Why It’s a Problem That Legends Z-A Has No Rideable Pokemon

The newly released Pokemon Legends: Z-A is a 9th-generation title that many fans enjoy, as it takes a different approach to an established formula while reintroducing some of the things that worked in previous entries. However, the game is riddled with missed opportunities that diminish its quality and prevent it from realizing its full potential.

While there are many good examples of what could have made it better, one in particular stands out personally: the lack of rideable Pokemon. Its existence could have been a core strength for Pokemon Legends: Z-A, and many fans would have likely enjoyed their playthroughs more because of it. Instead, the game's decision to exclude the feature resulted in emphasizing one of the biggest flaws in its setting.

The entirety of Pokemon Legends: Z-A takes place in a redeveloped version of Pokemon X and Y's Lumiose City, and despite the singular playable area, it's a big area. While the city's size makes up for the lack of multiple environments fans are accustomed to, exploring it doesn't feel great, as the game's only mobility options are running or rolling around nonstop, which isn't very efficient.

Credit: Game Freak

Rideable Pokemon could have been a great way of getting around that problem, while also acting as an incentive to continue playing, due to how it would have allowed everyone to better appreciate everything that Lumiose City has to offer. However, since the feature is nonexistent, players have likely focused more on getting from point A to point B, which somewhat discourages exploration and even causes some to miss out on the city's more engaging areas, like the museum or the shopping boutiques.

The lack of rideable Pokemon also emphasizes the game's other big issue: how tedious it is to get to certain areas. While Pokemon Legends: Z-A does have fast traveling, it doesn't mean players will have an easy time getting to exactly where they would like to be, a good example being locations with side-missions that are usually out of the way.

So, because there's no rideable Pokemon, it makes players run and continuously roll around to get to where they want to be, which makes traversing feel like a chore instead of a fun time. This could have been easily avoided with the feature's inclusion, making me wonder why it wasn't added in from the beginning.

Credit: Game Freak

Its nonexistence also doesn't make any sense, given how previous titles like Pokemon Legends: Arceus and the more recent Scarlet and Violet had it. The formula was already there and was well-received by fans, and all Game Freak had to do was carry it over and perhaps tweak it a little, which makes it strange and disappointing that it isn't here.

While the lack of rideable Pokemon doesn't completely destroy the experience one can have with Pokemon Legends: Z-A, it would have done a lot to enhance it. Fans will just have to live without the feature for now, and hope that future entries, especially generation 10, implement it and make exploring a large open world what it's supposed to be: fun and convenient.

For more like this, stick with us here at Gfinityesports.com, the best website for gaming features and opinions.