Few video game series have the power of Pokémon, bringing entire generations of players together — both at home on consoles and on the go with phones. But there’s real criticism of the franchise’s last few games how they aren’t doing enough different and consistently are dragged down by a lack of polish and visual refinement. The Pokémon games need a spark, and it’s starting to look like Pokémon Legends Z-A could be just that. The latest spinoff game drops you into the urban paradise of Lumiose City, the biggest metropolis the series has ever seen, and is making some promising-looking innovations to exploration, combat, and even visual style.

Revealed with a teaser trailer in 2024, the February Pokémon Presents finally gave us our first official look at Legends Z-A, diving into both the story and gameplay. Z-A is technically the second game in the “Legends” series, following in the footsteps of 2022’s Pokémon Legends Arceus. While that entry wasn’t perfect, it was one of the most exciting Pokémon games we’d seen in years, for a multitude of reasons. It was technically the first “open world” Pokémon we’d ever seen, focused on capturing creatures in the wild instead of through battles, and sported a highly unique art style and more deeply involved story than most of the series’ games.

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X-Men fans might be Marvel’s strongest soldiers. The past few years have been filled with both good and bad updates: while the elite mutant team is finally making its way into Marvel’s cinematic universe with a live-action reboot, their official debut is still years away.

Until more concrete details about the movie emerge, fans have found solace in X-Men ‘97. The animated series premiered in 2024, reviving the original X-Men cartoon and fixing the lack of mutant content in the MCU in one fell swoop. The next chapter of this itch-scratching adventure is on the way; unfortunately, it won’t come as soon as fans might have expected.