narrative and world immersion, it can feel visually monotonous (47:59).
• Quality of life: fast travel is available from the start, battles are thrilling, but UI can be cluttered and unintuitive. The lack of visual cues (cooldowns, move-types) makes deeper combat mechanics harder to parse, especially for newcomers.
• “Delightfully clunky” platforming sections—Greg enjoys the playful difficulty, Tim sees room for control improvements (39:21).

5. Presentation, Story, and Worldbuilding

• (53:14) Pokemon Centers reflect the design ethos: each gen commits hard to a theme (England/arenas in Sword & Shield, schools in Scarlet/Violet, cafés and "vacation vibes" in Z-A).
• Music and fashion are standouts: great soundtrack (with some oddball boss tracks), best outfits in any Pokémon game (50:58).
• The city, Lumiose, is itself a character—host to stories about community resilience and bonding, which the hosts all praise.

6. Criticisms & Wishes

• Voice acting remains the team's most pressing request: as the series aims for more cinematic flair, its absence is more stark.
• Some busywork remains in accessing wild areas or time-specific events—Tim and Greg debate whether this adds structure or just filler.
• Despite immersive design, the city’s visual style can feel overly repetitive after dozens of hours.
• No Pokémon abilities; no auto-save toggle.
• Some minor bugs (buttons freezing, getting stuck) were reported but did not seriously affect enjoyment. Performance is otherwise steady.

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Memorable Quotes

• (09:44) Greg: “Shout out to [reviewers] for putting their lives on hold—if you have a video game reviewer out there that rolled credits and put up a review today, shout out to them.”
• (16:20) Tim: “This is the bones to the best cartoon accurate combat system a Pokémon game has ever had. I can’t really believe—watching the show for so long...it kind of does now.”
• (19:18) Tim: “This story is a direct sequel to X and Y...it’s a very sweet story about communities living in a city in the fallout of terrorist attacks, rebuilding ...bonding over the city they love.”
• (22:29) Andy: “It feels more like you are a manager of a football team... feels less like I am going to form friendships with my squad, and more like this is ‘Businessman Z-A, I gotta get to A’.”
• (24:14) Tim: “He was just like the six...but I left him there and let him just keep rocking with me. And we get towards one of the later fights, and he clutched up... right after that fight, he evolves—not just from leveling, but from friendship. This feels like the cartoon.”
• (50:58) Tim: “Best outfits I’ve ever seen in a Pokémon game. Very, very, very low bar—but that’s not a dig at this game. I’m impressed with this game.”
• (51:17) Greg: “This is giving me the Animal Crossing vibes I’ve been missing… just here’s a great little track on repeat, I’m running through a lovely town, everyone’s nice to me.”
• (58:20) Tim: “This is always not Final Fantasy 7 Remake—that does bum me out. My dream would be to just get a Pokémon at that level: tell a story, be epic, voice acting, gameplay—this is a step that way, though.”

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Notable Timestamps

• 01:03: Show intro and host banter
• 06:05: Review round-up and scores
• 08:46: Greg’s experience as a newcomer
• 14:16: Tim’s veteran perspective
• 16:20: Battle system and anime comparison
• 21:09: Long discussion on presentation, voice acting, and character moments
• 27:22: Superchat: New Mega Evolutions verdict
• 32:40: Superchat: Is this a good entry point for new players? (Tim: "Yes")
• 39:21: Platforming discussion—delightful or clunky?
• 44:34: Is the single-city structure a pro or con?
• 47:59: Is Lumiose visually monotonous?
• 50:58: Fashion and city-life praise
• 51:17: Animal Crossing vibes
• 58:20: Does the game feel like a $70 product?
• 59:52: Final thoughts from the panel
• 61:39: Are there strong story moments? (Yes, esp. for side cast; no spoilers)

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Final Panel Scores/Impressions

• Greg Miller: 8.5/10 (favorite Pokémon game, loves the structure, city, and customization)
• Tim Gettys: 7.5/10 (“Very good”—great progress, battle system innovation, character-focused, but needs polish, voice acting, and visual diversity for greatness.)
• Consensus: Pokémon Legends: Z-A is a very good entry, possibly the best at replicating the feeling of the anime and embedding players in a living city—but it’s more of a promising proving ground than a genre-defining classic.

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For Newcomers and Veterans

• Newcomers: Welcoming, playable as a first entry, though slightly overwhelming at times.
• Veterans: Should appreciate series callbacks, more mature storytelling, and refined mechanics.
• Both groups agreed: If you care about Pokémon as a world, this game is for you.

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Closing

• Despite some lingering flaws, Pokémon Legends: Z-A successfully innovates and charms—a “very good” game that points to an even brighter future for the series if Game Freak and The Pokémon Company continue to build on what works.

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Notable audience question topics included: Mega Evolutions, lessons from Arceus/Violet, city design, performance, auto-save, and entry point for new players.
Panel avoids spoilers throughout, encouraging safe listening for fans at launch.

Transcript

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[Andy Cortez]

Hello gamers. Welcome to the kind of funny Games cast for October 14, 2025. I am the Nitro rifle Andres Cortez. And I'm joined by Greg the ground and Ghost Gamer.

[Greg Miller]

Oh, hey Andy, how are you?

[Andy Cortez]

And Tim the cool man Taylor.

[Tim Gettys]

There's an energy going into this episode and you're. Where are you at?

[Andy Cortez]

Sorry, I got ont the rest. I had to do the rest of the doc and I was looking up adverbs and like and nouns and stuff for your thing but I just couldn't like think of anything cuz there are no types that start with the T.

[Tim Gettys]

Okay, I like that. Oh. So Greg grounding. I thought you knew something. No, no, because the ghost. The ghost makes sense for me being the 36 year old Pokemon trainer SL master that I am depending on.

[Greg Miller]

They call him. He's not the new generation Pokemon fan like me.

[Tim Gettys]

Exactly, exactly. It is. It is funny to me and I guess this does clearly put me in the trainer side of things. Like I people always ask always, you love ice, right? Always ask me would be your ghost or who would be your gym leader. Like what are you as a gym leader? I don't know. I don't have an answer like that. I'm quite frankly embarrassed by that.

[Andy Cortez]

You wear ice on your neck.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

Even though.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

But baby blue.

[Tim Gettys]

Light blue. Yeah, yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

You know I don't really use are

[Tim Gettys]

blue the ice type Pokemon. There's cool ones but I'm just like oh, cool ones.

[Andy Cortez]

I see, I see.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah. We'll have to figure this out everybody.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

Also at some point I wanted to find my team of six. I've learned over many generations of these games. There's the. The ones that I always gravitate towards, obviously. And duh, most of them are like the ones we all do because the games kind of feed you in a way every generation. But I need to lock in and define it at some point. Pokemon Champions might be the thing, but we're not talking about that.

[Andy Cortez]

We're not talking about it today, everybody. Today we are talking about Pokemon Z. A review. Not Z to A Pokemon Legends. Za. This is the Kind of Funny Gamescast. Each and every weekday we get together to talk about the biggest reviews, previews and topics of video games live on YouTube, Twitch and podcast services around the globe. And if you love what we do, support us with the Kind of Funny membership on Patreon, YouTube, Spotify or Apple Podcasts to get all of our shows ad free, watch us record them live and get a daily exclusive show for a chance to be part of the show. Submit your thoughts and opinions as YouTube super chats. Let us know what our gyms would be and what types we would be. Even if it's a little combination of stuff. Yeah, you know, even the homie cyber bones. Dylan says that I look like that one. Electric cat with the blue and the like spike.

[Greg Miller]

Oh yeah, I know that guy.

[Tim Gettys]

Eccentric manectric. I don't know how to say it.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah, probably that one. Probably that one. Housekeeping.

[Tim Gettys]

We're always lean psychic though. Psychics. The psychic Pokemon are cool.

[Andy Cortez]

Okay.

[Tim Gettys]

Putting that out there.

