Leaning more towards no faith, unfortunately. My main complaint is the change in art style. Pokemon had a distinct and consistent look to it from RG all the way to USUM, a span of over 20 years. Legends Arceus did a great job translating Ken Sugimori's artwork from Diamond and Pearl into 3D, and the art direction throughout the game was consistent and appealing despite hardware limitations. Legends Z-A however just opted to use the art style from Scarlet and Violet. It's particularly jarring since XY featured Sugimori's art heavily in battle intros, and even the highpoly models used in cutscenes look a lot closer to the models in SM and PLA. It may be a matter of preference, but it really does feel that the series lost something when the old art style was abandoned. The new style is also just incredibly unappealing to me As for the gameplay it doesn't look particularly interesting. Restraining the game to a single city really limits its scope, and the Z-A Royale doesn't look like it has much to it either. Overall the gameplay just seems incredibly repetitive and one-note. The story could be promising, however. There's a lot to work with from the original games, and it being a sequel means they have more of an opportunity to build on top of what's already there instead of making a mostly self-contained story. That seems unlikely however, since ZA doesn't have the benefit of releasing alongside a remake that gets the new fans up to speed. Regardless if the story is a large focus and well written it could help hold the game together despite how bare bones everything else looks.

>>6 I think it will be an extremely underwhelming experience that leaves tons of potential on the table and makes tons of amateur game dev mistakes that will leave people wanting more in the next game. It will also be the most technically impressive Pokemon game to date. Kind of like most modern pokemon games.

Fuck it, I'm not buying that retarded shit. They are releasing TWO DIFFERENT VERSIONS?!?!! The more expensive version probably will have more content... BOYCOTT SWITCH 2!!!

>>6 Im hyped for Z-A, but not having high expectations either (Its GameFreak we are talking about). I just liked Arceus, and a pokemon that is more action-based than turn based is good. And im between Chikorita and Totodile, it all depends of what new evo/mega they get.

I'm all for the city map. I think it's fresh for the series. Pokemon's done natural settings a lot and ever since the games have gone more open design, they've been doing large fields and mountain ranges and stuff, and that makes sense, but I'm very happy to see them try a setting that's might push them a bit and feel unique. The idea of a game like Pokemon set in an open world, densely designed city is genuinely awesome. I'm mostly happy about the gameplay. I'll wait and see how much I like the new combat system, but experimenting is cool. I do wonder, with Champions existing, what these two games will mean for the battle design for the main series long term, but for this game specifically, sure, looks cool. The visuals are underwhelming (as expected) but are a small step up from SV which combined with the Switch 2 version running at an actually reasonable frame rate is nice at least. They really need to find something that actually looks nice eventually though.

I'm not sold on the new battle system based on what we've seen so far. Stealth Rock setting up a physical barrier on the field is the most interesting thing to me, and I'm hoping that there's a lot more like that. I want the battlefield to be a clusterfuck where Lava Plume leaves puddles of magma all over the ground while Gust pushes you around, Surf clears up the fire hazards but leaves ankle-deep water that slows down non-Water or Flying types and Thunder intermittently brings down lightning strikes but automatically hits anything standing in water. I don't want it to just be two dipshits standing in front of one another button mashing to spam Hyper Beams faster. Problem is, I know one of those possibilities is in Game Freak's ability to provide, and the other is a pipe dream.

Kinda excited ngl

>>6 Disappointed its not a legends game. Its just updated pokemon x and y Not about the founding of the city Or letting us be in that war they spent so much time talking about in x and y Probably gonna skip this since it doesnt seem to have anything worthwhile in it

It's a fucking scam. I am so tired of Legends shit, I wanted Pokemon Z for 3DS.

Honestly when they showed the first teaser for it a year ago and considering Legends Arceus took place so far in the past, I honestly expected Z-A to be a lot more futuristic so that was disappointing. At this point I don't expect too much, I don't think it'll be particularly amazing but I don't think it'll be complete dogshit either, just painfully mid. On another note, I'm kind of glad that "Mega Feraligatr" that was circulating was a hoax, I hated that thing and it was unironically the most infuriating thing to come out of Z-A for me somehow just by looking at it.

If they want to pay a small team to make low effort AA games, the least they could do is milk the individual games for years. It's hard to care about new games when the come every other year at this point. Just hope the kids have fun battling pokemon in the big city

Looks like absolute shit and I won't be buying it.

So the starmie and Feraligatr leaks were confirmed fake af?

I preordered the switch 1 version and now Im wondering if I should cancel and get the switch 2 directly BUT I got the game for 45bucks on amazon, and Im yet to see the price of the switch 2 version, so Im wondering if even paying the extra 10 for the update will be a better deal yet.

>>649 Feraligatr for sure a hoax and was made by some 3d modeler on xitter, Starmie was not made by the same guy and supposedly is still real if you trust Centro Leaks after fucking up on Feraligatr

>>6 I am somewhat excited for XY2. I mostly just want to see the new megas, though.

>>6 The city aspect of ZA has me less hyped. Arceus was fun because you were just out exploring the wilderness, sneaking up on Pokemon, and catching them. ZA lacks this. I don't have much faith in the real-time battles, either.

Release date when?

