The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap

 Game Boy Advance
User Score
8.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 481 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 437 out of 481
  2. Mixed: 33 out of 481
  3. Negative: 11 out of 481
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  1. patrickmurphy09
    Sep 7, 2020
    7
    I realize I am in the minority here, though I never felt the same level of adoration that others feel for this Zelda installment. Sure, it's a fun, solid experience. But as far as gameplay is concerned, I think it doesn't live up to the standard the Zelda has set from others in the series like Link's Awakening or the Oracle games. This is a subjective opinion, but I feel that the overallI realize I am in the minority here, though I never felt the same level of adoration that others feel for this Zelda installment. Sure, it's a fun, solid experience. But as far as gameplay is concerned, I think it doesn't live up to the standard the Zelda has set from others in the series like Link's Awakening or the Oracle games. This is a subjective opinion, but I feel that the overall game arch is not intuitive. Other Zelda games do a good job of hinting to the player about next locations to visit and whatnot. This simply doesn't feel as organic, and left me wandering around more. The world is okay to wander around in, but again, I just expect more. Now don't get me wrong: the dungeons are great, the storyline is fun, the Easter eggs are much appreciated (I particularly appreciate the nod to the unfinished Oracle/Mystical Seed of Truth game), and I recall really enjoying the design of the final boss fight. The final dungeon is also a gem to play in. For me, this one is a great Zelda game, just not on par with others.… Expand
  2. Armenus
    Sep 23, 2014
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Okay I'm not a Zelda expert in anyway but I really do enjoy the series, unfortunately this would have to be my least favorite one. Why? Mostly because the lack of creativity. Sorry Capcom but this is on you. It's like they just played every Zelda game and just decided to combine them all into one game. Creating a really bad Amalgamation, I mean they couldn't even come up with there own villain. And Vaati? I would have stuck with Ganon. The music sounds like it was copied and pasted from ocarina of time. The story is okay not great and the shrinking thing is just a pain. The only good thing that came out of this game was... Okay no real good things but in it's strange and flawed way it is... well it's Zelda and if you like Zelda games your probably going to like this one.… Expand
  3. memus
    Sep 24, 2018
    6
    I was mesmerized by the art of this in 2004 when I was 15 years old. But I didn't have the money then to buy it. So I'm really glad that I was able to play it now in 2018 and finally enjoy it.
    In the end, it was more of a meh. Playing it after Breath of the Wild is more pain than fun.
    +Link and Ezlo pixel character design is kawaii. Additional points for huge Goron. +Downsizing and    I was mesmerized by the art of this in 2004 when I was 15 years old. But I didn't have the money then to buy it. So I'm really glad that I was able to play it now in 2018 and finally enjoy it.
    In the end, it was more of a meh. Playing it after Breath of the Wild is more pain than fun.

    +Link and Ezlo pixel character design is kawaii. Additional points for huge Goron.
    +Downsizing and then walking between huge leafs and acorns is so cute.
    +It's a well crafted dungeon crawler. Imagine an old school real-time PRG and that's exactly it.
    +Burning grass in 2005 was innovative.
    +The Legend of Zelda lore simply works. So many familiar designs from Breath of the Wild.
    +Multiplication mechanic feels fresh.

