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Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap - My Impressions from english version!

SantaC

SantaC

Member
EDIT: Read my mini review on the last page.




The Zelda Legacy lives on! Wow what to say. I bought English Zelda Minish Cap today, (got the game one day earlier since I know the store manager) and I have been playing this game for 5 straight hours, and I can’t stop. The graphics resembles a link to the past and exceeds it. The music is the best score on available on GBA period. Some classic Zelda songs remixed and many new catchy tunes.

The biggest addition to the Zelda franchise in a long time is the Kinstone Fusion system which adds another height in gameplay. You will find mysterious pieces of kinstone spread out in Hyrule, and if you are lucky you can fuse this with some humans,
minish and even animals
. If your kinstone fits with your partner, a good thing will happen or appear
on the world map.

This system makes every villager meaningful and adds depth in exploration. There seem to be many kinstones to search.

The game borrows elements from a lot of past games like, Zelda 1, Zelda 3, Zelda OoT, MM ,Wind Waker, and even 4 swords. It also (of course) has a lot of new game ideas and new items + weapons introduced.

Some of the new puzzles are really clever, and I have only seen a small portion of the game yet.

The main town in the game is simply huge. I haven’t been able to visit more than 25% of it yet.



Some small points:


-It seems like this game will have many hidden secrets.
Etc you can bomb walls even though some of them don’t have cracks ala Zelda 1!

-The transformation with the minish cap is done in a very cool way.

-The minish world is brilliant, and link gets very small.

-The game is very rewarding.

-The story is definitely better than capcom’s last try with OoA and OoS. I leave it up to you to find out, but basicly
Zelda has been cursed and turned into stone. Only an ancient sword can break it.

-A minor compliant. There is a lot of item switching, and 2 buttons is simply not enough.

- The different areas in this game are indeed gorgeous. New and classic areas are back. Etc one classic is
Lon Lon Ranch

As of now this is the most enjoyable Zelda I played since MM, and it’s definitely a huge improvement over OoS and OoA.
 
Bog

Bog

Junior Ace
Why the hell would Europe get this first? It's not a Soccer or Colin McRae game.
 
Blackace

Blackace

if you see me in a fight with a bear, don't help me fool, help the bear!
Bog said:
Why the hell would Europe get this first? It's not a Soccer or Colin McRae game.
Click to expand...

I was wondering that myself... maybe Nintendo doesn't want to shoot itself in the foot this Xmas... With the DS and all that coming out..
 
P

Papi

Member
SantaCruZer said:
-It seems like this game will have many hidden secrets.
Etc you can bomb walls even though some of them don’t have cracks ala Zelda 1!
Click to expand...
AWESOME!
 
J

john tv

Member
Been playing the J version since it came out on the 14th and I'm enjoying it quite a bit so far. Definitely a worthy addition to the Zelda series as of this point...
 
SantaC

SantaC

Member
Screenboy said:
If you know the store manager does that men you can get Paper Mario 2 early aswell?!



*Envy*





-SB
Click to expand...

I almost always import Gamecube and GBA games. Zelda MC was a rare exception. I already beat Paper Mario 2.


Johntv said:
Been playing the J version since it came out on the 14th and I'm enjoying it quite a bit so far. Definitely a worthy addition to the Zelda series as of this point...
Click to expand...

Capcom (flagship) is getting better and better :) They probably get the chance to do a Zelda for NDS too.
 
S

Snowball

Banned
SantaCruZer said:
As of now this is the most enjoyable Zelda I played since MM, and it’s definitely a huge improvement over OoS and OoA.
Click to expand...

I loved MM so much (best Zelda episode ever, best game ever) so i think I can believe you.

I played Zelda MC for about 1hour and a half and i agree.

Sadly reading some reviews, it seems that the game is not very long.
Check out this thread on ign forum:

http://boards.ign.com/message.asp?topic=71802160&usecoregcookie=1&fromsubscribersendto=1

Don't focus on the first review (that says it is brillant) but the second one in the middle (by john69311)

Snowball
 
J

Jonnyboy117

Member
I played an English version too, but it was the debug version. You could hold A+B to walk super fast and go right through walls and stuff. NOA noticed and took that version away. They were going to bring out a real burn of it, but the burn was taking too long to make. I was bummed...it looked great.
 
E

En-ou

Member
i played a lil and have to say the animation kicks ass. some of the best gfx i've seen on gba. i cant wait to play more. assignments be damned!
 
