Link has had a lot of big adventures over the years. Seemingly countless times he has saved Hyrule, only to have to save it again a few years later under slightly different circumstances. Nintendo claims there is a master timeline of these games, but personally I have come to regard each game almost as being in its own universe, with the exception of the few direct sequels. This game, however, really does fall in its own universe, and it works all the better this way.

Minish Cap is very reminiscent of Game: Zelda: Link's Awakening in that it's more or less a side story to main events in the series. In this game, Hyrule is attacked by an evil wizard who turns Princess Zelda to stone. Once again, the only person who steps foward to the defense of the kingdom is young Link, who comes upon what appears to be a sentient cap that plops itself on his head, completing his familiar green outfit. As he sets upon his adventure to save Zelda, Link discovers a gateway into a world of tiny people called the Minish, and learns that these people hold the key to his quest.

Minish Cap follows the recent formula of Zelda games with its HUD, showing the button commands for A and B in the corner of the screen at all times, and the context-sensitive right shoulder above that. The rest of the HUD is the same as always, showing health, magic power, and rupees in the other corners. The A and B buttons, of course, can be mapped to whatever item you want to use them with, allowing quick flexibility in dungeons and boss battles. Navigation of the pause menu is the same as it's been since the beginning of time, with a screen for inventory, quest items, and a map easily accessed with the shoulder buttons. It's all worked fine for years now, and why fix what ain't broken?

The game's graphics mix classic and modern as well. The player makes use of a top-down view that has been the hallmark of the Zelda handhelds, and like the menu system, it works better than anything else and there's no reason to try to replace it. The camera view and combat style evokes memories of Game: Zelda: A Link to the Past and the graphical effects have a bit of the flavor of Game: Zelda: The Wind Waker in them, with the poof effects of vanquished enemies and the way Link is drawn and animated when he moves. It falls right in with Nintendo's strategy of mixing and matching the best of the old and new, and it fuses together into a magnificent burst of uranium-powered fun.

There's almost nothing you can't like about this game as long as you're a Zelda fan, or even an adventure gaming fan in general. The side-story plot avoids the pitfalls of some of the larger games and allows for some more freedom with plot and characters, and being the typical Zelda game it is, the game world is immense with tons of little things hidden everywhere for the player to explore. [/i]The Minish Cap[/i] is a big adventure packed into a small cartridge, and is definitely worth looking at...and swinging at...and shrinking into tiny form and saving the world with.