by Bruce Bostwick

Created on: February 20, 2009

Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap is available on the Game Boy Advance and tells of a different legend. If however there is a timeline, this would be before Ocarina of Time due to the introduction. Now, this was created in the sense of going back to the Four Sword games that had been created overtime. It is like an origin story nevertheless.

Story: The main story is that Vaati is an evil sorcerer that turned his once mentor into what appears to a hat. Link, the son of a local blacksmith, was meeting up with his childhood friend Zelda and she was turned into stone. Vaati's origins are told as he was a Minish that just hated men and was corrupted with power.

Graphics: The game was designed in a similar engine to the Four Swords games but also in a sense of like the Wind Waker. Granted, it is not a bad choice at all but that's just how it is on that.

Game Play: If you have played many different Legend of Zelda games over the years, you should really have no trouble adapting to this one. You have your side quests and of course the dungeons to complete. One new item to consider in this would be the fact that it would be the four-sword adventure as it is a prequel to all of it. What is different is that Ganondorf is not even mentioned at all as he is just nonexistent and the main boss is none other than Vaati.

You can fuse Kinstones together to get items that could help you along your way. The sword is not the Master Sword but the Four Sword as it is completely different than the Master Sword in the sense of the legend. It is like with Majora's Mask on how you get a different sword made instead of the traditional sword that Zelda fans are accustomed to.

Part of the game sees you shrink to the actual size of the Minish or Picori as they can be called. Be sure to pick up a translator to be able to communicate with them, as it is important throughout the game, as you will have to become small in time. However, what is normal size in regular land is giant sized when small.

Overall: It is perhaps one of the shortest Zelda games ever played and that's saying a lot from playing many different ones over the years. Does that mean it is a bad game? No, it is just short. You're on a quick ride but it has its moments of being challenging. It is a good solid Zelda game and nothing that can be complained about on what to expect of course. If you are a major Zelda fan and would like to collect every Zelda game possible, go for this one.

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