Post by Brian-RN on Jul 4, 2005 17:48:31 GMT -5
The Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap
The last we saw of Link, he was frolicking around with his three exact copies and having a blast throwing them off the edge. One of the reasons Four Sword didn’t do as well as all the other Zelda’s was because it lacked the normal “Save Princess Zelda from the evil Ganon!” Of course, Four Swords wasn’t the only one to stray away from the traditional story, but that wasn’t the reason sales were dismal. Finally, Nintendo and Capcom provide some background information to the ‘Four Sword’ and even Princess Zelda is involved.
As of late, Capcom has been working beside Nintendo to produce Zelda game for the Gameboy Advance. Needless to say, they’ve done a great job, and Minish Cap is no exception. The overall quality and flow of the game is great, and it feels like a Zelda game should.
Minish Cap begins with Link waking up to a blacksmith (who seems to be his father) telling him that Princess Zelda has come to accompany him to the Picori Festival. Link then gets out of bed, capless, and begins his journey to Hyrule with Princess Zelda. When they arrive at the festival, Zelda gives Link a small shield as a gift, which is rather odd as no impending doom seems to be about. But, this is a Zelda game. Link is given the task by the blacksmith to deliver a sword to the winner of a tournament. The winner, as many can recognize, is Vatti. Now with sword in hand, Vatti attacks the nearby guards and then turn Princess Zelda to stone. He also breaks the Picori sword, which you must rebuild.
This series of events leads the King of Hyrule to ask Link to revive his daughter. Of course, Link accepts, and the game begins. Link is then directed to the Minish Forest, to forge the broken sword. After you forge the sword, you meet Ezlo, the talking cap/ex-magician. From there, you begin looking for the four elements that you must find to break the curse cast upon Princess Zelda.
The collection of elements seems easy at first. The first two dungeons put the player under the impression that Minish Cap is a short game, but that impression is totally wrong. While the first two dungeons are fairly quick and easy, the words “wind” never mean quick and/or easy when placed by dungeon or temple. Although there are only four elements, there are five dungeons, as one’s element has been moved.
These dungeons are in true Zelda style. Some of the rooms are fairly easy, while other can test even hardcore gamers. Almost every room has some sort of puzzle to solve, which can range from using the ability to split into four links, or the classic tile colors one. These unlock doors or make treasure chests appear. This makes the dungeons somewhat linear, although getting stuck can also be fairly common. Some of the puzzles and keys can be rather tricky, even tough they might be visible.
Many of the puzzles in the game involve the player shrinking down to Minish proportions. This means jumping into a portal and shrinking down to solve puzzles or walk through areas that can’t normally be accessed. For example, Link will have to ride on a clover to the other side of a stream to access a switch to get one step closer to the next temple.
Shrinking down to Minsh proportions is a rather large part of Minish Cap. A few temples will have you shrinking down more than others, which can become somewhat annoying, but amazing at the same time. Normally when shrinking down, the screen doesn’t change, but when it does, the sense of scale is amazing. Simple puddles that you simply walked across before now become huge lakes populated by mosters and the like. Objects that most players pass over now loom over Link in incredible detail. Even aspects of the game that would never ever make Link break a sweat normally, become the biggest threat while Minish size. A great example are the cats in Hyrule. Normally harmless, these cats will swipe at you any chance they get. Sadly, you can’t defend yourself when things like that happen, as most items won’t work when Link is small, except when in detail.
Another new addition to the Zelda series is the addition of Kinstones. This is actually very fun, as almost everyone in the game will want to fuse Kinstones at some point in the game. When a Kinstone is fused, a special event will occur where either a treasure chest appears, a pathway becomes clear, or numerous other events. Upon completing the game, there’s not much to do, and fusing Kinstones quickly becomes an addictive hobby. Although new, Kinstones feel like they’ve been in the series for a long time, as they’re easy to find and fusing is easy to do.
