Line #51 VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/minishcap.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:[[{{Tagline}} Link is back and smaller than ever]].[[labelnote:characters]] [[TheHero Link]] wearing [[LivingHat Ezlo]]. Behind them are the [[{{Lilliputians}} Minish]].[[/labelnote]]]]
3	->''"But there is one thing you must know: being Minish-sized is full of dangers! Mere puddles at your normal size are bottomless swamps to the Minish."''
4	-->-- '''Ezlo'''
5
6	''The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap'', released in 2004 in Japan & Europe and 2005 in North America & Australia, is the twelfth game in ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' series and the first completely new single-player ''Zelda'' adventure on the Platform/GameBoyAdvance. The game acts as a prequel to ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwords Four Swords]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwordsAdventures Four Swords Adventures]]'', as it goes in depth about the origin of the titular weapon as well as [[StartOfDarkness who Vaati is]].
7
8	Every 100 years, a festival is held to celebrate the Picori (later revealed to actually be called the Minish), [[{{Lilliputians}} tiny creatures]] who can only be seen by children that granted man a special treasure known as the Picori Blade. A sorcerer by the name of Vaati has come to the festival seeking a power known as the Light Force, believing it to hide with the Picori Blade. He breaks the sword and instead finds it to hold a seal that unleashes monsters onto the world when broken, and also turns Zelda to stone before leaving to continue his search. Wanting to save his childhood friend, Link goes on a journey to find the Picori to reforge the Picori Blade, save Zelda, and defeat Vaati. Along the way he meets Ezlo, a hat-like creature who also has a beef with the sorcerer and the power to shrink down.
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10	The game's main mechanic is Link's ability to shrink down to Minish size at special portals. This gives him access to new areas or re-contextualizes preexisting ones, allowing him traverse the world from a new perspective and to uncover secrets. There's also the "Kinstone" mechanism, by which Link can collect pieces of medallions and fuse them with {{NPC}}s. These Kinstone fusions unlock secrets, ranging from highly important bonus items, to shortcuts, to rooms full of rupees, to simple chests of more Kinstones.
11
12	According to ''Literature/HyruleHistoria'', this game is second in the overall timeline of the series, preceded only by ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword''. As a result, it is the first game set in Hyrule.
13	----
14	!!This game provides examples of:
15	* AdiposeRex: King Daltus had a large belly, and is nice and cheerful (when not possessed by the villain). As King Gustaf uses the same character model as a ghost, it can be reasonably assumed he was the same.
16	* AlertnessBlink: When characters wake up, often '''!''' with a ''clink!'' sound effect is seen.
17	* AllWomenLoveShoes: The Figurine description for Rem the cobbler notes that Princess Zelda is his biggest source of income. Upon completing the quest line where he completes the Pegasus Boots, he even frantically recalls that he needs to complete an important order that King Daltus placed for Zelda, apparently unaware due to his sleepiness that Zelda has been [[TakenForGranite turned to stone]] in the meantime.
18	* AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs: For the final dungeon, [[spoiler:Vaati transforms the castle into Dark Hyrule Castle as he prepares the ceremony to steal the light force from Zelda]].
19	* AlwaysNight: Royal Valley. Made all the more jarring by it being one screen away from (and only accessible via) another overworld area that's in bright daylight.
20	* AmazingTechnicolorBattlefield: Vaati's second and third forms each get one.
21	* AmbiguousStartOfDarkness: It's revealed later in the game that the villain Vaati used to be Ezlo's harmless apprentice before stealing the Mage's Cap. Although Ezlo explains that Vaati became interested in humanity's potential for evil and tried to follow their example, he cannot say for sure whether he became that way over time or was always a DeceptiveDisciple. The manga adaptation depicts Vaati breaking down from serving as Ezlo's BeleagueredAssistant.
22	* AnimalTalk: You can talk to animals while in Minish form, probably thanks to your [[TranslatorMicrobes Jabber Nut]].
23	* AnonymousBenefactor: This game reveals the reason why Link always finds helpful items and Rupees under grass and rocks all over the world: The Forest Minish leave them for humans to find, because making humans happy gives them energy.
