The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap

Following the experimental but largely middling Oracle duology, Flagship set new standards for themselves with Minish Cap. As far as its 2D side is concerned, this is (visually, creatively, aesthetically, etc.) state of the art Zelda. The bag of refinements are one thing, but its underlying mechanics contain enough unique ideas to stand on its own: merging the 'dual worlds' idea (of LttP + Oracles) together via its shrink/growth mechanic, boasting quirky new multi-purpose tools such as the Mole Mitts and Gale Jar, while also being chock full of memorable dungeons + boss fights. This synergy between tools and systems help them craft some especially creative puzzles for some unusual scenarios, well apparent in their slowly-evolving hub town (a mini-dungeon of sorts) among other environments, of which the bright graphics and sprightly animations turn them into lively episodes. Amidst clockwork-like progression (Temple of Droplets) to unconventional solutions (Deepwood Shrine), to even linear yet fluid tower-climbing (Palace of Winds), Flagship may have found their purpose here - crowning their pursuit for the modernized 2D Zelda experience.

However - it falls short of greatness in two ways: The Kinstone system (similar to Link's Awakening's item trading) is a blatant attempt at padding out an otherwise short and simple game - dampening the thrill of secret hunting at the same time, and the insistent hand-holding is a nuisance.

Não deve nada aos Zeldas mais famosos.

As novas mecânicas são inovadoras o suficiente para um spin-off e a história expande de forma relevante a lore. A dificuldade e a duração são menores que as da série principal, mas não vejo como um problema, nesse caso.

Como único ponto relativamente negativo, citaria a mecânica de fusão das kinstones, um tanto repetitiva e por vezes pouco recompensadora.

A really nice main quest hindered by the Kinstone bullshit which is pretty much all that there is when it comes to side content. The "go everywhere and talk to everyone AGAIN until you find the right person to fuse kinstones with" is one of the worst sidequests/forms of collectables I've ever had the displeasure of playing. The gameplay also has a tendency to repeat the "shrink, go through the passage, do this, then get big again" formula ad nauseam, save for the Wind and final dungeons which were by far the most enjoyable aspects of the game.

Also, what kind of fucking dungeon treasure is a Lamp, and why does it take so long to find it?

Minish Cap has sort of become an overlooked Zelda game coming directly between Wind Waker and Twilight Princess and being the only GBA Zelda game. The game is actually a huge improvement over the Oracle games, the graphic style is a nice update and it actually has a fun concept. The main thing about this is its a pretty small and short game, that has little challenge. The map in this game is fairly small and most dungeons are fairly linear and have little difficulty in the puzzles, but I did enjoy the design and the puzzles in this were still fun. I liked the concept of turning small and using that to solve puzzles and the heart pieces in this game were a lot of fun to find. The boss fights in this were probably among the weaker aspect, as most of the bosses in this just felt like beefed up regular enemies and were too easy, but there were a few cool ones. Also I guess the main villain in this game was kind of lame, he just felt so generic and like your typical evil bad guy. But overall, this is a pretty solid Zelda game and while I wouldn't put it up as high as Link's Awakening, it still is fun to play and doesn't overstay its welcome ever.

I have easily loved the Zelda franchise the most passionately out of any throughout my entire life, so obviously I'm biased. But regardless, this is easily one of my favorite Zelda games out there. Sure I love OoT, WW, and BotW, but if I had to make a top 10 list, this would probably take second with Zelda 2, with MM following close behind. This is because these games are ultimately really fun, but in my mind they manage to stand out due to novel concepts.
For some reason I continue to remember Minish Cap almost first when I think "Zelda." Its such a cute, fun, tiny little game. There are enchanting characters, a strange trading system, and fun dungeons. Of course there's some nostalgia in this game as it was one of the first games I managed to beat ever (growing up with Animal Crossing made it hard to appreciate games with a story), but its also one of the few Zelda games I find myself coming back to and finishing quickly, whereas games like OoT and WW end up on hiatus for a few weeks simply because there's so much content. Minish cap is like a fun sized candy bar of everything you like in Zelda with a little bit of a twist.
I don't recommend it as a start to the Zelda franchise, but I definitely recommend it in general.

After my disappointing experiences with Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword, I had all but given up hope on the Zelda franchise recapturing what I once loved about it so much. That’s why it was nice to play a Zelda game that helped to remind me, and maybe even restore a little faith. Sadly, the game came out in 2004. (Aside: I have since played LBW, which I loved)

I first played Minish Cap not long after its release and dismissed it pretty quickly, somewhere during the first dungeon. Why? Well, it starts off pretty simplistic. I can see why I thought the game wouldn't hold my attention for too long. However, I’m glad that I gave it another go, as what I discovered is a game in love with its predecessors and that most closely resembles Link to the Past and the Oracle games. This is not too surprising, as the same director worked on the Oracle series and Minish Cap was also developed by Capcom. Minish Cap uses music that has not been heard in other Zelda games for a long time, like the cave theme from LTTP. It has some of the cooler items that, again, don’t appear too much, like the Roc’s Cape. Seriously, why is this series so averse to letting Link jump? It improves the game 100% of the time in practice.

The shrinking sections and friend stones are new mechanics added to Minish Cap that I can go either way on. Shrinking is nice, but often just something you do when you can’t progress further any other way. More could have been done with it, but I can’t really complain either. It’s effectively the same as the Rod of Seasons in OOS. The friend stones add a lot of NPC interaction to the game in one sense, as you have to try merging them at every opportunity. However, since you end up ignoring what the NPCs say and instead just merging stones, I guess it’s counter-intuitive to character development too. Overall, these features just contribute to making exploration more rewarding. I enjoyed that, and it’s a shame that Skyward Sword, directed by the same man, removed the focus on exploring.

If you’re interested in playing a slightly retro Zelda title that doesn’t take too long to finish, Minish Cap is pretty satisfying, though it's by no means the best game in the series.