"This Makes Me So Mad" — Asmongold on Pokémon Legends Z-A

Asmongold, a lifelong Pokémon fan who has played every mainline game for over 20 years, says Pokémon Legends Z-A is the first Pokémon game he feels compelled to review negatively. He calls it "unacceptable" — a $70 product he describes as "the most mid, unfinished, absolute minimal acceptable product" Game Freak could have released. He is baffled by the high review scores (80s, 90s, even 100s) and argues that critics either have no standards or are disconnected from what makes a Pokémon game enjoyable.

The Graphics Problem: Flat PNGs in 2025

Asmongold acknowledges that nobody plays Pokémon for graphics, but he insists that doesn't excuse how bad Legends Z-A looks. He compares it unfavorably to Metaphor: ReFantazio, which also has undercooked visuals but compensates with strong art direction. In Legends Z-A, Lumiose City — once an iconic, lively setting in Pokémon X and Y — is now "as dead and dull as possible." Buildings are "literally rectangles with no three-dimensional textures." Most surfaces are flat, blurry PNGs. He notes that the game runs better than Legends Arceus or Scarlet and Violet, but only because "there's nothing to load in." He contrasts this with Beast of Reincarnation, another game Game Freak is developing simultaneously, which looks dramatically better — proof the studio *can