24	* AntiFrustrationFeatures: Kinstone fusions result in a variety of new things, like treasure chests, gold enemies, opened passageways, etc., and there are 100 fusions to keep track of. Since you can't always drop what you're currently doing to run off and claim whatever new prize has been revealed (or you might not be able to reach it yet), the game places a marker on your map to remind you that it's there. There's also the gold Kinstone pieces, which only appear in set locations instead of being a RandomDrop like the other colors because these fusions are required to complete the game.
25	* ApatheticCitizens: Princess Zelda gets turned to stone, and nobody in town gives a shit. In fact, all they ever seem to give a toss about is how strange the King is acting - by which time you'll probably have seen the cutscene that explains it. People are more interested in Kinstones.
26	* ArborealAbode: Quite a lot of the Minish live in trees. This is justifiable for them because they are only a couple inches tall and can easily inhabit hollows in a tree without damaging it.
27	* ArcHero: Ezlo is revealed to be [[spoiler:the titular Minish Cap, and the [[APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedToEvil former mentor]] of ArcVillain Vaati]], and is the character tied to the growing and shrinking mechanics.
28	* AttackOfTheTownFestival: The game's story opens with a festival. The winner of its contest turns out to be Vaati, the BigBad who proceeds to turn Princess Zelda into a stone statue and unleashes a legion of monsters that were previously [[SealedEvilInACan sealed in a vessel]].
29	* AwesomeButImpractical:
30	** The Pegasus Shoes, typically a top tier item in the games it appears in, are really only useful for crossing swamps and bumping into things. The roll maneuver is almost as fast, requires no charge time, is safer to use and is easier to control. The Pegasus Shoes also require an item slot in this game, making it almost a {{nerf}} relative to the rest of the series.
31	** Link can get Remote Bombs from Belari. Although they can be detonated at will, Link can only set up one at a time instead of two as with normal bombs. Because the player has to hit the item button to set off the Remote Bomb, it is also harder to set up a throw with it.
32	* BackThatLightUp: Several color settings were included to account for the different ways the game could be played. On television with the Platform/GameCube's Game Boy Player, on Game Boy Advance, on Game Boy Advance SP, etc.
33	* BeanstalkParody: There are some Kinstones which, upon being fused, make a previously-planted bean grow at a fast rate until reaching the high skies. The resulting beanstalk can then be climbed by Link to find a valuable treasure in the clouds (in two instances being a Heart Piece, in another a Bomb Bag upgrade, and in the remaining one being a Quiver upgrade).
34	* BigBad: Vaati, who was originally [[spoiler:a Picori who turned on his people, shattered the Picori Blade, turned Zelda to stone, and released monsters on the world, all as part of his plan to obtain the Light Force and [[GodhoodSeeker become a god]]]].
35	* BigBoosHaunt: The Royal Valley is a haunted location north of Trilby Highlands, consisting of a purple-colored cursed forest shrouded in darkness where the use of the Flame Lantern is recommended for improved visibility. There's also an illusory maze in the style of TheLostWoods that can only be traversed properly by following the directions of the signposts. At the north lies a graveyard guarded by Dampé, where the Royal Crypt housing the soul of the late King Gustaf can be found. There are also plenty of Stalfos and the hated Floor/Wallmasters in the Fortress of Winds.
36	* BittersweetEnding: Vaati is defeated by Link, the curse on Ezlo is broken, and Zelda restores Hyrule to normal. However, Link must say goodbye to Ezlo and he will never see the Minish again due to the door connecting their worlds opening every one hundred years. Ezlo is kind enough to leave Link with his own hat as a way of remembering Ezlo and the Minish.
37	* BlackKnight: A single Black Darknut appears as the first MiniBoss of Hyrule Castle, and is even named the Black Knight by its figurine; defeating it unleashes multiple Darknuts across the corners of the second-highest floor, protecting the respective entrances to various important rooms. A second one appears during the game's climax alongside two red-colored fellows, and they must all be defeated under a time limit to prevent a NonStandardGameOver.
38	* BlatantItemPlacement: A canon explanation for the ''Zelda'' verse. All those items under grass, pots, and jars get there by way of the Minish, helpful gnome style.
