Here's one for everyone who loves the Zelda series, likes 2D adventures or loves playing their gameboy advance SP. As for anyone who's played and loved the oracle series – oh boy you are in for a treat.
Zelda influence: This game combines the best bits from pretty much all Zeldas. Th minute you start playing you get that same wondrous feeling of discovery. Most of you should know how this goes. Evil force takes over the world and kidnaps Zelda. You have to collect 4 elements by getting through dungeons and defeating bosses. In the end you have to beat up a final boss that goes through a few stages. The sound effects are from the ocarina of time and the gba sound system does it great justice. The music is mostly a remix of familiar tunes from pretty much every other Zelda. The graphical style is mostly inspired by windwaker – imagine LTTP with extra effects from windwaker and the full graphical power of the gba. All in all, a fail-safe formula for your enjoyment.
Gameplay: Pure Zelda. I would say this game is the easiest Zelda I've played. Others have said that the game is short but I felt I got my money's worth from all the various sidequests and all the kinstone fusions. There are 6 Dungeons, 4 for each element, 1 to get the Ocarina and the final Dungeon. There isn't as much meat to it as the oracle games but it's very enjoyable for as long as it lasts.
Minish Cap – this little cap is actually a cursed wizard called Ezlo. It's the item that lets you shrink and enter the world of the Minish. Capcom have made good use of this for puzzles, attacks and exploring.
Sword – at the start you get the standard sword but as you progress it really becomes much more complex. When you collect 2 elements, you can infuse the sword with the power to make a 'copy' of you. As you can imagine, this leads to all sorts of puzzles. With 3 or 4 elements, you can split into 3 or4 making the puzzles even more complex. It's even essential to split in order to defeat the last 2 bosses. You learn attacks from various swordmasters (another windwaker influence) that are hidden around Hyrule.
Boomerang- this isn't essential for the game but it makes defeating enemies a lot easier. You buy the standard one for 300 rupees from the shop in Hyrule town. You can get a magic boomerang (changes direction during flight) by defeating a sidequest with 4 Tingles.
Bombs – you can get normal ones. By performing a kinstone fusion, you can obtain remote bombs that only blow up when you tap a certain button. Remote buttons are useful for defeating certain enemies, especially when you are faced with 3 darknuts.
Gust Jar- a new item. You can suck shields off enemies with it, its impossible to defeat certain bosses without it and dust and cobwebs can be sucked up to reveal secrets. When you are tiny, you can use the gust jar to direct your movement when you are riding a leaf.
Cane of Pacci – it flips over certain objects (such as platforms) and also enables you to jump onto high ledges.
Flame Lantern – it lights up dark places. It can also be used to melt ice, which is used well in a dungeon.
Pegasus Boots, Bow, Roc's cape – the same as any other Zelda. Pegasus boots to run really fast, a bow to shoot arrows and Roc's cape to fly. You also get items that are always equipped: flippers to swim, a grip ring to climb up mountains and a power ring to move heavy objects when you are minish size.
Ocarina of Wind- after battling you way through an entire temple, its not very exciting. It just helps you to warp to places to save time.
Mole's mitt – it enables you to dig into secret areas and is also used extensively in one dungeon.
Kinstone Fusion: I spent many a happy hour doing this. When you meet certain objects and people a speech bubble appears indicating that they want to fuse with you. If you have a matching piece (there are 8 types of non-essential kinstones) you can perform fusions. A fusion can reveal hidden pathways, swordmasters, make chests appear and make better equipment available. I liked doing this because it made me visit everyone in the game just to find more fusions. I only had 8 more fusions left to complete when I defeated the boss. There are roughly 100 possible fusions.
Figurine trading: I personally found this tedious. The time taken to get one figurine was too long for me. You collect mysterious shells that you can trade for figurines. The more you trade each time, the less chance you have of getting duplicate models.
Audio & Visual – the graphics are the best you will see from GBA. The attention to detail when you are tiny is amazing. Blades of grass tower over you as you walk through them. Clouds cast a moving shadow on the ground. The audio is also a good demonstration of what the GBA is capable of.
Overall this is a must-play game. Capcom have made excellent use of Zelda heritage and have taken full advantage of the gba's technology.
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