wsmunch's Full Review: The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap for Game Boy A...
This game has been a godsend for my sanity for the past two weeks that I've practically been living at a hospital (newborn twin girls 2/27/05). I've been in need of a great Gameboy SP game, and this one occupied my time perfectly. There aren't a whole lot of Gameboy games available that interest me on the levels of fun and challenge, but The Minish Cap did just that and threw in a great dose of nostalgia to boot. Some people consider me picky, but I consider it as having good taste when purchasing games sensibly (as in not buying 5+ at a time, heehee). There was something about playing The Minish Cap waaaaayy late into the night that brought back memories of doing the same with The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past on the SNES. Except that with The Minish Cap, I didn't have to sneak past the parents' bedroom and turn the TV's volume down while quietly tapping on the controller and sipping from a 2-liter of Coke.
*** STORY ***
What is your typical hero adventure without your typical hero story? Link and Zelda are shown as cute little friends, then some bad happens and (of course) Zelda is the unfortunate target of the evil. This time Vaati turns her into stone, and it's up to Link (again) to rescue her and save Hyrule. Link needs to repair the sacred sword and infuse it with the essence of the four elements before he can bring an end to Vaati, though this time he needs a little bit of help. Link finds that Hyrule is populated by small creatures called the Picori (though they refer to themselves as the Minish). The Minish are everywhere and are virtually unseen by Hyrule's larger habitants, though they can be seen by children and they freely associate with Link in his endeavors. With the combined assistance of the Minish and of an enchanted cap he finds along the way, Link explores the wilds and dungeons of Hyrule in a race to gain the power of the Four-Sword in order to defeat Vaati before the Triforce is lost and ultimate doom is cast upon the land.
*** GAMEPLAY ***
Those who have played Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past will be immediately familiar with The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap. Not much has been changed, though there have been a few improvements. Those who have not played either of these games will be thrilled to find the easy, yet fun & rewarding style of gameplay that The Minish Cap has to offer. The Minish Cap is a 2-D game that uses sprites to simulate a 3-D world from an omniscient (top-down) perspective. The directional pad moves your character about while the A-B buttons are used to execute assigned items. The start button opens up to your character screens where you can check your items, map, and status. The select button is a new feature that assists young or forgetful adventurers. Pressing select will have the Minish Cap speak up with a hint of where you're supposed to be heading next. This turns into a helpful reminder for those who forgot where their next ultimate goal is, especially if they just spent a bunch of time hunting down secret areas and chasing kinstones. Right trigger causes your character to roll or pick up nearby objects (bushes, pots, etc) while left trigger matches up kinstones (keep reading!). As you progress through the world, by defeating enemies and gathering items, more new areas of the map become gradually accessible. This makes the game pretty much linear, and it sets a pace that is determined only by how fast you complete each next objective. Link will also gain more heart containers through quest completion and be able to survive greater damage done to him. There are characters to talk to and interact with all over, though they're limited to a few scripted lines. Players won't get any deep, meaningful conversations, but many of the NPCs offer idle chat, adventure-related remarks, or subtle hints to secrets and hidden treasures.
The world of Hyrule in The Minish Cap is quite small compared to other Zelda games, but makes up for it with it's theme. Early on in the adventure, Link finds an enchanted, talking cap which joins in his adventure. This Minish Cap allows Link to shrink down to the size of the Picori and move around freely as one of them would. There are a number of shrink-portals over the world that allow you to diminish your size and explore the area. Each are strategically located so the ones that you find are sure to serve some purpose in your adventuring, whether it is to complete an objective or access a secret area. When you're shrunk down you'll find that things like grass, steps, puddles, and rubble will thwart what used to be easy progress, but it intentionally keeps you in the area so you don't lose sight of the purpose shrinking there. Not to say that some places don't require some clever exploring, because one can expect a few brain-teasers in the shrunken-down form. Players will start to notice the smaller aspects of the game and see the evidences of the Picori in Hyrule. Tiny ladders, mice-holes, and small mushroom houses are commonly seen once you've been in enough of them for you to keep an eye out. The Minish Cap does a great job in making you feel small, not only by shrinking Link's size but also by the detail of the environment. The Picori will use small objects as part of their housing, which perfects the feel of being a pint-sized adventurer. It's pretty neat to see tables made of spools, furniture made of matchboxes, living-quarters made of house rafters, lamps made of glowing mushrooms, and decor made of chess-pieces. Not everything is always fun & games either, since raindrops become lethal and once easy enemies now turn into bosses! The areas of Picori-sized map-exploration give the small land of Hyrule a greater depth and fill it in quite nicely. Without this aspect of the game, I would have REALLY thought I was being cheated out of decent-sized adventure.
