Pokémon Legends: Z-A Has Secretly Become My Favorite Dress-Up Game

Pokémon games have always been about the personal journey — the young upstart kid builds a party of cuddly companions, taking on the world. Pokémon games inherently feel personal, which is a large part of why they’ve always been so successful. But despite that personal nature, Pokémon hasn’t always done a great job at character customization, even as so many other RPGs doubled down on letting you make your character unique. That’s why I’m absolutely pleased as punch that my favorite part of Pokémon Legends: Z-A has turned out to quite literally be playing dress-up. It’s by far the best character customization the series has ever had, and while I have some problems with Z-A (a full review will be coming later), I can’t deny the sheer joy I’ve had vibing in its world, shopping for cute outfits, and kicking back at cafes with my beloved Haunter.

Z-A is the second in the “Legends” line of sub-games, following in the footsteps of 2022’s Pokémon Legends: Arceus. While these two games are largely unrelated, Z-A is similarly a smaller, more focused Pokémon experience that uses specific gimmicks — instead of the typical “fight through gyms and become champion” format. What that means in Z-A is that the game takes place entirely in Lumiose City, the Paris-inspired central hub of the Kalos Region.

There’s a lot that separates Z-A from your typical Pokémon game, from the open world-esque sidequests and exploration, to the more real-time combat system that takes cues from the Xenoblade games. Some of these elements work quite well, and others don’t — but I’ll talk about all of that at a later date. Today, I’m here to talk about the deliciously fresh fits of Pokémon Z-A, and force you to look at pictures of my trainer, whom I’ve grown surprisingly attached to over the last week.

Lumiose City is an absolute mecca of culture, fashion, and industry. The entirety of Z-A takes place on a single map of the city, where you can run around and catch Pokémon in wild zones, take on quests, shop, eat at cafes, and more. But within a few hours, I quickly realized that my focus in Z-A had pivoted to getting as much money as I could to buy new outfits. I was taking on more matches in the Battle Zone, roaming around for items to sell, and even trying to find the cutest street corners or cafes for the perfect photo opp. Despite games like Scarlet and Violet having fairly robust character customization, in two decades, that’s never been my focus in a Pokémon game. And I think the core of what Z-A does well is simply embracing the vibe of a city where people and Pokémon live in harmony — while also having the series’ first truly great customization system.

At the start of Z-A, you can edit your character in much greater detail than what we’ve seen in the mainline series, with dozens of options for hair, eye shape, eyebrows, freckles, beauty spots, and even dark under-eye circles. It’s not as comprehensive as something like Final Fantasy XIV, but much better than the slim pickings in Scarlet and Violet. But where Z-A really flourishes is in the options you can unlock while you play, particularly with outfit changes.

My problem with past Pokémon games, even Arceus, is that they felt like each trainer had a pre-determined “style,” and then you had wiggle room within that style to do some different things. But you couldn’t change the entire look and feel of your trainer. Z-A very much does not feel that way. There’s a vibrant breadth to the fashion in the game, from cozy knit sweaters that would look natural on a Northeastern college campus, to slick leather jackets.

It’s an absolute joy to play around with your trainer’s sense of style, especially because that sense of personality is often reflected in the dialogue and story. While the trainer is a silent protagonist, there’s a very clear adventurous personality that seeps through in dialogue choices and mannerisms. Z-A’s trainer feels vibrant and emotive, which made it even easier, at least for me, to get attached.

I’ve found myself combing through clothing stores to find outfits I can color-coordinate to my Pokémon party — a purple hue that makes Haunter pop, or the right autumnal vibe to pair with Raichu. And that’s where more of the “vibe-y” elements come in. While you can find photo spots anywhere, the game does let you order a coffee and snack at a cafe, and then just sit there with your Pokémon — ripe for photos. These kinds of little moments are spread throughout the game, reinforced by a soundtrack that has quaintly jazzy renditions of X and Y music.

To top it all off, Z-A does a good job of illustrating the idea of living harmoniously. Turning down an alley, you might find a few Patrat lounging on trash cans, who dash away when you get too close. Or a side quest has you helping a cafe get rid of the Trubbish that have become obsessed with their food, and are disturbing patrons. There’s a lot of thought put into Z-A’s little details, which makes it fun to simply roam around the city and exist in the world — which is then heightened by the fantastic customization.

These elements feel like the right step forward in terms of what I want from a Pokémon game, a world that feels lived-in. There are some elements to Z-A that I have reservations about, which our review will discuss. Many of those are faults that were also at the heart of Scarlet and Violet, and something the series seems to be struggling against. But at the same time, Z-A makes some big strides in terms of how it makes your individual journey through Lumiose feel special. And at the end of the day, few can say no to dressing up in cute clothes and taking portraits with your favorite Pokémon.

Pokémon Legends: Z-A released on October 16 for Nintendo Switch 1 & 2.