Pokémon Legends: Z‑A Reviews Rave on Switch 2 — Original Switch Players Left Guessing

Reviews for Pokémon Legends: Z-A went live on Oct. 14 and praise the game’s performance on Nintendo Switch 2, but reviewers and press outlets did not have access to the original Nintendo Switch build before the game’s Oct. 16 release.

1. Reviews and scores
2. What reviewers saw
3. Nintendo previews and screenshots
4. Sales and install-base context
5. Switch 1 performance and upgrade options
6. Key sources and reviews

Reviews and scores

On Oct. 14, reviews for Pokémon Legends: Z-A began appearing online. According to Metacritic, the game currently sits at 81 on the aggregator, based on published reviews; those reviews appear to be based on the Nintendo Switch 2 version of the game. For reference, the game launches on both the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 on Oct. 16. See the Metacritic entry for the score here.

What reviewers saw

Multiple outlets published hands-on reviews that note smooth performance on Switch 2, while also saying they did not test the original Switch build.

Eurogamer’s Chris Tapsell wrote that the Switch 2 visuals “seem significantly improved over Legends: Arceus’,” and added, “it seems nobody’s had access to [the Switch 1] version before launch.” Read the Eurogamer review here.

GameRadar’s Catherine Lewis described the experience as “Butterfree smooth” across 34 hours of play, but clarified, “I can’t speak for its performance on the OG Switch.” Find the GameRadar review here.

VGC’s Jordan Middler, writing a five-star review conducted on Switch 2, noted: “It’s obvious where the Switch 1 has held the Switch 2 version back.” Read that review here.

IGN published a review-in-progress and said part of the reason was that the Switch 1 version was not playable ahead of release. See IGN’s write-up here.

Nintendo previews and screenshots

Nintendo’s marketing has largely focused on the Switch 2 build in preview events. A March Nintendo Direct briefly showed footage of Legends: Z-A running on the original Switch, but later hands-on preview events in August and September were conducted on Switch 2. Nintendo has released a small number of Switch screenshots as well.

Here is one of those screenshots:

Sales and install-base context

For context, Pokémon titles and Nintendo consoles have large install bases. Nintendo’s published report shows that Pokémon Legends: Arceus sold nearly 15 million copies in its first year; that figure is detailed in Nintendo’s report here.

Additionally, IGN reported that Nintendo sold about 6 million Switch 2 consoles globally since its June release; see that coverage here. The original Nintendo Switch install base remains much larger — Nintendo’s hardware and software pages show the legacy Switch at roughly 150 million units to date; see Nintendo’s hardware and software pages here.

Switch 1 performance and upgrade options

As of publication, reviewers and many press previews had access only to the Switch 2 build, so the performance characteristics of the original Switch version remain undocumented by reviewers. Because the Switch 1 build was not widely tested ahead of release, no verified performance conclusions can be drawn from the available reviews.

For players who buy the Switch 2 version and later want to play on the newer console, Nintendo offers an upgrade pack for the Switch 2 edition of Pokémon Legends: Z-A on the eShop for $10. The upgrade pack is available here.

Key sources and reviews

Additional reporting and historical context on Pokémon performance and previous titles is available from major outlets. For example, Kotaku covered past performance discussions around Pokémon on Switch, including issues raised around Scarlet and Violet; see that piece here.

To summarize: reviewers who posted early coverage tested Pokémon Legends: Z-A on Nintendo Switch 2 and gave generally positive notes about the Switch 2 experience, but the original Switch build was not part of those reviews. The game releases on Oct. 16 for both consoles, and Nintendo’s upgrade option for Switch 2 is available on the eShop.