So I finally started it.
It’s a fine game.
I’m thoroughly enjoying it.
I’m old. I’m patient.
Please, please don’t mention spoilers if possible. I love to crack nuts the old fashioned way. 🙂
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_Zelda:_The_Minish_Cap
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap[b] is an action-adventure game and the twelfth entry in The Legend of Zelda series.
Twelveth. Man.
I think that the last game in the series I played was the fourth game, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, from 1993, 11 years before that.
EDIT: I did get the early version of that cartridge which had a neat screen-warp bug where if one hit Select just as one was transitioning across screens, once could skip across the entire screen and break the game in interesting ways, get into areas that one wasn’t supposed to be in yet.
For anyone who hit the series much later, a timeline with YouTube playthroughs to see what they’re like (excluding remakes on later systems):
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The Legend of Zelda, Nintendo Entertainment System, 1986
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Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, Nintendo Entertainment System, 1987
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The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, 1991
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The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, Game Boy, 1993
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The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Nintendo 64, 1998
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The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, Nintendo 64, 2000
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The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons, Game Boy Color, 2001
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The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages, Game Boy Color, 2001
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The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords, Game Boy Advance, 2002
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The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, GameCube, 2002
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The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures, GameCube, 2004
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The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, Game Boy Advance, 2004
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The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Wii, 2006
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The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, Nintendo DS, 2007
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The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, Nintendo DS, 2009
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The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Wii, 2011
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The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, Nintendo 3DS, 2013
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The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes, Nintendo 3DS, 2015
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The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Nintendo Switch, 2017
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The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Nintendo Switch, 2023
There might be someone one here who has played through all of them, though if I had to bet, I’d guess not. That’s a pretty large library.
I’ve played most of them, and minish cap is definitely the best imo. The music, story, world, and nostalgia were all there for me. I also think LOZ was at its peak in the 2D era.
Also special mention, crossbow training for wii is C tier and LOZ CD-i is definitely A tier because Morshu
My first Zelda was… the original Zelda. Man I’m old. :)
So far I’ve played: 1-5 (Link’s Awakening on Switch), 9, 12, 16 (Switch), 19. So I’ve played almost half. I thought BotW was meh, so I’m thinking of going back and playing some of the games I’ve missed (I bought Skyward Sword and Link’s Awakening after TotK released). I never had an N64 (played Ocarina of time on a friend’s N64), Game Cube, Wii, or Wii U, so I skipped those (I switched to XBox around that time).
I’m thinking Majora’s Mask and Wind Waker next. Any thoughts?
Thank you so much for this!
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Ikr? The last Zelda I played before TotK was one (or two?) on GBC with seasons and time manipulation and I can‘t remember a thing about them other than the mechanics being great… So I guess they’d make an amazing „second“ playthrough?
I remember a lot more about A Link To The Past, especially being extremely anxious back then about the thief that lurks on the way to the Master Sword…
TotK didn‘t blow me away as much as it blew away critiques. There‘s just so much empty space between points of interest… I haven‘t given up on it though. Keeping it spoiler free, I’m at the part where I gotta look for someone specific down in the Abyss which is a bit daunting since it‘s big, dark, and full of enemies (I know you haven‘t played it, I‘m just rambling, apologies).
TotK
That’s how I felt about BotW, so I didn’t bother buying TotK, I figured it was more of the same with the tool-making gimmick added.
TotK is wildly different for a game made with the same engine and sharing many core mechanics. Just my opinion, but the different powers really add a ton, to say nothing of the verticality of it.
IDK, I’ve never really been interested in the powers in Zelda games, I’m more interested in the dungeons, puzzles, and bosses. I’m not really into sandbox games generally, I love puzzles and combat.
I’ll probably play it eventually, just not super interested in it right now. My kids would probably love it though, they love sandbox games.
ToTK is way more about the puzzles than BoTW was. Figuring out how to put together a device to solve a given puzzle is a huge portion of the game. That’s what I mean when I say the different powers make it a wildly different game. Ultrahand alone is the source of hundreds of puzzles way more entertaining than the whole “pick up the out-of-place rock to find a korok” type filler that BoTW has.
Huh, maybe I’ll like it then. But “everyone” seems to love BotW, and “everyone” seems to say “if you like BotW, you’ll love TotK.” So I’m skeptical.
I much preferred Skyward Sword and Link’s Awakening, so I’ll probably go back through the Zelda games I missed (Game Cube and Wii eras) before playing TotK. But I’ll recheck the reviews again the next time I get a hankering for a Zelda game. Thanks!
Oh man, if you haven’t played Wind Waker, make that one a priority.
Having beaten both the original and the HD version, the HD version is better because the original version of collecting the triforce shards towards the end of the game is a slog and the HD version cuts down on that tedium quite a bit.
Minish Cap was my first Zelda. I remember using my allowance to buy the strategy guide back in the day so I could 100% it. Lots of nostalgia there.
100% with the Gatcha stuff? Wow.
I’ve 100% Minish Cap twice. It’s just takes a bit of patience to get all the figures.
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I was a child with extensive free time and limited game options. I spent hours mowing grass to grind shells for the machine.
That wasn’t even the worst part. Combing through every NPC looking for the last few kinstone fusions if you missed one was way more annoying.
TMC and four seasons are some of my favorites from back in the day. You’re in for a treat :)
I just started playing that last year after meaning to for many years (doesn’t help that I only got into 2D Zelda like 5 years ago). It’s super fun. I still haven’t finished it, though. Got stuck at one part or another and haven’t gotten back to it yet.
I just beat it for the first time myself last year. I loved it, beginning to end. I don’t know why I waited so long to play it honestly. I grew up with the Oracle games, which were also Capcom, so I should have known it would be great. Enjoy!
It’s one of the best Zelda games period and certainly the best made for a handheld console — and that includes the Switch ones. Enjoy!
The Minish Cap was a fun time, but the Kinstones…
I remember having to find a guide to get all of them.
I think it’s interesting that Capcom developed that one for Nintendo. They certainly did a great job!
I like, but don’t love, Link’s Awakening. I get that they had the limitations of the Game Boy to work around, so the idea that the map is confounding to navigate - just like a dream can be - was a creative choice that fit well. It just doesn’t resonate with me.
The GBA was definitely a better platform for a Zelda game than the OG Game Boy.
I never played the GB version, but the Switch version is pretty good. So maybe consider that.
I’ve played it. Since the basic game design is unchanged, I still don’t love it.
This is April’s game of the month for a Discord server I’m on, so a few of us have been tinkering with it recently. I was surprised at how good analog control felt with it.
So cool to see a bunch of praise for this game here! It’s one of my favorite Zeldas and it’s always seemed like it never got a lot of talk.
I never finished this one because someone broke into my house and stole my GBA SP with this cart in it (and some other stuff). Same reason I didn’t even play Oracles (or maybe Seasons?). I finished one, and started Minish cap before the other.
:(
I loved it and didn’t finish it either, only I don’t even have an excuse. Maybe I just got stuck.
I love it, and it’s one of my favorites.
Is the BOTW emulation experience at a point where I can get 30-40fops consistently on a 2015 Hawaii series AMD card?
Not as patient as waiting to post after playing it through. :p