[Andy Cortez]

Okay. Housekeeping. We're an 11 person business. All about live talk shows. Kind of Funny Games Daily was all about Sucker Punch talking about the next game after Yote and after. This is the Kind of Funny Podcast and friends of the show Joey Esposito and Panda Musk have launched a Kickstarter for Madam. Their new original horror graphic novel titled Madam. Quote, what if Mary Poppins practiced black magic and traveled from family to family searching for human sacrifices to extend her immortality? If you want to know about it, go to kind of funny.com madam.

[Greg Miller]

We love them.

[Tim Gettys]

Very, very cool.

[Greg Miller]

They've working on this a long time. It's exciting to see it get to this point where you can actually see some stuff and get on it.

[Andy Cortez]

Shout out to Pandemos. Just always being the goat. Happy Z to a week or Sorry, I already screwed that up. Happy za week. Not Z2.

[Greg Miller]

It's not your fault. It's that one PR person at Pokemon Worlds that said it to me. And then I Came back and told y'.

[Tim Gettys]

All.

[Greg Miller]

Then Middler corrected us. Then you heard it as well.

[Tim Gettys]

And then at our event, that person had to go in front of the group, the whole room and go, I was wrong.

[Andy Cortez]

Oh, okay.

[Greg Miller]

You want to talk about one of the worst mistakes A human being could

[Tim Gettys]

say something in front of Greg Miller

[Greg Miller]

to the loudest guy who's going to say it over and over again. Happy big Pokemon Z a week.

[Andy Cortez]

Our new Poca Smiley crewnecks are now available in two colorways. Perfect for catching mon. This is as the weather gets colder. Grab them now at kind of funny.com story.

[Greg Miller]

That's when I was show the sweatshirt Kevin when he's talking about that sweatshirt. The Pokemon from three Conversations.

[Andy Cortez]

That's not the Pokemon I was looking for, by the way.

[Tim Gettys]

Oh, you're looking for Luxray.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah, that's the one. That's the one. Kind of forward slash store.

[Greg Miller]

I got the white on white one. I want to get the red on white one.

[Andy Cortez]

Thank you.

[Greg Miller]

There's a version that's just this white.

[Tim Gettys]

The premier ball version. Yeah.

[Greg Miller]

And then there's the one over there. That's. Oh, heads up. We got the last four. Kevin's credit card. This is big.

[Andy Cortez]

Oh, nice. Here we go. Here we go. Switches back to the Pokemon. If you are a kind of funny member, today's Greg Way is 20 minutes about Pokemon Legends ZA review day and parentheses. Patrick Kleppig hanging out with Ben. Congrats to Patrick Clipping and his Bears.

[Greg Miller]

Yeah, finally.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah, he's posted a reaction image of himself getting super stoked about that winning field goal Monday night. Stupid Dallas Cowboys, man.

[Greg Miller]

Just can't get it done.

[Andy Cortez]

Dak Prescott is doing all he can, Greg. It's just so disappointing. The defensive is awesome.

[Greg Miller]

Sorry this happened to you.

[Andy Cortez]

As always, thank you to our Patreon producers. Every month, every week, every year, every year, every year. Thank you to our Patreon producers, Carl Jacobs, Omega Buster and Delaney the Psalm Twining. Today we're brought to you by Shady Rays, but we'll tell you about that later. For now, let's start with topic of the show. The topic of the show is Pokemon Za review. And just looking back, Pokemon Legends Arusus was a game that came out many years ago, the first version of this legend sort of line that they've been working on. And that was an 83 on open critic. Right now, Pokemon legend ZA is sitting at an 82 on open critic. Want to go through a couple of just roundup review stuff and then we'll get to you all's thoughts really quickly. Katherine Lewis from Games Radar gave it four out of five stars and says Pokemon Legend Za offers a true slice of life Pokemon experience thanks to its anime style, real time combat system and wholesome world building elements. While its single city setting can sometimes feel a bit samey, Lumiose is densely packed with things to do and discover. This is a world worth getting lost in. We have Chris Tapsell from Eurogamer with a 3 out of 5. Says Lumiose City could do with work. But Legends Pokemon Legend Za is much more tightly focused and delightfully goofy. Returned to better form, at least by modern Pokemon standards. And we have five out of five from Jordan Midler at VGC who says Pokemon Legends Za is a grand adventure that once again proves the Legend series is home to the most interesting ideas Game Freak has. It is a game that understands its audience and feels like a love letter to both players who grew up with X and Y and those who have been here a whole time. A whole long time.

[Tim Gettys]

Sorry, the whole time this morning I saw the like, tweet, kind of like roundup, right? Just the. Yeah. And stuff. And because it's pulling from Metacritic, the top one, it said VGC 10 out of 10. And I like spit out my water. And I didn't even have water in my mouth. I was like, art.

[Greg Miller]

What?

[Tim Gettys]

And then it's like, oh, wait, no, VGC does five out of five. And I'm like, for some reason that's totally different. To me, that's definitely 100.

[Greg Miller]

Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

And it is, it did. I mean, we understand. That's such a different, different thing.

[Andy Cortez]

He then goes on to say, I hope the Pokemon Legends series is here to stay. Who do I want to start with? Do I want to start with the veteran who's been there since day one? Or do I want to start with the brand new comer to the Pokemon franchise? I'm going to start with Greg Miller.

[Greg Miller]

Hi, Andy, how are you?

[Tim Gettys]

I was like choosing your starting Pokemon.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah, rotating. Greg Miller, I want to start with you. How long did you play Pokemon Legend Za for? What did you think of it? Did you beat it enough or did you play enough to put it on a little score?

[Tim Gettys]

For sure, sure, sure, sure, sure.

[Greg Miller]

Can I just zag all immediately?

[Tim Gettys]

Zag.

[Greg Miller]

What I'd like to do is start with. And this is very rare for me, a round of applause for Tim Gettys. All right, A round of applause for Big Tim Gettys. Where's this gone?

[Andy Cortez]

Where is this going?

[Greg Miller]

As you've gone through this and seen all these review roundups. This is serious. This is real. This is real. IGN's got a review in progress, right, Rebs? Very clear. Like, hey, we didn't even get a week with this game. This game got to kind of funny on Thursday. The review embargoes first thing on Tuesday morning. That's a ridiculous turnaround time. And as I say in my Greg way, that's no shade to Nintendo or Game Freak. Make your game as good as possible. You don't owe reviewers anything. Make. It's great for people. But at the rate we needed to play this game and put our lives on hold. Andy, I didn't roll credits. Tim did roll credits and so I want to make sure he gets a lot of applause. Midler, every. If you have a video game reviewer out there that rolled credits and put up a review today, shout out to them for putting their life on hold.

[Tim Gettys]

I. I appreciate that. I will. Will have a little bit of shade towards how it all went down. Just because it's like, guys, it's not like you didn't know this was happening. Sure, sure. I do think that for a. A franchise as big as Pokemon, you. You should have your heads wrapped around that. I know a lot of things happen, but like, all right, cool. I think that's going to affect the conversation about the reviews and all that. Of course not going to affect mine. We'll get to that later.

[Greg Miller]

So to answer your question then, Andy, to dive right in, I've played 21 hours Pokemon Legends Z A. That's quite. Of course, as you know, the whole point of this game is climbing the ranks from Z to A, right. To be the best Pokemon trainer in Lumiose City. I'm ranked B right now, so I'm knocking on the door of it being done right. But I could have used a day or two because of course we got the code. I went on assignment on Friday to Seattle. I went to a wedding and family vacation on Saturday. I'm lucky I got as much as I have, but I think it speaks to how much I love this game. Andy, this is my Pokemon game. Like, I think that's the easiest way to put it. I think I, you know, as you've seen and heard my stories here on kind of funny of. Okay, cool. I played let's Go. You know, I played the DS1 back in the day a little bit with the padometer. Never stuck for me. Yada, yada, yada. Then of course, Ben falling in love with Pokemon, me watching the cartoon coming back To Violet, something I had started and stopped. I poured so many hours into Violet. We did a review recently, right. Of the game. All the DLC, the, you know, level 100 characters I have in that game, and how much I really enjoy that. But even Violet was a game I was playing and enjoying. But I would get to a point of just like, oh, man. Like, I should really stop playing this right now. Like, I'm just running around doing the same thing. And what, like the environments? Yes, there's a lot of Pokemon in them, but I feel like they're pretty empty. And I don't feel like I'm not wrapped up in this world. That is not the case with Za. With Za, I am so in on this world. I never felt like I was just doing something to do it. I felt like I was contributing. I love the characters. I love the supporting cast. I love my team of Pokemon. I love the side missions. I love Lumiose City. Like, I think there's so much to thoroughly enjoy in this game. And then a big point of, for me, you know, as a contention with Violet and Scarlet was the fashion and how there was none and it was just school uniforms.

