Link gets small here and there, but this Zelda game is big time!
Throughout the years, Link's Adventures have been known to be told in various ways. From 2D to 3D, through time and seasons, and from realistic to more animated styles (and back... and back again), the Zelda series has shown no favoritism towards any particular area. The same also goes true when talking about consoles and portables, and while many would look at the former when it comes their all-time favorite games in the series, the handheld adventures are nothing to scoff at by any means. Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap for the Game Boy Advance is a game that makes such a notion very evident.
Link's quest in The Minish Cap begins when he is invited by his longtime friend, Princess Zelda, to accompany her to Hyrule's celebrated Picori Festival. As the festivities proceed, the two eventually meet the winner of the festival's competition, Vaati (those that have played the Four Swords games probably know where this is going). Vaati's actions during the encounter results in the breaking of a great sword told in the lore of the land and turns young Princess Zelda into stone as well. In order to right the wrongs of the evil and powerful wizard, Link sets out on yet another journey through Hyrule.
The Minish Cap, a game that was actually developed by Capcom (still published by Nintendo, however), is a 2D Zelda game that still goes to the bread and butter of the series' foundations. As Link, you're travel across the land to various towns and dungeons, meeting people and collecting useful items along the way in order to progress through all of the game's engaging challenges. As it is, this formula remains to be one that still manages to draw you in and keep you occupied for hours at a time. Even so, The Minish Cap isn't so tied to the formula that it doesn't try to do anything new.
The handheld Zelda adventures are often able to leave a good impression by mixing it up a bit somehow, and Minish Cap doesn't fail in that regard. Shortly after your adventure begins, you encounter and befriend a unique talking cap, known as Ezlo. Not only does this character act as a guide, but Ezlo also allows Link to shrink in size. By doing so, Link is able to meet and interact with the group of small people, the Minish, and interact with various areas of the game in different ways. This is one of the Minish Cap's greatest offerings, as you will see Hyrule and its residents in a way that you've never seen them before. If you thought ChuChus were an insult as foes, just wait until you see one tower over you
However, the Minish Cap isn't all about going from big to small. Another unique feature of this game is the ability to interact with the game's cast by fusing items called Kinstones. As you make your way through the game, you'll also collect broken Kinstones that can only become one again with the help of merging your piece with that of another character. By doing so, you'll solve puzzles, open new pathways, make treasure chests appear, and have a few other things go your way (or maybe not). This simple, but well-designed idea does a great job of keeping things fresh and gives you an incentive of revisiting areas you probably wouldn't bother with otherwise. You can even visit the same characters at different points in the game to fuse more than one Kinstone with them.
Granted, The Minish Cap doesn't offer the ability to travel through time, light/dark worlds, seasons, or anything of the sort, but the game is put together so well that is does just fine without any of it. The game's characters still show some signs of progressing through their lives as you come closer and closer to the game's conclusion and the game's mini-dungeons often have many secrets hidden within them that encourage that you visit them multiple times when you obtain new items. Link can also gain new techniques when you encounter certain characters and/or gain certain items, so you also are able to experience progression outside of just having a new toy to play with in every dungeon. All of these elements make this Zelda title one that has all of the tools to hang with the best in the series.
To top it all off, the production values of the Minish Cap are rock-solid for a Game Boy Advance title. The games visuals boosts colorful and well-design worlds and areas. The spites have all been well-drawn with admirable attention given to most of the game's NPCs and enemies to go along with Link and his different moves. The game's soundtrack is a mixture of nice arrangements of some of the series' most memorable tunes and with some well-done new tracks. It's not the most surprising mix you've ever heard, but it does its job well enough to compliment the rest of the game and keep the volume to a nice level.
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap is one of those games that manage to impress simply because it has the right balance of tried-and-true goodness and interesting, new ideas to keep you coming for more until you finish. As far as Zelda games go, there's nothing this game does poorly, and it manages to add some touches that help it stand out from the pack. This is an easy game to recommend to any Zelda faithful that still hasn't had the pleasure of playing this game, but for anyone that wants to know what a polished Zelda experience is all about, this game is definitely worth giving a chance. There shouldn't be much hesitation when it comes to adding this game to your collection.