Pokemon Legends: Z-A is the first game its lead has directed, and he's focused on making the RPG a "good one" as it reportedly continues through its "final fine-tuning phase"
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Pokemon Legends: Z-A's director has now been revealed, and while he's been involved with the beloved RPG series for over a decade, this will be his first game at the helm.
Legends: Z-A's director is Haruka Tochigi, whose first credited role on a Pokemon game was in the 2014 Gen 3 remakes Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, where he was the lead of 3D map graphics. Since then, he has been involved in 3D map graphics for Pokemon Sun and Moon and Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee before becoming the field design and lighting lead for Legends: Arceus, as well as its CG director. Most recently, he was credited as a "section director" of 3D visuals on Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.
News of Tochigi's role has surfaced thanks to the 2024 Famitsu Dengeki Game Awards, which took place over the weekend. There, Pokemon Legends: Z-A won the vote for the most anticipated new game of 2025, beating both GTA 6 and Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, and a statement from Tochigi thanking fans for their support was read out. Over on Twitter, @Lewchube has provided a translation for this, revealing that Tochigi also reportedly stated that Legends: Z-A is "in the final fine-tuning phase now."
Further responding to the win on Twitter (in a tweet that's been machine-translated), Tochigi reiterates his thanks and says he'll focus on making the upcoming RPG "a good one."
We'll just have to wait and see what Tochigi has up his sleeve when the game launches later this year. Employing a newer face certainly isn't a bad thing – Legends: Arceus director Kazumasa Iwao's only experience leading a game prior to the 2022 RPG was in Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, and the open-zone adventure in Hisui was adored by many for being such a unique addition to the series. Legends: Z-A is also shaping up to be very different, with a real-time battle system that looks like it'll make us feel like we're in the Pokemon anime.
A single frame in the new Pokemon Legends Z-A trailer gives hardcore shiny hunters and Nuzlocke runners hope for a huge quality-of-life change.
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