[Andy Cortez]

Right.

[Greg Miller]

The amount when I first got the game and you first get out into the world, just the grinding I was doing for money to then go buy new glasses, a new outfit, a new. Like, I have all the stuff that I'm rotating and having so much fun playing dress up with my character. I really love this game and this many hours in this close to what would be the credits of it and the finish of it. And again, there's this part of me that, like, of course I'm bummed that we didn't get more time with it. So I could have completely finished it and be good to go. But there's also now this part of me that's so relieved that I get to go enjoy it at my own pace because I've been ignoring side missions. I haven't been doing certain things because I've just been trying to see how far I can get the story. Right now, I would say that I'm an 8.5 on this game. I think this game is that great. I think it's just shy of amazing. I don't know if I was ever really amazed playing it with mechanics and this and that, animations, you know, as always, no VO Stuff we'll all get into as we go deeper into this. But right now, 8.5, I can't see that going down. I also don't really see it Going up. I don't think there's going to be. For me, you know, there's twists and turns in the story, what they're setting up I have to Google and stuff like, you know, I don't know what the hell's going on, but I'm enjoying. Even as a newcomer, I understand what's happening. I'm enjoying myself. I think it's a great game.

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[Andy Cortez]

Treat yourself some Tim Gettys.

[Tim Gettys]

I just want to say I very much love hearing you say all of that and I'm extra excited for you because yesterday when I left you.

[Greg Miller]

Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

I was in a similar spot to where you were in the game and I locked in yesterday and I put in, I think like 10 hours yesterday.

[Greg Miller]

Very cool.

[Tim Gettys]

And I. I just want to let you know all the things you love about it. You have the. The best is yet to come. Like, I think that all the things that you just said in terms of the side characters and all that stuff, it's like the game really, really, really starts to like deliver all that stuff in a way that I am, I was very happy with and I think you will be too, in a way that I don't worry about having to Google and all that stuff. It's not. Yeah, I think it's just. Well, again, delivers on the camera.

[Greg Miller]

We're not going to get into spoilers.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah, exactly.

[Greg Miller]

There's.

[Tim Gettys]

There's all. I mean, because there's a lot to spoil in this game and we will not be spoiling things in this review. We will be very vague about everything.

[Greg Miller]

A lot of things.

[Tim Gettys]

Yes, yes. But very excited for you. So for me, it's interesting, right? Being a day one Pokemon guy, that means I have the baggage of playing all of them and having thoughts on all of them. And sometimes when you play every single thing, it can feel a little bit iterative here and there. This is an example of that in some ways, but in so many others it's like, oh, there's a beautiful future ahead of us. And I feel, I felt that a little bit with Arceus. You see it in scarlet and Violet and you see it even more here. It's like there's a momentum going that I'm very, very, very excited about. Like, in so many ways, this is what I want Pokemon games to be. Okay. This is an experiment, though. It is not a full on accomplishment. It is a very successful experiment, though. The skeletons here, it's very good. Everything's there. It's just a tad unremarkable. And I wrote a lot of this down because I want to make sure that I'm very accurate with what I'm saying here. But this is the most important part of this. My takeaway is very positive on this game. This is the bones to the best cartoon accurate combat system a Pokemon game is ever going to be. I do think it's going to get a lot better gameplay wise, mechanic wise, control wise. But in terms of what the combat system we've dreamed of is, it is this, it's here. And I can't really believe that watching the show for so long and imagining watching Pokemon Stadium and thinking it felt that way, even though I know it didn't. It kind of does now. And that's very, very cool. This is more similar to Final Fantasy VII remake than I could have ever imagined in terms of its battle system and how it works. Instead of switching between people actively, you were running around and directing your Pokemon to do different tax and then you can switch them out on the fly. And it does very much feel like that. Very frenetic. You cannot put the controller down. You cannot pause for a second. It is so, so, so fast paced, which I really love. But the game starts off very slow with that battle system and I think it takes way too long to really get interesting at all. Once it gets interesting though, it's very good, a very solid system and I was looking forward to many battles. And I want to clear last night I played 10 hours and I. I want it incredibly clear. This was not a. Oh man. Tim's experience of this was changed because he had to beat it for review. I did, but I wanted to. Nothing would have stopped me last night. I was like, I'm locked in and I'm. I was happy that I had a reason, an excuse to tell G I'm staying up till 3am to do this because I was. I was all in. And a lot of that had to do with the. The battle mechanics really. Finally singing the controls of the battle though I feel. I know a lot of the game are not intuitive. I think there's just a lot to have to control. I don't envy them for having to figure out how to make this all work. But I think a lot of the challenge they present us both kind of like parkour based, I guess and battle based in the. The Mega Evolution battles or just even the normal battles. I feel like there are way too many things that are just that buttons that shouldn't be where they are or like Your hands crabbing in a way that's just like there has to be a better way to, to do this. This story wise is a direct sequel to X and Y, which I was very happy to see. This is something I've always wanted from Pokemon. Take the core games, follow up in the story threads and characters from them in a slightly more adult way and the game delivers on that. So I really want to give them props for doing what I've asked for for so long there. In opposition to Arus, which was, you know, taking place in the past, maybe it would have like references to characters or something. But this has so much like every couple minutes something's happening that I'm like, oh wow. Like I vaguely remember that from playing X and y over 10 years ago. But it was nice and I think that they did a really good job with that. It's a very sweet story about communities living in a city in the fallout of terrorist attacks, rebuilding the best way they know how and despite their differences, bonding over the city they love. And if that's not a season of Pokemon, I don't know what is. And I feel like they really achieved that Pokemon anime feeling not just in gameplay, but in story and side characters and the Pokemon themselves as well. And I want to commend them for that because I think that this is the best job at that they have ever done. And they've been building towards that recently with the end game of Scarlet and Violet, everything having to do with Area Zero and then definitely with the two DLC packs, the Indigo or the Teal mask and Indigo Disk, the characters in that, the way that they set them up and had them kind of be the entire through line of your adventure and the battles and payoff of all that stuff. I'm like they are, they're doing something here and they understand that we need to care about them and not just have just cool looking people were fighting. You know, it's like I actually care about me beating them mean something or them beating me even means something, all of that. And I think this game very much continues that. And the way it does that is through very well directed camera and animations like throughout so many of the more important story beat battles. It's like we're getting those very interesting anime esque like zoom ins and like lines of dialogue in the middle of a battle that I'm like, yeah dude, like this is what I'm looking for. Awesome character designs throughout, mannerisms, animations, the character themselves, like the way that they talk. Everybody you like know who is who in a way that I think was the best realized we've seen in a very long time. With unique music themes. Like again, checklist of like a lot of the things that I've been wanting from these Pokemon games, but all of it's presented in a way that just feels stiff and awkward because it doesn't have voice acting. And I know this sounds like a complaint that half the people are going to hear and just be like, get over it. And half the people are just going to roll their eyes because it's like, Tim, we heard this before. They're never going to do anything about it. I think it's becoming more and more of a problem because we're at that. I think we've crossed the line in the last game or two where the presentation is so clearly going for hype and not having the vo. And I'm not just saying read to me, I'm saying act to me. I'm saying I want announcers in stadium battles, like calling things out where you hear it, like ringing through or just like when you see the character pop ins and they say something about like where they're at, like we're getting fired up or whatever. I know it's going to be corny, but it's going to add and they're clearly going for it. And it feels off. And there's so much more of it in this game that it just feels more off than ever. And it is a legit criticism that I think makes this game demonstrably worse throughout the entire experience. The specifically towards the late game stuff where I'm looking at stuff and I'm like, this is kind of hype and I should be like, let's fucking go. And you clearly know what's missing. It's nothing besides the voice acting and a couple gameplay decisions of like, you should let me play that instead of just showing or let me play in a more interesting way than you did.

