{"id":628704,"date":"2025-12-12T17:45:39","date_gmt":"2025-12-12T17:45:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/628704\/"},"modified":"2025-12-12T17:45:39","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T17:45:39","slug":"pokemon-legends-z-a-mega-dimension-review-switch-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/628704\/","title":{"rendered":"Pok\u00e9mon Legends: Z-A: Mega Dimension Review (Switch 2)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Pok\u00e9mon<\/a>Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Handheld\/Undocked)<\/p>\n

After hopping into my 20th Hyperspace in Pok\u00e9mon Legends: Z-A<\/a>\u2019s DLC, Mega Dimension<\/a>, I realised something. I\u2019ve been doing the same things over and over again for the past few hours.<\/p>\n

Now, I know the series isn\u2019t exactly known for varying things, but it feels particularly egregious within a condensed DLC experience. And for the entire 10-15 hours I\u2019ve spent running around these Hyperspace pockets, I can probably count on one hand what I\u2019ve done.<\/p>\n

This is a pretty chunky DLC in Pok\u00e9mon terms \u2014 the main story can probably be beaten in around 6-8 hours, but there are a lot of new Pok\u00e9mon, new Side Missions, and more to dig into, including after the credits \u2014 but the bulk of Mega Dimension feels like empty calories. Here I am, back in Lumiose City, a place I already got bored with fast because of its lack of variety, and now I\u2019m running around the same handful of randomly-generated Hyperspace pockets over and over again just to fulfil research tasks and progress the story.<\/p>\n

\"Pok\u00e9mon<\/a>Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Handheld\/Undocked)<\/p>\n

Yes, you read that right: randomly-generated. Mega Dimension is sort of a roguelite, and that stopped me from completely sleepwalking my way through every single dimension. For what the liminal pearly white snapshots of Lumiose City lack in variety, they make up for in a handful of other ways. They\u2019re home to an abundance of new returning creatures. Not only that, the \u2018mons in these spaces are all over level 100, with many reaching way beyond 150 in the later stages.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve grown up with this franchise, and if you think I don\u2019t still get excited whenever I see a Cubone running around carefree or even newer \u2018mons like Sandygast bobbing around in the concrete, then I\u2019m sorry. It\u2019s especially exciting to see these Pok\u00e9mon at levels way beyond the level cap. Who knew a gang of level 120 Mankey would be lethal? I watched six of them beat up my Feraligatr in no time at all. I got the same level of thrill encountering Alpha Pok\u00e9mon in Legends: Arceus<\/a> whenever I jumped into a level 180 dimension and found something I hadn\u2019t caught before.<\/p>\n

\"Pok\u00e9mon<\/a>Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Handheld\/Undocked)<\/p>\n

The higher levels in these dimensions is easily the best thing about this DLC. It makes catching wild Pok\u00e9mon fun in a different way; no longer am I guaranteed to get something just because it\u2019s a Meditite or a Sandile. It might beat me and my Pok\u00e9mon up before I get a chance to weaken it a little or sneak up on it. In fact, I found the compact corridors and rooftops of Lumiose worked to the DLC\u2019s advantage, because I had to be a little more thoughtful about how to catch things here than in the base game\u2019s Wild Zones.<\/p>\n

Catching Pok\u00e9mon and dealing with high-level monsters are the highs; the lows are the repetitive maps, the annoying platforming, and the list of random tasks that you complete to build up research points. The grind only gets longer the further in you get.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s nothing compelling about awkwardly floating from one rooftop to another, or scrambling around to find the right ladder to get to the top of the building you\u2019re aiming for. Destroying boulders, watering down sludge, picking up items, breaking Pok\u00e9 Balls, catching \u2018mons I already have 10 of in my box, or fighting trainers \u00e0 la the Z-A Royale. It\u2019s all the same stuff in the same spaces I\u2019ve spent hours and hours running around a few months ago.<\/p>\n

\"Pok\u00e9mon<\/a>Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Docked)<\/p>\n

