Pokemon Legends Z-A's Small Map Is Leaving Fans Disappointed

"While Pokémon Legends Z-A technically didn't launch until today, October 16, fans have been playing leaked versions of the game for a few weeks now and have begun sharing their thoughts online about the game's map, which is the entirety of Lumiose City, located in the Kalos region. This location first appeared in 2013's Pokémon X and Y. In those games, Lumiose City was just one of many locations included in the large open world. However, in Lumiose City is essentially the entire playspace, and that's proving to be a disappointing fact for some players."

"Over on the Pokémon subreddit, a popular post with over 3,000 upvotes claims that you can walk around the entire city in less than seven minutes. tested this out and confirmed that, yes, if you sprint around and avoid battles, you can run around the whole circular city in just about six minutes and 20 seconds. Now, a smaller map isn't entirely a bad thing. Some open worlds don't need much space to be wonderful. Grand Theft Auto 3 feels pretty dang small when you go back to it in 2025, but it packs a lot in its limited sandbox. However, Z-A's map isn't just small, it also lacks visual variety. This is demonstrated perfectly in this short video from YouTuber 101Leafy."

"On Reddit and YouTube, you can find comments from players lamenting the small map's lack of visual variety. For a franchise that used to be about discovering new cities, towns, biomes, and environments, Z-A's focus on one city, filled with reused buildings and props, is disappointing to many."

Pokémon Legends Z-A launched on Switch and Switch 2 on October 16, with leaked versions circulating beforehand. The game's entire playable area is Lumiose City from the Kalos region, a location that originally appeared in Pokémon X and Y (2013). Players report that a full circuit of the circular city can be completed in roughly six minutes and 20 seconds when sprinting and avoiding battles. Critics point to limited environmental variety, reused buildings and props, and visual repetition across the map. Some note that small open worlds can work, but Z-A's lack of varied biomes and locations leaves many players disappointed.

Read at Kotaku