[Andy Cortez]

It's a cool piece of dialogue and it's just somebody with their idle animation.

[Tim Gettys]

It's like, ah, yeah, you know, and. But even that I don't want to like talk too much about the Idol animations because I do think the animations are a major step up. It's not perfect, but I was very impressed with how varied they were and how when I would expect them to just kind of be standing there awkwardly, they were doing something of like, let's go. You know, like bigger, bigger motions, voice, talent.

[Andy Cortez]

It costs a lot of money, Tim. And Pokemon, they're just not Right there, right now, financially.

[Greg Miller]

Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

They don't want to take a while

[Greg Miller]

for them to get these economic headwinds. Drop that coin.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah. So it's like they're about AI going for personality and hype, and there's an uncanny valley there that I. I think is something that has to be addressed. And I think that critically, I need to look at and into consideration. But it's Pokemon, and I think it's Pokemon at its best in the sense of having the loop of, like, you're going through the motion and you're like, oh, I don't have one of those guys. And then you just are sidetracked to go get one of those guys. Yes. Right. And then the more important thing, because that's every Pokemon game. But I think the difference between a good Pokemon game and a forgettable Pokemon game is did I bond with my team? And throughout this game, I really didn't think I was bonding with them because of how the experience works and just because of the gameplay of this one compared to the other games.

[Andy Cortez]

Is that because you weren't going on little camping trips where you would play, throw a beach ball at your little Pokemon?

[Tim Gettys]

No, it's not that stuff. It's more just like it ironically feels a little bit more numbers go up than. Than Pokemon normally does just because of how active it all is and how often you're getting experience and your whole team's getting. You're just seeing the numbers go up and up and up, and it's like, it doesn't feel like you're working on one of them.

[Andy Cortez]

Just from the. From the outside perspective, it seems less of a familial. I am going to, you know, form and form friendships with my squad, with the whole Z to a ranking, it feels more like you. You are a manager of a football team, and it's just like, hey, we got to cut you, man. Like, no hard feelings. This isn't personal. Like, it just. It feels less like. Like it feels more like, you know, the really, really rough end of, like, this is Businessman Zita. I got to get to a.

[Tim Gettys]

It's. It's interesting. We'll talk a lot more about the details of that dynamic there. In terms of. I was very fascinated, gameplay wise, of how much changing your moveset feels like more of an important factor than it has in previous games in comparison to changing out your team. That is still important. But I had multiple. By the end of it, I loved my team, and they felt like a team. And when I had to cut people because I needed A type advantage or something. It kind of hurt. And I was like, oh shit, they got me. Like that's it. They got me. And I was going to say, I

[Greg Miller]

mean I want to run. I'm trying to let you.

[Tim Gettys]

I'm almost there, I'm almost there. Just the one, the one story I have though that I think that this is kind of, to me the like thing about like where I'm at at this game is I was feeling that way about not bonding with them or not caring. And there was one guy on my team, I'm not going to say his name for Nintendo spoiler reasons, but he was a little dude and I really like him.

[Andy Cortez]

Oh, Pokemon.

[Tim Gettys]

Yes.

[Andy Cortez]

Okay.

[Tim Gettys]

And I, I wanted him, I wanted him to grow up and be in my final team, but he just really wasn't pulling his weight. But I just kept him there and he was just like the six and like, I won't.

[Andy Cortez]

I need.

[Tim Gettys]

It would have made my gameplay better to get rid of him and put somebody else there, but I left him there and I let him just keep rocking with me. And we get towards one of the like later fights and he clutched up in the middle of a fight and he kind of just went in and acted as a transition point for me to like just get my wits about me to get the rest of the team in the place they needed to be to win. And we pulled it off and it really felt like a three episode arc of the cartoon of like all of a sudden we had this moment of like, hey, I knew you had something special. Then the next battle, he clutches up and finishes the fight. For me, right after that fight evolves and evolves not just from leveling. He's one of the ones that evolves from Friendship level, which is like a semi hidden thing. And I'm like, well, this feels like the most special moment of all time. And then by the end of the game I have him. And I won't say what happens after that, but it's like he's doing things. I'm like, this literally feels like the cartoon.

[Greg Miller]

Oh yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

And I'm living it. And that is spectacular. And so much of what I could ask for from this experience.

[Andy Cortez]

Dragon suck at Steve Kerr. When Michael Jordan punched him, things weren't going great.

[Greg Miller]

Remember that?

[Andy Cortez]

And then he hit some big shots in the finals, man.

[Tim Gettys]

So with Pokemon Legends, EA Switch 2's launch year continues to just continuously feed me with fun every couple weeks. Like I've been very, very satisfied with it. Not ever blown away entirely necessarily, but very satisfied with just how much stuff has spoken to me. So Pokemon Legend Za I am giving a 7.5. Very good, very good.

[Andy Cortez]

Very, very good. I can't wait to hear more about Pokemon Legends Za, including a bit more details, but that's going to be really hard because of embargoed stuff. But we'll get to all that after a word from our sponsors.

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[Tim Gettys]

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[Andy Cortez]

I have a super chat here from the uncharted Wolf five dollar super chat. Thanks for supporting us. Who says without spoiling, how do y' all feel about the new Mega Evolutions?

[Greg Miller]

I like it.

[Tim Gettys]

I like.

[Greg Miller]

I don't think it's amazing. I think it what I can never remember with terror, sizing, terrorism, whatever the they call them. I think it makes more sense than that. In Scarlet Violet which where I was a lot like I'm just doing this because you're doing this one. It is like all right cool. You're doing it and I'm using the super effective type so I'm going to switch. I think they do a good job of adding it where you know, even if you're not the fully mega evolved, you can use the power for it and like they it it's a nice addition to the Repertoire to get you up against powerful foes. I like it more than last time. I again am not like, whoa. Like, ah.

[Andy Cortez]

To add on to the super chat from Uncharted Wolf, they also asked any Altimer designs, Tim.

[Tim Gettys]

Okay, well, first off, just addressing the Mega Evolution stuff.

[Andy Cortez]

Oh, well, this is like to go along with the Mega Evolution.

[Tim Gettys]

Oh, all timer design. I mean, in some ways, yes, I'll say that. Okay. I like it a lot. Character designs. I think there are some Alzheimer's, the. Some of the Mega Evolutions Alzheimer's for maybe the wrong reasons. They're funny.

[Greg Miller]

Okay.

[Tim Gettys]

You know what I mean? But I. I do like them overall. But Mega Evolution has always been my favorite gimmick. Like there so far has been four different gimmicks. I guess where in Mega Evolution was the first one where they introduced it in X and Y, sun and Moon, they had. Damn, I'm blanking on the name now. But Z Moves, that's what it was. And then Galar the Sword and shield had Gigantamax and Diamond actually get Giant. And then Scarlet and Violet had Terrestrializing. And I think that Mega Evolution by far is my favorite and always has been. And I think that that's kind of a popular opinion among everybody. Because it's cool from a perspective of, oh my God, the Pokemon we love are getting a new form, but it's also temporary. It's more Digimon. Like, I think all that stuff is so cool. It allows great story moments and lore of getting the stones and all of that. Like, I think it's just a win across the board and it makes sense. It like all just feels like, oh, yeah, I understand this. If you understand Pokemon, it makes sense. I think some of the other ones have cool things about them. Like I think story wise, specifically the Z moves are very cool. I hated the Tera. Stuff like that definitely is for more like hardcore BGC players. But for it to permeate the core game is that much. I was like, this is just. I don't like this, you know. And Dynamax I think is cool, but also a little gimmicky in a way that's not enhancing the game. Even though it is functionally very similar to Mega Evolution. All that's to be said, I think Mega Evolution should stay. I think it should be a standard going forward for all Pokemon. I don't think it's going to be. But having it being so heavily featured here is an absolute pro to this game.

[Andy Cortez]

Very, very cool. I see Kebabs with a super chat saying, Has Za learned any lessons from Arceus and Violet?

