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First released on the Game Boy Advance in November 2004,The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Capis available now as part of the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscription. While no changes or enhancements have been made to the game, players who may not have played this game when it first came out will finally have a chance to do so on a modern console.
InThe Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, players must restore the sacred sword to break the curse that turned Princess Zelda into a stone statue. Here is what players can expect as they begin the game.
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Go Downstairs
After picking a name, there is a brief cutscene that introduces backstory that will be an important part of the events ofThe Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap. After waking up, go downstairs and then use the door on the right side of the room. This will trigger another cutscene where Princess Zelda asks players to go with her to the annual Picori Festival. Master Smith also asks players to take the sword he forged to the minister at Hyrule Castle.
Before leaving,ensure to open the chest in this roomas it contains 20 Rupees. Leave the house and begin to follow Princess Zelda. Since this is the start of the game, there isn’t much for players to find. Even pulling out weeds doesn’t provide any extra Rupees at the moment.
The Festival
At the festival there are all sorts of vendors and stalls, but unfortunately there is nothing for players to do here. Follow Princess Zelda around as she takes in all the sights. Eventually she will stop by one of the stalls that has prizes. Princess Zelda wins the grand prize and gets to choose between a heart container, a rupee, and a shied. Princess Zelda will pick the shield and give it to players as a gift. This shield is the first equipable item that players receive, and can switch it between the ‘B’ and ‘A’ button.
How to Get Past the Deku Scrub
Once Princess Zelda is ready, go north toward the castle. On the way, players will have to get past a Deku Scrub that shoots nuts at anyone who gets too close. To deal with this, face the Deku Scrub and use the shieldas it spits out a nut. The nut will bounce off of the shield and hit the Deku Scrub. After apologizing, the Deku Scrub will leave and the path to the castle will be clear. There are no chests or extras for players to find, so keep going toward the castle.
Deliver the Sword
Upon arriving at the castle, continue going forward and approach the old man standing next to the doorwith the stained-glass windowabove it. This old man is the minister, and once players talk to him a cutscene will start. The sword gets delivered and players get to watch the award ceremony for the competition. The winner, Vaati, approaches and quickly makes it clear that he has ill intent. Vaati uses his powers to destroy the sacred sword and the monsters contained within the chest fly offand scatter across Hyrule. Before leaving, Vaati turns Princess Zelda into stone.
Go to the Throne Room
Once the cutscene ends, leave the bed and head to the throne room. TheKing of Hyruletalks about the current situation and how the only way to restore Princess Zelda is by having the Picori Blade reforged. The problem is that only children can see the Picori, so none of the King’s soldiers can do anything about the situation. Since Link is a child in this game, the King sends him off to the Minish Woods to find the Deepwood Shrine andthe Picori that live there. Since there will be monsters all over the place, players get the sword that was intended to be a prize for Vaati.
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Go to the Minish Woods
Leave the throne room and go south to exit the castle. Outside the castle, players will start to encounter monsters. The path back to where the festival was is blocked, so players will need to find a way around to reach the Minish Woods.Go east and look for a series of small trees that can be chopped downwith the sword. Follow this path to go to Lon Lon Ranch and then head south to enter the Eastern Hills. At the Eastern Hills look for a bridge with a sign next to it. This bridge leads to the Minish Woods.
While going toward the Minish Woods, players will get attacked by a group of mole-like creatures that form a tower. Attack them with the sword and try to kill all of them quickly. If even one gets away, it will come back and attack again.
Despite all the twists and turns,the Minish Woodsare very linear. Simply follow the path and head towards the Deepwoods Shrine in the middle of the forest. After a while, a voice will call out for help.Grab the nearby Piece of Heartand go back to find what appears to be a talking hat being attacked by Octoroks. After killing the Octoroks, the hat will talk about how it wants to break one of Vaati’s curses as well.
How to Find the Minish
The hat calls itself Ezlo, and he will offer advice as players go through the game. He also has special powers that will allow him to help players access areas that are otherwise inaccessible. Go back toward the middle of the Minish Woods. Along the way is a tree stump, and Ezlo can use his powers there to shrink players. To use the stump, jump onto it and then press the ‘R’ button to shrink. to go back to normal size, stand next to the stump and press ‘R’.
When small, players can access areas that they can’t reach. That said, being small does have its disadvantages. While a puddle is nothing to worry about when at full size, it becomes a hazard for players when they are small. In order to cross a puddle, players will need to use the moving lily pad to make it to safety. Once on the other side of the puddle, go north to arrive in the village.
Learn More About the Picori Blade
Shortly after arriving in the village, players run into a new problem.The Minish speak a different language. Ezlo suggests finding someone that they can talk to in order to break through the language barrier. Go north to find a building with a blue roof. In this building is an older Minish by the name of Festari. Luckily, Festari can understand the player and tells them that if they find a Jabber Nut so that they can understand the language of the Minish.
To find the Jabber Nut, go outside and look for a barrel shaped building. Go down the ladder and push the middle box to the side to reach a small pedestal with a nut on it. Claim this nut and then go to the building in the top left corner of the village. In this building is another old Minish. With the Jabber Nut, players can finally understand what he is saying. To reforge the Picori Blade, players will need to find all four mystic elementsscattered across Hyrule.
The first one is in the Deepwood Shrine, which can be reached by going through the door behind Festari in the abbey. Return to Festari and talk to him to gain access to the door behind him. When ready, go inside the first dungeon.
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Capis available now on Game Boy Advance, Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack, and Wii U Virtual Console.
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