The announcement of Pokemon Legends Z-A struck a Volt Tackle of hype across the Pokemon fanbase. Legends Arceus had already proven that shaking up the formula really works, as it delivered an experimental spin that fans still praise today.
Its success left fans hungry for another bold reinvention like it, and Lumiose City in Kalos is now the stage for the sequel. But there is one big question: can a single city truly feel bigger, richer, and more meaningful than the sprawling wilderness of Hisui?
Can a Single City Feel Bigger than Hisui's Open Zones?
That challenge cuts to the core of how Game Freak designs scale. Hisui’s open zones sprawled across valleys, tundras, and volcanoes where the royal Alpha Pokemon ruled and peril kept players on edge. Legends Z-A cannot simply match that through size alone.
Instead, it has the chance to redefine “bigness” by leaning on content, density, and immersion. Picture Lumiose as a layered ecosystem where towering skyscrapers hide secrets, alleys pulse with mysterious encounters, and subway tunnels hum a tone of discovery beneath the city. Keep reading to see how Pokemon Legends Z-A could make one city feel as massive as four zones of wilderness.
Part of what made Legends Arceus so compelling was its sense of uncharted territory. Hisui felt untamed, raw, and unexplored, and players were more like hunters and researchers than trainers. The game gave us four massive zones that are each distinct in terrain and traversal.
You scaled cliffs with Sneasler, glided through the map with Braviary, and galloped across plains with Wyrdeer. It was a playground where gameplay trumped story, and the reward was exploration and progression itself. That sense of discovery was the magic, and it set a very high bar.
Legends Z-A cannot replicate that formula because Kalos and Lumiose are just different. This is not wilderness but civilization. Instead of geography, Z-A is about architecture and culture. Skyscrapers tower instead of mountains, while avenues replace rivers. Even more important, the story will likely anchor this world.
If Legends Arceus embodied openness and nature, Legends Z-A represents density and modernity. Lumiose must feel alive not because of its empty streets but because of its intricate heartbeat. That stark contrast is what makes Legends Z-A such a daring experiment.
The first way Pokemon Legends Z-A can achieve a grand sense of scale is through verticality. Hisui spread outward as its vast zones were built for horizontal freedom. Lumiose has no such luxury, so it must build both upward and downward.
Imagine climbing rooftops for vantage points, sneaking through neon-lit boulevards, or uncovering hidden pathways deep in underground tunnels and sewers. If Z-A makes vertical exploration as natural as horizontal roaming, Lumiose City will feel vast even within its highly tight footprint.
The second critical piece is story content. Hisui thrived without relying heavily on narrative because gameplay did all the heavy lifting. Lumiose is different as its life and scale will come from its plot and lore. The Redevelopment Program teased in the reveal already hints at political, economic, and social change.
Villains must feel cunning, modern, sinister, and deeply woven into the city’s darker parts. If every district tells a different story, one about commerce, another about corruption, another about resistance, then Lumiose becomes not just a map but a living novel where every page of the book matters.
Density is the final factor. Scarlet and Violet showed how easily cities can feel hollow when crammed with NPCs and virtual assets that serve no purpose. Lumiose cannot fall into that trap, and it must feel like a place where every shop, every plaza, every alley has meaning.
The Pokemon themselves must adapt to city life in ways that make sense. Fletchling flocking around big billboards, Magnemite gathering near power plants, and Machoke working in construction zones. These details are the difference between a lively ecosystem and a lifeless backdrop, and the city has to breathe with concrete purpose.
This is why Legends Z-A may be Game Freak’s boldest gamble yet. The goal is not to outstretch Hisui’s kilometers of open space but to reshape what “big” means in a Pokemon game. Legends Arceus was groundbreaking because it embraced unpredictability in the wilderness.
Z-A has the opportunity to be groundbreaking because it embraces the complexities of a metropolis. Big is not about how far you can run but about how many stories, secrets, and connections exist within the space you explore.
If Pokemon Legends Z-A succeeds, Lumiose City will not just rival Hisui, but it will redefine the Pokemon experience again. Imagine one city packed with layers of exploration, story, and filled with Pokemon that make the concrete jungle feel alive.
Legends Z-A could prove that scale is about depth as much as breadth. For a franchise constantly evolving, that is the next leap forward. The challenge is immense, but so are the positive possibilities.
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