Despite just finishing up with Ghost of Yotei, I also got Pokemon Legends ZA at launch. I ended up giving it a quick try until I could finish up with GoT then a few days later until present I’ve been fully focused on PLZA.
I haven’t finished the game just yet and I’m only at Rank C but I’m enjoying the game more than I thought I would. Initially I didn’t like the present day story which in all honestly I wouldn’t say is the high point of the game but I’m not disliking it either. Catching Pokemon seemed to be the clear focus of PLA whereas in PLZA, the focus is more on battling and it’s something the game arguably does well.
The whole real time battles are really fun, I find if you aren’t over leveled then the battles can surprisingly be quite a challenge. The leveling is still an issue for me though, I’ve had to resort to running a second team just to try stay around the same level as the missions as my main team is roughly 10 levels above all opponent trainers.
Catching Pokemon is more or less the same from PLZA although you don’t have items like mud to throw in order to distract or subdue Pokemon which would have made a nice addition. The Wild Areas can also feel a bit small in some places but being able to find certain Pokemon hiding in trees, sewers and all over the city can really help add to the city.
Story wise the game has actually had some nice twists but in my opinion loses some of its impact due to no voice acting. I do wish we had some countryside too and it wasn’t just Luminous City, variety is great and routes/wilderness has always been a huge part of Pokemon games.
I may post again once I’m done with the game if my impressions drastically change but I’d say this game is right there at the top of my list for best Pokemon games alongside PLA but maybe just slightly under that due to the story/setting.