Not to say that this game isn't short, which it is compared to other Zelda games. There are only 5 dungeons in this game and they don't take too long to complete either. The first 4 dungeons are the ones traversed in the search and acquisition of the elements. The fifth one is for the final fight. Each of the dungeons are similar in the sense that you'll go in not only swinging your sword, but you'll also have to solve a few puzzles. There is a map and a compass that can be found in each dungeon that will help you find your way around. The dungeons have a certain progress of exploring the areas available, finding keys to unlock new areas, and continuing until the boss is found and soundly defeated. Each of the (elemental) dungeons feature a new item which becomes necessary to reaching and defeating the boss at the end. Through the use of these items to solve the intermittent puzzles, you'll be familiarized with how you can use them outside the dungeons to cleverly dispose of enemies, access areas that you couldn't get to before, and even get past obstacles in the following dungeons. Even though the process of going through a dungeon is pretty straightforward and simple, they get a little more difficult as you progress. I liked the steady increase of the complexity of the dungeons, and the integration of multiple items (as well as shrinking) to pass through the third, fourth, and fifth dungeons. I found the bosses to be a unique and (surprisingly!) fun challenge too.
The enemy AI isn't much of AI at all. All the creatures go through their normal actions and only pursue you if you get within a certain distance of their notice. The enemies don't get any harder as you progress through the game and they don't try any special tactics to get you either. Even though the later bosses proved to be a bit more of a challenge than expected, they were a piece of cake once their attack patterns were understood. The puzzles are puzzles, but aren't too hard to figure out once you've gone through a few of them and know that there is always something you're to use to get past them. Since Link is using the Four Sword, some puzzles (which are sometimes just obstacles) require the use of Link splitting himself into multiples. There is light use of the splitting, since the primary feature of The Minish Cap is shrinking down, but players will find the need to be able to push big things, or hit multiple switches while split. There isn't terribly much that separates this Zelda game from others of the same playstyle except the dungeons, Hyrule, some new enemies, and new items. While I thought some of the items were cool, others could have been improved on (or maybe they just didn't appeal to me that much).
Some Items that Got My Attention (Or Didn't)
• Gust Jar: This item will continuously suck in air while the button is held, and then releases a blast of air when you let go. It doesn't damage enemies, but it is necessary to use to defeat some of them. You can also suck in items from a distance like dirt, pots, and replenishment items. If you suck up a pot, you fire the pot out when you let go and that can kill enemies. It has a limited use for traveling too. You can suck up some enemies and fire them at enemies to kill them too. Double whammy! (4/5)
• Cane of Pacci: This is another new item to Link, but I don't think it's that exciting. It flips stuff upsidedown. Some enemies will flip, but not all. Bushes will flip and be destroyed, but you can do that with your sword and boomerang. It has limited use against bosses, though it's primary utility is to "pop" out of holes in the ground. You zap the hole, jump in, then you get projected out and gain access to an area that you can't get to otherwise. It's the ONLY time I've ever really used it. It would have been cooler if it could flip more stuff. (2/5)
• Magical Boomerang: The classic is back, but better this time. Not only does it fly farther, you can also AIM it! It's fun to stun enemies, or nab rupees & replenishment items from around corners. You can also take out rows of bushes much more effectively by gently nudging it at the last few seconds of forward flight as to give it a different return path back. The boomerang with the brain is definitely fun. (5/5)
• Mirror Shield: I don't even know why it was put in this game. It serves no purpose whatsoever because by the time you are able to acquire it, the game is ALREADY OVER. Maybe it has some sentimental reason, but there are enough other elements to this game that give it the classic Zelda feel without having to be useless. (0/5)
• Mole Gloves: I thought this was cool. You get to dig. You get to dig up the dirt in the ground AND you get to dig through walls too. There are areas in the game that you can't get to until you have these gloves, and many of them are caves in Hyrule (adding more depth to the small land). It doesn't hurt enemies, but it's fun to dig. You find neat stuff here and there, and it's really fun when you get the speed-boost and dig like Link is caffeinated. (4/5)
