The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap

Lore & Background

Within the Zelda chronology, The Minish Cap takes place between Skyward Sword and Four Swords, making it the second story in that timeline. As a prequel to Four Swords, it tells the backstory of Vaati and the creation of the Four Sword. Centuries ago, Hyrule was ravaged by evil forces until the Picori, a race of tiny creatures, bestowed a young hero with the Picori Blade and the Light Force, trapping the world's evils in a chest. The annual Picori Festival commemorates this, with legends stating a door between worlds opens every 100 years. In the present, Link accompanies Princess Zelda to the festival, where the sword fighting champion Vaati destroys the Picori Blade and opens the chest, releasing monsters. Not finding the Light Force he seeks, Vaati turns Zelda to stone. As only children can see the Picori, King Daltus orders Link to find them so the sword can be reforged. Link encounters Ezlo, a magical hat who grants him the ability to shrink to Picori size. The Picori (called Minish) task Link with retrieving the Four Elements, magic stones needed to restore the Picori Blade. Ezlo explains he was once a Minish sage who created the Mage's Cap, a hat capable of granting wishes, but his apprentice Vaati stole it and became a powerful sorcerer. Vaati brainwashes King Daltus and takes control of Hyrule Castle. After Link retrieves the Four Elements and infuses them into the reforged blade (turning it into the Four Sword), Link and Ezlo learn the Light Force is passed down within Hyrule's princesses. Vaati overhears and begins siphoning it from Zelda. Link confronts Vaati, who uses the extracted Light Force to become all-powerful, but Link overcomes him and restores Zelda. Vaati transforms into a demonic form, only to be vanquished by Link, restoring Ezlo to normal. Zelda uses the Mage's Cap to undo all damage, destroying the cap in the process. Ezlo gives Link a new hat as a parting gift and departs through the door to the Minish Realm before it seals for another century.

Reader's Guide

The Minish Cap was well received among critics. It was named the 20th best Game Boy Advance game in an IGN feature and was selected as the 2005 Game Boy Advance Game of the Year by GameSpot. The game was re-released on the Wii U Virtual Console in 2014 and on the Nintendo Classics service in February 2023. It was the best-selling game in its debut week in Japan, selling 97,000 copies. It became the 62nd best-selling game of 2004 with 196,477 copies, and had a total of 350,000 copies overall in the country. In North America, it sold 217,000 copies in its debut month of January 2005, being the fourth best-selling game of the month. It remained among the five best-selling games in February and March, and closed the year as the seventh best-selling game of 2005. By March 2005, the game had sold 1 million units worldwide. In the United States alone, it sold 680,000 copies and earned $21 million by August 2006. During the period between January 2000 and August 2006, it was the 37th highest-selling game launched for the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS or PlayStation Portable in that country. The game's development began after Capcom and Flagship finished Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages, but was suspended to focus on Four Swords. In February 2003, Shigeru Miyamoto and Eiji Aonuma revealed development was well underway. The game had a cartoonish art style similar to The Wind Waker, with a fairy tale setting. An effort was made to make Hyrule Town feel like a living city, and Link's shrinking ability allowed unique perspectives. The gust jar was inspired by a gourd from Journey to the West. The shrinking mechanic was an extension of the Gnat Hat from Four Swords. A first in the series, the game was released in European territories before North America, partly because Nintendo of Europe pushed it as a Christmas 'killer app' for the handheld, while Nintendo of America held back to avoid cannibalizing the DS market. In Europe, the game was available standalone or in a special pack with a limited edition Zelda-themed Game Boy Advance SP. Seven 24-carat gold plated SP consoles were produced, with six given away via golden tickets and one as a magazine promotion. Thirty were autographed by Miyamoto at the opening of the Nintendo World Store in New York.

Did You Know?

• The Minish Cap was developed by Capcom and Flagship, not Nintendo internally.
• It was the first Zelda game released in Europe before North America.
• The game's Gust Jar was inspired by a gourd from the novel Journey to the West.
• Seven 24-carat gold plated Game Boy Advance SP consoles were produced as a promotion.