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The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap

aka: The Legend of Zelda: Fushigi no Boushi

Description official descriptions

While at a festival with Princess Zelda, Link encounters a mysterious mage, called Vaati, who turns the princess to stone. Helpless to stop them, Link is asked by the king to meet with a race of tiny people known as the Minish, who may be able to help with their predicament. On his travels, Link teams up with a talking cap called Ezlo, who is able to shrink Link to the size of a Minish so that he can meet with them. With his newfound abilities, Link must save the kingdom from Vaati's menace.

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap is a top-down action adventure game that tells the origins of the evil Vaati from Four Swords. Players take on the role of Link as they conquer various dungeons to retrieve essential tools to fight enemies and progress through various obstacles. Items such as the Mole Mitts allow Link to dig through dirt, while the Gust Jar can be used to suck in enemies, items, and propel Link. Link can also shrink down to the size of a Minish with the aid of Ezlo, the talking cap.

The Minish Cap uses the gameplay mechanic of shrinking to make familiar territory new and different. Puddles become huge rivers, baby chicks are huge monsters, and regular enemies become deadly bosses at Minish size. Link can also trade items called "Kinstones" with people in the game - when two pieces of the same Kinstone are joined together, new areas open up, treasure chests appear, and sometimes, even useful rewards are given to Link.

Spellings

  • ゼルダの伝説 ふしぎのぼうし - Japanese spelling
  • 塞尔达传说:迷你帽 - Chinese spelling (simplified)

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Screenshots

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Credits (Game Boy Advance version)

60 People (54 developers, 6 thanks) · View all

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Trivia

1001 Video Games

The Game Boy Advance version of The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Glitches in the PAL version

The European and Australian versions of The Minish Cap are possibly the most buggy Zelda games to date due to two serious glitches. One of them is the missing bomb bag upgrade in Stockwell's shop. This upgrade cannot be purchased, because it does not appear on the shelf after purchasing the Boomerang. This leaves you unable to obtain 99 bombs, leaving you only with 50 (including both other upgrades). Workaround for this glitch does not exist.

Other serious glitch involves the beginning of Goron Sidequest. After visiting Castor Wilds for the first time, it's possible to perform a Kinstone Fusion with an NPC named Eenie on Eastern Hills. However, there is a glitch - if you try to perform a fusion, cancel it (e. g. because you don't have required Kinstone piece), leave the screen and come back, performing this fusion will be impossible. Unlike the bomb bag upgrade glitch, this one can be avoided.

The game also contain few more minor glitches, like missing tornado on Lon Lon Ranch or misleading Ice Wizzrobe figurine description. Unfortunately, all of these glitches are still present in the 3DS version, released for the members of the Ambassador Program.

Minish Cap

The Minish Cap has a name, which is Ezlo.

Awards

  • GamePro (Germany)
    • February 2004 - Best Handheld Game in 2004 (Readers' Vote)
  • GameSpy
    • 2005 – #9 Game of the Year
    • 2005 – GBA Game of the Year
    • 2005 – GBA Game of the Year (Readers' Vote)
    • 2005 – GBA Adventure Game of the Year

Related Games

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons
Released 2001 on Game Boy Color, 2013 on Nintendo 3DS
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages
Released 2001 on Game Boy Color, 2013 on Nintendo 3DS
The Legend of Zelda
Released 1986 on NES, Game Boy Advance, 2006 on Wii...
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Released 2006 on Wii, GameCube, 2016 on Wii U
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Released 2000 on Nintendo 64, 2009 on Wii, 2016 on Wii U
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
Released 1993 on Game Boy
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Released 2011 on Wii, 2016 on Wii U, 2021 on Nintendo Switch
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
Released 2009 on Nintendo DS, 2015 on Wii U

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Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 16009

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by TReMMoR.

Nintendo 3DS added by ResidentHazard. Wii U added by Michael Cassidy.

Additional contributors: Unicorn Lynx, Riamus, gamewarrior, Patrick Bregger, Piotr Józefowicz, FatherJack.

Last modified February 22nd, 2023.