THE GOOD:Excellent visuals, a rich overworld, detailed character sprites, and beautifully designed dungeons
Loads of adventure, from collecting Heart Pieces and figurines to fusing Kinstones with the locals, promising to keep you busy for a long time
A slew of new items and weapons to find and master
Innovative boss battles that require some thinking on your part
THE BAD:
Not as difficult as, well, most other Zelda titles
SUMMARY:
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap marks the final chapter in the series Gameboy Advance lineup, shoving off with a bang.
Visuals
Let's start from the game's strongest features, and work our way down, shall we? The Minish Cap pushes the GBA to its limits, offering a rich and immersible overworld: a true joy to explore. The land of Hyrule is anything but dreary and washed out. Instead, we see a picturesque land full of lush green grass, deep blue water, and forests aglow with life (yeah I know that sounded corny). The Minish Cap overlooks fan's desire for more realistic graphics, but at the same time brings its own charm to the table.
Even on a small screen, The Minish Cap delivers detailed character and enemy sprites. Each of the townsfolk have their own unique style and apparel, while the baddies carry weapons and sport their own garments. The motions made by the sprites are fluid and dynamic, evidence that no shortcuts were taken when designing the characters. Sometimes this become a nuisance; it's extremely annoying when a character steps in front of the doorway, preventing you from entering a building. Like real, swift-moving, unorganized people, the characters really help bring the town to life.
Audio
Again, The Minish Cap delivers sounds up-to-par with pretty much every other game in the series. Beautifully orchestrated background music helps bring the world together, while sound effects further intrigue the adventurous. Bombs go "BOOM!", Rupees "Clang... clang... clang" on the ground when dropped by retreating enemies, and the recognizable sound of uncovering a secret passage is still present. Even Link makes a few sounds (not words, no) as he plummets down holes and battle enemies. Long-time fans of the series will no doubt be impressed with all of the classic Zelda tracks, as well as the new sounds, incorporated into the game.
Plot
The Minish Cap introduces - err revitalizes - an old enemy: Vaati. If you've played through Four Swords, you'll recognize this name; think back to the giant shadow sorcerer creature thing. This time, Vaati takes on a human form. Without giving too much of the story away, I'll say this:
Link is sent to deliver a sword to the King of Hyrule as a reward for the champion of the swordmasters tournament. Vaati wins the tournament, and betrays the trust of the King by destroying the fabled Picori Blade - unleashing all of the evil back into the world. Angered by the fact that the "Golden Power" wasn't hidden within the box locked by the blade, Vaati casts a curse on Princess Zelda, effectively turning her to stone. In order to lift the curse, Link must seek out the legendary Picori (known as Minish to most humans) and reforge the Picori Blade.
Phew-
So yeah, no Ganon. While the primary antagonist is different, the game does reference traditional Zelda fable such as, the Triforce and a "Legendary Blade" wield-able only by a "True Hero".
So yeah, plenty of old and new to sink your teeth into.
Gameplay
If you've played one 2D Zelda game, you've played them all (gameplay wise of course). The core gameplay mechanics remain the same: use the d-pad to move in eight directions (up, down, right, left, and diagonally), weapons and items can be assigned to the (A) and (B) buttons, and yadda yadda... The only new concept is the ability to shrink Link down to Minish-size and explore small crevasses. There isn't a whole lot I can say about the shrinking factor, other than it's this game's "thing". It's kind of like the masks in Majora's Mask, or the Harp in Oracle of Ages; you're going to be shrinking yourself a lot. Of course, being small has its disadvantages as well: small mounds of dirt become mile-high mountains, falling rain drops pound against the ground with unimaginable force, and shallow puddles become as a deep as Lake Hylia. Life as a Minish is tough cake, but the scaled worlds really add depth to the game.
The menu screen has been made over, or should I say "simplified". Get this, three screens: Map, Items, and Quest Status. Pretty straightforward, navigating through the menu takes less time than in previous titles - this is particularly useful for switching your assigned weapons on the fly. But really, the menu shouldn't influence your decision to play this game (it's Zelda ffs).
I know it sounds like I'm bashing the game for redelivering the same gameplay mechanics every other 2D Zelda game used, but I'm not. Simply put, the game works. I wouldn't want to jeopardize the game by changing the way it handles, that would be like replacing your steering wheel with handle bars - different but stupid. Like the old saying goes: "If it ain't broken, don't fix it".
Wrap-up
What can I say, The Minish Cap is a great game. Fans of the series definitely don't want to miss out on the enormous adventure to be had exploring the world of the Minish, even with DS Zelda titles on the shelves. If you only have the chance to play one more GBA game, you can't go wrong with The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap.
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