Pokémon Legends: Z-A’s visuals will not be saved by the Switch 2

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In recent times, the Pokémon games haven’t been leading the charge in contemporary video gaming. The latest releases, Scarlet and Violet, were quite chaotic, and while they experimented with Pokémon Legends: Arceus, both fell short visually. Now we’re in 2025, and it’s been longer than usual between Pokémon game releases. Some might have assumed that this gap was a sign of Gamefreak and The Pokémon Company learning from past issues, focusing on making the next game look fantastic and perform smoothly. However, at the end of last month, we got our first glimpse of the upcoming Pokémon game, Pokémon Legends: Z-A, through its gameplay trailer.

Don’t expect Pokémon Legends: Z-A’s visuals to improve from this trailer, on Switch 1 or Switch 2

This new game introduces an innovative feature where trainers and their Pokémon will synchronize their movements during real-time battles for the first time. The game environment is set in a fresh interpretation of Lumiose City as seen in X and Y. Additionally, Mega Evolution, a much-adored aspect from previous games, will make a comeback. However, some fans have pointed out that the cityscape lacks depth, considering Pokémon’s status as the most successful media franchise globally. Yet, it seems that they don’t necessarily need to improve the visuals, as success isn’t solely dependent on it in this case.

Pokémon didn’t suddenly become the most successful media franchise; it’s been a significant part of many people’s lives for years. Even with issues like the one experienced in Scarlet & Violet, the games continue to sell exceptionally well. For instance, as of September 30th, 2024, Scarlet & Violet had sold an impressive 25.6 million copies, placing them third among all Pokémon games in terms of sales. The originals, Red, Blue, and Green, hold the top spot, but Sword and Shield, another game that faced criticism for its visuals, come in second place. Thanks to the valuable information provided by the site Serebii, run by Joe Merrick, we have these sales figures.

Essentially, here’s the gist: The argument is that The Pokémon Company has shown no signs of enhancing the visuals in their games because the massive number of sales indicates that consumers are content with the current state. Even ex-Nintendo employees like Kit Ellis and Krysta Yang, who have worked on projects like Nintendo Minute, suggest that we might not see significant improvements, but possibly minor optimizations instead. Ellis stated this in a recent YouTube video, expressing his viewpoint that “The company has yet to fix Scarlet and Violet, so I think we’re mostly going to get what we’ve seen with some small adjustments.” Krysta Yang added her hope for further polishing, but it seems they anticipate only minor improvements. In the best-case scenario, the delay in releasing the game until late this year might indicate that The Pokémon Company is waiting to make those minor adjustments before launching.

In contrast to previous mainline Pokémon games, “Pokémon Legends: Arceus” didn’t perform exceptionally well in sales, having sold approximately 15 million units by September 2024. This figure, when considered against the franchise as a whole, suggests underperformance. It remains to be seen whether the upcoming game, Z-A, will surpass its predecessor’s sales figures. If not, this could signal to the Pokémon Company that improvements are necessary to prevent a declining trend in their games.

This year, the significant news has been Nintendo’s unveiling of their upcoming console, the Nintendo Switch 2. Although Legends: Z-A has stated multiple times that it will be playable on the initial Switch, it also announced a release date towards the end of 2025. Some enthusiasts have hypothesized that even though this latest trailer may seem visually unimpressive, it’s possible that the enhanced hardware in the Switch 2 could improve its look. There’s a chance that Legends: Z-A might develop a version of their game for the new console. As of now, we can only guess that the new Switch will be more potent than the previous one, but until April 2nd’s Nintendo Direct, we won’t have definite details. If the Switch 2 outperforms the original significantly, I doubt The Pokémon Company would invest extra resources into a game destined to sell around 15 million copies already. Depending on its launch timing, this game in its current state could potentially boost Switch 2 sales instead.

I want to clarify that my comments on “Legends: Z-A” don’t diminish anyone’s anticipation. There’s a chance the finished product could surpass our current expectations based on the trailer. However, as a longtime fan of the Pokémon games, I believe the developer has more 2D to 3D transition milestones ahead.

One significant advancement I see is that the Pokémon now appear much more vibrant and bright. This was something that bothered me because many Pokémon’s colors became less vivid during the shift to 3D. Game Freak will continue to focus on refining Pokémon sprites, battle animations, storyline, and other aspects of the game. Even when they reduced the Pokédex by half in “Sword and Shield”, it didn’t lighten the development load enough to create a visually stunning game.

Maintain reasonable expectations regarding The Pokémon Company and their work. If you find the visuals too bothersome, it might be best not to purchase the game. By doing so, more people expressing complaints could influence changes within the company. For now, we’ll have to stay tuned as this situation unfolds.

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2025-03-12 05:02