These alternate pockets of Lumiose City exacerbate all of my problems with the city in the base game. The city lacks character, and in these spaces, it\u2019s all just a blank slate of whiteness. There\u2019s no real way to jump, meaning you have to drop and float and hope you land in the right spot. They\u2019re a chore to get around, with no map and a time limit determined by the type of donut you feed Hoopa before jumping in. And there\u2019s maybe only about six variations of these spaces. When I\u2019m excited to see a sewer, of all places, you know something\u2019s up.<\/p>\n

The aforementioned donut making could be cute, and initially, it kind of is \u2013 Hoopa and new character Ansha are a delightful pair, and who doesn\u2019t like donuts? But like exploring Hyperspace, baking is a chore. Using berries from the base game (and eventually, Hyper berries), you make donuts that determine how much you increase your Pok\u00e9mon\u2019s levels and the amount of time you can spend in Hyperspace, depending on the dimension\u2019s star rank and the donut\u2019s rank.<\/p>\n

You need to make a lot of these, and you can only make one at a time. It\u2019s Animal Crossing<\/a> crafting all over again. Weirdly, there\u2019s an option to make the exact same donut you just made, but if your Coba-flavoured confection was a test and you know how to make it better, have fun making one at a time over and over again. And if you don’t have any great donuts available, well, get ready to run around the city or Hyperspace or buy them one by one from a vendor.<\/p>\n

\"Pok\u00e9mon<\/a>Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Docked)<\/p>\n

Luckily, what is great about the base game is still great here. The action-oriented combat is still largely excellent, perhaps let down by some of the chaotic forced double battles peppered throughout the story. The Rogue Mega Evolution fights are actually even better in Mega Dimension, because your foe actually moves around and engages with the space. I even lost to one of them because I jumped in unprepared and was shocked at just how fast it moved and how hard it hit.<\/p>\n

When you\u2019re fighting something that matches your level, or something that exceeds it, things get nail-biting, a scramble of defensive choices, Pok\u00e9mon-swapping, and dodging. But when the DLC basically requires you to be level 100 in the first few hours, but still throws mandatory trainer fights at level 70 your way, it\u2019s a little baffling.<\/p>\n

The repetitiveness of Mega Dimension really does let the DLC down because, like with Legends: Z-A, there are some really good foundations here. A Pok\u00e9mon roguelite could work really well, but there\u2019s little variety to take much advantage of the randomness, besides the Pok\u00e9mon you encounter.<\/p>\n

\"Pok\u00e9mon<\/a>Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Docked)<\/p>\n

The combat is great, but give me a set of consistent, high-level fights. Even the Side Missions are a step-up here, for the most part, but for every good battle, story of a city struggling with change, or brand new Mega Evolution encounter, there\u2019s another fetch quest or \u201ctrail the Pok\u00e9mon\u201d task.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/p>\n

The core of Pok\u00e9mon and the highs of Pok\u00e9mon Legends: Z-A just about manage to shine through in the Mega Dimension DLC, but the repetitive Hyperspace dimensions, bland level design, and dull donut making stop this from being a true Mega Evolution for the game.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve grown up with this series, you\u2019ll find it hard to resist the lure of the expanded Pok\u00e9dex and seeing your favourites almost looking their best is a joy. Repetition is not freeing, though, and as with the base game, I\u2019m missing the freedom of the core series again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Handheld\/Undocked) After hopping into my 20th Hyperspace in Pok\u00e9mon Legends: Z-A\u2019s DLC, Mega…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":628705,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[19252,270,2512,194809,6082,124,1421,53,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-628704","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-technology","8":"tag-dlc","9":"tag-nintendo-switch-2","10":"tag-pokemon","11":"tag-poku00e9mon-legends-z-a-mega-dimension","12":"tag-reviews","13":"tag-rpg","14":"tag-switch-2","15":"tag-technology","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115707849362017990","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/628704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=628704"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/628704\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/628705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=628704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=628704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=628704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}