39	* BlindIdiotTranslation:
40	** Swiftblade's Swordsman's Newsletter has two errors: First, he claims to have eight brothers, when he actually has six. He also claims Moblins drop more Rupees than the usual enemy when they don't.
41	** The ghost in the cemetery is labeled "Spookter" in the Kinstone fusion screen. As shown by his figurine and the cutscene after the second fusion, his actual name is "Spekter" and "Spookter" is his brother.
42	** The Moblin figurine and Swordsman's Newsletter both claim they mostly appear in Minish Woods. They actually appear in ''Western'' Wood.
43	** The PAL translation of the Ice Wizzrobe's figurine says they are vulnerable to the Fire Rod, an item that was meant to exist in this game, but was scrapped. Their actual weakness is the Flame Lantern.
44	* BlowYouAway:
45	** Strangely, Vaati doesn't do a whole lot of this. ''Literature/HyruleHistoria'' finally explains this as Vaati no longer remembering being a Minish, and so used his new form to become a wind sorcerer.
46	** The Gust Jar is dual-purpose. It is charged by sucking up air (and items and enemies), and then releases it as a blast of air. Link uses it to grab elastic mushrooms to pull himself across pits, pull the shells off of enemies, and extinguish flames.
47	* BookcasePassage: A variation. The books don't trigger anything, but you need to return them to their proper place, so you can climb on them later, when shrunken down, in order to reach a Minish-sage who lives on one of the shelves.
48	* BossArenaIdiocy: Vaati ambushes you for the final battle, and for some reason chooses to transport you to an AmazingTechnicolorBattlefield with both squares to use the Four Sword and a size-changing platform, both of which are instrumental in taking him down.
49	* BossRemix: The game has the respective boss themes for Vaati's first (referencing his own {{Leitmotif}}) and final (referencing the game's main theme) forms.
50	* BraggingRightsReward:
51	** Getting all of the figurines rewards you with a large number of Rupees--[[MoneyForNothing but by that point in the game, you don't really need them anymore]]. However, you DO get a Piece of Heart and the SoundTest.
52	** The "Tingle Trophy" is the reward you get for fusing all the Kinstones. The trophy itself is useless, but you get some form of reward for each Kinstone you fuse.
53	** The Mirror Shield, which you can only get after you have beaten the game. It does make hunting Golden Beasts (mainly Octorocks because of its reflective beam) easier, but there's no real use for rupees that late unless you are purchasing mysterious shells to use with the figurine sidequest. It does allow you to block the Cyclone Stab that the Red Darknuts and Black Knight use in the final boss gauntlet, but as you've already beaten them before, there's nothing it is really required for.
54	* BrokenBridge: Boulders, grass, and people block off all passages away from the path directly north to the castle. New areas can only be accessed once the player gets an item or skill that remove the obstacles.
55	* BubblegloopSwamp: The Castor Wilds is a dense marshland which [[WalkOnWater requires the Pegasus Boots to avoid sinking]]. Its other main feature is spiky trunks that serve as bridges connecting the rocky elevations, and some of the spikes also appear in the main floor, being also harmful upon contact. Link has to move across this marsh to find special Kinstone fragments and fuse them with those of the totems that are guarding the entrance to Wind Ruins, where the then-next dungeon (Fortress of Winds) lies.
56	* TheBusCameBack: Various enemies ([[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI Blue Leevers and Red Darknuts]], [[VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink Blue and Red Stalfos]], [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast Crows, Helmasaurs, Sluggulas, Sparks, Spiny Beetles, and Winders]], [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening Beetles, Spiked Beetles]], [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Door Mimics]], [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Blue Chuchus, Green Chuchus, Red Chuchus, and Takkuri]], [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames Chasers, Wisps, and Golden Octoroks]], [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwords Bombarossas, Bob-ombs, Bow Moblins, Fire Wizzrobes, Ice Wizzrobes, and Rupee Likes]], as well as Spear Moblins from the [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaCDiGames CDI Zelda games]]) make their first appearance in the series since the games they previously reappeared in.