• Remote Bombs: Ever set down bombs with hopes the enemy will walk right into it, but then they turn at the last second and waste your precious explosive? Not anymore! Press the button once to drop it. Press the button once more to detonate. The remote upgrade for the bombs lets you set traps and execute them perfectly! You can drop the bomb, throw it, and wait to explode it at the right time. I ran around killing everything with these once I got them; I was almost like Bomberman. (5/5)
• Roc's Cape: I found this to be pretty interesting. It allows Link to jump and glide over passable areas. This can be upgraded by swordsman training to learn the downward thrust and attack enemies that are underneath Link. It's necessary to pass some areas and quite useful against certain bosses and enemies. I think the downward thrust is a nice effect, but not as useful as other items or attacks. You can't fly over most boundaries, rocks, and anything else that you THINK you should be able to. It's a new item for Link, but it's only so-so. (3/5)
Gotta Catch Them All!
So if you're not in a dungeon, what might you be doing? Fusing kinstones, of course (once you acquire the kinstone bag, but that happens pretty quick in the game)! With all the hack'n'slashing going on, Link will drop plenty of: replenishment hearts, bombs, arrows, rupees (money), mysterious shells, and kinstones. The kinstones are half of a piece of coin (or something) and come in different shapes and colors. Green kinstones are the most common to come by, followed by blue, red, and then yellow (which are all quest-related and not found for any other reason). Many times Link will pass near an NPC and you'll see a thought-bubble with a red heart inside appear over the NPC's head. This means that they have a kinstone they might fuse with you. Pressing the left trigger will bring up the kinstone fusing menu where you scroll through your collection of kinstones and find the piece that complements theirs. It's pretty easy since you're just matching the color and necessary shape to complete the kinstone. Sometimes you won't have one that matches and you'll have to remember to come back at some later point when you have the proper piece. But when you do make a match, the kinstone pieces disappear and some special event happens. Somewhere in the world of hyrule one of the following will happen: a treasure chest will spawn, a golden enemy will spawn, a pathway to some inaccessible area will open up, an occurrence takes place, or a secret area will appear. Each of these events are beneficial and are spotted all over the map, so adventurers will find themselves traversing areas they've previously been to get these rewards. Most of the time the reward will be rupees, mysterious shells, or rarer kinstones, but there are a few special ones that aren't any of those. This kinstone-treasure chasing increases the gameplay time for those who'll be diligent in completing everything they can in the game, and helps make up for a smallish world map. Could there even be a super special reward for those who can match all 90 kinstones (these are the non-quest related ones)? You'll just have to find out, huh?
So what's the deal with the mysterious shells? The west side of Hyrule Town has a shop where you can trade your mysterious shells for figurines. You can collect a total of 136 figurines (130 at first), and each of these figurines are of a person/enemy, place, or thing in the game that you have already encountered. The way that it works is that each new figurine you collect decreases the odds of getting a new figurine the next time you try, but you can use more shells to increase the odds. You have a 100% chance to get your very first figurine. After that, each next one decreases your chance by either one or two percent, though you can trade an additional shell to increase that percentage chance by one point per shell. So say if you had enough figurines where your percentage was 80% for a new one, you can trade 20 shells to bring it up to 100% and guarantee that you won't get a duplicate. Though once you're down to needing the last 15 or so figurines, your natural chance to get a new one is under 10% and the laws of probability don't always work in the game like they do on paper (so you're going to have to plunk down a grip of shells to ensure that you get one!). The shop-owner, Carlov, will give you 5 rupees if you get yourself a duplicate so you don't have to worry about coming up empty handed at all. He also keeps them in a case where you can view the list and see the ones that you have. Each of the figurines has a blurb of text underneath it for a brief description. So what's the purpose of collecting these figurines, aside from disposing of the cumulation of mysterious shells? That itself is a secret, though there is indeed a NEAT TREASURE related to acquiring all of the figurines!
