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Another great Zelda game... doesn't deserve 3 stars...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 163 / 165
Date: January 16, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I can't believe the scores/reviews this game is receiving in Amazon. Bad graphics? Hard gameplay? not.... fun??? This does not make sense at all and I have to say.. some people just don't know how to play Legend of Zelda.

I got a copy of this game the day it was released and have been playing since then. It took me roughly 15-20 hours beating the whole game, including fusing all the kinstones, collecting all the hearts, and collecting all the figurines. First of all, Minish cap is a short and easy game compared to the other Zelda series. It normally takes me at least 30-40 gameovers to beat previous Zelda games (oracle of times/ages, link to the past) but this game took me only 3 gameovers to complete it. (Where 2 of them shouldn't have happened) The dungeons are fairly simple and short, whereas the field puzzles are quite complicated and time consuming. Monster battles didn't get easier but the one thing that lowered the game's difficulty is the amount of damage Link takes per hit. Usually in the previous games, one light hit costs Link half a heart but in Minish cap, weak hits will cost Link 1/4 a heart!

The boss battles are the weakest part of the game. They are VERY simple, having limited techinques are moves, where the player can easily catch it's moves and defeat it. While I was playing this game, I sort of missed the old Zelda days where I had to challenge to boss again and again until I finally beat it and the happiness and pride you gain from that doesn't exist in the Minish cap.

Next one is graphics. People keep saying this game has BAD graphics compared to XBOX or ps2 games.. which doesn't make any sense at all.. You can't compare XBOX and GBA people.. Maybe comparing this game to another recent release, like Kingdom Hearts, may be a better choice.
Anyways, the Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap's in game graphics have the most vibrant, colorful, and closely detailed visual features compared to ANY GBA game. When comparing his well detailed and precisely dotted graphics to other GBA games, nothing stands a chance at Minish cap. The graphics made me just smile throughout the whole game. Wonderful graphics just make me happy.

At last I want to talk about the special features in this game.. which are VERY addictive. The most well-knowned system is the Kinstone fusing system, where you find pieces of different shaped or colored kinstones and find the right person in the world to fuse it with. If you are successful to find a person(or an animal/object) who have the matching kinstone pieces, you can fuse them together and unlock treasures, new rooms, secret monsters or doors throughout the whole map. There are a total of 100 kinstones you can fuse and each one unlocks a secret. This fusing thing is really fun, because not everybody want to fuse their stones all the time. Some fuses when they WANT to, some fuse only one stone where some can fuse two, and People are scattered all over the whole map big AND small, so you would never stop moving busily around the map. Fusing IS good, because it can give so certain upgrades to your weapons such as the Magic boomerang, remote bombs or even bigger wallets.

The next cool feature is the figurine collection. You can trade off your mysterious shells for figurines. This figurines are just plain AWESOME. They are much like the 'trophies' in Super Smash Bros. Melee, giving you decriptions of characters you got while presenting a magnificent representation of that certain character. (the graphics just SHINES here. SHINES) You can get a total of 130 figurines.. and this collecting business is VERY addictive since these figurines are so darn tempting.

This is all I got to say.. Minish cap is just another GREAT Zelda game with obviously awesome graphics and improved gameplay. I would absolutely definitely recommend this game to Zelda fans, but those who don't like the puzzle solving, secret unlocking, figurine collecting, real-time monster bashing type of games should reconsider before buying.

Classic Zelda, With A New Twist

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 15 / 15
Date: January 15, 2005
Author: Amazon User

If you've played any previous Legend Of Zelda games, particularly any of the ones found only on various incarnations of the GameBoy (Oracle Of Ages/Seasons, Link's Awakening), then you already know much of what you need to in order to grasp the dynamics of this game. I didn't even bother to read more of the manual then the story part. Because really, the gameplay is as simple as it is brilliant - use your sword and different combinations of weapons or items to solve the many puzzles, defeat the enemies, and save the world, as well as a beautiful princess. On the GameBoy, you'll know the controls if you've played the other games; and even if you haven't, they are not hard to learn.

However, this game comes with a new twist; very early on, you acquire a companion, one who enables you to shrink to miniscule size. While this doesn't sound like much at first, the way it affects you & your surroundings is fascinating. I haven't gotten far enough in the game to give a well-rounded opinion of this new ability, but so far it adds a new dimension to gameplay that is hard to even describe. The first time you shrink down and walk through a forest that dwarfs you, only to find yourself on a path where the nuts you previously hacked easily away with your sword are now hanging high over your head, is such a strange, weird experience. You'll find yourself staring around in awe, much as though you yourself were stuck in the suddenly huge world with Link.

