SpoonySage
N3DS Community Ghost Gym Leader
- 1,671
- 2011
- 1,014
- Credits
- 2,930
The Story Thus Far...
According to Hyrule Historia, this game takes place between the events of Skyward Sword and Four Swords. The game contains two items from Skyward Sword that help you explore Hyrule once more and sets the stage for Four Swords by introducing Vaati and the Four Sword itself. In this version, the sword allows you to create shadow clones to help you battle the power-hungry mage. That aside, this game seems to combine elements and characters from all other Zelda games and can be enjoyed by even new players to the series as the only important plot elements from this subsection of Hyrule lore starts here. Also, Ezlo is probably my favorite Link helper.
Gameplay/Mechanics
At first glance, this smaller-than-usual Hyrule will not seem very impressive. However, the main aspects of this game will have you exploring the same areas multiple times. This is due to Kinstone fusion and shrinkage. Kinstones pieces are introduced almost immediately in the game and allow the player to unlock all kinds of areas and treasures. However, to do so you must have the right piece at the right time. Don't worry though, you get tons of blue and red pieces from chests and as long as you take the time to cut the grass often, then you will be fine on green pieces too. The other main exploration aspect in this game involves shrinking down to fit into small holes and crevasses.
I went back and forth on how I felt about this. In the end, I think if they had included some way to run or move faster when shrunken down I would not have minded so much having to backtrack every time I found a hole. Still, it isn't a Zelda game unless you have to backtrack into every screen at least once.
Graphics
I honestly love how cute this game is. It combines the elements of Toon Link and classic Link to the Past style in a way that only Capcom could. The Minish are adorable and small things like watching how Link wakes up in the morning really made me smile. Fans of the series will be rewarded with toonish versions of many of the series regulars (though it DOES ruin the timeline as stated in Hyrule Historia, as these characters cannot coesist, especially when they are decended from characters the book states to not exist yet). Nonetheless, as ong as you do not take this game too seriously, then you will enjoy it. It really is a treat for the fans more than anything else.
Music/Sound
The music selection of Minish Cap sounds more like a remix of Zelda Greatest Hits than anything original. The sounds of this game will be very familiar to those who have played Ocarina of Time and Link to the Past. You can tell you won't be too impressed musically when a game decides to have a completely silent opening screen (after the usual fanfare, at least). Of course, Zelda games have not been known to expand on their musical repertoire too often, I found myself longing for something with more of an impact, the way Link to the Past originally did or Ocarina of Time and Wind Waker when they changed the musical feel and gave us pieces like Geurdo Valley and Grandmother's Theme.
Replayability
This is a bit of a mixed bag. There is a great deal of things to do in Minish Cap, so you can keep playing for many hours after the main story is complete. Fusing Kinstones can be fun, but unless you are trying to get every character figurine in the game you will constantly find your wallet too full for all the treasure Kinstones will bring you. Sadly, the heartpieces become expectionally hard to keep track of as everything revolves around fusion. Finally, keeping with Capcom's general standards of replayability, they decided to put in several sequences that can only be completed at certain points of the plot, so if you missed your moment, then tough luck! No Arrows of Light for you. When combined with the sheer amount of collectibles, it only deterred me from replaying though, as I did not want to redo EVERYTHING just to get a few hidden items, whereas most all other Zelda games would compell me to completionist goals.
In short, play it with a guide, or just don't bother trying to get everything.
Multiplayer
This game has no multiplayer function, even though splitting into multiple Links is a vital part of the plot. For similar gameplay in multiplayer, check out Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary Edition.
Rating
While I illuminated several issues I had with this game in my review, I thoroughly enjoyed playing it. As long as you don't take the game too seriously, you can find many different things in there for you. If you take it completely on its own, the game is deffinately worth playing and I hope it becomes available for everyone with a 3DS soon.
7.8/10
