The Minish Cap is another strong entry in the Zelda series. The dungeons are probably where the game shines the most. All six are solid with the Temple of Droplets and Palace of Winds being particular standouts. They feel much more substantial and are certainly longer than most of the dungeons I have played in the 2D Zeldas. The bosses are hit or miss, but I did like the Palace of Winds boss and the final bosses. They also have some decent puzzles that make good use of the shrinking mechanic.
Speaking of the shrinking mechanic, it's a pretty neat gimmick that allows for some cool ways to explore the overworld and dungeons. It can get a bit annoying to have to shrink and grow all the time as it slows the game down a bit, but it creates some neat visual moments as you see the world from the size of a tiny minish. A lot of the charm of this game comes from this mechanic and the minish themselves, so I am glad it's present all things considered. I really like the minish's design, and I am kinda hoping they come back some day. The mountain minish were especially cool. The story itself is whatever. I sort of like the premise of the minish stopping by once every century, but Vati as a villain doesn't exactly give you a lot to be fired up about. It probably could have been cooler if they gave him more of a backstory with Ezlo and his minish roots.
Gameplay in between dungeons is a mixed bag in this one. I applaud these sections for typically being fairly creative and different than you're everyday zelda, but sometimes they just aren't that fun. It can also sometimes be confusing as to what you even need to do. The game does a good job of pointing you were to go but if you are missing the item you need or there was a missing step you can get a bit lost. I felt like these sections early on with mount crenal and minish village were much stronger than some of the later ones. Castor wilds pre-dungeon was especially not so good imo. Side content is probably where this game is at its weakest though. I 100%'d the game but it's not exactly a pleasant experience and I used speed up quite a bit to do it. I kinda got some fun out of it because I simply enjoy completing zelda games especially, but it's pretty brutal. Kinstone fusions is an okay idea but in execution pressing L periodically, schizophrenically on every passing sentient being gets a bit annoying. Not to mention that some of the stuff you get from these fusions aren't even worth picking up. Half of them just lead to more kinstones. Also, slowly getting every figurine is obviously a chore. The OST is decent. I really liked the minish village, minish forest, Hyrule town, and palace of winds themes but outside of that fairly mid. Also, I dig this game's visual style, just look at the parrots!
Speaking of the shrinking mechanic, it's a pretty neat gimmick that allows for some cool ways to explore the overworld and dungeons. It can get a bit annoying to have to shrink and grow all the time as it slows the game down a bit, but it creates some neat visual moments as you see the world from the size of a tiny minish. A lot of the charm of this game comes from this mechanic and the minish themselves, so I am glad it's present all things considered. I really like the minish's design, and I am kinda hoping they come back some day. The mountain minish were especially cool. The story itself is whatever. I sort of like the premise of the minish stopping by once every century, but Vati as a villain doesn't exactly give you a lot to be fired up about. It probably could have been cooler if they gave him more of a backstory with Ezlo and his minish roots.
Gameplay in between dungeons is a mixed bag in this one. I applaud these sections for typically being fairly creative and different than you're everyday zelda, but sometimes they just aren't that fun. It can also sometimes be confusing as to what you even need to do. The game does a good job of pointing you were to go but if you are missing the item you need or there was a missing step you can get a bit lost. I felt like these sections early on with mount crenal and minish village were much stronger than some of the later ones. Castor wilds pre-dungeon was especially not so good imo. Side content is probably where this game is at its weakest though. I 100%'d the game but it's not exactly a pleasant experience and I used speed up quite a bit to do it. I kinda got some fun out of it because I simply enjoy completing zelda games especially, but it's pretty brutal. Kinstone fusions is an okay idea but in execution pressing L periodically, schizophrenically on every passing sentient being gets a bit annoying. Not to mention that some of the stuff you get from these fusions aren't even worth picking up. Half of them just lead to more kinstones. Also, slowly getting every figurine is obviously a chore. The OST is decent. I really liked the minish village, minish forest, Hyrule town, and palace of winds themes but outside of that fairly mid. Also, I dig this game's visual style, just look at the parrots!