57	* ByTheEyesOfTheBlind: The Picori are only seen by young children. Though in truth, humans barely register their existences, yet they adore Hylians of all ages.
58	* CanonCharacterAllAlong: When finally reforged, the Picori Blade becomes the Four Sword.
59	* CaptainObvious: Ezlo, though not as much as [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Navi the Fairy.]] He'll usually mix in some snarky dialogue or insight as well, but it mostly serves to bring the player up to speed after loading a save, in case it's been a while and the player needs to remember where they were at.
60	* CallForward:
61	** Musical ones:
62	*** The [[http://youtu.be/sGZBmVe8foI Mini Boss-battle theme]] is actually a remix of the [[http://youtu.be/MaJBwbXVWUk Normal Battle-theme]] of the Japanese version of ''VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink''.
63	*** Up on the rainy half of Mt. Crenel, it plays the "Rainy Night" theme from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'', as well as the Hyrule Castle theme later in the game. The ''[=ALttP=]'' opening fanfare can also be heard in the hidden sound test.
64	*** Royal Crypt's background music is a remix of the dungeon theme from the original ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI'', and the hidden item sound from that game plays when the Small Keys in the mini-dungeon are revealed.
65	** The ability to shrink with Ezlo alludes to the "Gnat Hat" in the first ''Four Swords''. The Minish Cap itself also looks like one.
66	** When Vaati puts on the Mage's Cap to transform into his present human state, it [[FreezeFrameBonus briefly shows his future usual monster form]] he will later have in ''Four Swords'', as well as in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwordsAdventures''.
67	* CatsAreMean: Unlike the friendlier dogs and birds, some cats will actively attack you while in Minish form. You can still Kinstone fuse with some of them.
68	* ChekhovsBoomerang: The Cane of Pacci. You receive it early in the game, it helps for a while, it gets used less and less as you get further into the game and no truly new uses for it appear for quite some time... then all of a sudden, you need it again [[spoiler:in order to beat the FinalBoss]].
69	* ChestMonster: Royal Crypt and [[spoiler:Dark Hyrule Castle]] contain Door Mimics, which look like locked doors but will fall on top of Link if he approaches them.
70	* ChildhoodFriendRomance: It's mentioned on the Young Couple figurine that Romio and Julietta grew up as next door neighbors and are planning on getting married once they get [[MenLikeDogsWomenLikeCats their pets']] approval.
71	* ClothesMakeTheLegend: Ezlo gives Link his nice hat in the ending.
72	-->[[LampshadeHanging "It suits you, little hero!"]]
73	* CobwebTrampoline: There are cobwebs in some dungeons that will bounce Link off them. You normally need to clear them away with the Gust Jar.
74	* CollectionSidequest: At Hyrule Town, Link can trade in the mysterious shells to obtain figurines of characters/enemies after he's encountered them once.
75	* ColorCodedElements: The Fire and Water Elements are fairly standard red and blue throughout the ''Four Swords'' series. The Wind Element is [[WindIsGreen green]] in this game and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwordsAdventures'', although it was purple in its brief appearance in the intro to ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwords''. Conversely and rather unusually, the Earth Element is purple in this game and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwordsAdventures'' but green in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwords''. Of course, regardless of which Element has which color, the group must share the red, blue, green, and purple color scheme of the four Links in the multiplayer titles, and purple is not commonly used to represent any of the four classical elements.
76	* ColossusClimb:
77	** The boss of the Fortress of Winds. They are two creatures that can fly, but Link does not fly. Consequently you spend the whole time standing on one or the other.
78	** Multiple enemies require you to become tiny and go inside them to defeat them, including the final form of the BigBad.
79	* CompanyCrossReferences: Among the enemies are Lakitus and Bob-ombs[[note]]Which also appeared in ''Four Swords''[[/note]], two enemies from the ''Mario'' games. Also, the egg-shaped containers unveiling the figurines Link gets in Carlov's gallery have the shape and appearance of Yoshi's eggs.