As for the graphics that accompany this journey - flawless. The colors are vivid, everything is a cute kind of lovely, as stunning as anything the GameBoy is capable of. The looks of Link, Zelda, & even the King of Hyrule are extremely reminiscent of how they appeared in The Legend Of Zelda: The Wind Waker (available on the Nintendo GameCube). If you enjoyed - or even just didn't mind - the graphics in that game, then this one may be as pretty to you as it is to me.

All in all, I'd say if you enjoy Legend of Zelda games, then you'll enjoy this one. (And if you've never played Zelda before, then this game is not a bad place to start; any adventure fan will probably love it, and as with all Zelda games, the difficulty increases slowly as you go along, so you aren't immediately overwhelmed and frustrated.) Though if you are as big a fan as I am of Link's quests, then you probably already went out and bought it.

Another great Zelda game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 45 / 70
Date: January 12, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This game looks really good on the Gameboy Advance. It's nice to have a GBA original Zelda title no retread here. THis game reminds me very much of the Gameboy Color Orcana of time and Seasons games that came out years ago. If you enjoyed those games, like the puzzle type situation Link always gets in then you will love this installment.

this is great

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 12 / 12
Date: January 17, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Although I've played most of Zelda handheld games and 3-d ones, this one is very impressive. First off, I was really excited about this game since Christmas and when I anticipate something too much I'm usually disappointed with it in the end. Surprisingly, when I picked up this game, it was even better than I expected.

Some good:
-the graphics of the games were very crisp and colourful with sharply defined lines that makes it stand out.

-there were a lot of beautiful music geared to different settings.

-a lot of things to do: go on the main quest, which is enough to keep you busy with the shrinking and growing aspect that lets you see things from different views. Tired of going on the quest? Take a rest collecting cute figurines. If not, just talk to other people (there are amusing things that can happen) and try to fuse kinstones with them. This is one of the things I really enjoyed in the game, people seems to live their own lives and we can discover their stories.

-this may be good or bad, but I found that the bosses of the stage and dungeon were relatively easy compared to the other zelda games. This can save you some frustration but also makes the game shorter compared to the other.

-interesting way of learning new sword techniques.

-a variety of equipments to choose from

Some bad:
-as said before the bosses and monsters are easy compared to other zelda games (esp. because of less heart loss per hit), this can make the game smoother but perhaps subtract from the feel of victory at their defeat.

This game is reminiscent of past zelda games but oddly has a very new feel to it.

To the person who keeps entering 2/5 review, you're obviously an immature person with nothing else to do but creating three accounts a day to post a review, two times on Jan 17, two on Jan. 16 etc, the same type of language, and the user always have a history of no other review, come on. I'm not criticizing you because you don't like this game, everybody is entitled to their own opinions and their own likes and dislikes (that's what this review system for), but not when you try to force your opinions on other people and influencing the rating of this game by posting a gazillion of reviews that doesn't reflect what other people might think.

That's 4 for 4 Nintendo

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 11
Date: February 14, 2005
Author: Amazon User

For some reason, of my 2 favorite game series, Zelda has managed to not release a single bad game, even average(for the record, I'm not including the atrocious CD-I releases). The other being Final Fantasy, and there's a couple I don't care for. I liked VIII but IX wasn't that great. Zelda has seen 4 releases since Game Boy Color, Link's Awakening, Oracle of Ages/Seasons, Link to the Past and now Minish Cap, and all have been outstanding.

Story: While attending the Picori Festival with Zelda, Link finds himself in the middle of a battle for Hyrule has Vaati wins a swordsman tournament and unleashes creatures, and petrifies Zelda. Apparently, he's looking for an ancient power that would make him really powerful. Nothing new but it's still fun to watch.

Graphics: Utilizing the look of most Zelda overhead graphics combined with the sprites and character designs of Wind Waker, this is quite a beautiful game. It's on Gameboy of course so it doesn't have a "ooh, aah" look of say Halo 2 or Metroid Prime but it still looks great.

Gameplay: Most Zelda games revolve around what's essentially a gameplay "gimmick", there's a theme around it. Link to the Past was the light/dark world theme, Oracle of Ages/Seasons was being able to change seasons or go back in time, Ocarina had a time travelling aspect, Majora's Mask had the masks and Wind Waker had the sailing. A hat Link wears is the titular Minish Cap, a green bird-looking hat that allows Link to shrink down to the size of your thumb. He's not even bigger than a leaf. And the puzzles revolve around this.

