Pokémon Legends: Z-A’s Mega Dimension DLC is more of the same — for better and worse
Pokémon Legends: ZA got its first major DLC today – with the arrival of Mega Dimension. I played it for a few hours, and while I need to play more before making my final judgment, I’m a little disappointed to say that it’s more of the same flavor that we’ve already been served.
On the one hand, it’s not a problem. I loved it Pokémon Legends: ZA – I gave it four and a half stars in my review – and said I wanted to see more Pokémon games like this from Game Freak in the future. Likewise, the title wasn’t perfect and my two biggest problems with ZA could have been easily fixed by this DLC, and yet they weren’t.
Expect spoilers to follow, primarily those based on leaked information that has now been verified with Mega Dimensionliberation.
Before I delve deeper into my two issues, I’m going to start with some positivity.
The best thing about the DLC so far is the arrival of ‘mons above level 100 – which is the usual cap for all creatures in the series. If you devoured Legends ZA like me, you’ll probably have a maxed out Pokémon team, maybe several more in your box, and DLC featuring weaker wild enemies might have been trivial.
Sure, some battles seem easy – notably the new trainer fights I’ve experienced so far – but there are others that have really tested my abilities. I even lost a match to a pair of wild Pokémon I encountered in a side mission that I wasn’t as prepared for as I thought I would be. In fact, I lost to them three times before succeeding – demonstrating a level of difficulty that Pokémon games haven’t offered me in a long time.
I also like the story so far, with Korrina’s return as Mega Evolution Champion and the debut of Ansha – the Hoopa-wearing donut baker – as well as the new Mega Forms.
But herein lies my first disappointment: once again, we don’t get any new pokemon.
Returning to a region with a modern context, we expected Legends: ZA would offer no new ‘mons beyond mega forms. It made sense plot-wise, but as someone who has always appreciated the “I have to catch them all” mantra, it was a bit of a shame that there weren’t even a few new Pokémon to add to my collection and adventure.
By introducing an alternate dimension, filled with Pokémon that aren’t native to Kalos or Lumiose City, this DLC was the perfect opportunity to finally give us even a few new Pokémon to interact with. Maybe even tease a couple from an area we haven’t visited yet
As I mentioned above, we’re getting several new Mega Forms, which is awesome – and I once again love the varied choice of Mega Recipients (except Flygon misses out once again, is there no justice in the Pokémon world?). However, to me, a new mega just isn’t the same as a new mon.
My other disappointment is that Hyperspace Lumiose looks a little too much like regular Lumiose. Given that non-native Pokémon inhabit this extra-dimensional space, the reason could perhaps be that the geography of the Hyperspace variant is very different – allowing designers to incorporate wilder terrain that feels new to explore.
Unfortunately, this excuse hasn’t been used, and every area I’ve visited so far looks very similar to the above with a slight change in palette. The Pokémon Company could have simply called this new region Shiny Lumiose.
Add to that the fact that Lumiose City felt like it had overstayed its welcome by the end of the main game, and the opportunity provided by this DLC seems a bit wasted.
At the same time, I’m having a lot of fun despite my problems, and I will 100% devour the Mega Dimension DLC when I finish. So if you wanted a little more Pokémon Legends: ZA, this DLC will give you exactly that – for better and for worse.
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