The beginning

This is just a theory, I'm not claiming anything for sure but it is beleived that this game is set at the beginning of the story of Hyrule and the Link you play as in this game was the first hero that every other hero in the future Zelda games originated from this shows a theory as to the history of Hyrule. The story of the game is fairly interesting however as most Zelda games it is quite childish and a little boring to actually listen to, Bad guy changed Good guy into hat. Link wears good guy as hat, hat gives Link power to shrink. Okay I suppose that is fairly original. Anyway the most interesting part of the story is actually the Minish that Link has to visit which are very very small people that Link has to shrink to see, they populate all of Hyrule and you'll often be shrinking in order to talk to them and trade Kinstone piece with them, more on that later. The story is average but not unoriginal enough to call it bad by any means, it just tend to be aimed at younger audiences.

The Bomb and Bow are back

The items in the game are very interesting and the only ones that make a reappearance is the Bomb and Bow, the rest of the items are very interesting and original and they are often used in ways you don't expect, to keep this spoiler free however I won't describe any in detail unless you ask me to. The most interesting ability Link get is the ability to shrink in size and this is utilized so often that it can get annoying to be honest but changing between these form is quick, it's just that you often have to go out of your way to find a place where you can change size. In the main town you'll no doubt see in your normal form dozens of little holes going into and out of building and tiny ladders and basically a whole lot of place you can only access as tiny link however all these things in town are well hidden and you'll no doubt spend hour trying to find you way into each house as both large and small Link. Another interesting thing is that this ability is sometimes used in dungeons and the dungeons in which it isn't Link enters as tiny link and your perspective changes to show link appearing as his normal form but everything around you is obviously larger such as a huge barrel that you have to spin in order to progress. Another interesting touch is that in the first dungeon which you enter as tiny link the boss is actually a normal enemy that jumps in from outside the temple and that you are now forced to fight in your disadvantaged form. This happens throughout Hyrule not just in dungeons.

Smaller then the Rest

As the latest in the Zelda series other then Twilight Princess. The overall size of the game is a little disappointing but not to much so. Even though the world in Minish Cap is of the smallest in a Zelda game, they manage to fit more hidden nooks and crannies then ever before. Nearly every NPC you come across you can trade Kinstone pieces with. These are basically 2 piece jigsaw puzzles, that you need to find one piece of and then you need to find the NPC that has the other piece. Whenever you combine Kinstone piece a variety of things can happen. New caves can open, Chests can appear and tough gold enemies can be summoned that drop huge amounts of Rupees. So although the main quest of the game is smaller then previous Zelda's the amount of optional side quests and thing the collect is massive. Since there are only 5 dungeons to get a Heart Container in the amount of heart pieces there are to find is so massive that finding them feel like less of an achievement the other Zeldas, because they are all over the place and arn't very well hidden most of the time. Overall this Zelda game appears to be one of the most rewarding to explore because you get rewarded often.

2 dimensions of brain teasers

The game is actually quite a lot more difficult then other Zelda games I've played especially the 3D ones. The puzzle in the game although mostly simple and easy to get past can have you scratching your head quite a bit, in fact getting through the dungeons is easier then getting to them. The games toughest puzzle tend to be in the main Castle Town itself and the surrounding wilderness. The dungeon bosses however can get insanely hard. hard enough for you to get angry at them. Most bosses can still be beaten fairly easily after you've memorised their pattern of attack however and so you should be fight them more then 4 time before finally beating them. There are a lot of extras in the game that greatly improve it's longetivity. Such as a variety of training schools around Hyrule that teach Link a variety of sword techniques that help to make the combat a bit more interesting then just swinging your sword. There is also an entirely option part of the game that involves collecting Figurines of things and characters throughout the game, this is done by collecting Mysterious shells that you can buy and find and taking them to the figurine shop which allows you to lucky dip for a figurine as your collection grows larger you have the option of using several of these mysterious at once to increase your odds of finding a figurine you havn't already gotten.

The Verdict

Overall the game is a solid addition to the Zelda franchise although it dosn't appear to break ice as much of some of the other more well known games, the dungeons feel a little less thought through but other aspects of the game are very challenging.

Graphics: 9/10, it's exactly what Link to the Past fans have been waiting for.
Sound: 8/10, all the classics are there as well a a few new interesting scores.
Story: 7/10, Original, but not particularly good.
Lastability: 8/10, Heaps to find and collect, but the main quest tends to be a bit short.
Difficulty: 8/10, Hard Bosses, Hard exploration, but the dungeons puzzles are quite easy.
Overall: 8/10, While still a good game it dosn't seem to have anything that previous Zelda games didn't, not enough that is new for fans of the game.

8/10

If you have any questions about the game post them and I'll do my best to answer.