Pokémon Legends: ZA – Fans Frustrated by Exhaustive Tutorials

Pokémon Legends: ZA is getting plenty of good reviews, but like everyone Pokémon game, it isn’t 100% free of frustrations. Accompanying Legends: ZA‘s meaningful evolution of the formula, there’s also a lot that stays the same. While there’s nothing wrong with keeping Pokémon‘s strong foundation in place, some fans are getting tired of having it explained to them in detail yet again.

A Reddit post from Alone_Ad_1062 highlights this annoyance, noting that the handholding is a “fun-killer“ and pointing out the overabundance of cutscenes in the first two hours. Another post from ArcadianEuphoria makes a similar complaint, arguing that “We NEED to get rid of the multi-hour tutorial sections.” Both posts have quickly generated hundreds of comments in agreement, so these clearly aren’t isolated opinions.

Pokémon Legends: ZA Has Exhausting Tutorials

I Know What A Poké Ball Is, Thank You

Balancing the demands of newcomers and veterans can be difficult, but some fans already have proposals at hand. According to Thingpaintan “I have played (Pokémon) games before” button could be the perfect solution. More comically, heartbreakhill suggests a “Ron Swanson ‘I know more than you’ button” to press whenever an NPC starts going over the basics again.

While dedicated fans are capable of making it through a few hours of handholding, it can kill the momentum at the start of the game. Some players are already concerned that it could also make replaying the game miserable, with users like Practical_Painting12 drawing a comparison to the “ridiculously tedious” intro of Sun & Moon. It’s standard for modern Pokémon games to have extensive tutorialization, but Legends: ZA seems to be more exhausting than most.

It’s Time For Pokémon To Fix Its Handholding

A Solution Is Long Overdue

Image: Austin King

An overemphasis on tutorials is a problem in many modern video games. It’s both a consequence of abandoning physical manuals and of a shift towards seamless gameplay experiences with minimal potential to confuse players. In Pokémonthe situation is even more aggressive, likely thanks to concerns that the target audience of children might otherwise get lost.

At this point, though, it seems like the time for Game Freak to offer a better solution. Kids managed just fine with older Pokémon games, and making more of the tutorial elements optional could still cover every base.

Pokémon Legends: ZA eventually hands the reins over to the player, but that doesn’t make the guided experience for the first few hours any less of a slog. Hopefully, Game Freak will take these complaints into account and deliver a more streamlined start in the next one Pokémon range.

Released

October 16, 2025

ESRB

Everyone 10+ / Fantasy Violence, In-Game Purchases

Developer(s)

Game Freak, Creatures Inc.

Publisher(s)

Nintendo, The Pokemon Company

Engine

Proprietary