[ ◀ HOME ]

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap

Cover Art

I've had The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap in my GBA collection for quite a while now, but never had much of an impetus to play it. Recently, however, there has been a resurgence of discourse about this game - most of it reverant. Seeing this, and always looking for an excuse to focus on a GBA title, I pulled out my copy and gave it a try. Minish Cap is somwhat of an oddity in that it was developed by Capcom, back when Nintendo would dare do such a thing as let a competitor develop for one of their marquee franchises. That said, it still feels very familiar as a top-down Zelda game, only with some slight quirks in style. There are a feww different primary mechanics, but the most interesting is the "shrinking" ability that is provided by the titular Minish Cap. It plays out such that you have to accomplish things across both big and small worlds in order to progress, and makes for some interesting puzzles. The story is unique, and features a bunch of new faces - both friend and foe. The main villain Vaati is unique and memorable among the series, and your companion Ezlo is a nice change of pace from the typical Navi. The side content is plentiful - many characters over the ability to "bond" by using Kinstone Pieces which opens up new routes and content throughout the map. The story follows the typical Zelda formula with a number of distinct dungeons, but the execution is quite good here. The pacing in particular is great, as the next dungeon or milestone never felt too far off. The bosses were definitely a highlight for me, and present some really fun designs and ideas. Minish Cap is somewhat of an oddity among the Zelda franchise, but that doesn't stop it from delivering a top-notch top-down adventure game.

Play it for the:

Reviewed on 2026-06-07


The boss battles were a highlight in general, particularly some of the later ones.

★★★★⯪

4.5 out of 5