We still have no clue how Pokémon Legends: Z-A plays on the OG Switch 2025

If you’re anything like us, the moment you heard about Pokémon Legends: Z-A, you got super excited—but also pretty curious. One big question popped up right away: How is this brand-new Pokémon game going to run on the original Nintendo Switch? Pokémon Legends: Z-A Pokémon Legends: Z-A Pokémon Legends: Z-A

Pokémon Legends: Z-A looks big, futuristic, and packed with cool new features. But the original Switch, which came out back in 2017, isn’t exactly built for massive open-world games anymore.

In this blog, we’re going to break everything down in simple terms. We’ll explore what we know about the new game, what the old Switch can and can’t do, and why fans are a little nervous. Because with the 2025 release date getting closer, we honestly still have no clue how Pokémon Legends: Z-A will run on the OG Switch.

Pokémon Legends: Z-A

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A New Era for Pokémon Legends

Before diving into Z-A, let’s rewind a bit and talk about where the Pokémon Legends series started.

In 2022, Nintendo and Game Freak released Pokémon Legends: Arceus. It was very different from other Pokémon games. Instead of just battling turn-by-turn, you could sneak up on Pokémon, explore a big open map, and even throw Poké Balls in real time.

It wasn’t perfect, but it was cool and fresh. Now, Pokémon Legends: Z-A is trying to take that same vibe and do something even bigger. Pokémon Legends: Z-A Pokémon Legends: Z-A Pokémon Legends: Z-A

What We Know About Pokémon Legends: Z-A So Far

The game takes place in Lumiose City—a big, modern city in the Kalos region.
It’s set in the future, and it looks like the city is going through big changes.
The announcement trailer doesn’t show any real gameplay—just a cinematic video.
It’s scheduled to come out in 2025, but no exact date has been shared.

It looks awesome. But with no real gameplay footage, players are left wondering: How is this going to run on old Switch models?

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OG Switch Specs – A Quick Reality Check

The original Nintendo Switch launched in 2017. Back then, it was super cool—a portable console that could also connect to your TV. But by today’s gaming standards, it’s not that powerful.

Here’s a quick breakdown:

CPU: NVIDIA custom Tegra chip (good enough for 2017, but aging fast)
RAM: 4GB
Graphics: Similar to old consoles like the PS3 or Xbox 360
Storage: Only 32GB (you can use a memory card, but still…)

Let’s face it: These specs are not built to handle big, detailed, futuristic cities filled with moving characters and cool effects.

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What Legends: Arceus Taught Us

Pokémon Legends: Arceus taught us a few important things. It showed that Game Freak can make big changes to gameplay—but it also showed some limits when it comes to performance.

Here are some things people noticed while playing Arceus:

Frame rate drops (the game slowed down) in big areas.
Blurrier graphics and textures if things were far away.
Random slowdowns during wild battles or when there was a lot going on.

Arceus was a great step forward, even with these problems. But can Z-A do better—or at least not worse?

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Why Z-A Could Be Even Harder to Run

Arceus took place in a quiet world with forests, lakes, and open spaces. That kind of world is easier for the Switch to handle.

Z-A, on the other hand, is in a big city—and that’s a whole new challenge.

Here’s why this might be too much for the OG Switch:

Cities need lots of moving people (NPCs) and traffic.
Buildings, streets, and lighting effects are more complex.
There could be indoor locations, elevators, and more places to explore.
It seems futuristic—so more effort might go into cool lighting and textures.

It’s like comparing a village to New York City. Very different in terms of what the game has to draw on screen every second.

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What the Trailer Actually Tells Us

Let’s talk about the trailer. It’s super stylish, with glowing lights, a modern city feel, and some Pokémon shown—but no actual gameplay.

Still, we can make a few guesses:

There aren’t many people shown. This could mean they’re using fewer characters to make the game easier to run.
Buildings and roads look very clean and smooth. This might mean simplified graphics, which helps performance.
The trailer cuts between scenes quickly, which may hide long load times.

In short: The trailer looks cool, but it doesn’t tell us how the game will actually play on the OG Switch.

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Will This Game Be for the Next Switch?

Here’s something many fans are wondering: Is Z-A actually made for the Switch 2 (or whatever the next console will be called)?

Nintendo hasn’t officially announced a Switch 2 yet, but there are lots of rumors. And Z-A is coming in 2025, which makes it feel like great timing for a new system.

Here are a few possible scenarios:

The game releases on both the original Switch and the new one, just like how Breath of the Wild came out for Wii U and Switch at the same time.
Game Freak might make two different versions: one with better graphics for the new console and one that’s “downgraded” for the original Switch.
They could delay the game to match the timing of the new system.

But again—this is all guesswork. We don’t know anything for sure.

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What Fans Are Saying

Fans all over the internet—on Reddit, Twitter, YouTube, and more—have all kinds of opinions.

Some popular comments include:

“Please don’t let this end up like Scarlet & Violet, with all the lag and bugs.”
“I’m hyped, but I’m worried the trailer is just cinematic fluff.”
“Can my Switch from 2017 even run this?”

Basically: Fans are excited, but also nervous. That’s totally understandable—especially after some of the technical issues in recent Pokémon games.

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Could Game Freak Actually Make It Work?

Okay, let’s say Game Freak is doing everything they can to make Z-A run smoothly on OG Switch. What could they do?

Here are some smart tricks they might use:

Keep fewer characters on screen at once.
Use fog or other tricks to hide things in the distance (which saves memory).
Limit the parts of the city you can walk into at one time—sort of like “zones” or “districts.”
Use cartoon-style graphics rather than super detailed ones.

If Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom can run smoothly on the OG Switch with all its fancy mechanics, maybe Z-A can too—with some smart game design.

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Conclusion: Can We Trust Game Freak This Time?

Pokémon Legends: Z-A could be one of the most important Pokémon games yet. It could prove that Pokémon games can be deep, exciting, and modern.

But here’s the honest truth: None of that matters if the game struggles to run on the system most people already own.

Right now, we don’t have gameplay videos. We don’t know how big the game really is. And we haven’t heard much about what Game Freak is doing to make sure it plays well.

So yep—we still have no clue how Pokémon Legends: Z-A runs on the OG Switch.

But that doesn’t mean we should give up hope. The Legends series is filled with promise, and with enough care and creativity, Z-A could be the game that brings fans back in a big way.

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Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Pokémon Legends: Z-A is expected to release in 2025.
It takes place in Lumiose City and offers a new futuristic style.
The OG Switch is aging, and performance could be an issue.
Fans are excited but nervous after issues with past games.
We don’t have real gameplay footage—so a lot of questions remain.

Are you excited for Pokémon Legends: Z-A? Let us know what you’re looking forward to most—faster gameplay, better battles, or maybe just seeing Lumiose City in all its futuristic glory!

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Keep gaming, stay curious, and don’t forget to catch ’em all—on your OG Switch or whatever comes next!