The legend continues
The Legend of Zelda has not been a powerhouse franchise in the handheld market, but some of the greatest Zelda games ever created have appeared on the Game Boy platform. Games like Link’s Awakening and the Flagship developed "Oracle" games, have brought their respective handhelds to new heights, often pushing the limits of the platform. So, when The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap came out in Europe before North America, I didn’t waste any time on importing the title. Once again being developed by Capcom subsidiary Flagship, The Minish Cap sports a similar look to the cell-shaded GameCube hit The Wind Waker.
New twist on an old story
The storyline for The Minish Cap seems rather simplistic at first, but quickly gets complicated as
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player’s progress through the game. After a brief story of how a hero sealed great evils into a box with a magical sword called the "Picori Sword," Princess Zelda, who snuck out of Hyrule Castle, goes to Link’s house to invite him to the Picori festival. Link’s uncle, a renowned and famous royal sword smith, asks him to deliver a special sword to the castle. This sword is to be given as a prize for the victor in a sword-fighting tournament. After a brief trip around the town festival with Zelda, during which you receive a shield from her, you finally reach the castle, and just in time, as the award ceremony is just beginning. After a long scene that brings about the trouble and the villain, Link is sent off by the King of Hyrule to save Zelda once again, and seal away the evils that were released, after restoring the shattered Picori sword.
2d Zelda at its best
The adventure that awaits players in The Minish Cap is nothing short of amazing. It combines the classic Zelda formula and expands upon it in more ways than what’s immediately apparent. Hyrule itself is huge, and you’ll probably never stop exploring until you’ve collected every last item. The areas are diverse and varied. The areas interact with the others in a very natural way. The major gameplay dynamic featured in the game is the ability to change your size via the Minish Cap, which adds a whole new level of depth to the puzzles and the gameplay in general. When shrunk down you become confined by things like rocks, tall grass, and even shallow water for a time until you get the equipment you need to swim. But the most exciting concept is that Hyrule is a world within a world, one of the Hylians, and one of the Minish. The Hylians live in the big world, whereas the Minish live in a smaller version of that world. Link must use the Minish Cap to shrink down and solve microscopic puzzles or even talk to the Minish.
Another interesting gameplay mechanic is found in the Kinstones, which are found scattered all over Hyrule. Successfully fusing two Kinstone pieces together reveals various things around the land of Hyrule. These discoveries range from simple treasure chests and super strong monsters, to new pathways and new areas. Some parts of the game even require you to collect special Kinstones, which are then used to solve area/dungeon specific puzzles. Another special, yet minor gameplay mechanic can be experienced through visiting skill dojos. As Link progresses through the game and receives equipment of varying types, he can learn new skills and attacks, some of which are key in surviving in the game. The bosses and sub-bosses in the game can even prove a challenge early on, but only until
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you learn their routines and figure out how to take them out. This game is an absolute joy to play.
Equipment management is done through menus styled after those introduced with the Nintendo 64’s The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, which is just as easily accessed and used. The only complaint that can be made is that it uses the old style of assigning equipment to buttons, which can become burdensome at times, but is completely overshadowed by the rest of the game, not even allowing it to come close to being an issue.
Stunning doesn’t just describe the gameplay...
The Minish Cap is without question one of the most visually stunning Game Boy Advance titles around. Inspired the style of The Wind Waker, the graphics in the game are detailed, colorful, and lively, doing a great job of working with the characters and the story to bring the world of Hyrule to life, with NPCs roaming about, conversing with each other and moving about with their daily business. There’s no doubt that The Minish Cap is easily one of the best looking Game Boy Advance
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games available. The game’s art style surely helps this fact because it helps present detailed character sprites better than any 2d Zelda game has before, with clear expressions and excellent animation. Additionally, bosses are given extra special attention on detail and animation, most of which tower over Link because of their massive size.
As for the game’s sound department, it’s absolutely phenomenal. The sounds of The Legend of Zelda have never been better in portable form. Much of the music in the game is comprised of remixed tunes from previous Zelda games and original compositions. Fans of the series will surely be pleased when hearing all these familiar themes sounds. The game even includes a handful of voice samples, something which nicely adds to the game’s atmosphere.
Will the hero rise again?
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap is one incredible adventure. While it’s not the longest Zelda adventure around, it surely is amongst the most enjoyable, beckoning players to come back to it over and over again, simply because it’s so damn fun. This is as good as it gets, the total package, and in this long time Zelda fan’s honest opinion, the best 2d Zelda game ever created.