80	* ContextSensitiveButton: The game utilizes the Right Shoulder/R Button for most non-combat actions. Most times context sensitive buttons are meant to free up other buttons for other actions that are used more frequently (like attack or defend). This is especially true on portable games like the Platform/GameBoyAdvance, which only has four buttons besides the D-Pad that can be used.
81	* ConvectionSchmonvection: This being a non-''VideoGame/{{Metroid}}'' Creator/{{Nintendo}}[=/=]Creator/{{Capcom}} game, the player floats over lava and walks on rocks floating on lava with the expected lack of damage.
82	* CrossoverCameo: [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Bob-ombs and Lakitus]] are among various enemies found in dungeons.
83	* DamnYouMuscleMemory: The game uses the R button for lift/throw, which had been A in the SNES version of ''A Link to the Past'' , and wastes the L button on the game's fusion function.
84	* DarkReprise: A minor version of Zelda's theme plays in the aftermath of the battle with Vaati, emphasizing the extent of the destruction and the lives lost. And of course, the [[spoiler:Dark Hyrule Castle]] theme is one of these to the original Hyrule Castle theme from ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast A Link to the Past]]''.
85	* DashAttack: Two of the Triger Scroll abilities with the sword are of this kind. One is the classic Sword + Pegasus Boots combo from previous games, and the other is a more unique version where Link performs a forward-running stab right after rolling.
86	* DeadlyDroplets: When Link becomes Minish-sized during rain, water droplets will start to make contact damage with Link.
87	* DeathMountain: Mount Crenel and Veil Falls. The former stands in for the trope-naming Death Mountain (which is otherwise absent, despite the game taking place in Hyrule) with its usual ledge maze, and menaces Link with falling boulders, harmful spiky rocks and leaping Tektites; scaling it and going through the local Minish village is essential to reach the Cave of Flames. Veil Falls, meanwhile, is a rocky plateau east of Hyrule Castle with a large waterfall, jagged terrain, and a maze-like network of caves; in the topmost ground elevation lies a big whirlwind that takes Link to Cloud Tops.
88	* DegradedBoss: A ''tougher'' version of the first dungeon boss (by virtue of being electrified) appears as a miniboss in the Temple of Droplets. Both of these are just regular enemies that Link happens to encounter while Minish-sized, the former a Green [=ChuChu=] and the latter a Blue [=ChuChu=].
89	* DemotedToExtra: To date, this is the only game in the series where Epona appears (hitched to a cart and politely asking Link to purchase milk from Malon) but cannot be ridden.
90	* DesperationAttack: Link can learn, in addition to his normal full-health SwordBeam, a beam attack that only works when his health is at or below 1 heart.
91	* DisconnectedSideArea: Very common in the overworld. Some of these become accessible in a more direct fashion later in the game (e.g. the part of the Minish Woods near Syrup's hut), while others remain only indirectly accessible (e.g. a piece of land at the bottom of Veil Falls which can only be reached via neighboring regions).
92	* DoorToBefore: This applies to the overworld map. Picking up certain items or approaching from the other side allows one to open up shortcuts that bypass challenging enemies and puzzles.
93	* DoubleMeaningTitle: The "Minish Cap" in the title may refer to either of two caps: [[spoiler:Ezlo, who is a Minish wizard transformed into a hat]], or [[spoiler:the Mage's Cap, the wish-granting hat invented by Ezlo and stolen by Vaati, who was himself a Minish prior to wishing himself a human body]].
94	* DownTheDrain: Hyrule Underground is a sewer that connects various parts of Hyrule Town from below, namely the well, a cave Link can dig through with the Mole Mitts, the yard of the Mayor's house, and surprisingly the school from beneath the principal's chair; entering through the former three entrances is necessary to push the small boulders into the holes and pull a treasure chest's column across the now-built path into another hole so the chest itself can be opened. Relatedly, Hyrule Town also has two areas that serve as the respective sources of the small river and the fountain; Link can get inside them in his Minish form, and doing so is necessary because there are major items in them (the Bracelet in the fountain's source, the Flippers in the river's) that will help him in the quest to eventually reach the Temple of Droplets.
95	* DramaticWind: Vaati ''always'' has some wind blowing around him, no matter what, even indoors. Maybe justified, since he calls himself the "Wind Mage".
