The version trap on Legends: Z-A
This is the part that costs people money, so it goes first. Nintendo’s store page for Legends: Z-A sells three things: a Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, a Nintendo Switch version, and an Upgrade Pack.
- They own a Switch 2 and no copy of the game. Buy the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition — the one featured above. Nintendo describes it as the same game with improved performance, enhanced resolution and smoother frame rates.
- They already own the Nintendo Switch version and have upgraded console. Buy the Upgrade Pack instead. Buying the full Switch 2 Edition means paying for the game twice.
- They own an original Switch. Buy the Nintendo Switch version, not the Switch 2 Edition.
The same logic applies across the Switch 2 line-up, and we have written it up properly in our guide to what runs on a Switch 2.
How the two games actually feel
Legends: Z-A is the unusual one. Instead of a region to cross, it gives you a single city — Lumiose City — and instead of taking turns, battles happen in real time: Nintendo’s page says plainly that “there are no turns”, with trainers and Pokémon both moving around and moves landing where and when you aim them. Mega Evolution, the mechanic a lot of players have been asking about for years, is the centrepiece.
That makes it the better gift for someone who has played Pokémon before and found the menus slow — and a slightly bigger ask for a child who has not, which is part of why the ESRB rates it E10+ where Scarlet is E.
Scarlet is the traditional thing done at scale: a wide-open Paldea region you can cross in any order, three separate storylines running at once (Victory Road, the Path of Legends and Starfall Street), and a choice of Sprigatito, Fuecoco or Quaxly on the first morning. Turn-based battles, no reflexes required. For a first Pokémon game, that is still the easier front door.
Scarlet or Violet? They are a matched pair
Worth knowing before you stand in front of the shelf: Scarlet and Violet are the same game with a handful of differences, including the legendary Pokémon on the cover — Koraidon in Scarlet, Miraidon in Violet. Children usually have a strong preference and will tell you which one their friends have, because the exclusives are the point of trading. If you cannot ask, ask a sibling. If you cannot do that, buy the eShop card.
What a gift buyer should actually do
Three questions, in this order. Which console? That picks the shelf. How old is the player? Under about ten, Scarlet’s E rating and gentler pace suit better. Do they already own a Pokémon game from the last few years? If they own Scarlet or Violet, Legends: Z-A is the gift; if they own nothing, Scarlet is more game for less money.
Both games list In-Game Purchases on their ESRB entry, and both have paid DLC on top of the base game, so if you are buying for someone else’s child it is worth a word with the parent about spending controls. Our age-ratings guide explains what each descriptor means, and our Pokémon gift list covers the cards, plush and extras that go around the game itself.