Throughout the entirety of the game, Link will meet a variety of characters. Most of them are new, but others make a welcome return. For example, the goddesses from OoT make a cameo, although they only reside in a hallway in the Inn. Even some of favorite (or not so favorite) Wind Waker characters return. The snot boy, Zill to name just one, and everyone’s favorite tight-wearing loser makes a brave return, accompanied by his brothers (and friend.) Also, some new characters are introduced. The dead King of Hyrule, Gustaf, to name one, helps you on your quest. Everyone of these characters has their own unique brand of humor. Also, most characters have a back story, or some type of side-quest you can go on to keep you occupied between temples.
Although, not only the characters transfer, the entire story is derived from the secondary Zelda story. Since Four Swords accompanied “A Link to the Past” on Gameboy Advance, not much has been known about the legendary Four Sword. Minish Cap finally breaks that trend. The Four Sword obviously gives the player the ability to split into four Links, but it also gives the ability the return people from a stone state. The Four Sword is powered by the four elements, and for every element obtained, Link can spawn another copy of himself. There’s sure more information to come on the Four Sword, but for now, Minish Cap provide good background information.
The storytelling in Minish Cap flows very well. Although some spots can become rather cumbersome, it all adds to the Zelda feeling. The story flows nicely from character to character, and is helped along by cutscenes and occasionally Ezlo. Some side-quests are scattered about Hyrule, and will no way affect the main story. These can range from collecting Cuccos to discovering the true identity of a “monster woman”. Between the side and main quests, Minish Cap can consume a large amount of time, anywhere from 10-20 hours just on the main quest. Adding all of the side quests, Kinstones, and figurines, Minish Cap can take up a total of anywhere from 25-35 hours total.
Of course, Minish Cap wouldn’t really be a Zelda game without the addition of cool, new items, which Minish Cap has in spades. One of the first items you get is the Gust Jar, which allows Link to suck things up, and certain enemies can only be defeated by using the Gust Jar. Another new item is the Mole Mits, which let you dig through barriers not normally traversable. Also, old items have been given a new twist. The bombs for example, have a remote ability, so that Link no longer has to worry about bombs blowing up in his face, which will save many a life.
Although, in many adventure games, when obtaining a new item, that’s the only item used in the dungeon. This is not the case with Minish Cap. Although the first few dungeons do, this is only because there aren’t that many items in your available arsenal. Overall, there are 12 items, some of them new, while most are old. The sword and shield are of course present, as well as Roc’s Cape and the boomerang. Of course, those items that are normally present are present in Minish Cap. Accessory-wise, Minish Cap doesn’t lack, along with innovation. The new items are truly new and innovative, and the old items are still very fun to use.
One odd thing about the Four Sword series is that there’s no magic meter. However there is a bar when you split into four links, this isn’t magic, but simply a way to tell the time until Link becomes ‘one’ again. Although it’s odd, it’s been done before, and doesn’t take anything away from the game.
However, without a good look, none of these factors matter too many game fans. Minish Cap delivers, again. This is most noticeable when Minish size, as the environment is so detailed and beautiful it looks almost full 3D. Normally sized is no exception. Links hair and hat move when he walks and each secondary character and enemy is the same. Minish Cap looks no different than Four Sword for the Gamecube, which really isn’t saying much, but is saying a lot when you can compare a Gameboy game to a Gamecube game. So, overall Minish Cap packs it. It’s a beautiful 2D game, and beautifully detailed.
Minish Cap sounds exactly like it looks, beautifully. There’s no voice acting, but the scores are done beautifully, and sound great on GBA speakers. All of the sound effects are great, and besides the occasional skipped sound effect, there are no problems to speak of. Minish Cap is one of the best sounding games on the GBA, hands down.
Overall, Minish Cap is another great game by Capcom. The story, items, characters, abilities all fit very well. It feels, looks and plays like a true Zelda and is one of the games that all GBA owners should want in their collection. Simply put, The Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap is probably the best game for the GBA in 2005, and one of, if not the best game for the GBA.
