The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, known in Japan as The Legend of Zelda: The Mysterious Hat (ゼルダの伝説 ふしぎのぼうし, Zeruda no Densetsu: Fushigi no Bōshi), is the twelfth game in The Legend of Zelda series of video games, developed by Flagship, with Nintendo overseeing the development process. It was released for the Game Boy Advance in 2004 in Japan and Europe and 2005 in North America. The Minish Cap is the first original single-player The Legend of Zelda adventure to be released for a handheld platform since The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages in 2001.
The Minish Cap is the third Zelda game that involves the legend of the Four Sword, expanding on the story of Four Swords and Four Swords Adventures. A magical, talking cap named Ezlo can shrink Link to the size of the Picori, a thumb-sized race that live in Hyrule. The game retains some common themes of previous Zelda installments, such as the presence of Gorons, while introducing Kinstones and other new gameplay features.
The Minish Cap was generally well received among critics. It was named the 20th best Game Boy Advance game in an IGN feature, and was selected as the 2005 Game Boy Advance Game of the Year by GameSpot.
The plot of The Minish Cap revolves around the backstory of Vaati and the birth of the Four Sword, which were important elements of Four Swords and Four Swords Adventures. The Picori, also called Minish, are a race of tiny creatures that bestowed a young boy with a green garment, a sword, and a shining golden light many years before the game is set. There are three types of Minish: Town, Forest, and Mountain.
The quests begins when Link is chosen by the king of Hyrule to seek the help of the Picori after Vaati had petrified Princess Zelda. Link was chosen because only children can see the Picori. On the voyage he rescues Ezlo, a strange being resembling a green cap with a bird-like head, who joins him and can make Link shrink to the size of the Minish. Although it is not revealed at first, he and Vaati were once Minish (Picori)—Ezlo a renowned sage and craftsman and Vaati his apprentice. Vaati became corrupted by the madness and hatred of men and took a magic hat Ezlo had made for the humans in Hyrule. The hat grants any wish made by the bearer, and Vaati wished to become a powerful sorcerer. He then turned his old master, who had tried to stop him, into a hat. With the help of Ezlo, Link retrieves the four elemental artifacts and uses them to restore the Picori Blade to the Four Sword, capable of defeating Vaati.
After Link restores the Four Sword, Vaati turns Hyrule Castle into Dark Hyrule Castle-the final dungeon in the game. Link fights Vaati just before he can drain Zelda of all her Light Force. Link defeats Vaati after engaging in a fight that consists of Vaati changing forms. When Link and Zelda flee from the collapsing castle, they meet Vaati as he again changes form for the final battle of the game. After the battle, Ezlo returns to his original form. He finds the cap of wishes he created and gives it to Zelda, granting her a wish. The cursed people are cured and the castle is turned back to normal. The hat overflows with the power of life and disappears. Ezlo gives Link a new hat and tells him that he enjoyed traveling with him, then leaves just as the Minish world closes.