96	* DualBoss: The Gyorg Pair, the boss of the Palace of Winds, with the twist that you have to jump between the larger and smaller flying creatures. Also, the Temple of Droplets has you fight two Madderpillars (the MiniBoss of the first dungeon) at once.
97	* DualWorldGameplay: The main concept of the game is different in theory, but the same in execution. The two worlds in this game are the Human World and the Minish World, which aren't different worlds at all. The Minish are [[{{Lilliputians}} about an inch tall]] and live alongside the humans, unnoticed. It's really the same thing gameplay-wise: Link can only shrink at certain places, changing things at normal size open up paths when shrunk and vice versa, and certain enemies are only encountered while shrunk. The game takes that last part a step further: you can encounter normal Zelda enemies in the Minish realm, but while they die in one or two hits at normal size, they become massive bosses once you're an inch tall.
98	* EasingIntoTheAdventure: The game starts with Link and Zelda going through a festival in Hyrule Castle Town on their way to deliver a shield.
99	* EasterEgg: There's a lady in pink who appears and sits at the exterior tables at Mama's Cafe. However, she only appears in town after you [[spoiler:meet up with the ghost of King Gustaf in the Royal Crypt]] and leaves once you trip further {{Event Flag}}s. Bits of her dialogue {{lampshade\|Hanging}} her being so obscure as to become an Easter Egg:
100	-->''I have to say, good job on meeting me! Seriously, you'll be able to brag about this to your friends forever!''
101	* EdgeGravity: Pits will actively pull you in so strongly that, as soon as you out a single pixel on the void, running directly in the other direction at max speed may still not save you.
102	* EldritchAbomination: Vaati has ''five'' forms (only three of which you battle). First and second aren't too bad, third is pretty nasty, and then the fourth and fifth are basically a giant floating eyeball with more eyeballs attached and eyeballs on the inside too. His garish color scheme and the way his magic makes the screen flicker seems quite determined to bring on a seizure.
103	* EndgamePlus: Clearing the game [[GuideDangIt reveals no obvious bonuses]], but nonetheless unlocks a few collectible figurines for purchase, including those of the FinalBoss. It also enables the player to acquire the Mirror Shield.
104	* ExpositionFairy: Ezlo, in addition to being your nice hat, also serves as a means to shrink down to [[LittlePeople Minish]]-size.
105	* FaceFault: The owner of the chest mini-game shop, Borlov, trips whenever Link agrees to play his game.
106	* FakeLongevity: Figurines are collected by taking part in a lottery that has to be done over and over again through collecting shells that are very easy to find.
107	* FastTunnelling: Link can use the Mole Mitts to dig through dirt for fast tunneling through caves.
108	* FinalExamBoss: Vaati will require many of the tricks and items you got over the game. Namely, the first phase requires the Gust Jar, you then need the Bow for his next stage, and his final form requires the Cane of Pacci. The ability to multiply is also required for forms 2 and 3, as is the ability to shrink for the first half of form 3.
109	* FineYouCanJustWaitHereAlone: Upon arriving at the first dungeon, the Deepwood Shrine, [[ExpositionFairy Ezlo]] remembers earlier information about there being monsters inside, and says he'll wait for Link at the entrance. The very next snippet has Ezlo retracting that and saying he won't let Link leave him all alone.
110	* FloatingContinent: There's a palace in the sky, which is a (very large) mansion floating in midair. It is there where the Wind Tribe has lived after moving on from the now-decayed Wind Ruins. Located upper still is the Palace of Winds, where the Wind Element lies, though it has been overrun by several monsters, including the gigantic Gyorg Pair. Link has to make his way through the Palace by jumping chasms with the Roc's Cape, making frequent use of his duplication ability to press multiple switches and move heavy objects, and travel around with moving platforms while avoiding obstacles that may make him fall down.
111	* FlyingSeafoodSpecial: In a strange example, Cloud Piranha swim through the clouds in Cloud Tops, even though said clouds are apparently solid enough for Link to stand on. The boss Gyorg Pair is a more traditional example, a pair of giant flying manta-like rays.