[Greg Miller]

I mean, yeah, right. I think it's definitely an evolution of all that. I think, you know, it's hard to say what they'd specifically be. Before I venture into what I like about it and my criticisms of older games, right, Even the setting in the time period and the speed at which it all goes, like, I feel like there's there. And I think, again, to bring a little bit of that question in and a little bit of Tim's criticism in, right? Like, I felt the active battling and being able to swap your guys on the fly and bring them into world puzzles of things to do just around the world. That for me, built relationships faster than any other Pokemon game. You were talking about not feeling connected till towards the end, from the early on point of, you know, obviously my starter. What up, Totodile? You know what I mean? Jumping in there, running with him, like, breaking him out. But then it was adding in other Pokemon where it was, all right, well, I need a fire type. All right, well, I need this flying. Sure, get in here. And then finding those things of like, oh, man, I can't get to that. Oh, wait a second. Bring in the flying Pokemon. Knock the thing out. Okay, cool. And then keeping them around. It's a weird one again for me, being the new generation of Pokemon fan, which means I know nothing versus Tim. I have my little printout chart. That's what I laughing at. Earlier I printed out my little. I've had a big magazine chart and I have it on my phone. But now I do this with the app that Ignacio Rojas made me buy that has all the Pokemon in it. So, like, when somebody new pops up, I type it in.

[Andy Cortez]

That's nice.

[Greg Miller]

I fucking love this fucking game. But anyways, like, being that involved in having them in and learning, like, now I'm impressed myself, Andy. When a dude pops up and I'm like, you're dragging. Hold on. You know, I mean, I know me. And it's like, oh, I remember fighting you earlier. And I used to my bird. So I'm bringing my bird back in, you know, I mean, we're gonna go this way. Like, I'm very into it, and I feel like I do have these relationships with him. And it also helps that for most of my team, at least the ones I'm especially using now, they didn't get ugly. You know what I mean? We're not gonna bring up quackers, all right? We're not gonna talk about how horrible he looked by the End right. We fucking hate it.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah.

[Greg Miller]

But everybody here looking dope, looking good. Even their teen years, they're awkward teen years. I was like, you're. I still vibe with it. I'm vibing with.

[Tim Gettys]

I don't vibe with Croc and I ever have. Never would.

[Greg Miller]

We're in the awkward 13 years and then we get somewhere good again.

[Andy Cortez]

Let's see. I have a super chat here from Octa Octavio Armenta who says, Tim, would you recommend this as your first Pokemon?

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah, I would. I. I think that there's so much here that just to go back to kebabs has learned from the last two games. Like clearly, like it's funny because the Legend series is. It's spin off but more it's mainline. Just different. Like I don't think it's a spin off. Pokemon sees it as mainline fans get very up in arms about how you phrase all of this. But clearly these games are being made in tandem and working off of each other. Like when you play Arceus and then you see Scar and Violet, it's like, all right, cool. We are. These are all adding to each other. So I'm very Interested in where Gen 10 is going to go. Battle system wise of how active it's going to be versus how classic it's going to be. Like I wonder if champions coming out is kind of the crown on the top of that battle style. And like the turn based is. Is going to be there and going forward this is a bit more like the direction they're going. Wouldn't be surprised. I know that upset a lot of people but they clearly are seeing something here. And again the bones are there. The experiment worked, but I do. I got lost a bit. What was the actual question?

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[Tim Gettys]

Feel your body relax and let go of whatever you're exhale carrying today.

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[Tim Gettys]

And breathe.

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[Andy Cortez]

1-800-contacts. Oh, just asking if you recommend this

[Tim Gettys]

as being your first Pokemon. Yes. Yeah, yeah. I think that there's this again. It's first Pokemon. If you have seen the cartoon, I imagine you imagine that that's what Pokemon games are like. Yeah, this is the one I Think it might be a bit overwhelming in some cases. And I think that there is just a lot of busy work that like isn't fun, but you're just doing it. So I'm not necessarily thinking if it's your first game that you're going to love it.

[Andy Cortez]

Okay, I want to shout out Gamer HDH for a first time subscription with Prime. Remember, if you have Amazon prime, you have Twitch Prime. Don't let that subscription go to waste. Use it on your favorite creators. Tim, I wanted to dive more into gameplay because you mentioned during your thoughts of how you felt about the video game that Pokemon Legend Za feels like the closest it can get to what the anime, what, you know, what battles in the anime could look like or look like. And I wonder what would need it to kind of cross that finish line. What, like what aspects of the combat would make you go, oh shit, this is like a one for one. This is how I feel watching the show.

[Tim Gettys]

There's, there's a lot to break down there that's complicated to explain because so much of it is knowledge of Pokemon, just how it works. And I think that when you look at their, the moves that they have, when a Pokemon uses Dig, you know what that's supposed to look like, you know what it does, it goes under the next turn, it pops up. Use fly, same idea, but it flies up and goes down. When you use hypnosis, it puts a Pokemon to sleep, right? Like there's all these things that when it's turn based it can kind of. You don't really need to deal with it. But when it is action packed, it's like there has to be a actual representation and understanding of like what the different moves are doing. And I think the biggest fault of this game is there is no way with one controller you can control a character moving around six different Pokemon, four different moves that have 20 different variations of what those moves are doing. It's not just close range, long range, right? It's like there's so many more different types of things and they're all presented in ways that to Greg's point, you kind of need a phone and a chart next to you to be able to like figure things out or just kind of throughout the game memorize things. I feel like if they could, they would want to explain a lot more on the screen in the combat than they do. Like the last couple games have done. Scarlet and Violet. When you're fighting a Pokemon that you fought before, its types will pop up. And I think that.

[Greg Miller]

And it'll Say effective.

[Tim Gettys]

Exactly. And, and I know a lot of people, like, I don't want that, whatever. But it's like, I do think that that was a, a really good thing to add for kids learning the new Pokemon and just for, for Greg learning to the new Pokemon of like understanding

[Andy Cortez]

that a bit more.

[Greg Miller]

And this is, we're just. This is a fun tangent or whatever. See, the thing is though, I think that worked against me where I didn't have to learn the Pokemon. Oh, I fought this guy before. Oh, that's super effective. I can go to, I can go into my, my team and be like, who's got it? You've got it. Come over. Where I didn't like, this is again, a different experience.

[Andy Cortez]

You kind of forced dude popping up

[Greg Miller]

and I'm like, dragon. All right, do this. Okay, wait, no, this. You're going to use ice. Wait, what did I. Oh, like I have to play a bit of memory, so I'm actually memorizing and learning the characters in a way I haven't before in a Pokemon.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah, I just wonder if that's going to stick with you. And I'm, I'm just saying it's like, I feel like that's just adding an extra layer that I know Nintendo doesn't want because clearly the other games they've made, they don't do that. And I feel like there's been a couple steps back in terms of the design of what they're. They're putting out there. And there's so many like bars and so many things kind of like you have to wait like cooldown and stuff. But I actually think the game needs more cooldown meters. I think it needs more visual tells of when you can do certain things again, because oftentimes you're not button mashing. You know exactly what you're trying to do, but you are kind of hitting the button. Like when I feel like I should

[Greg Miller]

be able to do my satchel, why can't I get to my.

[Tim Gettys]

Exactly.

[Greg Miller]

I just won this fight in a multi fight battle. Yeah, let me go to my satchel. Why do I have to wait for the other guy to show up to do it?

[Tim Gettys]

And your item, like little loading bar, whatever it is, cooldown meter only pops up after you've used an item and then it goes away. And they do that because the screens already very cluttered and there's a lot going on. So a lot of my stuff is just, it's controlling UI based of like I get the intentions, I get what they're doing, but there's just a lot of like, little tiny things that make it very clunky and cumbersome. And I think a lot of that has to do with the fact too that, like, I don't think that this might be a hot take for people playing the game. I don't think you need to be controlling the human character. I think that adds an element that is. Gets in the way of the game. And I think that if you took that out of it, maybe just lessen its importance. Like, there could be still big attacks coming at you that you might need to dodge or else it causes problems. But that is such a core part of the game and it never feels good. It's like this game often turns into an action RPG a la Kingdom Hearts or is asking you to do some, like, platforming sections. But the game's not built for that and it feels that way and it's not the worst thing in the world, but it's not good. And I do. Yeah. And there's a lot of it, you know.

