System: Game Boy Advance

Nintendo and Capcom have returned with the next game in the long-running Zelda series, Zelda: The Minish Cap for Game Boy Advance. Hyrule is once again in danger as the villainous Sorcerer Vaati has turned Princess Zelda to stone. With her out of the way, Vaati begins his search for the sacred Light Force to become a powerful sorcerer and rule the land. With Hyrule in danger, classic hero Link is called upon to save Zelda and return peace to Hyrule by re-forging the magical Picori Blade and thwarting Vaati’s evil plot. Link will explore the far reaches of Hyrule in search of the elements to mend the shattered Picori Blade and seal away the evil Vaati has unleashed.

Nintendo has done a consistent job of keeping each new Zelda game with a new ability for Link that is often the main focus of the game. Link’a guide in his quest is Ezlo, the talking green Minish Cap. With his help, Link is able to shrink to the size of a Picori, a mythical thumb-sized race that co-exists in normal Hyrulian homes. Puzzles throughout the game require Link to alternate between sizes to complete them.

Veterans of the Zelda series will notice many familiar faces and places from previous Zelda games. Using an overhead view like a few of its predecessors, The Minish Cap is all previous Zelda games rolled into one. The cartoon-like graphics resemble A Link to the Past on Super Nintendo with a dash of Wind Waker in the cell-shading department. Lon Lon Ranch and Lake Hylia make their mark on the map from Ocarina of Time and the ability to clone Link shows the influence of The Four Swords.

While some older gamers will refuse to play a game that looks like a kiddy cartoon for fear of being ridiculed by their Halo-junkie friends and their clunky Xbox egos, The Minish Cap is a fun, light-hearted adventure with plenty of side quests and creative puzzles to keep you busy. Similar to the gold skulltula-collecting adventures of Ocarina of Time, The Minish Cap has its own collection game of figurines resembling people and monsters all over Hyrule. Collecting halves of Kinstone medallions and fusing them with fellow members of Hyrule is necessary to progress the plot and to save Hyrule. Fusing Kinstones with members of Hyrule will unlock secret passages and supposedly increase the luckiness of the fusing parties. With about 100 Kinstone fusions and more than 120 figurines to collect, you certainly have your hands full.

Unfortunately, The Minish Cap lacks major innovation in game play and is not as revolutionary as the platinum-selling 3-D world of Ocarina of Time. Veterans of the Zelda series will feel right at home with The Minish Cap and while it may not be a must-have game if you do not already have a Game Boy Advance, newcomers will still find the game very rewarding. Because of the lack of surprises, The Minish Cap will probably not register on many gamers’ Top 10 of 2005 lists, but might also be slightly overlooked due to the amazing hype surrounding the new Zelda game for Gamecube due in the last quarter of 2005.

Grade: B+