Iridescence
Emancipated Wind Fish
- Joined
- May 11, 2014
- Location
- United States
Intro
It's a game I have mixed feelings on, compared to the other Zelda games, but overall, it's one of the best games on the GBA and still a pretty damn good game in its own right.
After making the Oracle games, Nintendo enlisted Capcom's help again for The Minish Cap (the last time Nintendo would create an official lore Zelda game out-of-house).
Atmosphere
In terms of production values, the graphics are beautiful, the art is stylish, and the sound is very rich. You wouldn't expect one of the most beautiful Zelda games to be from a GBA, but it is. It also works as a good origin story. All the locales in the game are colorful but also have a sense of vastness and wonder to them. From the angelic skies to the dark crypts, they're all nailed really well.
Game Mechanics
At the same time, it does feel dumbed down compared to the Oracles. There are only 5 dungeons - instead of 8. The shrinking and multiplying mechanics don't reach nearly as deep as changing the seasons to open new paths (OOS) or traveling through space and time to traverse more land (OOA). The game does have some cool items such as the Gust Jar, Cane of Pacci and Roc's Cape.
Pacing
The game is one of the shortest in the series, at only ~12 hours of length. Usually, the game paces really well, but I think there are two long-ish side quests near the end of the game (one is the library quest) that add an hour or two of unnecessary length to the game. And that's a lot for a short game, but the pacing is still overall good.
Exploration
Compared to past Zelda games, the game is more linear (which isn't bad). Instead of going back and forth a large map for side quests in between dungeons, the player usually is given a big level before a dungeon. There are still shortcuts so the world can be explored, but largely, you're not likely to go back to most of the areas after you complete the dungeons. There are Kinship stones which you collect to open new areas up. I opened a few of them, but didn't find a compelling reason to come back.
Overall
It follows the Zelda formula, and does everything right. It doesn't do anything bad. It's not very innovative and it's more superficial compared to the oracles, but it's still very good.
It's a game I have mixed feelings on, compared to the other Zelda games, but overall, it's one of the best games on the GBA and still a pretty damn good game in its own right.
After making the Oracle games, Nintendo enlisted Capcom's help again for The Minish Cap (the last time Nintendo would create an official lore Zelda game out-of-house).
Atmosphere
In terms of production values, the graphics are beautiful, the art is stylish, and the sound is very rich. You wouldn't expect one of the most beautiful Zelda games to be from a GBA, but it is. It also works as a good origin story. All the locales in the game are colorful but also have a sense of vastness and wonder to them. From the angelic skies to the dark crypts, they're all nailed really well.
Game Mechanics
At the same time, it does feel dumbed down compared to the Oracles. There are only 5 dungeons - instead of 8. The shrinking and multiplying mechanics don't reach nearly as deep as changing the seasons to open new paths (OOS) or traveling through space and time to traverse more land (OOA). The game does have some cool items such as the Gust Jar, Cane of Pacci and Roc's Cape.
Pacing
The game is one of the shortest in the series, at only ~12 hours of length. Usually, the game paces really well, but I think there are two long-ish side quests near the end of the game (one is the library quest) that add an hour or two of unnecessary length to the game. And that's a lot for a short game, but the pacing is still overall good.
Exploration
Compared to past Zelda games, the game is more linear (which isn't bad). Instead of going back and forth a large map for side quests in between dungeons, the player usually is given a big level before a dungeon. There are still shortcuts so the world can be explored, but largely, you're not likely to go back to most of the areas after you complete the dungeons. There are Kinship stones which you collect to open new areas up. I opened a few of them, but didn't find a compelling reason to come back.
Overall
It follows the Zelda formula, and does everything right. It doesn't do anything bad. It's not very innovative and it's more superficial compared to the oracles, but it's still very good.