>>6 The fact gamefreak is experimenting with the pokemon formula at all is good enough for me right now, i reserve all further opinions for when the game releases and then cast judgement upon it solely based on whether or not it has best kalos girl in it.

>>6 Never picked chikorita or tepig in any playthroughs. Guess I'll go with the croc.

Z-A is releasing October 16. Rate the box art.

>>6759 >Rate the box art. It's average. There's color, the light from the mega evolving Lucario makes for a nice contrast with the dark night sky. It's clear that this nighttime battle royale type gamemode will be marketed as one of the biggest draws of the game. The cover art overall isn't very exciting really, nor does it really draw you into the game world. Everything is just there, there isn't a single point or subject that is being highlighted. Even Lumiose Tower, an obvious landmark to use for this purpose, is kind of off-center, and attention is drawn away from it by Chikorita's backside and the glowing Lucario nearby. It's clear that different minds were behind this game compared to Legends Arceus, but it is also clear that they were inspired by the Legends Arceus cover. That one didnt have some character giving a big thumbs up in the center of the box art, nor was the legendary of the game put front and center either. But the composition was better, even if there wasn't as much going on. Mt. Coronet in the middle, everyone on the right and left sides looking towards it, facing away from the viewer, like you too were standing there in the crowd staring up at the grand mountain.

We are just over a week out from the next Pokemon Presents. Anything you hope to see in a new Z-A trailer?

>>12830 I'm hoping to see some examples of trainer customization. X and Y allowed for a lot of customization, and while I doubt we will ever see that level of choice and variety again, hopefully Gamefreak thinks of fashion as one of the main themes of Lumiose and Kalos as a whole. I'm also hoping to see some more footage showing how battles work. It would be cool to see some new megas too, if there are going to be any. I'm not sure if I want to see them before playing the game though, but then again, official trailers are different from leaks you accidentally stumble upon.

It's impressive how little information they give each Pokemon Presents.

>>14720 Unsurprisingly, they are very good at taking a small amount of information and filling up a good chunk of time talking about it. With the ZA information, they made a short trailer with in-game footage, showed it, then replayed that same trailer again with a couple extra short clips while narrating over it. Which allowed them to spend about 6 or 7 minutes on Legends ZA, the game most people watching are most interested about. Considering the whole Presents was 25 minutes, including all the talking and extra stuff, that is a significant chunk of time. I went in with lowered expectations as to how much would actually be shown, and in the end, I wasn't too disappointed, which is a good thing. There were people out there expecting some teaser or announcement for a Generation 5 remake, which was definitely a pipe dream (or nightmare depending on who you ask). Here's a few of the new things that were shown off, specifically for Legends ZA, spoilered for now just in case anyone wants to watch the trailer first: Mega Dragonite is revealed Emma returns, is now a professional detective Mable, former Team Flare admin, is the professor for the game, and asks you to help fill the Pokedex Furfrou fur styles are back New characters Corbeau, Lida, and Naveen The MC joins a group called Team MZ Rust Syndicate that seems to have some kind of goal in Lumiose City and an interest in Team MZ There will be strong "Rogue Mega Pokemon" that can be battled, seems like you can get Mega Stones this way. During battle, it looks like pokemon can drop shards that fill up a Mega Evolution meter. Its possible that this only happens during the big battles with raging wild Megas, though. Trainer customization is back. Clothes, hair, makeup, etc. can all be changed. Multiple skin tones are also shown. We get to see what the bottoms of Mawile's feet look like. Now that's deep lore! Also, a random detail. In the Japanese version of the Pokemon Presents, the narration clearly says "makeup" when talking about character customization. The English version says "change your style" instead, even though it is clearly makeup, and using the same footage as the Japanese version. Interesting.

DIALGA IS BEST

Unsurprisingly, exclusive preorder bonuses are back. A few days ago, it was announced that if you preordered ZA at certain stores in Japan and Australia, you'd get a code for a trench coat jacket for your character. It was confirmed for the US recently; You'll have to preorder from GameStop to get it. https://archive.ph/pytNu

Sounds like there will be a playable demo for Legends ZA at the Pokemon World Championships starting this Friday! You have to reserve a ticket to try it, and these tickets can only be reserved through the Nintendo Warp Pipe Pass system. Registration for these tickets starts August 11th, @ 9AM PDT and ends on August 14th @ 11:59 PM PDT. https://archive.ph/RZslK The fact that there is a demo is sort of old news, as there was an announcement back in July about a demo that will be at Gamescom at the end of this month (https://archive.ph/BzPLU). But this more recent announcement about the demo being shown at the World Championships gives more details about what the demo actually contains. >Experience the new real-time battling system in a series of Trainer battles that take place during the after hours of Lumiose City >chase Zygarde through the streets of Lumiose City >and team up with Lucario to take on Rogue Mega Absol in an epic, action-packed showdown! >Please note that you MUST reserve a Warp Pipe Pass to participate in this gameplay opportunity. Passes are first-come, first-served! So it seems like there may be a little bit of choice when it comes to fighting some trainers, but overall the goal will be to use a Mega Lucario to defeat a Mega Absol in one of the recently revealed Rouge Mega Pokemon battles.