The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap


 * This article is about the game. For other uses, see The Minish Cap (Disambiguation).

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap is the twelfth main installment of. It was released for the Game Boy Advance in 2004.

Like most other titles in the series, features the fully explorable land of TMC:, although it can be viewed from the eyes of a human or the eyes of a TMC:, a race of tiny people and an alternate form that TMC: can transform into. The game is the first in the story surrounding the TMC: and features Vaati as the game's main villain. However, unlike the multiplayer focus of the other games in the series, retains the original form of exploration and dungeons as seen in, , and , as well as returning characters and game mechanics such as TMC: and the TMC:. New features include fusing NaN Kinstones and shrinking to the size of a TMC:.

Backstory
Evil spirits appeared in the land of TMC:, and just when it seemed that the world was to be cast into the darkest of shadows, the tiny TMC: 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 TMC: 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 TMC: themselves passed into legend. The legend of the TMC: tells of a mystic doorway that opens just once every hundred years. When the door is open, the TMC: can cross from their world into TMC:.

Plot
One year, in celebration of when the TMC: last came to TMC: 100 years ago to the day, the festival was unusually grand. TMC: was hosting a tournament of sword-fighting skill that calls to mind the Series:. 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 TMC: was abuzz with rumors about this shadowy figure. The young TMC:, who attended the festival that year with his childhood friend, TMC:, 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 TMC:. He subdued the castle guards and turned TMC: to stone before making a speedy departure. Vaati was a TMC:, an apprentice of TMC:, who was also a TMC:. TMC: 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 TMC: into a hat himself, then proceeded to hunt down the Light Force. TMC: was then asked by King Daltus to seek out the TMC: and ask them to reforge the sacred blade, and traveled to the Minish Woods with the help of his TMC:.

There he met TMC:, a curious creature who he rescued from a group of NaN Octoroks. TMC: hopped on his head and offered to help him find the TMC:. He also helped TMC: shrink down to a minuscule size — the size of the TMC: people, who called themselves the TMC:. TMC: met with the TMC: of the TMC:, who told him that in order to reforge the sacred Picori Blade he would require the Four Elements, the embodiments of the sacred powers of earth, fire, water, and wind. Vaati learned from the legend of the Wind Tribe that when the Four Elements were collected the path to the Light Force would open. Knowing that TMC: was collecting them, he decided to wait until TMC: had them.

Once TMC: had gathered the Four Elements, he brought the Picori Blade — renamed the TMC: by a Minish sword-smith — to the Elemental Sanctuary hidden within the courtyard of TMC:. There he infused the TMC: with the Four Elements, fully restoring the sacred TMC: — a legendary blade with the power to split one warrior into four. TMC: then gains access to a chamber with stained glass, where the location of the Light Force is revealed.

Meanwhile, Vaati had brainwashed King Daltus and shrouded Hyrule Castle in darkness. He discovered from the stained glass of the chamber inside the Elemental Sanctuary that the sacred Light Force had actually been passed down through TMC:’s princesses, and so he prepared to extract the Light Force from TMC:. TMC: rushed to her rescue, and, after vanquishing Vaati, used the TMC:’s evil-banishing power to restore TMC:.

Now that Vaati had fallen, the Mage's Cap could be used to restore TMC:. TMC: 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 dwelt within her, many miracles happened as a result.

Now that the land of the humans had been saved, TMC: ventured back into the world of the TMC: through the Minish Door, 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 TMC:, takes place many years before, making it the first story in the  trilogy.

The official timeline released in, places and  between SS undefined and. , which concludes the trilogy, is an indirect sequel to  and currently the third member (along with  and ) of the "Child Timeline".

Ports and Remakes
was one of the ten Game Boy Advance games available on the 3DS Virtual Console as part of the Ambassador Program. It was later released on the Wii U's Virtual Console on June 5th, 2014 in North America.

Limited Editions
A special limited edition Zelda-themed Game Boy Advance SP bundle was also released. Limited to 25,000 copies, it featured a golden console with the Triforce outside and the Royal Crest inside, it also included a copy of (without box). It was available for sale only in Europe and Australia.

A limited edition adventure set was also released. Limited to 300 copies, it included the limited edition Game Boy Advance SP, a copy of (without box), a shirt, a knit cap and a certificate of authenticity.

Reception
By 2005, had sold more than 1 million copies worldwide.

Trivia

 * is the only Game Boy Advance game with two different "Not For Resale" cartridges which were used in store kiosks. One says "Not For Resale" and contains the full version of the game. The other says "Not For Resale Demo," where there are three playable areas to explore. Subsequent Zelda games like and  also had demo carts with selectable stages.
 * The logo for the game featured in pre-release material and some commercials featured the Series: rather than the TMC:. The Series: does not appear in the final version of the game.
 * There have been three existing official logos for the game. These include one with TMC: next to the name, and one with the Series: next to the name. Some commercials incorporate some of these alternate logos.
 * There are several references in . These include enemies such as Bob-ombs, NaN Spiked Beetles, and Lakitus. In the Palace of Winds, chain-link platforms with spinning gates such as those found in ' and ' appear. In Mount Crenel, small beanstalks use the same sound effect from  when growing.
 * The game over music is an excerpt from the opening demo music in.
 * is the only main Zelda game to feature an optional sound test.