Pokemon Winds and Waves Have Already Fixed Legends Z-A's Biggest Problem

Pokemon Generation 10 has been revealed, with Pokemon Winds and Waves being set for a 2027 release on the Nintendo Switch 2. While there hasn’t been enough revealed for Pokemon Winds and Waves to tell if it’s getting the time in the oven it needs, there are a few signs that fans can rest assured that Generation 10 will start on solid footing.

The biggest sign so far is the variety of environments shown off in the footage. The games’ official website describes the setting of Winds and Waves as an open world “with beautiful windswept islands with glittering waves that ebb and flow.” In contrast, Z-A taking place entirely within Lumiose City limited both its visuals and its content. As generation launchers and the first mainline games exclusive to Nintendo Switch 2, it sounds like Winds and Waves will easily beat Z-A in scope.

Hear Me Out: I Think Pokemon Winds and Waves Releasing in 2027 is Secretly a Good Thing for Switch 2 Owners

Pokemon Winds and Waves aren’t coming to the Switch 2 until 2027, but that might actually be a good thing for owners of the console.

Lumiose’s Limited Scope Held Pokemon Legends: Z-A Back

As fun as Z-A was, limiting its scope to Lumiose City really hurt its atmosphere. Kalos’ central hub got old quickly for many people, the map’s circumference takes less than 7 minutes in real time to run around, and there is very little visual variety throughout the city. Even when the Mega Dimension DLC launched, the new environments were mostly just recolored versions of Lumiose City again. A few small dungeons, like the Lumiose Sewers, broke up the beige buildings that lined the city streets. The Wild Zones also allowed for some bite-sized ecosystems to navigate, but 95% of the game took place in the same metropolitan sights.

Reports allege that Pokemon Legends: Z-A’s budget was very low for a mainline installment, around only $13 million. Whether this number is accurate or not, it’s clear that Z-A had a lower budget than average due to its small size. For all the parts Z-A did well, Lumiose City really held it back from being even better.

Back to the Tropics in Pokemon Winds and Waves

The trailer alone for Pokemon Winds and Waves promises much more diverse visuals than Z-A had. There are jungles, forests, beaches, volcanoes, and more. The end of the trailer even implies that the player will be able to go underwater, and yes, the “7.8 too much water” joke has already been made by The Pokemon Company itself. After Hoenn and Alola, it’ll be interesting to see how a Switch 2 Pokemon game tackles a tropical setting.

Not only are there multiple backdrops, but they’re good-looking to boot. Unsurprisingly, given that one of the games is called “Waves,” the water looks the best it ever has in a Pokemon game. Anything can change before release, but as Winds and Waves will both kick off a new generation and be the first mainline Pokemon games to be exclusive to the Switch 2, they might just avoid the graphics controversy of Pokemon Legends: Arceus or the great tree debacle in Pokemon Sword and Shield. But even if some textures end up looking a little flat, I’m just happy that there seem to be actual differences between the locations again.