The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap

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 TMC: 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 the golden TMC: and the TMC:. This TMC: used his wisdom and courage, the 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 TMC: 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 heroes of legend. That year’s champion was a mysterious man by the name of TMC:. 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 attends the festival that year with his childhood friend, TMC:, is charged by his grandfather, TMC:, with delivering the sword that will be presented to the champion.

During the ceremony following the sword competition, TMC: shatters the sacred TMC: and opens the TMC:, which, for an age, had been sealed by the TMC:, trapping evil monsters within. TMC: is after the TMC:, the golden light that was once wielded by the TMC: mentioned in the legends of the TMC:. He subdues the castle guards and turns TMC: to stone before departing. TMC: was once a TMC:, an apprentice of the TMC: sage TMC:. TMC: had made a magical TMC: with the power to grant wishes, but TMC: 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 TMC:. TMC: is asked by TMC: to seek out the TMC: and ask them to reforge the sacred blade, and he travels to the TMC: with the help of his TMC:.

There he meets TMC:, a curious creature whom he rescues from a group of NaN Octoroks. TMC: hops onto his head and offers to help him find the TMC:. He also helps TMC: shrink down to a minuscule size — the size of the TMC: people, who call themselves the TMC:. TMC: meets with TMC:, the elder of the TMC:, who tells him that in order to reforge the sacred TMC:, he will need the TMC:, the embodiment of the sacred powers of earth, fire, water, and wind. TMC: had learned from the legend of the TMC: that when the TMC: were collected, the path to the TMC: will open. Knowing that TMC: is collecting them, TMC: decides to wait until the task is complete.

Once TMC: has gathered the TMC:, he brings the TMC: — renamed the TMC: by TMC:, a TMC: sword-smith — to the TMC: hidden within the courtyard of TMC:. There he infuses the TMC: with the TMC:, 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 TMC: is revealed to be within TMC:.

Meanwhile, TMC: has brainwashed TMC: and shrouded TMC: in darkness. He discovers from the stained glass of the chamber inside the TMC: that the sacred TMC: had actually been passed down through TMC:’s princesses, and so he prepares to extract it from TMC:. TMC: rushes to her rescue, and, after vanquishing TMC:, uses the TMC:’s evil-banishing power to restore TMC:.

With TMC: defeated, the TMC: could be used to restore TMC:. TMC: puts on the cap and wishes with all her heart that TMC:’s cruelty might be undone. With her righteous wish and the power of the TMC: that still dwelt within her, many miracles happen as a result.

Now that the land of the humans had been saved, TMC: ventures back into the world of the TMC: through the TMC:, not to return until perhaps the next time, one hundred years later, when the doorway to their world would open once more.

Timeline Placement
Telling the origin of Series: and the Series:, 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 Series: outside and the Series: 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 NaN Bob-ombs, NaN Spiked Beetles, and NaN Lakitus. In the TMC:, chain-link platforms with spinning gates such as those found in ' and ' appear. In TMC:, 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.