Minish Cap has some new additions. First is 2 new items: the Gust Jar which is essentially a vaccum cleaner to suck in enemies and shoot them back out or to clear hurtful terrain. And the Mole Mitts, which are basically cooler versions of the classic Shovel, only he can claw through special walls as well as dig in the ground. And you get your classic Bow and Arrow, the Boomerang, Pegasus Shoes, Roc's Cape like in the Oracle games.

There's also 2 new features: Kinstone Fusion and Figurines. Kinstone Fusion is kind of like the Cinderella glass shoe in a way. Basically throughout Hyrule, there's these pieces of what look like a coin only it's broken in half and somewhere in Hyrule there's someone(or in a couple cases, something) that has the other half. Connect with them and it opens a secret, either containing money, a piece of heart, or another kinstone piece which will lead to a better item or an upgrade like your wallet or bomb bag.

Figurines is kind of like Super Smash Bros Melee. Someone in Hyrule Town has a slot machine and the machine uses mysterious shells, found throughout Hyrule, you can bet up to 3 and try your luck at finding a figurine, with 130 to be found, 6 at the end. Figurines aren't really that exciting, but Kinstone Fusion is quite addicting as you're constantly looking around for that next person to fuse with.

One complaint that people have, although personally is a godsend, is people think The Minish Cap is a bit too easy. And really, it kind of is. But after having your ass handed to you in a game then putting it away cause it frustrates you to much, it's not to have a game that while you don't blow through in a day, does offer a challenge now and then. For instance, the final boss while not being super hard, is kind of frustrating due to the fact you face him 3 times, each one with several phases. And in a weird way, fairies, the most heavily prized when entering a dungeon only replenishes 4 measly hearts, instead of 10 or 7, but just 4. Bah.

You can blow through the game really quickly(I beat the game in 3 days), but you'll have quite a lot of fun with it.

Classic Zelda

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 10
Date: February 08, 2005
Author: Amazon User

It has been almost 20 years, and the Legend of Zelda is still very much alive and kicking. Exclusively made for the Game Boy Advance, The Minish Cap is the latest instalment of this very popular series. Developed by Capcom with input from Nintendo, The Minish Cap is a classic Legend of Zelda game that entails a strong plot, mind-boggling puzzles and some very tough battles.

Taking the role of Link, you must put together the pieces of a broken blade by fusing four elements (Earth, Fire, Wind, Water) into the sword to stop the evil deeds of the sorcerer Vaati. Link also has to revive Princess Zelda, who was turned into stone by Vaati. Can this woman ever get out of trouble?

Link's quest involves exploring a massive overworld, as well as six dungeons. Apart from getting items and upgrades along the way, Link also has a companion in the form of Ezlo, a hybrid of a bird and a hat. Weird as this may sound, Ezlo literally rides on Link throughout the game, and provides hints should Link gets stuck. Not that his hints are any good, by the way, but he does have an important role in the proceedings, but I won't spoil it for you.

The combination of Ezlo and portals scattered around the maps allow Link to be shrunk into ant-size. This allows him to interact with a tribe of people known as the Picoris or the Minish, who secretly lives in various parts of Hyrule. Basically, this is a "Honey, I shrunk the Kids" concept, but it works very well here. Looking at the world from a whole new perspective, Link's quest gets all the more difficult when enemies whom he can kill easily when he's normal become a tough challenge. Ever thought killing an Octorock will take you half an hour?

Apart from the classic weapons, Link also has an array of items to play with. Among them is the Gust Jar, which allows Link to suck in and split out air. This comes in handy against some well-protected enemies. The Mole Mitts allow Link to dig through sand, which is very useful when finding treasures. And in a bold move, Link also gets an improved version of the Roc's Cape, which allows him to sort of fly momentarily. You'll be amazed to see Link does a Superman impression late in the game. Also, the Grip Ring lets Link climb mountains, while the Pegasus Boots helps him walk across quicksand. Even classic items get an upgrade, with bombs now capable of being remotely controlled by Link. Strategic bombing, anyone?

Solving puzzles is an important part of this game. Apart from the block-pushing stunt that is so connected to Zelda games, a gimmick from the previous Four Swords game is also included. After infusing some elements into his sword, Link can multiply himself by charging his sword, which allows him to push even heavier blocks. Some puzzles also require Link to respond quickly, for example, a lever-controlled bridge that retracts almost immediately after he loosen the grip. All in all, the variety of puzzles are acceptable, and very interesting to play with.

