You already know, it in all probability is not nice for my gnawing sense of panic about getting older to see increasingly more video games from my childhood reaching 20 yr anniversaries, however sadly time would not give a hoot about that, and it is a easy incontrovertible fact that The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap got here out 20 years in the past now. Existential disaster apart, an anniversary like it is a nice time to recollect the Recreation Boy Advance basic, not simply because it is well timed, however as a result of we have virtually actually acquired a brand new Nintendo console developing, and there is a lot the developer might be taught from certainly one of its greatest Zelda video games.
The factor that is a little bit of a disgrace about The Minish Cap, is that not many individuals performed it. For those who ignore the HD port of Twilight Princess, it is truly the third worst promoting entry within the sequence, some extent I used to be genuinely a bit stunned to be taught when researching for this piece, however felt much less stunned by once I realised it launched lower than a month earlier than the Nintendo DS got here out – why get a kind of outdated, pungent GBA video games, when you may get Nintendogs?
Due to these low gross sales, I feel it turns into a little bit of a forgotten Zelda title, regardless of being so pleasant, however that additionally signifies that lots of people do not actually realise how odd it’s. Positive, it has the same old staples; a mute younger hero named Hyperlink, a princess referred to as Zelda that it’s a must to rescue, and a companion that mainly does all of the speaking for you, this time within the type of Ezlo, a speaking hat (there’s clearly a bit extra happening there, that is spoiler territory although). There is a couple massive issues lacking although: Ganondorf and The Grasp Sword.
Now, to be clear, it isn’t distinctive in that reality – there are different video games that do not function the ole Dorf as a baddie, and the place Hyperlink’s trusty blade would not find yourself in his sheathe, however I feel the factor The Minish Cap does greatest is actually roll with these absences. For starters, there’s the principle sword Hyperlink finally acquires – The 4 Sword, a weapon that lets the consumer break up themselves in as much as 4 copies, making for some enjoyable puzzley moments which after all comes with a mixture of limitations and bonuses.
That every one will get neatly tied in with the story stuff concerning the titular Minish, and means the sport is extra than simply going forwards and backwards between your common dimension and shrinking all the way down to the scale of a pin. However these moments are essential and particular too! There’s an unbelievable sense of scale to the sport, with the pixel artwork serving to to promote the developer’s imaginative and prescient so successfully. It is a bizarre sport that you just could not actually do another approach however in 2D, besides there’s that one unbelievable Astro Bot stage with an identical mechanic, so who is aware of.
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These mechanics tying themselves so neatly to the story are what actually makes the sport shine although, and even when it is not significantly revelatory or lore increasing, it feels contemporary even now due to how disconnected it’s to all the pieces else. That might be to do with the actual fact it is truly a Capcom developed sport, funnily sufficient, but it surely’s simply so pleasantly bizarre.
There’s perhaps even a lesson available there that Nintendo ought to open its doorways to letting different builders deal with the sequence often, and never simply those it has shut ties to love Grezzo (who developed Echoes of Knowledge) both. Keep in mind when an indie workforce made Cadence of Hyrule, a rhythm motion sport with a unique Zelda sport? Extra of that please, Nintendo.
Echoes of Knowledge itself is a little bit of a change of tempo, one I want went tougher on these adjustments typically, however is clearly an experiment from Nintendo on the finish of certainly one of its most profitable console runs ever on the finish of its lifespan. I need that weirdness to come back again even stronger on the Change 2, so we get titles like Minish Cap once more, that do not really feel beholden to all the Zeldas that got here earlier than. And to be trustworthy, I would similar to to see the Minish once more too.