[Greg Miller]

And I think the platform is delightfully clunky.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah, sure.

[Greg Miller]

I really like doing it where I see it. And I'm like, oh, let's go. And it's like. And like early on I was like, I know I'm going to get some kind of thing here. Why don't I. In the hours later you get it? And I was like, all right, cool. Like, yes, it is not good platforming, but it's like, I don't know, it works so well in the world. And the way Pokemon controls where I

[Tim Gettys]

was like, I like, I mean, yeah, but I think that that's. That's the problem. It needs to control better than. And. And it reminds me of the Alice in Wonderland world in Kingdom Hearts 1. And if you know, you know, and the whole game is that. And it's like including the battle systems. And I think that that's kind of a. A big problem where it's like there. I just think they could have went a different direction with it. Again, I understand why they did that part, but I think that it turned into just too much like, man, this is so cool. But it could be actually great. And instead it's delightfully clunky. And that's true, but I really, really think that they're so close to more than that.

[Andy Cortez]

It feels like your thoughts about the combat not quite being as one for one kind of feel like your same feelings about they're not being voice acting, where it's like these things that this is looking better and Better as it has over several decades and there's still no voice to it and that kind of throws you off. And when you're seeing these Pokemon in a much more active non turn based combat and when somebody does dig and it's just a. The character just kind of like jiggles a little bit, you're like, oh, but they look so good right there. No, no, that's not it.

[Tim Gettys]

So check this out. And this is actually, I think a very important point to make. It's actually they're completely opposite problems and to be clear, dig it looks the way you think it should. Okay, it does.

[Andy Cortez]

Okay.

[Tim Gettys]

It's just they go under, they dig, they. They Bugs Bunny dig over and they pop out like. I am blown away at the animations in this game and how hard they went. How hydro pump looks compared to water gun. Not just from an animation perspective, but from a move perspective of what it does to the arena you're in. Like it's fucking cool. It's just in terms of subsets of understanding this type of move versus this type of move, I really just think there needs to be. I keep saying ui that might not even be the right thing, but like some way to look, some denotation, something of like not just short range, long range move, but like understanding your movesets and what they are going to be compared to others. Like it just kind of just feels like, yeah, just try things and then you're just going to memorize that this button does that. But like Pokemon games need to be a little bit deeper than that because that's the secret sauce to the battles and especially post game and all of that stuff. The difference though with the presentation stuff is that the gameplay is what it is, whereas the presentation, they are nailing it. It's just missing one key ingredient. It's like watching when the Mummy trailer came out from with Tom Cruise and it was like missing certain sound effects. Yeah, it's. It's like, oh no, this is right. But it's awfully wrong. And that's the difference there where it's like, no, I really think that the. They do such a good job with so much of the battle system. It's just. I think the implementation overall is not quite there and I noticed that every single time. But it's still very, very good. And I am thrilled that we got this close even because I think that getting this close means we'll get there.

[Greg Miller]

If I'm understanding your argument correctly, I would push back on it, but I might be missing the point. So stop Me, if I am back to the ownership in knowing these Pokemon.

[Tim Gettys]

Right.

[Greg Miller]

Like, I really. For the first time, you know, I think I went into TMS once in Violet, where it was like, I was up against somebody who's just kicking my ass, and I'm like, all right, well, I'm not gonna power level whoever. I'm just gonna get a TM and apply to whoever I can to make it work. This one again, having that team, having the ownership, how easy it is to swap in and out your moves, and learning what all the moves did. It was like, okay, cool. Like, well, I'm. I have a water type, but I'm gonna put an ice on there. I unlock this TM that sounds. Going in and looking and really not min. Maxing, but really getting into the minutia of what my Pokemon could do in battle. I hadn't done before in any three of the Pokemon games I had played. So I felt like this one, there was an ownership of it. And even though it was, I. I actually went in and I read what the moves could do, and then I would go and watch them do what it was. So I understood the difference between a move A and move B. I'd start using things here, but I don't want to get.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah. Exactly.

[Greg Miller]

Stuff.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah.

[Greg Miller]

I think it worked for me, again, of making me feel more into this game, more understanding of what the hell it was trying to do.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah. And like I was saying, I do think that I agree with you. Like, I've changed moves in this game way more than I ever have in the past, and that is a core part of this game that I found very satisfying. But I also think that it's.

[Andy Cortez]

I. They.

[Tim Gettys]

It should have went further. I. I think that it is at, like, a 7 implementation, when I really would like it to be at a 9, you know, like a 10 doll. But, like, I. I do think that, like, there's an. I can see the ways that this could be really fleshed out. And I also think this is clearly a side project in the sense of its scale. Like, it all being in one city, it all being as focused as this game is. It's like. And. And. And how the. The Pokemon that you were finding and the. Even the move sets you're getting from the team. Yeah. In comparison to other games, it is not the full experience. And I think that.

[Greg Miller]

And how do you feel about that? And I know I'm pivoting. You're in the middle, but I'd love to. I would love your take on that again, because for me, Violet, the open world. I love open world games, and I love the idea of that, but I felt like there was so many. You always talk about, like, you know, when Todd Howard and Bethesda showed Skyrim the first time.

[Andy Cortez]

Right.

[Greg Miller]

And I want to screw it up, but I forget. They're like, something interesting should happen every 30 seconds, every minute or whatever. When you're running in an open world, where in Violet, granted, you're seeing other Pokemon, you're running out and chasing. You're trying to catch them all, but I still felt like it was just giant stretches of like, okay, it's a grassy hill, and then over this, and then there's a wa. Like, I didn't feel like they made the most out of that open world. As somebody who loves open worlds, so Lumiose City, I think being a character unto itself made this experience so much better for me. Not necessarily the contained portion, but the narrative. Here's why we have wild zones. Here's why we have battle zones. Here's why this isn't working. And now it is, and that's it. And then, like, you were talking about the terrorism and people and all these things. Like, there's like, oh, this is really cool. It made me feel so connected to that world, in a way. In Violet, maybe the town where my school was, I felt a little bit.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah, it's. It's rough to answer that, because this just goes back to the baggage. If you play the game, then you play the next one, you look back on the other one, and it's like you. You focus on the things you like, and you kind of make excuses for the things you don't. And then years later, when you're playing the next one, you're like, well, man, I'm focused on things I like. And the last one had all these things I don't. They solved that. It kind of feels like they keep solving a problem and causing others. And I. I think that we're just constantly in that cycle, and we're never going to get out of that with the way that Pokemon treats these games. And that, in my opinion, sucks. But I get it. They're making money, and enough people are happy, and they're buying the game, so that is what it is. But, yeah, I mean, everything you said. I'm with you. About Scarlet and Violet. Like, there's so much. I think there's a lot more fat in Scarlet and Violet that I don't want to do that there is in this game. Having said that, what you were talking about like the wild areas and the zones and stuff. So much of it. I understand why they're doing it from a gameplay perspective. I hate it. Like, I think the city just. Just let it be open. Just like, don't. Don't make me have to wait till nighttime to do a certain thing. And also make it incredibly easy to get to nighttime. It feels like busy work. It's like, just let me do the things when I want to do the things. Like, let me just go to have these areas be. I'm speaking very vaguely because I don't want to get in trouble here. Like, have the wild area or this area or that area just available at all times. Because I don't really understand why not. Like, it doesn't really, like, why. Why not?

[Andy Cortez]

Period.

[Tim Gettys]

Right. Like, just, like, this whole city is kind of open to you from the start. And I understand why. Because the whole city is the exact same thing. And, like, you've seen the trailers. You have seen the game. You know what this is. And that's. I'm with you. That, like, the city is a character to itself. And I'm very fond of it. I think that the music. I think that music and the French culture, the stuff they have, the fashion. It's like. Yeah. Like, they leaned in. And it reminds me a lot of the Kitakami expansion in. I keep forgetting the name of it. The Teal mask, which I really loved. I think it had so much character and personality because the place it was in. And they took that seriously, and they very much do here. I think that they. They pull it off. But I can't for a second act like it's not the worst, like, area in a Pokemon game. I mean, and it's like. It's bustling. There's things to do. So many side quests. Like, all that stuff's great. It all looks identical.

