One of the best GBA games that ever existed, featuring both old and new content that is sure to satisfy gamers. 9.1/10
When Zelda meets up with the King of Hyrule, a man named Vaati turns Zelda into stone and is seeking the dark power that was once sealed away by Gustaf. To stop Vaati, the King of Hyrule sends Link to go see the Picori, since only children can actually see the Picori, in order to revive the sword to its full strength, and collect four elements that will forge a new blade. Early on his way to the shrine of the Picori, Link encounters someone who goes by the name of Ezlo. Ezlo rides on top of Link's head, kind of disguised as a green hat, and aids Link in his quest to stop Vaati.
There are a total of six dungeons composed of incredible puzzles and action packed monsters. Traditionally, there are keys, dungeon maps, compasses, a new item that will aid you on your quest, and a boss battle. The dungeons in Minish Cap have the exact same formula as from earlier Zelda titles such as A Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time. The boss battles are terrific. Each one has a puzzle to it, meaning you can't just beat it straight up.
A lot of familiar items are in the game such as bow and arrow, the boomerang, and bombs. There are some new items as well. One of the key items is the Cane of Pacci which is able to flip items over and in some cases help you shrink into Minish size, giving you access to places that you've never been before, or just can't enter in normal size. Minish size holes and entry ways are put in positions as to where they're not gonna be easily overlooked. You'll be switching off between regular size and Minish size for side quests and times where you'll switch off both in and out of dungeons.
The graphics of Minish Cap are very clean, crisp, and great visually. It has the cartoon look again, but unlike Zelda titles such as The Windwaker and The Phantom Hourglass, this is not cel shaded, and this is a 2d Zelda title. Though being Minish makes you super small, a magnifier is put directly above Link so you'll always know exactly the position he is at. It is one of the best looking games ever made on the GBA.
The sound track is also very well orchestrated, with a combination of familiar and new tunes to listen to, and it fits so well in the game. The sound effects are good too. A slight problem is that Link, to some, might get a little annoying with chanting only a couple different things with literally every single time he swings his sword.
Another minor problem is that main adventure is a bit short. An experienced Zelda gamer could beat the game in under 15 hours if they skip up the side quests and focus on the main quest. The side quests however do create opportunities for Link to make his quest easier.
Ultimately, there are two main side quests. The first is collecting Kinstone pieces. There are dozens and dozens of Kinstone pieces that can be retrieved. A Kinstone piece is 1/2 of a shard that come from a circular medallion. Pretty much everyone from people to pets and even a few objects have a Kinstone piece, and when matching up two pieces that fit together, they fuse as one and something good will happen. It varies from several different things such as treasure chests appearing, making people happy, and getting access to sections of a game that you've never explored before.
The second major side quest is collecting figurines, which are all in one single house. You must collect Mysterious Shells, and through that you can trade them to collect these little figurines that give you a little information on enemies, important people and places, and other things found in the existence of the game. These two side quests do add a lot of replay value if you like doing side quests.
All in all, Minish Cap is a mixture of old and new content for gameplay, dungeons, puzzle solving, and music. Compared to the other Zelda games, it is commonly agreed upon as one of the easier, or in a lot of cases, simply the easiest, Zelda title ever made (We don't include the CD-i.). For those who believe that every Zelda game is part of one big timeline, it is generally agreed upon that the Minish Cap was the very first Zelda game in the timeline, or at least the first Zelda in the given Zelda titles so far. Either way, it's one of the best GBA games ever made, and anyone who has one should not pass up the opportunity of picking up The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap