The Legend Of Zelda - Ranking Every Gameplay Gimmick

A memorable boss battle in Majora’s Mask saw Link put on the Giant’s Mask to do battle with the enormous Twinmold. Minish Cap took things to the other extreme and shrunk Link to a microscopic size for his smallest adventure yet.

Whilst it is fun to picture Link as an ant-sized entity, it also gave players the feeling of being much less powerful than usual. Traditionally, enemies like ChuChus and Octorok’s are easily dealt with, but with Link’s smaller stature they became fearsome screen-filling bosses.

These fresh takes on established enemies were one of few ways the game took advantage of the shrinking mechanic. Minish Cap had the chance to create mind-bending dungeons or bosses which utilised the game’s chief gimmick, but they were nowhere to be found.

Seeing Link magnified on screen as a pixel-sized speck was a typically charming way of emphasising his tiny size and, similarly, the suggestion that the Rupees and hearts players always find hidden in grass have been placed there by the Minish race is a lovely addition to the Zelda canon. Minish Cap had some great ideas but failed to capitalise on its primary game mechanic.