Nintendo, 2005 (ESRB rated E for Everyone)
Genre: Adventure, RPG (role play game), Video Game (handheld)
Honors: unknown
Review: For fans of the Legend of Zelda game series looking for yet another adventure or for some back story, Nintendo has released another retro Zelda story for the Gameboy Advance that puts a young Link on a quest to restore a broken sword needed to vanquish an evil mage. The gameplay is typical of previous chapters in the Zelda series released for a handheld device, only Minnish Cap expands on previous capabilities by blending features such as screen scrolling and cliff jumping (from A Link to the Past for SNES) with miniquests, collectible items (such as the seashells), and the ability to equip two weapons or items of choice from the item menu, a feature seen only in handheld Zelda games. While there are many unique graphics, features, and songs in this new game, The Minnish Cap pays homage to past Zelda games with remixed music from A Link to the Past for SNES and The Ocarina of Time for Nintendo 64, plus game controls and sound effects similar to games from the Gameboy, NES, SNES, and Nintendo 64 Zelda releases.
Opinion: One thing that makes this game a bit simpler than past Zelda games is that the Minnish Cap character is like the paper clip help icon in Microsoft Word: he guides you through nearly every step of your quest, giving you pretty obvious hints and what you need to do to solve puzzles and find hidden objects. That is something that previous Zelda games did not have and which made them more difficult to complete. This game is not quite as exciting in that respect, but at the same time, it reminds me of the light version of Final Fantasy (Mystic Quest), an SNES game that was in the same style as other Final Fantasy quests but much easier for gamers who aren't as quick with a controller or as used to solving brain teasers. So Minnish Cap has a tamer side that may appeal both to hardcore fans who can appreciate any new Zelda game and also those who want to enjoy the series who aren't as adept. My overall guess is that nine- and ten-year-olds may be more likely to enjoy playing Zelda on the handheld device.
Ideas:
No comments:
Post a Comment