The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap Official Thread

[S.C.G]

Anyway, you want to know why people ignore the Minish Cap? For the same reason they ignore Link's Awakening, the Oracle games and, soon enough, Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks.

 

Because, for some reason, nobody takes handheld games seriously. It's sad, because Minish Cap is amazing.

 

Also, Minish Cap is an entry in an amazing series, so it was bound to be overshadowed by others, worsening the problem.

 

It's true... people don't seem to take handheld games as seriously as their home console counterparts, which in the case of The Legend of Zelda is a crying shame indeed.

 

I'd go as far to say that Link's Awakening DX is in my top five favourite Zelda games of all time with the Oracle titles and Minish Cap following closely behind; having Capcom work on those three pieces of portable perfection was a stroke of genius as they remain to this date the best portable Zelda games since Link's Awakening originally graced our GameBoy screens.

Edited July 4, 2011 by S.C.G

[Captain Falcon]

The Minish Cap happens to be my third favourite of all the Zelda games after ALTTP and MM.

 

I like the swapping from big to large and how there are sections when the camera is zoomed up close and others when it remains at normal height and you have the little bubble on screen to show you where you are.

 

Some brand new weapons that are introduced early and there is constant use of them from then onwards in and outside dungeons. And speaking of dungeons, the Palace of Winds is as epic as any dungeon in any Zelda game regardless of it's format. The constant ascending of the giant tower only to drop inside and start all over again is brilliant.

 

Despite sticking as close to the traditional formula as most of the other entries, there were a variety of new things and "gimmicks" that meant the game felt fresh throughout. It's not as long as other Zelda games but I don't think it suffers from it at all - helps to keep the pacing solid throughout without any unnecesary dull bits soiling the experience.

 

There is definitely something in the idea that the portable games are viewed as lesser titles simply for the fact they aren't on the main console but if that's what people want to believe, then fine. Let their ignorance prevent them from playing such classics - they don't deserve to experience them.

[Cube]

I still think that this is the best handheld Zelda game.

[killer kirby]

Just finished my 3rd play through of this game, it's now my most favorite Zelda game. Yeah you heard me no other Zelda can beat this game. in my opinion durr hurp

 

Knowing that the director of this game is also the man behind Skyward Sword I just can't fucking wait.

[Oxigen_Waste]

Anyway, you want to know why people ignore the Minish Cap? For the same reason they ignore Link's Awakening, the Oracle games and, soon enough, Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks.

 

Because, for some reason, nobody takes handheld games seriously. It's sad, because Minish Cap is amazing.

 

Quoted for truth. Although, in all fairness, Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks do deserve to be "forgotten". They're both good solid games, but completely forgetable.

[Fused King]

Hang on a minute, am I then to understand that Capcom is behind Vaati?

[Shorty]

No he appeared first in Four Swords, so was possibly invented by Flagship.

[Jonnas]

Quoted for truth. Although, in all fairness, Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks do deserve to be "forgotten". They're both good solid games, but completely forgetable.

 

B-But... Spirit Tracks had fantastic music, and trains, and a good "treasure system", and Linebeck, and silly dialogue/charm, and playable Zelda in an armour That doesn't deserve to be forgotten.

 

Phantom Hourglass only deserves to be forgotten because everything it did, Spirit Tracks did better, by correcting the flaws and improving the strong points.

 

Hang on a minute, am I then to understand that Capcom is behind Vaati?

 

They're responsible for his human design and backstory, I would assume.

 

They're also responsible for introducing Kangaroos into the Zelda universe (Oracle games ftw!)

[Captain Falcon]

No he appeared first in Four Swords, so was possibly invented by Flagship.

 

Well Flagship is a joint venture between Capcom and Nintendo... though mostly Capcom as I understand. They were set up to come up with original game stories and ideas... so they churned out 4 Zelda games instead :p

 

I'm certainly not complaining.

[Oxigen_Waste]

B-But... Spirit Tracks had fantastic music, and trains, and a good "treasure system", and Linebeck, and silly dialogue/charm, and playable Zelda in an armour That doesn't deserve to be forgotten.