M

mumu

Member
Snowball said:
Sadly reading some reviews, it seems that the game is not very long.
Click to expand...
I'm pretty sure you can rush through the game, but if you wanna find all secrets etc. it's probably gonna take a bit longer. So far i played about an hour, i love it! Art direction and attention to details is simply stunning!

Interesting thing is i've been refered to as a lad about three times so far :) I wonder if that is gonna change to boy or dude in the US version ;) Otherwise translation seems to be pretty good and quite funny. Right at the beginning Zelda gives you a tiny shield, and it says sth. like:
You received a tiny shield from Zelda. It's nice, but also a litle embarassing ... it's so tiny.
That made me smile a bit.
 
W

WordofGod

Banned
I tried to order the game on Amazon. UK but this is what it said:

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap (GBA)
£21.27 - Coming soon--advance order now!
Condition: new

*** We're sorry. This item can't be shipped to your selected destination. You may either change the shipping address or delete the item from your order by changing its quantity to 0 and clicking the update button below. ( See eligible countries.) ***

So which online retailer will ship to the USA from the UK?
 
J

Jonnyboy117

Member
Hey guys, this is probably a good time to pass on a message from the Treehouse guys at NOA who did the English translation. They told me to tell everyone that the US version's translation will be much better, because they have more time to work on it. So if you care about such things, it may be better to wait.
 
M

mumu

Member
Lies, all lies to stop you from importing it :) Just like the extra content that won't be there. Also i wonder why do the people keep calling me a lad if NOA did the translation.
 
C

Chibbi Brady

Member
I hate you guys. I convinced myself I wasn't going to get this, funds needed for DS and Mario Tennis but I caved and went to the shops. 45 euro though?!!? Bloody hell, to put that in perspective that's $57. Ouch!

I called around and it's that price everywhere. I wasn't going to pay through the nose for it, so I took 2 old GBA games and traded them in for 22 euro. Unfortunately just as the guy was handing over my copy he was stopped by management, bah. Will have to wait until tommorrow. Going by the impressions I guess I won't be seeing daylight tommorrow, can't wait.
 
M

mumu

Member
Germany. Usually all new GBA games are 39,99€ here (way too expensive as well), but MC was 37,99€ for whatever reason.

And play.com doesn't ship to the US. CD-Wow looks like the best choice for 24,99£ incl. free shipping worldwide.
 
K

Kola

Member
mumu said:
Germany. Usually all new GBA games are 39,99€ here (way too expensive as well), but MC was 37,99€ for whatever reason.
Click to expand...

37,99€? Which shop? Amazon.de wants 40€...tomorrow I'll be checking prices in the city first thing in the morning, but I don't want the shopping to last the whole day. I need my Zelda fix!
 
Tritroid

Tritroid

Member
SantaCruZer said:
The Zelda Legacy lives on! Wow what to say. I bought English Zelda Minish Cap today, (got the game one day earlier since I know the store manager) and I have been playing this game for 5 straight hours, and I can’t stop. The graphics resembles a link to the past and exceeds it. The music is the best score on available on GBA period. Some classic Zelda songs remixed and many new catchy tunes.

The biggest addition to the Zelda franchise in a long time is the Kinstone Fusion system which adds another height in gameplay. You will find mysterious pieces of kinstone spread out in Hyrule, and if you are lucky you can fuse this with some humans,
minish and even animals
. If your kinstone fits with your partner, a good thing will happen or appear
on the world map.

This system makes every villager meaningful and adds depth in exploration. There seem to be many kinstones to search.

The game borrows elements from a lot of past games like, Zelda 1, Zelda 3, Zelda OoT, MM ,Wind Waker, and even 4 swords. It also (of course) has a lot of new game ideas and new items + weapons introduced.

Some of the new puzzles are really clever, and I have only seen a small portion of the game yet.

The main town in the game is simply huge. I haven’t been able to visit more than 25% of it yet.



Some small points:


-It seems like this game will have many hidden secrets.
Etc you can bomb walls even though some of them don’t have cracks ala Zelda 1!

-The transformation with the minish cap is done in a very cool way.

-The minish world is brilliant, and link gets very small.

-The game is very rewarding.

-The story is definitely better than capcom’s last try with OoA and OoS. I leave it up to you to find out, but basicly
Zelda has been cursed and turned into stone. Only an ancient sword can break it.

-A minor compliant. There is a lot of item switching, and 2 buttons is simply not enough.

