I really enjoyed playing the Game Boy era Zelda games, and it was finally time to tick The Minish Cap off my list, which I received for free as I was a clears throat 3DS Ambassador. Shout out to my teal 3DS.

This was a fun adventure from start to finish. It is, however, a bit on the short side. I clocked just over 20 hours, and had taken my time and did most of the sidequests. I don’t mind the short length though, because I’d rather have a compact and focused experience than one that is padded with fluff.

The dungeons are well-designed as expected of a Zelda title. It is always a treat when you find a new item, which then allows you to explore areas that were previously inaccessible, whether inside the dungeon or on the world map. Finding treasures in a dungeon and seeing the map icons disappear one by one also gives you that rewarding feeling.

There were many fun boss fights, I enjoyed battling Giant Octorok in particular:

The visuals of The Minish Cap definitely still holds up in 2020. Each area and dungeon has a very distinct look and feel. From Hyrule Town (which totally gave me Chrono Trigger Millennial Fair vibes!) to Lake Hylia, to the clouds where the Wind Tribe resides, this is one colourful, gorgeous-looking Zelda game. The music was nice too, with the Minish Village theme being one of my favourites:

The Kinstones and Figurines were fun distractions, though they could definitely be a pain if you’re a completionist, especially with the gacha mechanics of the Figurines.

I also realised fairly late that the title was a play on words: The Minish / diminish… mind blown

Another Zelda game finished; Majora’s Mask next?