Players will also find themselves collecting tiger scrolls. Link has the ability to expand his repertoire of moves (to a total of 8, but there are 3 additional speed boosts that he can acquire as well), but only if he gets proper training! Players that find swordmasters will get the chance to train and unlock a new attack ability (or speed boost). These abilities range from the familiar sword-beam from the original Zelda to new moves like the great spin-attack. Players can also collect all 8 swordsman newsletters, which only cost 200 rupees each. Each newsletter can be read over and over (though once is usually enough) and contains tips and hints about enemies, attacks, items, and treasures. All this collecting that goes on caters well to young (and old) gamers with insatiable curiosity and those with OCD. One thing that I did like about The Minish Cap is how well it handles the money-sink in the game. There are items and upgrades that require an enormous amount of rupees to purchase, and most of these rupees are supplied from all the kinstone fusing. By the end of the game, players will find themselves with the maximum amount of rupees they can carry. An exception would be those who have a few more figurines left to get, which in that case can spend 200 rupees to on 30 shells. These players (me included) may wish they had used their monetary resources a little wiser from the beginning of the game, though those who are clever will find reasonable ways to get some fast rupee income.
*** SOUND ***
Perfect. You get classic Zelda music, you get new music, and you get classic music improved with a twist. All of the weapons new and old have their own unique sounds. The level of detail in the sound goes all the way down to walking through terrains, enemy attacks, and idle happenstances. The game caters toward the younger audience with it's use of more child-like sounds when engaging with NPCs, and even with action noises emitted by Link. The shouts, cries, or chatter of the characters have more of a high-pitch sound akin to what we would imagine for fairy-tale nymphs or Disney'esque forest-animals (or maybe even munchkins?) that younger players will identify with. Anyone who is familiar with Zelda games can instantly recognize the sounds of Link's adventuring in The Minish Cap without having to take a look. Players who are diligent enough can unlock the available sound test, and will be able to listen to all of the 52 audio tracks that are performed throughout the entire game. It's pretty neat to listen through all the different music by itself without having the audio interference of other sounds, or without having to trek to the particular place in Hyrule to hear it.
*** GRAPHICS ***
The graphics are simple but crisp, and the colors are vibrant. The look and feel is of traditional Zelda games, but they've been improved upon subtly to match that of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Four Swords. The designers kept a keen eye for details, so grass swishes as you walk through it, flowers sway, clouds are noticed by their moving shadows, and water ripples. The animations are smooth and proper for this game. They did a great job at keeping flora proportional to Link size when he's shrunken down. Flowers and pots become the sizes of trees and houses to him, and they make sure that there is no wasted space of detail all over the screen when you're playing. The items that create the world for the miniature Minish are neat to look at too and reflect the imagination that went into this game. The look is somewhat cartoony, but it's fitting for the game and for the primary target audience. The areas/terrain of Hyrule are also distinctly different in the color palette (much like in World of Warcraft), so you're treated to new places that have a unique look to match.
*** SUMMARY ***
Overall this game is definitely worth the investment to play. I wouldn't say that the replay value is considerably high, especially since there is no multiplayer mode available in this latest Zelda release. The objectives to complete in the game are less than many other Zelda titles so it doesn't take too long to bring everything to an end. The Minish Cap does make good use of what it has to offer to cater to young and seasoned players alike with it's unique miniature theme and the treasure-hunting collection incentives of the kinstones & mysterious shells. It's easy enough to learn, and anyone can pick it up and immediately get into the game. The graphics and music are a pleasurable mix of modern and classic elements to let you feel some nostalgia while playing something brand new. I will find myself picking up this game to play from the beginning all over again, but I'll wait a long enough time until it becomes fresh in my mind once again.
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