Overall: [glow=red,2,300]9.1/10[/glow]
The last we saw of Link, he was frolicking around with his three exact copies and having a blast throwing them off the edge. One of the reasons Four Sword didn’t do as well as all the other Zelda’s was because it lacked the normal “Save Princess Zelda from the evil Ganon!” Of course, Four Swords wasn’t the only one to stray away from the traditional story, but that wasn’t the reason sales were dismal. Finally, Nintendo and Capcom provide some background information to the ‘Four Sword’ and even Princess Zelda is involved.
As of late, Capcom has been working beside Nintendo to produce Zelda game for the Gameboy Advance. Needless to say, they’ve done a great job, and Minish Cap is no exception. The overall quality and flow of the game is great, and it feels like a Zelda game should.
Minish Cap begins with Link waking up to a blacksmith (who seems to be his father) telling him that Princess Zelda has come to accompany him to the Picori Festival. Link then gets out of bed, capless, and begins his journey to Hyrule with Princess Zelda. When they arrive at the festival, Zelda gives Link a small shield as a gift, which is rather odd as no impending doom seems to be about. But, this is a Zelda game. Link is given the task by the blacksmith to deliver a sword to the winner of a tournament. The winner, as many can recognize, is Vatti. Now with sword in hand, Vatti attacks the nearby guards and then turn Princess Zelda to stone. He also breaks the Picori sword, which you must rebuild.
This series of events leads the King of Hyrule to ask Link to revive his daughter. Of course, Link accepts, and the game begins. Link is then directed to the Minish Forest, to forge the broken sword. After you forge the sword, you meet Ezlo, the talking cap/ex-magician. From there, you begin looking for the four elements that you must find to break the curse cast upon Princess Zelda.
The collection of elements seems easy at first. The first two dungeons put the player under the impression that Minish Cap is a short game, but that impression is totally wrong. While the first two dungeons are fairly quick and easy, the words “wind” never mean quick and/or easy when placed by dungeon or temple. Although there are only four elements, there are five dungeons, as one’s element has been moved.
These dungeons are in true Zelda style. Some of the rooms are fairly easy, while other can test even hardcore gamers. Almost every room has some sort of puzzle to solve, which can range from using the ability to split into four links, or the classic tile colors one. These unlock doors or make treasure chests appear. This makes the dungeons somewhat linear, although getting stuck can also be fairly common. Some of the puzzles and keys can be rather tricky, even tough they might be visible.
Many of the puzzles in the game involve the player shrinking down to Minish proportions. This means jumping into a portal and shrinking down to solve puzzles or walk through areas that can’t normally be accessed. For example, Link will have to ride on a clover to the other side of a stream to access a switch to get one step closer to the next temple.
Shrinking down to Minsh proportions is a rather large part of Minish Cap. A few temples will have you shrinking down more than others, which can become somewhat annoying, but amazing at the same time. Normally when shrinking down, the screen doesn’t change, but when it does, the sense of scale is amazing. Simple puddles that you simply walked across before now become huge lakes populated by mosters and the like. Objects that most players pass over now loom over Link in incredible detail. Even aspects of the game that would never ever make Link break a sweat normally, become the biggest threat while Minish size. A great example are the cats in Hyrule. Normally harmless, these cats will swipe at you any chance they get. Sadly, you can’t defend yourself when things like that happen, as most items won’t work when Link is small, except when in detail.
Another new addition to the Zelda series is the addition of Kinstones. This is actually very fun, as almost everyone in the game will want to fuse Kinstones at some point in the game. When a Kinstone is fused, a special event will occur where either a treasure chest appears, a pathway becomes clear, or numerous other events. Upon completing the game, there’s not much to do, and fusing Kinstones quickly becomes an addictive hobby. Although new, Kinstones feel like they’ve been in the series for a long time, as they’re easy to find and fusing is easy to do.
