Daily Debate: What Zelda Mini-Game Would You Not Consider to be a Mini-Game?
Posted on June 25 2024 by Kristen G. Rosario
Except for The Adventure of Link, there has existed at least one mini-game in every single title in the Zelda series. From something as simple as gambling away your Rupees in the original The Legend of Zelda, or dealing with wrangling up all manner of Cuccos in Ocarina of Time, these short breaks from your grand adventures are always something worthwhile. However, not every single mini-game in the entire franchise is worth attempting in some way, shape, or form.
I bring up this topic because of Juney’s Sand Seal Toy Encounter mini-game in Tears of the Kingdom. The setup for this game is simple: a Hylian named Juney is running late to something and gets scared by Link introducing himself, causing her horse to buck out all the plushies in her cart and land on the ground. Because this was technically your fault it happened, she charges you Rupees to get said plushies back in the cart within a set amount of time. Now if you’re an expert at using your Ultrahand ability, this should be fairly simple.
Once that has been accomplished, Juney gives you the money back plus interest and that’s the end of it. So what’s the main issue you may ask? For one thing, she stays in the same exact spot after you complete the game. This woman, who, mind you, claims she’s in a hurry, never EVER leaves that spot. On top of this, you can also re-attempt the game after you beat it and what’s worse, it’s the exact same story setup! Juney doesn’t even know where she’s going either because you can find her all over Hyrule, in similar predicaments.
If this mini-game was like Addison’s sign quest from Tears of the Kingdom, I don’t think I’d have as much of a problem with it. You help Juney out with her similar situations, get some cool collectible at the end (maybe a Sand Seal plushie for your troubles?) and Link just goes on his merry way. But the fact that you can retry what should be a basic side quest, on top of the fact the payout for it is not worth it (unless you’re using this mini-game to farm for Rupees), plus it being the exact same story setup for retrying, makes me wonder why this was even considered a mini-game.
What Zelda mini-game would you not consider a mini-game? What should the qualifications be in order to be considered a mini-game in the series? Let us know in the comments below!
Kristen G. Rosario is an Editor who joined Zelda Dungeon back in September of 2015. His current goal is to become a full-time video game journalist, hoping to eventually gain a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism. While he pursues that dream, he not only takes care of his adorable dachshund Angel, but also helps run a YouTube channel with his brother. The Zelda series is a quest he hasn’t fully completed yet, but hopes to get there one day.