Treasures in The Minish Cap take the form of rupees, kinstones and mysterious shells. Kinstones? Mysterious shells? Yes, you read it right. Kinstones Fusion plays a large part in the game. By fusing, it simply means collecting a fragment of a stone, and matching it with someone with a, well, matching fragment. If the pieces fit perfectly, an event will happen somewhere on the map. While some fusions create random events, the more rare red and gold kinstones are essential in changing the course of the game. To put it simply, these fusions are compulsory, so it could take up some of your time finding the right pieces. Although this is a nice idea, it does make the game a little too linear for my liking. The free-roaming nature of past Zelda games takes the backseat in this time round.

Now, even when Link is eager to save the world, he's entitled to have a hobby. Figurines Collection is a non-compulsory part of the game that incorporates the Japanese "Gashapon" concept, which basically involves trying out his luck with a toy machine. When Link meets new people (or monsters) in the game, figurines of these are made by a master sculptor. Visiting the sculptor's shop, Link could get chances to earn these figures by exchanging mysterious shells with him. There are a total of 136 figurines in all, so it could take forever. Then again, I can see the greed in your eyes.

The graphics and audios In The Minish Cap complement the overall feel of the game superbly. It's heartening to see such intricate details on a 2D game. The colors are also vibrant and attractive, making it a really pleasant playing experience. The music is a mixture of old school and new scores, and to a certain extent, they blend well. Some parts are too bouncy, but on the whole, the feel is just right.

In summary, The Minish Cap delivers. While the main quest is rather short, the amount of side quests lengthens the overall playing time. If you only have the dough for one game this month, make The Minish Cap your top priority.

The Minish Cap = Uber Awesomeness!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 14 / 17
Date: January 30, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Hello peoples! I am here today to tell you of a most fabulous game that comes to you from Nintendo(Even though it's developped by Capcom). I am speaking of course of The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap (Minish as in deminish, Get it? It's da Minish Cap yo! :D) AKA: ZTMC.

Ok, where to start... Where to start... Storyline. It's classic Zelda. As is customary in Zelda games, a long time ago there was a great darkness over the land, which was eventually beat by the great hero, and then they sealed the darkness inside a chest and every thing else we've come to know and love from our Zelda games.

Ok, now it's present day Hyrule, 'bout a thousand years after the evil was sealed away, as always every thousand years somethin' big happens. It's said in Hyrule that every thousand years (What'd I tell ya'?), a doorway between the world of the humans and the Minish (A race of tiny supposedly mythical wood-sprite-ish beings) opens, so every thousand years the inhabitants of Hyrule have a big festival to celebrate this ceremony. We start off at the begining of another festival, with of course everyone's favorite green-clad hyrulian hero, Link! But, this time there's one BIG change. When Link walks into view for the first time -GASP- HE'S HOODLESS!!! Yes, for the first half-hour or so of or adventure, Link has no hat. I know, it's terrible...

Umm... Sorry, rambled on a bit there... I'll get more to the chase now... Ok, evil wizard Vaati, breaks the seal on the chest, releasing the evil back upon the land. And as if that weren't enough, he then goes and petrifies Zelda (Who's Link's friend at the time) and then vanishes. ...Stupid Vaati... So the King (Zelda's father) sends the nearest kid (Because 1. the Minish only appear around kids and old King-y needs them to make the sacred sword so that he can get Zelda back, and 2. The nearest kid just HAPPENS to be Link.) and sends him off to find the Minish. Along the way, Link rescues Ezlo, who is basically the classic green Link-hat except alive and with a beak and eyes. Ezlo also allows Link to shrink down to the nearly micrscopic size of the Minish (You go from around 100 pixels to 5).

Ok, from what you read you probably think that I'm not a big fan of the story. Not true. I LOVE this story! It may be nearly the same thing we've heard in every Zelda game, but it still makes you gasp when you're supposed to and leaves you wanting more, and isn't that what a good story's all about?

Umm... My review is already huge and I only covered one thing... This is gonna take a while...

FINALLY MOVING ON!!!! Gameplay, the deciding factor for every game, and ZTMC doesn't dissapoint. The controls feel like you will Link to move somewhere, and he does. You'll get so involved in playing that you won't even realize what you're doing. Little quips from Ezlo don't interupt gameplay at all because most of them are funny or helpful! Link never moves too slow for the game to get boring, and there are plent of baddies to slice up along the way. The really fun thing about this though, is when you shrink down to Minish size and go into temples. Small enemies like Octoroks and Chuchus become towering behemoths, and you end up having a hard time fight bugs! The best parts of the game are the temples, puzzle bound and enemy-laiden, these will not dissapoint. Most temples are focused around the item that you find inside it's walls, the first for instance, uses the Gust Jar (Which is probably my favorite thing ever!), a blue jar that sucks in enemies, rocks, grass, you name it, to solve puzzles.