- The different areas in this game are indeed gorgeous. New and classic areas are back. Etc one classic is
Lon Lon Ranch

As of now this is the most enjoyable Zelda I played since MM, and it’s definitely a huge improvement over OoS and OoA.
Click to expand...

Yeah, from what I've played so far it's still a damn good game. Even though I can't exactly understand any of the text. (Japanese rom)

And you're right about the puzzles, they are really clever. Nothing overly difficult and brain ratteling like some of the dungeons towards the end of OoS or OoA, but just really clever. It still gives you that satisfying feeling when you finally figure out what you're supposed to do. (Btw, I love the mushrooms ^_^)

The dungeons are laid out pretty well, even if they are a tad on the short side. I found myself flying through the first two dungeons in about 15-20 minutes. And I'm worried because it looks like this Zelda only has 4 main dungeons via Majora's Mask...although I'm hoping that more will open up once the first four are completed.

Graphics are the best yet for a 2D Zelda, and the music is superb. The remixes add a lot to the feel of this game imo.
 
F

FoneBone

Member
Not paying extra to import from the UK, so I'll have to wait until January. I hope the extras in the US version don't suck, but I'm dubious about that.
 
M

mumu

Member
Kola said:
37,99€? Which shop? Amazon.de wants 40€...tomorrow I'll be checking prices in the city first thing in the morning, but I don't want the shopping to last the whole day. I need my Zelda fix!
Click to expand...
It's my local shop in the city.

And it appears there is a lot to be unlocked in this game, not only the kinstones but also sth. else. I've been collecting mysterious shells for a while now without knowing what they're good for until i found a gashapon like machine. You can buy little figurines using the shells, and there's
130 of them
!! It appears there are enemies and other stuff. I got a few monsters and 1 townspeople for now. You get a little picture and a short text. The next gashapon is a bit more expensive than the last (it works through some clever probability system).

And the mini/normal world stuff is really great. You can make yourself mini in a house, go in some hole just to find
a minish family living there.
Lots of other nice details like that. You can probably spend quite some time with this game if you wanna appreciate all the stuff they put in there :)
 
A

Amir0x

Banned
The only problem I have with the game so far, and this is a personal thing so everyone's mileage will vary, is the Kinstone fusion system semi-sidequest.

Basically, it works like this. You find Kinstone pieces around the world, and then if you see a person with little bubbles floating over his head this means you have the ability to fuse with him. When you go to him/her/it a fusion screen opens up and you see their half of a Kinstone. You then scroll through a bunch of Kinstones to find one that'll fit that persons half, which basically amounts to a pre-school level shape matching mini game.

Here's my problem with the system. Whenever you successfully fuse a Kinstone, a secret opens up somewhere on the map. It can be anything from a treasure chest containing yet another Kinstone to a golden enemy which drops 100 rupees to, at the very best, a new path into a small chamber that'll reveal a decent treasure. But because the Kinstone fusion places the things at any number of points around the world, what you end up getting is a ton of backtracking through areas you've already been just so you can kill a gold beetle to get 100 rupees.

Now, I like backtracking in some games (Metroid), and I even like it most of the time in Zelda... but the Kinstone quest brings backtracking to new levels and it's never for something as rewarding as finding an extra missile tank ala Metroid or perhaps a new special tool. It's always fairly monetary and it's not the best way I think they could have handled the system.

Anyway, that's my personal feeling. Outside of this, the game is freakin' awesome.
 
M

mumu

Member
Amir0x, i'd simply not run and get every new secret that the kinstone unlocked. I usually get em while i'm on my way there anyway (or if a few are in the same area). And i only run back to town (or wherever a few people are) when i got a few new kinstones. Actually i don't run back to town at all but it just happens to have you have got to go back to town to progress the story :)

Also what about the
stone things with a music note on it, isn't that some kind of teleport system like in OOT?
. I don't know because i'm not that far yet but it sure looks like it and might backtracking a lot faster.
 
D

Drinky Crow

Banned
I hear there's only 6 dungeons. If that's true, then there's no way it'll trump the Oracle titles for me.

8 DUNGEONS MANDATORY. NO EXCUSES.
 
K

Kon Tiki

Banned
Amir0x said:
<snip>
Click to expand...

Also to add the the frusration, the bubble do not always appear. Sometimes on failures I saved the game, went back to the person, and tried again and got the bubble. I also wish it would keep track of the people youfused with.
 
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