I loved Pokémon Legends: Z-A, however taking a look at a recreation in each stage of its growth is inevitably going to make you would like a studio had been capable of implement each thought it had into the ultimate product. The notorious Game Freak Teraleak from last year has given us a reasonably thorough have a look at Legends: Z-A’s journey from design doc to completed recreation, and whereas it’s attention-grabbing to see these screenshots and items of take a look at footage, it additionally has followers weighing in on Sport Freak’s processes and sharing how they really feel concerning the last product now that they’ve seen how the sausage was made.
YouTuber TurtleBro compiled all his findings within the Teraleak right into a feature-length video that goes chronologically by way of Legends: Z-A’s growth recordsdata courting again to 2022, shortly after work on Legends: Arceus had wrapped up. Some recordsdata are from so early within the course of that Sport Freak was utilizing Legends: Arceus’ Irida as a placeholder for the participant. These screenshots and movies present some minimize content material and options, like extra constructing interiors to discover, having the ability to use overworld skills round Lumiose City, and even some extra multiplayer modes that had gamers throwing Poké Balls at each other, dodgeball type.
Maybe most shocking in these early builds is a a lot higher level of environmental detail than we see within the last recreation. Legends: Z-A was memed to hell and again for its flat-textured buildings, and among the first items of footage TurtleBro exhibits off embody home windows and constructing buildings which can be rather more detailed. In January of 2023, many of those property had been swapped for one thing just like the flat ones we have now within the recreation now, and inner notes recommend this downgrade was a “burden” on the staff. It’s right here you’ll be able to see numerous the sport’s preliminary ambitions get pulled again, although some issues, just like the real-time, action-based fight system, began to take form right here, albeit in a extra third-person shooter type than the command-based one we have now now. By March of that 12 months, the staff was on monitor to ship the sport we bought, and morale began to enhance.
There’s one facet of the event timeline that’s type of fascinating contemplating 2024 was the primary time in fairly a couple of years since there wasn’t a brand new Pokémon recreation or expansion: it feels like Legends: Z-A was function full by June 2024, and Sport Freak spent round 16 months on polish earlier than it launched the sport on October 16, 2025.
TurtleBro speculates that the explanation the sport’s visuals had been intentionally downgraded was to offer the staff the 12 months to spend refining the sport with the intention to keep away from a large efficiency fiasco just like the one which surrounded Scarlet and Violet in 2022, although others who considered the sport much less charitably suspect Game Freak may have just shelved Legends: Z-A for over a 12 months and moved onto a brand new mission, quite than utilizing that point for significant iteration. It’s unclear, nevertheless, as the event particulars cease at this level; the Teraleak occurred in August, and thus, we don’t have any extra of those design docs which may affirm the staff’s considering.
Total, it’s an enchanting have a look at how Legends: Z-A went from idea to completed recreation, and TurtleBro does an incredible job of evaluating photos of features of the sport from early in growth to what these features look and play like within the precise, launched recreation you’ll be able to play in your Swap or Swap 2. Try the total video beneath:
I do mourn among the stuff we misplaced within the growth course of, however that’s the chance you are taking while you have a look at unfinished work. The video places the leaks we’ve seen from the upcoming Pokémon Wind and Wave games into perspective, serving as a reminder that a number of of the mechanics and ideas these leaks have revealed could not make it into the ultimate product, both. We’ll know for certain when these video games are revealed, which is able to doubtless occur for the collection’ thirtieth anniversary subsequent 12 months.