Now, if you've played any other Zelda game, you'll know that it's the items that shine. My two favorites in this one are the Mole Mitts (Gloves that let you dig, which is WAY more fun than it sounds, or should be), and the previously mentioned Gust Jar (Which is way too much fun!). Although you have to press start to change items, it doesn't interupt gameplay, it actually gives you a second to think if you're in the middle of a big battle. Speaking of big battles, let's move to the Bosses.

While the bosses aren't hard (If you're okay at the game and know what to watch for, all of them except for the final boss are a snap!), all of them are SO much fun! All of the bosses are pretty smart (Except for the whole, exposing their one weakness right when you can shoot it thing.), and the third and final ones will make your head hurt from trying to figure out how to hurt 'em.

Now, another important factor is grapics, of course. The graphics in this game are bright and colorful and everything moves along at such a smooth rate. I don't think that it would have been possible to do some of the funniest animations if it was on the GC, for instance, when you first meet Ezlo, he throws himself at Links head (Which made me laugh!) and squirms around as Link recovers. I don't see how they could have done that if the graphics were in 3-D.

Alas, amongst all the candypops and lollycanes (Wait...) there are a few problems. One: Although the map does provide you with a marker for where you go next, the game doesn't give you enough clues in some spots, sometumes making it really hard to find out what to do. And 2: The final boss doesn't give you an inch until you know EXACTLY what to do.

This doesn't bring the game down THAT much though, it actually gives you a great sense of accomplishment once you finally figure out what to do (Or, if you looked it up online like me! I didn't want to, it was just to confusing! ;( ) and the ending is one of the best EVER.

I have a couple favorite moments in the game, I was rolling on the ground laughing the first time I got into one of the mine carts in the second dungeon. The cart takes off at an alarmingly fast rate, and Link screams his head off. Then when it's over, Ezlo comes out a nd says: "Jumpin' jellyfish that was horrible!" Another of my favorite moments, is the first time you use the Mole Mitts, they're truly satisfying with the crunching sound you make, and for some odd reason, digging around is one of the most enjoyable things to do!

As I look back on ZTMC, I know that this is one of those games that years from now, I'll pop back into my GBA and still find a rewarding, funny, and just plain fun time.

This game really is a masterpiece. If you have a GBA and you don't have it, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!?!?!? Go buy it now! This is a must-have for all GBA owners.

I give it five out of five.

Nintendo does it again.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 9
Date: January 17, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I am glad Nintendo finally ran out of titles to port from other systems, This game does not disappoint, bringing yet another new twist to the Zelda universe. If you are looking for a great fun inexpensive game, then go no further. Note, this is a review for Zelda, The Minish Cap, from a person who has actually played the game. I will not give away any of the gameplay elements except it has great visuals for the GBA and is great fun. Fans of the Zelda series will love it, but will be disappointed by it's length. You knew it would be good, now get to playing.

The following information is not a continuation of my review for Zelda, the Minish Cap, but some comments on some of the negative reviews.

I recognise that there are quite a few reviews that have given this game poor marks, pay no attention, they all appear to be somewhat incoherent and suprisingly similar in lack of game experience and education. Probably by the same witless person. The problem being that only unintelligent people would consider these poor reviews viable. It's a shame, because this game deserves 4 stars at the least.

Classic Zelda fun

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: January 14, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Has all of the key elements that make the best Zelda games enjoyable. Fun puzzles and characters as well as charming environments. Graphics are quite good.
-Addendum: I'm most of the way through the game now, and am enjoying it even more. Not sure why all the poor reviews are appearing. I agree with the reviewer that said that it doesn't make sense to compare the graphics of this game to graphics one would see on xbox. Graphics are charming and gameplay is where this really shines. It's much more fun and addictive than many games that may have "better" graphics.

A really fun game.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: January 15, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I won't tell you the story line because it's very long. I like this game. You get really cool items. You get a bird hat named Ezlo who helps you shrink and reminds you what you're supposed to be doing. You also get the gust jar that sucks stuff up, the Cane of Pacci that lets you flip stuff over and spring out of holes, and the Mole Mitts that let you dig. You get a bunch of sword power-ups. You also learn new sword moves. But it's very easy. I can beat a dungeon in about thirty minutes.

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