Throughout the entirety of the game, Link will meet a variety of characters. Most of them are new, but others make a welcome return. For example, the goddesses from OoT make a cameo, although they only reside in a hallway in the Inn. Even some of favorite (or not so favorite) Wind Waker characters return. The snot boy, Zill to name just one, and everyone’s favorite tight-wearing loser makes a brave return, accompanied by his brothers (and friend.) Also, some new characters are introduced. The dead King of Hyrule, Gustaf, to name one, helps you on your quest. Everyone of these characters has their own unique brand of humor. Also, most characters have a back story, or some type of side-quest you can go on to keep you occupied between temples.
Although, not only the characters transfer, the entire story is derived from the secondary Zelda story. Since Four Swords accompanied “A Link to the Past” on Gameboy Advance, not much has been known about the legendary Four Sword. Minish Cap finally breaks that trend. The Four Sword obviously gives the player the ability to split into four Links, but it also gives the ability the return people from a stone state. The Four Sword is powered by the four elements, and for every element obtained, Link can spawn another copy of himself. There’s sure more information to come on the Four Sword, but for now, Minish Cap provide good background information.
The storytelling in Minish Cap flows very well. Although some spots can become rather cumbersome, it all adds to the Zelda feeling. The story flows nicely from character to character, and is helped along by cutscenes and occasionally Ezlo. Some side-quests are scattered about Hyrule, and will no way affect the main story. These can range from collecting Cuccos to discovering the true identity of a “monster woman”. Between the side and main quests, Minish Cap can consume a large amount of time, anywhere from 10-20 hours just on the main quest. Adding all of the side quests, Kinstones, and figurines, Minish Cap can take up a total of anywhere from 25-35 hours total.
Of course, Minish Cap wouldn’t really be a Zelda game without the addition of cool, new items, which Minish Cap has in spades. One of the first items you get is the Gust Jar, which allows Link to suck things up, and certain enemies can only be defeated by using the Gust Jar. Another new item is the Mole Mits, which let you dig through barriers not normally traversable. Also, old items have been given a new twist. The bombs for example, have a remote ability, so that Link no longer has to worry about bombs blowing up in his face, which will save many a life.
Although, in many adventure games, when obtaining a new item, that’s the only item used in the dungeon. This is not the case with Minish Cap. Although the first few dungeons do, this is only because there aren’t that many items in your available arsenal. Overall, there are 12 items, some of them new, while most are old. The sword and shield are of course present, as well as Roc’s Cape and the boomerang. Of course, those items that are normally present are present in Minish Cap. Accessory-wise, Minish Cap doesn’t lack, along with innovation. The new items are truly new and innovative, and the old items are still very fun to use.
One odd thing about the Four Sword series is that there’s no magic meter. However there is a bar when you split into four links, this isn’t magic, but simply a way to tell the time until Link becomes ‘one’ again. Although it’s odd, it’s been done before, and doesn’t take anything away from the game.
However, without a good look, none of these factors matter too many game fans. Minish Cap delivers, again. This is most noticeable when Minish size, as the environment is so detailed and beautiful it looks almost full 3D. Normally sized is no exception. Links hair and hat move when he walks and each secondary character and enemy is the same. Minish Cap looks no different than Four Sword for the Gamecube, which really isn’t saying much, but is saying a lot when you can compare a Gameboy game to a Gamecube game. So, overall Minish Cap packs it. It’s a beautiful 2D game, and beautifully detailed.
Minish Cap sounds exactly like it looks, beautifully. There’s no voice acting, but the scores are done beautifully, and sound great on GBA speakers. All of the sound effects are great, and besides the occasional skipped sound effect, there are no problems to speak of. Minish Cap is one of the best sounding games on the GBA, hands down.
Overall, Minish Cap is another great game by Capcom. The story, items, characters, abilities all fit very well. It feels, looks and plays like a true Zelda and is one of the games that all GBA owners should want in their collection. Simply put, The Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap is probably the best game for the GBA in 2005, and one of, if not the best game for the GBA.
Overall: [glow=red,2,300]9.1/10[/glow]