 

Phantom Hourglass only deserves to be forgotten because everything it did, Spirit Tracks did better, by correcting the flaws and improving the strong points.

 

It didn't stick, in my heart. Good solid game but that's about it. Didn't feel extraordinary.

[Shorty]

Well Flagship is a joint venture between Capcom and Nintendo... though mostly Capcom as I understand. They were set up to come up with original game stories and ideas... so they churned out 4 Zelda games instead :p

Fair enough! I am a red name, not a green name, don't expect me to know this stuff

[Eenuh]

I thought Minish Cap was great! I love all Zelda games, be they handheld or home console. My first ever Zelda game was Link's Awakening, so that has a special place in my heart. =)

 

I honestly love the handheld Zeldas. The Oracle games were great and Minish Cap was awesome too! Loved the concept of changing sizes and the way it was handled in the game. Would love to see some more handheld Zelda games like these again (2D sprites even, love those more than the 3D ones).

 

Now I want to play through all my Zelda games again haha.

[Fused King]

So the main reason people dislike handheld Zelda games is because the series has a homeconsole counterpart which is far more superior?

 

That is quite ridiculous if I may be so bold.

 

Regardless of a series, one should always try to judge a game on its own and not compare Minish Cap to the likes of Majora's Mask or Windwaker.

 

Interestingly, I've never seen this point come up when it came to handheld Zeldas, and in particular Minish Cap.

From what I remember, some people disliked The Minish Cap but never elaborated on it. However, I never got the impression that this could be one of the main reasons.

A very strange argument indeed.

 

Anyway, I'm filled with joy by all the love for The Minish Cap so N-Europe surprises me once again.

 

Now, if only I could get an elaborate opinion on the hate for Rayman: Hoodlum Havoc: for that is even, if not more, unjustified than the 'disliking' of The Minish Cap.

[Fused King]

If people do not want to discuss it, this thread will slip into the realms of darkness soon enough.

 

Just remember that one.

 

Well now, I've recently finished my 3DS Ambassador edition of the Minish Cap, and the extra online play really made for ...... yeah:laughing:

 

No, but seriously, I am once again convinced that this game should remain my number 2 favourite Zelda game ever.

 

One thing that surely needs to be mentioned here, is the main hub of the game: Hyrule Town.

I would argue that this is probably one of the best hubs ever conceived, for one can enjoy a wide variety of activities and secrets which were definitely not present in Skyward Sword's or Twilight Princess's main town.

 

I might be crossing the line there, so correct me if I do, but Hyrule Town in The Minish Cap surely outshines any other hub in a portable Zelda game.

 

The Minish as a race are also fucking brilliant, and I do hope they'll once again grace a The Legend of Zelda game. Simply the fact that they are also present in Skyward Sword (Because of the rupees and what not in the grass) would make them an even more ancient race than the Skydwellers

 

Vaati as a final boss is also one hell of a purple nut to crack. Three forms, and fairies only recover 4 hearts...it's tricky stuff, definitely one of the harder bosses I've encountered in a Zelda game, although that may also be down to the fact that the stuff that can heal you heals only little.

 

I'll just leave you guys with this awesome *SPOILER* ending of the game.

The credits are truly awesome, and I never knew that Eiji Inafune was producer of this game.

 

Oh yeah, I almost forgot, Ezlo = BEST SIDEKICK EVER!

His legendary wit makes sure of that!

Edited April 24, 2012 by Fused King

[Grazza]

So the main reason people dislike handheld Zelda games is because the series has a homeconsole counterpart which is far more superior?

 

That is quite ridiculous if I may be so bold.

 

Regardless of a series, one should always try to judge a game on its own and not compare Minish Cap to the likes of Majora's Mask or Windwaker.

 

I agree with you in principal, but that's not the reason I was apathetic towards Minish Cap. The reason I wasn't fond of it was that (in my opinion), it is not as good as Link to the Past or Link's Awakening, which I think are fair games to compare it to.

 

Comparisons to Wind Waker are for the most part ridiculous, apart from the fact it uses the same art style, which (again, in my opinion) just cannot be conveyed in 2D and therefore, in this form, is inferior to LttP. Four Swords Adventure on GameCube remains (visually) the pinnacle of 2D Zelda, and as such should be the starting point for any future venture.

