Capcom did an excellent job with The Legend of Zelda: The Oracle of Ages and The Oracle of Seasons games, and Nintendo's enlisted its help once again with its latest Zelda title, The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap. Proving that there's always ways to innovate, Nintendo and Capcom have come up with some cool gameplay features that should please Link fans hungry for another Hyrulian adventure.

It seems like no matter how hard she tries, Princess Zelda just can't keep herself out of trouble. The pretty lady of Hyrule has been turned to stone by the evil sorcerer, Vaati, and to make matters even worse, he's unleashed hordes of monsters upon the land. Frantic, the king tracks down Link and sends him on the epic adventure to save the world, but The Minish Cap isn't your standard Zelda adventure, for you see, Link's only hope at saving the kingdom lay with the Minish, a tiny race of people so small no big person can see them, that is, unless they're wearing a Minish Cap. Donning the talking head gear (yes, the Minish cap speaks quite often, and its name is Ezlo), Link shrinks to Minish size, encountering these special creatures, but also running across new dangers.

The whole shrinking concept adds serious depth to this Zelda adventure, because there are technically two different worlds to explore: Big Hyrule and little Hyrule. You can use the Minish Cap to get over obstacles as well as attack enemies from the inside, but you can't shrink whenever you want. To put Ezlo to work, you have to place Link on top of special tree stumps and hit the R button, but that's not all Link's companion will do for him. Often times, he'll give our hero advice and teach him about The Minish people, so he serves the dual purpose of helping Link shrink, and providing some back story behind the game's narrative.

In addition to the Minish Cap, there are all sorts of new items to use. Dig holes with the Mole Mitts, inhale and shoot objects with the Gust Jar, suck up cobwebs with the Magic Jar, launch Link across gaps with magical mushrooms, and split into four separate Links to solve puzzles (like in Four Swords). Also, you'll come across Kinstone pieces, magical relics that are sort of like best friend stones. If you can find the other pieces (held by all sorts of people), you'll get rupees, hearts, secret items, solve puzzles, and open new routes to explore.

Just as you'll find new items, you'll also come across different types of enemies. Creatures that would normally not bother Link want to take him out now that he's Minish size. Even the tiniest bug poses a threat, but bugs are the least of your troubles. New dungeons await you, as well as giant, menacing creatures that want nothing more than to squash our hero.

I'm not sure how good the soundtrack is, but The Minish Cap's graphics are spectacular. Featuring lots of pastel colors, Hyrule, both big and Minish size, is very well detailed. The perspective is also pretty cool to see, as one moment Link is walking on the grass, and the next he's microscopic and surrounded by gigantic leaves.

It's never ceased to amaze me how Nintendo comes up with new and exciting ways to keep the Zelda series interesting. The Minish Cap is built on a very familiar action RPG foundation, but its gameplay features make it stand on its own. Colorful, cute, and full of style, this is a must buy for Zelda fans as well as those looking for a pintsize GBA quest.