Since several posters to my original post wanted to know WHY my previous post noted the pros and cons it did, I figured I'd make a new post and answer it.
I'm comparing Pokémon Legends: Z-A to most other "traditional style" Pokémon games I've played (Red/Blue, Gold/SIlver, Black/White, Scarlet/Violet, etc.)
I've never played Arceus (or had any interest in it), so I can't reference that particular game in my conclusions.
1: Live-Action vs. Turn-Based is a blessing and a curse for me. While it made the battles feel more realistic to me, the cooldown feature annoyed me, having to kite and run around while waiting to be able to use a given attack again. While spamming your highest-powered attack would be OP (I get it!), I find the combat a bit tedious.
2: I was greatly annoyed that Pokémon can actually attack, and hit, me as well. Constantly kiting around while fighting (or in some cases, running away from angry Alphas) took my attention away from the combat, which I was not a fan of. If Pokémon want to fight me, I want to be able to fight them back.
3: In the previously mentioned games, Mega Evolution didn't exist. I never played the updated Diamond/Pearl, Ruby/Sapphire, Sword/Shield or X/Y, nor have I played Arceus, so this was my first experience with Mega Evolution outside of PoGo. All things considered, I think it's a big improvement, though I understand why it has to work on a timer. All things considered, this was a big plus for me as a player.
4: Let's be honest: Scarlet/Violet customization was extremely limited, especially where your shirt/pants/shorts are concerned. Z-A greatly improved on this, even giving skorts for girls (as shown in the picture above). Major plus for me!
5: Since some Pokémon only show up at night, or only in the daytime, being able to sit on a bench to change back and forth was very nice. Plus, you can only do the Battle Zones during the night, so if you're trying to rack up points to challenge, you can make it nighttime whenever you want. I liked this idea a lot.
6: I'm not a big fan of status effects being changed. For example, Sleep used to prevent attacking; now it just makes your Pokémon attack slower. Paralysis uses to slow your Pokémon down and sometimes prevent it from attacking; now it just makes your Pokémon move slower. Confusion used to give your Pokémon a chance to "attack itself in its confusion"; now, it just wanders randomly around until it wears off. In addition, the Speed skill just controls how fast you can use attacks; it doesn't make them move any faster, which I also found disappointing.
7: Abilities don't exist in Z-A, which really messed up my initial team. I like using Pokémon with immunity-causing abilities, such as Water Absorb, Volt Absorb, Flash Fire, Sap Sipper, or Levitate. None of that exists in Z-A. In fact, I kicked two Pokémon off my planned team over this omission.
Anyway, agree? Disagree? Questions?
by VycDarkshadow