Pokémon Legends: Z-A just dropped new gameplay footage during the latest Pokémon Presents, and it’s hard not to be impressed. The trailer shows trainers strolling through Lumiose City, relaxing on park benches with their Pokémon squad, and diving into fast-paced, beautifully animated battles.
But there’s a catch — a pretty big one.
This Isn’t the Pokémon You’ll Get… Unless You Own a Switch 2
All the new footage? Captured on the Nintendo Switch 2.
Not the original Switch. Not even a side-by-side comparison. Just pure next-gen footage meant to wow — and it does.
Nintendo has every right to show off its newest hardware. But there’s an uncomfortable truth here: over 150 million people own a Switch, and only about 3 million have bought the Switch 2 so far. That means the overwhelming majority of Pokémon fans might be stepping into Z-A blind, unsure of how it’ll actually perform on their existing hardware.
The March Trailer Looked… Slower
The last time we saw Z-A on the original Switch was back in March. The gameplay then? Much more restrained. Less crowd density, fewer Pokémon on screen, and less dynamic animation. In one scene around the 1:33 mark, a Dedenne and a Spewpa are frozen on a rooftop, staring into space like they’re processing the meaning of existence. Or maybe just waiting for enough processing power to come online.
If you played Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, you probably remember slow loading, laggy environments, and clunky battles. Z-A promises a more vibrant and populated Lumiose City — but can the original Switch really pull that off?
Nintendo’s Transparency Problem
This isn’t a one-off issue. Nintendo has a track record of keeping quiet about Switch 2 upgrades. For Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, the company simply noted “optimized for high-resolution TVs” and “smoother movement.” In practice, that meant 4K resolution and 60 fps — huge improvements. But unless you dug around or experienced it yourself, you wouldn’t know.
Meanwhile, Sony, Deep Silver, and PC publishers often provide detailed performance comparisons, minimum specs, or at least honest footage from older systems. Nintendo? Not so much.
What You See Might Not Be What You Get
To be clear, Pokémon Legends: Z-A might still play fine on the original Switch — but “fine” isn’t what fans are being shown. And if you buy a digital copy thinking you’re getting what’s in the trailers, you might be stuck with something far less polished, especially with no easy refund through Nintendo’s eShop.
It’s a marketing strategy that banks on goodwill. But in the age of cross-gen releases, that goodwill should come with clarity.
TL;DR
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All recent Pokémon Legends: Z-A gameplay was captured on Nintendo Switch 2
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Nintendo hasn’t shown updated footage from the original Switch
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Fans are worried about performance issues based on past Pokémon titles
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Nintendo’s history of vague upgrade descriptions isn’t helping
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If you’re buying Z-A without a Switch 2, manage your expectations