[Andy Cortez]

More monotonous than Arceus.

[Tim Gettys]

I mean, it's. It's the city version. Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

It looks. It's way sharper. Of course, we didn't talk about performance. This game runs.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

Like, it really does. It's sharp. I didn't have any problems.

[Greg Miller]

I was gonna say, do you have bugs? Because Handful Reb Valentine's about falling through. Yeah, for me, it was. I didn't. I didn't fall through the world or anything. Like Reb. I was breezy. I was getting ready this morning when Red Reps thing. I'll go back for a full read. My bug was occasionally in battles. Buttons would just stop working where I would, like, try. Oh, I can't. I'd have to hit the home button, go by home screen, come back in, and then my buttons would work again.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah, I honestly, it's like, not even enough to, like, bring up as a point, but there were a couple times where the same thing happened to me where something will happen in, like a bridge essentially forms across rooftops. Like, somehow. And I would get caught in the bridge and, like, there's just no way for me to get. And that happened like three times.

[Greg Miller]

Oh, wow.

[Tim Gettys]

Different places. And part of that's just because I probably ran too soon, but, like, that still shouldn't happen. Easy enough to get out of. You can you have fast travel, like, from the jump of this game, which again, makes exploring the city just feel like I am just going place to place to place. And when they all look identical, like you're. You're calling the different districts, like blue and red in French. I don't know how to say them and all this stuff, but it's like nothing about the areas is that color or anything. And like, I just feel like even it being one city, it's like I. I've been in cities. I literally was in Paris a couple of weeks ago. And it's like, there's a lot more variation than this. Like, when I started seeing areas that I can't name that I'm like, oh, that's cool. They have this. And then I saw ten more of that. I'm like, okay.

[Andy Cortez]

Makes it a little less special.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah. And it's like, again, I am a fan of this city. Like, I think that there's. Gameplay wise, they do great. The characters and all that stuff is great. It's just like, it is incredibly boring. And I'm very surprised at how it looks the way it looks in the trailer the entire game.

[Greg Miller]

I have a question. So I'm just running around doing everything. I'd be like, I'd fast travel, sure. But then I come out of the street after all, man, let's just talk about two fucking violet. All right? Everywhere I go, I got these three stalls jammed together. I got to heal my Pokemon at it. This is a boring experience. Now I get to go into these little Pokemon shops and they put my little guys in the little oven. Yeah. They give them back. I run out. She's saying, bonjour. And then, yeah, I'll fast travel to the main things. But then there are plenty of times,

[Tim Gettys]

like, you know what?

[Greg Miller]

I'm going to walk it. I want to pick up all these things with my Pokemon. I want to see what side quest is happening.

[Andy Cortez]

How quickly did you take off the stupid hat?

[Greg Miller]

They literally are like, here's a hat. Like, fuck. No, no, take it back again. I ran out and started buying stuff immediately. And there's so many shops in this game with outfits and good outfits in this game. Best fashionista. So stoked.

[Tim Gettys]

Best outfits I've ever seen in a Pokemon game. Very, very, very low bar. But that's not a dig at this game. I'm impressed with this game.

[Greg Miller]

One of the things I want to make sure I call out because this is a throwaway bullet point. But especially early on, I was playing and I'm like, man, this is giving me the Animal Crossing vibes I've been missing. Just here's a great little track on repeat. I'm running through a lovely town. Everyone's nice to me. We're doing dumb little things. They're giving me shit for no reason. Like, yeah, I want to live here.

[Andy Cortez]

People just give me gifts left.

[Tim Gettys]

I love this when the music's good. The music's so good in this. It's just unfortunately. And this is another thing where I'm like, Pokemon company game freak. Like, fuck you guys. You have the money. Like, so much of it. Not so much. A lot of it is beautifully performed, and so much of it is just cheap little mini shit. I'm like, what are we doing? Like, and the juxtaposition back and forth is, I think, like, brutal.

[Greg Miller]

And I'll be general with this. When you get to some of the bigger battles, the boss battles that you have multiple times in this game or whatever, they play this really offensive sound song that I had to start turning it off. Like, it's not offensive. Like they're saying slurs, but I mean, it was just like the. The, you know, like things are. Things are askew, right? And so, like, the. The music starts getting, like, weird and, like, out of town. I'm like, ah, this. I don't like this.

[Tim Gettys]

I will have to talk later.

[Andy Cortez]

Make me feel uneasy or whatever. Yeah, I have a super chat here from Street Shadow. Five dollar super Chat. Thanks for your support. Says Quaxi's final evolution in Scarlet and Violet was the biggest betrayal in Pokemon.

[Greg Miller]

I almost walked away from the series forever.

[Andy Cortez]

And then put in parentheses. Partial sarcasm, but it says it was the first time I draw my OG starter. Super.

[Greg Miller]

Who are you? I don't know you.

[Tim Gettys]

Real quick, before we get to the super chat, something I just want to tell you, Greg, that, like, I think is. Is cool and, like, it's Not a defense or like propping up anything.

[Greg Miller]

Tell me why my spider is wrong. Go for it.

[Tim Gettys]

No, it's about the Pokemon center which I do want to give them props in the last couple generations where I, I really feel like this started with generation 8 which was the sword and shield. Right. Each game has not just been in a different place but kind of have. It had a different theme. So that one sword and shield, it had that like the football soccer theme. Right. Where it was way more like arena based England and all that. Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

All of errors change. So cool. Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

And so it's like the Pokemon.

[Andy Cortez]

The only voice in the game people.

[Tim Gettys]

The Pokemon centers were where you like heal your Pokemon. They had all the shops and stuff. It was, it felt like you're going to like the Chase center. Like an arena, like a sports arena.

[Greg Miller]

Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

And I thought that was like so cool and fit the vibe of that. And then getting to Scarlet Violet like it being school. It is kind of going on the trip. And these are like kiosks right. Like where they're heading out. Monster energy drink or whatever. And then yeah. This being in France and being more vacation vibes for your main character. Like just going to the little local cafes. Like I really love the commitment to the world that they're, they're building here within Pokemon and I, I, they're. They're building something man. And it's just like every, it's two steps back, three steps forward. This. It's like every direction is being all mixed around but like we're getting somewhere, y'.

[Andy Cortez]

All. Super Chat from Magnamous with a three dollar Super Chat asks do Pokemon have their abilities?

[Tim Gettys]

No abilities in this game. I, I'm pretty sure

[Andy Cortez]

Super Chat from Yang fam says Switch 1 Performance Shiny Pokemon PPS and items. A lot of that stuff is embargoed.

[Greg Miller]

Yeah. Well, yeah. We only got switched two codes.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

Ken Jr. With a five dollar super chat. Thank you. Ken Jr asks, how does autosave work? Can it be turned off?

[Greg Miller]

Oh well, it works really well. I don't know.

[Tim Gettys]

Does it?

[Greg Miller]

Yeah, I mean I would still, I was still.

[Tim Gettys]

I don't remember even seeing an auto save icon ever. So I was scared about it. Okay. Yeah. Because I, I was very like, like nervous about saving so I saved a whole bunch. It's easy to save though.

[Greg Miller]

So yeah, I don't know if you can turn off. I didn't bother. I look into it I guess for you.

[Andy Cortez]

Super chat from Mr. Hawks. Five dollar super chat asks or says physical media guy Tim, can you please give us a 10 minute rant on how awful the switch to box art is for this and every other cross gen game is.

[Tim Gettys]

I mean you've heard that 10 minute rant 10 different times on shows. You're right.

[Andy Cortez]

I hate it.

[Tim Gettys]

It's abysmal.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah. I'll tell you what I got coming soon on. On Switch one Physical Absolum.

[Tim Gettys]

Oh, you gotta play.

[Andy Cortez]

Absolutely.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

Oh my gosh, dude. The. The song with Mick Gordon on it, it's crazy. Like it's so damn good. Absolute is very, very good.