 

Sorry to be negative, but I just thought I'd explain that. It's probably not a coincidence that Minish Cap and Skyward Sword are my two least favourite Zeldas, so let's hope Aonuma is directing the next one, not just producing!

[darksnowman]

What a bump.

 

Congrats on the completion, @Fused King. Glad you enjoyed. I've played the Minish Cap twice and both times found it lacking that Zelda magic. Its a nice compact little world (sometimes a bit too cramped) and Hyrule Town was decent enough but still a little awkward to traverse at times I found. I just have some little niggles with the game - its still a great title and separating Zelda titles is like splitting hairs as we know.

 

I found the manta boss to be the most difficult, btw.

 

I did think @Grazza would have lapped up the Minish Cap. It might not be seafaring but I always viewed it as a handheld Wind Waker.

[Magnus]

Four Swords Adventures is only the visual pinnacle of 2D Zelda games to the extent that it did things that simply wouldn't have been possible on the GBA. It's not really a fair comparison, and I wasn't a big fan of the lazy reuse of A Link to the Past sprites.

 

I thought The Minish Cap looked great, but I agree that the world felt a bit small and cramped. You have to travel to Death Mountain from Hyrule and it's, like, two screens away or something. I also thought the actual minish cap wasn't that interesting to use, but the game overall was a lot of fun.

[-Dem0-]

Minish Cap was my favourite hand-held Zelda, but this is coming from a guy who's yet to complete LA or LTTP.

 

1. Wind Waker

2. OoT

3. Minish Cap

[James McGeachie]

It is funny that this game has the same director as Skyward Sword (Hidemaro Fujibayashi), yet obviously a lot of fans of MC are definitely not fans of SS.

 

I'm a fan of both and think the guy is very talented. I guess some people would feel more that he either isn't suited to working on home console games, or perhaps has lost his touch.

 

I just wish that he didn't essentially retcon the green hat story that came from his own game.

[Jamba]

I thought Minish Cap was brilliant. Personally I found it more charming (from a writing and characters point of view but not visually) than Wind Waker and it certainly freshened up the Zelda weapons palate that was getting overused and dull.

 

I liked it being a high density game. They made you remember almost every screen in the entire game because you would have explored it thoroughly rather than sticking a whole bunch of filler in which frankly makes Zeldas a bit dull.

 

The inclusion of the wind jar (basically) in Skyward Sword made me super happy as it was fantastically used in MC from a mechanics and gameplay point of view.

[Fused King]

The inclusion of the wind jar (basically) in Skyward Sword made me super happy as it was fantastically used in MC from a mechanics and gameplay point of view.

 

It's somewhat of a different item in The Minish Cap though, for it 'sucks' there, and in Skyward Sword is blows out air.

[Dcubed]

It is funny that this game has the same director as Skyward Sword (Hidemaro Fujibayashi), yet obviously a lot of fans of MC are definitely not fans of SS.

 

I'm a fan of both and think the guy is very talented. I guess some people would feel more that he either isn't suited to working on home console games, or perhaps has lost his touch.

 

I just wish that he didn't essentially retcon the green hat story that came from his own game.

 

I always thought that was odd, considering how Skyward Sword is basically like Minish Cap in 3D in terms of gameplay (World/dungeon design is extremely similar and, just like Minish Cap, riddled with shortcuts everywhere!)

[Ronnie]

I seem to remember liking Minish Cap a lot, and can now see the similarities with Skyward Sword. Saying it has more charm than Wind Waker though is hard to agree on. Nothing has more charm than Wind Waker.

 

I also wish the two Four Swords games never happened but that's another matter.

[Jonnas]

I just wish that he didn't essentially retcon the green hat story that came from his own game.

 

Is it really a retcon, though? I don't think MC!Link's outfit was inspired by anything (in-story), and it's even more doubtful that the Kokiris dress like that because of this particular Link.

Ezlo was a nice subversion on the traditional hat, but it's hardly a motive for a legend.

 

After playing Skyward Sword, I should give Minish Cap another whirl, at one point. T'was a really fun game.