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I don't recall exactly how the custom started, however I always name all my Pokemon characters Glitch.

Be it a core franchise game or a side project such as Pokkén Tournament DX along with Pokémon Go — the moniker never changes. Malfunction alternates from male to female characters, with dark and violet locks. Sometimes their style is flawless, as seen in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the latest addition in the enduring franchise (and among the most style-conscious releases). Other times they're confined to the assorted school uniform styles from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Yet they're always Malfunction.

The Constantly Changing World of Pokemon Games

Much like my trainers, the Pokemon titles have transformed across installments, some cosmetic, others significant. However at their core, they stay identical; they're always Pokémon through and through. Game Freak discovered a nearly perfect mechanics system approximately 30 years ago, and has only truly attempted to evolve on it with games like Pokémon Legends: Arceus (different timeline, your character faces peril). Across all version, the core gameplay loop of capturing and fighting alongside charming creatures has stayed consistent for nearly as long as my lifetime.

Shaking Conventions with Pokémon Legends: Z-A

Similar to Arceus before it, featuring absence of gyms and focus on compiling a Pokédex, Pokémon Legends: Z-A introduces several changes to that formula. It takes place entirely in a single location, the French capital-inspired Lumiose Metropolis from Pokémon X & Y, abandoning the region-spanning adventures of previous games. Pokemon are intended to coexist with humans, battlers and non-trainers alike, in ways we have merely glimpsed before.

Far more radical than that Z-A's real-time battle system. It's here the series' near-perfect gameplay loop experiences its biggest evolution to date, replacing deliberate sequential bouts for something more chaotic. And it's thoroughly enjoyable, even as I find myself ready for another turn-based entry. Though these alterations to the classic Pokemon recipe sound like they form a completely new adventure, Pokémon Legends: Z-A feels as recognizable as every other Pokemon game.

The Core of the Adventure: The Z-A Royale

When first arriving at Lumiose Metropolis, any intentions your custom avatar had as a tourist are discarded; you're promptly recruited by the female guide (for male avatars; Urbain for female characters) to join their squad of trainers. You're gifted one of her Pokémon as your first partner and you're dispatched into the Z-A Championship.

The Championship is the epicenter in Pokémon Legends: Z-A. It's comparable to the traditional "gym badges to Elite Four" advancement from earlier titles. However here, you battle several opponents to gain the opportunity to participate in an advancement bout. Succeed and you'll be elevated to the next rank, with the final objective of achieving rank A.

Real-Time Battles: A New Approach

Character fights take place at night, while navigating stealthily the assigned combat areas is quite enjoyable. I'm constantly attempting to surprise an opponent and unleash a free attack, since everything happens instantaneously. Moves function with cooldown timers, meaning you and your opponent can sometimes strike simultaneously concurrently (and defeat each other at once). It's much to get used to at first. Despite playing for nearly 30 hours, I continue to feel that there is much to master in terms of using my Pokémon's moves in methods that work together synergistically. Positioning also plays a significant part during combat as your Pokémon will trail behind you or move to designated spots to execute moves (some are long-range, whereas others need to be in close proximity).

The real-time action causes fights go so fast that I often sometimes cycling of attacks in identical patterns, even when this amounts to a suboptimal strategy. There isn't moment to breathe in Z-A, and plenty of opportunities to get overwhelmed. Creature fights rely on response after using an attack, and that information is still present on screen within Z-A, but flashes past rapidly. Occasionally, you cannot process it since taking your eyes off your opponent will result in immediate defeat.

Exploring Lumiose Metropolis

Away from combat, you will traverse Lumiose City. It's fairly compact, though tightly filled. Far into the adventure, I continue to find unseen stores and elevated areas to explore. It's also full of charm, and perfectly captures the vision of Pokémon and people living together. Pidgey inhabit its pathways, flying away as you approach similar to actual pigeons getting in my way when walking through NYC. The Pan Trio monkeys joyfully cling from lampposts, and insect creatures like Kakuna cling to trees.

A focus on city living represents a fresh approach for the franchise, and a positive change. Nonetheless, navigating the city grows repetitive over time. You may stumble upon an alley you haven't been to, but you wouldn't know it. The architecture is devoid of personality, and many elevated areas and sewer paths provide minimal diversity. While I never visited Paris, the model behind the city, I reside in New York for almost ten years. It's a city where no two blocks differs, and they're all alive with uniqueness that give them soul. Lumiose City doesn't have that. It features beige structures topped with colored roofs and flatly rendered terraces.

Where The Metropolis Really Excels

Where the city truly stands out, oddly enough, is inside buildings. I adored the way creature fights within Sword and Shield take place in football-like stadiums, giving them genuine significance and importance. On the flipside, battles in Scarlet & Violet take place in a field with few spectators watching. It's very disappointing. Z-A finds a balance between the two. You will fight in eateries with diners observing while they eat. An elite combat club will extend an invitation to a competition, and you'll battle on its penthouse court under a lighting fixture (not the Pokemon) suspended overhead. The most memorable spot is the elegantly decorated headquarters of the Rust Syndicate with its moody lighting and magenta walls. Several distinct combat settings overflow with personality that's absent from the larger city as a whole.

The Comfort of Repetition

During the Royale, along with subduing wild Mega Evolved Pokémon and filling the creature index, there's an inescapable sense that, {"I