    -You need to collect all figurines to get all hearts. And that is stupid and lot of boring A-button pushing (like few hours of it). Awful. So I had 19 hearts in the end.
    -I collected all kinstones. And mechanics are good on general. But boy oh boy, some of them are not well programmed at all. Like this teacher at school to whome you need to talk first. Also beans and wall placements for kinstones look the same so I was confused.
    -Too many items. Like for some dungeon rooms I was simply checking all of them one by one to see what gonna work. In puzzle segments that led to unnecessary frustration. Also, so much time of the game is spent in a menu, switching items. Boss fights lose dynamics because of that.
    -The fighting itself is meh. I never actually enjoyed boss fights or felt that monsters are interesting to fight.
    -The world map is not well connected and feels really closed (more like a Batman Arkham Asylum). So getting from point A to point B is always pain in the ass. It's not a stealth game so it is frustrating.    … Expand
  4. Shadow1
    Jul 25, 2016
    7
    I don't like Zelda and Ocarina of Time is not very nice game, but Zelda for GBA is very good . The Legend of Zelda Minish Cap is RPG as all games in this series and I think best games in this series are Twilight Princess and Minish Cap and Brath of The Wild (TBA Game) and I think this game is one of the best GBA Games and at the moment you must use your head in this game . Awesome and amazing .
  5. JesseR
    Jan 18, 2010
    7
    The Minish Cap is a good Zelda game overall, with some interesting locales and items, an original Kinstone fusing side quest, and some good music. While it is certainly fun and good enough to merit a second play through, there just seems to be something missing to it. It most certainly is a Zelda game, don
  6. Brnlv
    Aug 30, 2020
    7
    I love top-down Zelda games. This one has the reputation of being a lost classic, As it’s only available on older (DS) or less popular (Wii U) consoles. It does have that classic Link’s Awakening / Link to the Past feel to it. This time, the added game mechanic is being able to shrink to hang out with tiny gnomes who love amongst humans. It’s excellent graphically, with Link wanderingI love top-down Zelda games. This one has the reputation of being a lost classic, As it’s only available on older (DS) or less popular (Wii U) consoles. It does have that classic Link’s Awakening / Link to the Past feel to it. This time, the added game mechanic is being able to shrink to hang out with tiny gnomes who love amongst humans. It’s excellent graphically, with Link wandering through tableaus of huge leaves and blades of grass. But the game has some weak points. Some of the puzzles are of the “gotcha” type, and leave you wandering the map or a dungeon for prolonged periods. I eventually used a guide for some puzzles and the answers were ridiculous: a single discoloured tile signifying a bomb wall, on the tiny DS screen is, to be frank, poor game design. That should have been saved for an optional secret, not the essential path forward. So, while it does have a classic Zelda feel, the game design flaws mean it’s a solid but imperfect entry in the series.… Expand
  7. JustinForgueims
    Jun 7, 2023
    6
    It seems a great Zelda game for the first hours but then slowly gets bad.
    It's super colour-ish, good soundtrack, not so bad story, quite creative with the gear and tools, even for a Zelda game.
    A bit more casual than most of the Zeldas. The use of the map for indicating important places is so well made. The difficulty curve is not too well balanced. With super easy parts and some    It seems a great Zelda game for the first hours but then slowly gets bad.
    It's super colour-ish, good soundtrack, not so bad story, quite creative with the gear and tools, even for a Zelda game.
    A bit more casual than most of the Zeldas. The use of the map for indicating important places is so well made.
    The difficulty curve is not too well balanced. With super easy parts and some enemies that you can barely hit.

    The main drawback maybe is the repetition.
    The minimizing feature is overused. It has a super long animation and the need to change from big to small several times in a row to complete the puzzles makes it boring.
    The game needs some extra features to avoid using the minimize that much.

    Then the figurines and kinstone fusions are super tedious. Figurines because there are so many and it's completely useless.
    There are also too many fusions and you need to backtrack a lot. Searching people that will only fuse at a certain moment of the game that you don't know. Then most of the fusion rewards is also useless so it will be better to have less and more worth of this.
    This two topics add a lot of grinding to a Zelda franchise that never relied on grinding.

    Finally adding post-end game content seems a good idea first, until you realize that you get useless trophies and gear that you'll not need anymore.    … Expand
  8. DanielGG91
    Nov 15, 2022
    7
    Uno de los pocos Zelda de dispositivo portátil que he jugado y está muy bien, mantiene la esencia Zelda en todo momento.

Awards & Rankings

1
#1 Best Game Boy Advance Game of 2005
2
#2 Most Discussed Game Boy Advance Game of 2005
2
#2 Most Shared Game Boy Advance Game of 2005

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
89

Generally favorable reviews - based on 56 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 53 out of 56
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 56
  3. Negative: 0 out of 56
  1. GBA Central
    100
    The game may be short by the franchise's standards, but every minute of it is breathtaking.
    Read full review
  2. NTSC-uk
    90
    Thankfully, longevity hasn't been sacrificed for the sake of beauty: the main quest alone will take the average gamer a minimum of fifteen hours and that's without spending a single moment delving into the fabulous subquests, which will double, even triple that time...A stunning and wondrous game.
    Read full review
  3. GMR Magazine
    90
    Outside of a slightly boring midgame stretch in which you're tracking down overdue library books (no, really) and an overly tough final boss, this is a flawless portable adventure. [Feb 2005, p.91]
See all critic reviews »