The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap

"A long, long time ago, when the world was on the verge of being swallowed by shadow...The tiny Picori appeared from the sky, bringing the hero of men a sword and a golden light..."

- Prologue

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap (ゼルダの伝説 ふしぎのぼうし, ) is a Game Boy Advance title released by Nintendo in 2004.

Like most other titles in the series, The Minish Cap features the fully explorable land of Hyrule, although it can be viewed from the eyes of a human or the eyes of a Picori, a race of tiny people and an alternate form that Link can transform into. The game is part of the Four Swords series and features Vaati as the game's main villain. However, unlike the multiplayer focus of the other games in the series, The Minish Cap retains the original form of exploration and dungeons as seen in A Link to the Past and the Oracle series, as well as returning characters and game mechanics such as Malon and the Spin Attack. New features include shrinking and fusing Kinstones.

Story
Evil spirits appeared in the land of Hyrule, and just when it seemed that the world was to be cast into the darkest of shadows, the tiny Picori descended from the skies and bestowed on a courageous human a shining golden light and a single sword. This bravest of men used his wisdom and courage, his golden light, and his sword to fight off the demons and restore peace to the world.

The people were so grateful to the Picori that they held an annual celebration in their honor. Whoever won the sword competition held at the festival would earn the honor of touching the sacred blade. The tradition of the Picori Festival continued, but over the generations, the Picori themselves passed into legend. The legend of the Picori tells of a mystic doorway that opens just once every hundred years. When the door is open, the Picori can cross from their world into Hyrule.

Plot
One year, in celebration of when the Picori last came to Hyrule 100 years ago to the day, the festival was unusually grand. Hyrule Castle was hosting a tournament of sword-fighting skill that calls to mind the heroes of legend. That year’s champion was a mysterious man by the name of Vaati. He won the tournament with an almost magical ease, and all of Hyrule was abuzz with rumors about this shadowy figure. The young Link, who attended the festival that year with his childhood friend, Princess Zelda, was charged by his grandfather, Smith, with delivering a sword that would be presented to the champion.

During the ceremony following the sword competition, Vaati shattered the sacred Picori Blade and opened the Bound Chest, which, for an age, had been sealed by the Picori Blade, trapping evil monsters within. Vaati was after the Light Force, that golden light that was once wielded by the hero mentioned in the legends of the Picori. He subdued the castle guards and turned Princess Zelda to stone before making a speedy departure. Link was then asked by King Daltus to seek out the Picori and ask them to reforge the sacred blade, and traveled to the Minish Woods with the help of his Map. There he met Ezlo, a curious creature who he rescued from a group of monsters. Ezlo hopped on his head like a hat and offered to help him find the Picori. He also helped Link shrink down to a minuscule size—the size of the Picori people, who called themselves the Minish. Link met with the elder of Minish Village, who told him that in order to reforge the sacred Picori sword he would require the four Elements, the embodiments of the sacred powers of earth, fire, water, and wind.

Once he had gathered the Four Elements, he brought the Picori Blade—renamed the White Sword by a Minish swordsmith—to the Elemental Sanctuary hidden within the courtyard of Hyrule Castle. There he infused the White Sword with the Elements, fully restoring the sacred Four Sword—a legendary blade with the power to split one warrior into four.

Meanwhile, Vaati had brainwashed King Daltus and shrouded Hyrule Castle in darkness. He had discovered that the sacred Light Force had actually been passed down through Hyrule’s princesses, and so he prepared to extract the Light Force from Princess Zelda. Link rushed to her rescue, and, after vanquishing Vaati, he used the Four Sword’s evil-banishing power to restore Princess Zelda.

Vaati had been a Minish, an apprentice of Ezlo, who was also a Minish. Ezlo had made a magical cap with the power to grant wishes, but Vaati had stolen it and used it to become a powerful sorcerer. He had transformed Ezlo into a hat himself, then proceeded to hunt down the Light Force. Now that Vaati had fallen, the wishing cap could be used to restore Hyrule. Princess Zelda put on the cap and wished with all her heart that Vaati’s cruelty might be undone. With her righteous wish and the power of the Light Force that still dwells within her, many miracles happened as a result.

Now that the land of the humans had been saved, Ezlo ventured back into the world of the Minish, not to return until perhaps the next day, one hundred years later, when the doorway to their world would open once more.

Timeline Placement
Telling the origin of Vaati and the Four Sword, The Minish Cap is confirmed to take place many years before Four Swords, making it the first story in the Four Swords trilogy.

If the Four Swords series is not considered a story in its own continuity, its placement in the main timeline is unclear. In an interview following the release of Four Swords Adventures, Eiji Aonuma said Four Swords was meant as the first game in the timeline, placing the Four Swords series before Ocarina of Time. However, this quote is often scrutinized due to the observable ties between Four Swords Adventures and A Link to the Past.

Whether or not the other titles in the Four Swords series take place before Ocarina of Time, The Minish Cap is often considered to be the first in the timeline due to evidence in the game itself, such as how the game appears to explain the origin of Link's trademark cap in the game's final scenes. Some also consider the title to take place sometime after Spirit Tracks due to the game using many things from The Wind Waker, such as the same Hylian Language and art-style as well as the ocean being observable in the game.

Trivia

 * The Minish Cap is the only Game Boy game with two different "Not For Resale" cartridges which were used in in-store kiosks. One says "Not For Resale" and contains the full version of the game. The other says "Not For Resale Demo" and lets the user choose one of three playable areas to explore. It is the only Game Boy game with a 3-stage selectable demo, however future Zelda games like Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks on the DS have also had demo carts with selectable stages. The demo in action can be seen here.
 * An interesting point is that in both The Minish Cap manga and the game, every human character is either Hylian or part of the Wind Tribe.
 * According to Twin Galaxies, the fastest complete speed run of The Minish Cap was 02:46:32, and was completed by Michael B. Damiani on May 7, 2005.
 * The logo for the game featured in pre-release material and some commercials featured the Master Sword rather than the Four Sword. This is interesting, because the Master Sword does not appear in the game at all.
 * There have been three existing official logos for this game including one with Ezlo next to the name and one with the Master Sword next to the name. The commercials, some of which are sourced below, incorporate some of these alternate logos.
 * Mario references make a return in The Minish Cap, with enemies such as Bob-ombs, Spiked Beetles (Spinies), and Lakitus. In the Palace of Winds, chain-link platforms with spinning gates such as those found in Super Mario World and Super Mario Sunshine, though the platforms resemble those of the latter game.