[Greg Miller]

It doesn't look like you can turn it off easily in the settings.

[Tim Gettys]

There's no settings in this game.

[Greg Miller]

Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

Oh, of course.

[Andy Cortez]

Classic. Surprised? I'm not surprised.

[Tim Gettys]

Less than ever, I think.

[Andy Cortez]

John Van Pelt with a. Scott Van Pelt's son. I don't know if you knew that said with a two dollar. Super Chat says this might be embargoed, but it's torchic here again.

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[Tim Gettys]

You can't talk about Pokemon. Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah. No. Not a whole lot of discussions to be had about Pokemon and kebabs with a two dollar Super Chat says Andy is definitely a flaming Hot Fire gym leader. I just don't feel like obviously I love Flamin Hot snacks. I've always identified with ice or electric.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

Even though I love the color purple, I've just.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

I'm not a psychic or.

[Greg Miller]

Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

I don't freak your mind like that.

[Tim Gettys]

You know, I feel like I tend. I. I prioritize electric on my team. So I do think I'll lean electric to an extent.

[Greg Miller]

He asked about a Pokemon. Could you talk about it? I already forgot who that is. I don't care. But it reminded me and I went and cross referenced. Let's just give a round of applause to Trubbish. All right. I never heard of this man, but I love him and I don't mean I don't use them, but I just.

[Tim Gettys]

He's everywhere.

[Greg Miller]

Yeah. What up, Trubbish?

[Tim Gettys]

My dude. Yeah, that. That is a good point. I do think that the. And thank God this is the case. But this is the most integrated Pokemon have been into a world so far. Like again, what they started with sword and shields with their wild areas and how bad that was. But the cities and towns were so great in that. And then you get to RCS and you get in the little villages, and they'd kind of be popping around, doing. Living their lives, doing things.

[Andy Cortez]

And then those areas ran so smoothly, though.

[Greg Miller]

Coming back off of that, back to the question, you did it. But I never said too much. I really liked the wild areas and I did like the battle zones. And I think I like it just because of the narrative and what they're. Why. Why they're explaining that they're there. I understand your criticisms of them, for sure, but I was always stoked when there'd be a wild area. Go in there. Who's in this? I don't know what it is. Start filling out my Pokedex, that thing. And even the battle zones, it would be like, why are they doing this? It feels like busy work. You can get tonight easier. I would actually try to use the day like, I'm doing all stuff. And then they'd be like, all right, nights coming. I go, shit, fuck. I got to try to finish off this thing or that.

[Tim Gettys]

Whatever.

[Greg Miller]

I'm working on being vague, being vague before I could go do it.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah, it's. This is definitely one of those, like, I don't want to get into it. So people have played, like, more in terms of, like, what I really have problems with. With a lot of the stuff. But I will say that from a gameplay perspective, like I explained, I just feel like it was a hindrance. Like, give me the option at the very least to like, not do that stuff. But I also think, like, from a story perspective, like, they made some choices that I'm like, man, like, you really didn't take some core elements of this game seriously. And I was a little let down by that.

[Andy Cortez]

Lucius, Augustus Lucius with the final Super Chat says, when you compare this game to any other 70 product, does it hold up? I find people compare Pokemon games to other Pokemon games.

[Tim Gettys]

I mean. Yeah, to any other. Yeah, like, to every. No, it's like, look, this is always not Final Fantasy 7 Remake. And that does bum me the out. Because, like, my dream, Andy, literally my dream in video games would be to just get a Pokemon at the level of seven remake or seven rebirths, specifically. Like, just. We don't need a thousand Pokemon. Just choose the 150. It doesn't have to be the 150, but, like, do something. Tell a story. Like, have it be epic, have voice acting, have the gameplay. Like, all that stuff. I understand that's not what this is. And probably we're never going to get that. This is a step that way, though. And I think that it does a lot of great stuff. But, yeah, I think giving this a 7.5. That's why I give it a 7.5.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah.

[Greg Miller]

I think, obviously your money is your money and what you define as a $70 game is what you define as a $70 game. I think this is worth $70 for sure. I'm looking back and I put, you know, on the switch to whatever, 55 hours into violet.

[Tim Gettys]

Right.

[Greg Miller]

I imagine I'm far from done. Even. Even if I was done, even if I had rolled credits, I still have side missions I'm going to want to go do. I still want to fill out my Pokedex. I'm gonna want to keep playing. There's DLC eventually coming. Like, I'm. This again is my Pokemon game where I'm gonna be like, jonesing to get back. I feel all the time I just want to run around, have a baguette.

[Tim Gettys]

I will buy again, I guess.

[Andy Cortez]

Thank you, Brady1, who also asked the same question with a $10 super chat earlier. Appreciate you, Brady1. Any final thoughts on Pokemon Legends? Za.

[Greg Miller]

I'm so happy with it. I think it's one of those games where I did the demo at World and it was like, okay, you're dropped in this battle zone. We're dropped into a mega, mega fight or whatever. And it was like, I don't. This is. How does this all connect? And how does it work? And will the connective tissue be there? And I'm shocked. The context. Connective tissue is there. We didn't talk too much about characters in one of the presentations. I think in the Pokemon direct we did, they did a whole thing where they were like, talking about the cast

[Tim Gettys]

of characters for that are like your Tani and Urbain.

[Greg Miller]

Urbain and all them. Yeah. And it was very much like, I remember during that. I don't know, why are you doing this? Who's going to care? And I'm like, God damn. By the end of this. I like these people. I like these. I like their little deal. They got a monster squad situation going on here, you know what I mean? And I was like, yeah. So I'm quite enamored with this game and very excited to play more.

[Tim Gettys]

Jumping off of that real quick, just because I do think it's another example for me of the. The presentation of it all mattering is it's like, yeah, love them, love the characters, love the side characters. I've Been loving the side characters the last couple games. I think they've really stepped up, I mean, ironically, even from X and Y, which is I think where I started dropping off of being like, I hate your friends here. Like they are getting in the way of all of this. So for it to be back in Kalos here is like fun to see a team that actually really care about them and care about their story. And I'm not going to remember them in a couple years. And it's because they're not voice acted. If there was personality and something that I could latch on to, I would remember them. If they're saying their names and all that stuff, it would go so much further. But there's not a chance I remember them. They're going to blend with the last three games and I liked all them. I like these characters. But it's just, I think that that, that matters. That really matters. And so yeah, my final thoughts on this. This is a very good game. This is a very good Pokemon game. I want to see them continue to iterate on this formula because they got something there and I, I think people are, are going to enjoy this one quite a bit.

[Andy Cortez]

One final question. In Pokemon, I guess it was Scarlet and Violet. There were a couple of story moments that had me going like, whoa. I wasn't expecting to give a about anything happening in the story. Was there anything on that level that just made you go, oh, damn. All right, cool. Thank you for doing this. This made my experience even better instead of just story fodder because I just like collecting Pokemon really the best way

[Tim Gettys]

I can say this, and I've said it in like 10 different ways, but like, I do think the last like three games have really started to hone in on the side stories and characters around you, all adding up and mattering. And I think that they very much do in this. And because they're all in one city, characters are able to like come in and out of the story in a way that feels a bit more realistic than some of the other games. Like with the Game of Thrones Season 6, fast travel type stuff.

[Greg Miller]

Right.

[Tim Gettys]

Even though they can fly. That's a joke. But like, it just feels a bit more. And again, the fact that these characters love the city they're in and that's kind of the story, I think. Yes, Andy, there are a. There are multiple moments that really, really made me go like, that was nice.

[Andy Cortez]

Nice even.

[Greg Miller]

Not even having, you know, the history. Yeah. Agreed.

[Andy Cortez]

Hell yeah, everybody. This has been the kind of funny games cast each and Every weekday we get together to talk about the biggest reviews, previews and topics. Video games live on YouTube, Twitch and podcast services around the globe. And if you love what we do, please support us with the kind of funny membership on Patreon or YouTube to get all of our shows ad free, watch us record them live and get a daily exclusive show. Catch Today's KFGD on YouTube or podcast services and know that until next time, it's been our pleasure to serve you.

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[Andy Cortez]

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