Usually, when a new Pokemon title is released, it's time to celebrate. After all, few franchises elicit the same level of childlike wonder and joy that Pokémon did years later. However, this was not the case with Pokemon Legends: ZA. That's because the game currently holds an almost unfathomable 4.3 Metacritic user score, and it may not even hold up.
Whether it's bland visuals or a map that looks smaller than a bag of potato chips, things haven't been great in the world of Pokémon. Things have gotten bad enough that some hardcore fans are warning others to just accept that the current post-Legends: ZA reality will likely be the standard moving forward.
After Legends: ZA, Pokemon fans are in for the worst timeline ever.
On Reddit, a thread titled “This is a modern Pokemon and there's no reason to expect it to get any better” currently dominates the r/Pokemon sub-leaderboards.
This thread is exactly what you imagine. I'm a hardcore fan who can't believe things have gotten this far.
One fan responded, “You don't have to like it. You don't have to hate it. It's okay to feel strongly either way.” “But at this point, you have to accept that to seriously expect anything different is just breaking your own heart, because how you feel right now is exactly how you feel about Pokémon.”
Another user shared that Pokemon isn't the only childhood franchise they've had to give up hope on.
“Still, it's sad. I grew up with Pokémon, and to finally start losing interest in how Pokémon has changed after 30 years is just upsetting,” they wrote. “Unfortunately, it's like most of the things I did as a kid. Yu-Gi-Oh, Magic the Gathering, Call of Duty. Just, IDK. I just don't find it fun anymore. I should probably read more books.”
“The truth hurts but this is it,” one user wrote. “Until it gets to a studio that really wants to put in the effort, that’s what they’re buying.”
The rest of the thread is filled with similar sentiments, as well as ideas for ways to enjoy Pokémon that aren't game-related, such as getting into a TCG or playing a fan-made mod. Whether that's enough to keep them engaged and happy is ultimately up to the person themselves. Either way, the situation in the Pokemon community seems to be at an all-time low with no signs of recovery.
- released
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2025
- ESRB
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E
- engine
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proprietary engine