112	* ForcedTransformation: [[spoiler:Ezlo is revealed to be a Minish sage, whom Vaati cursed to become a talking hat]].
113	* ForDoomTheBellTolls: Vaati's ceremony to absorb the Light Force [[spoiler:from Princess Zelda's petrified body]] ends with [[RuleOfThree three]] bell chimes. The first two happen at scripted rooms in the final dungeon, but the third is a TimedMission where if the player takes too long, the bell rings a final time and [[spoiler:Vaati absorbs all the Light Force from Zelda and becomes a god, with Zelda dying in the process]].
114	* ForHappiness: It's revealed the Picori/Minish [[HumansAreSpecial adore humans]] and delight in making them happy, for it gives them energy to help make their lives ''even happier''. Many have moved from their native home-world to Hyrule to be closer to them, and those from the Minish Village also moved to Hyrule Town to help them in their daily lives due to their love for humans.
115	* FriendlyRivalry: Smith and King Daltus had one when they were young men, having fought a sword duel during a past Picori Festival that ended in a draw. It's probably the reason why Link and Zelda are ChildhoodFriends.
116	* FrigidWaterIsHarmless: The Temple of Droplets is an icy dungeon that has pools of water Link can swim in safely. In fact, Link has to [[IncredibleShrinkingMan shrink]] to enter that dungeon, so he should be freezing even more quickly than he would at normal size.
117	* FromNobodyToNightmare: Vaati. From adorable Minish apprentice to Ezlo, to Wind Sorcerer trying to extract the Light Force from Zelda.
118	* GiantHandsOfDoom: Mazaal. Also, the Floormasters and Wallmasters. And on Vaati's final form.
119	* GiantMook: Not actually giant, but some of the bosses are normal-sized enemies that you fight while small. [[spoiler:The boss of the Deepwood Shrine is a Green [=ChuChu=], and the Temple of Droplets has a Blue [=ChuChu=] as a miniboss and an Octorok as the main boss.]]
120	* AGodAmI: [[spoiler:Once Vaati obtains the Light Force he proclaims himself a god. He does it again when he takes on his final form and right before he dies, leading to a ThisCannotBe declaration.]]
121	* GoForTheEye: Vaati's weak spots are his eyes. However, he's got lots of them.
122	* GottaCatchThemAll: You have Kinstones, which each matching pair having a different effect (unlocking secret paths, removing barriers, making special items available, etc.)
123	* GuideDangIt: The Kinstone fusions are unintuitive; some switch to other people over the course of the game, some people will only fuse by random chance, some people have two different fusions (one of which is often a shared one), and some require backtracking to areas that you have no story reason to go to. Reaching a certain point in the game without doing a specific fusion makes the Light Arrows unobtainable.
124	* HandWave: The game seems to be, at least in part, Nintendo's attempt to do more than simply justify that Link is able to find money in random bushes and patches of grass, by explaining that the tiny race of people known as the Minish like to scatter the money for big people to find. They also scatter bombs, arrows, and hearts, and may be responsible for some of the ubiquitous treasure chests.
125	* HarmlessFreezing: You fight the boss of the Temple of Droplets immediately after it is thawed out from being frozen solid. It even partially re-freezes itself as a defensive tactic for part of the battle.
126	* HeartContainer: Though the game retains the classic format of rewarding Link with full Heart Containers for defeating bosses in dungeons and Heart Pieces for other activities, there's a unique case of a Heart Container being rewarded for completing a very obscure sidequest.
127	* HerdingMission: In what is probably the most elaborate version in the series, Link has to help Anju gather up her Cuccos scattered across Hyrule Town within a time limit a total of ten times. It isn't even possible to complete the higher levels without some later game equipment.
128	* HeWasRightThereAllAlong: The boss of the Temple of Droplets is an ordinary Octorok which has been frozen, as has the element of water. You can see it sticking out of the wall soon after entering the dungeon, but you cannot face it until you unfreeze it, along with the element, much later on.
129	* HighAltitudeBattle: The Palace of Winds boss battle takes place who-knows-how-high in the air with Link ''riding'' the Gyorg Pair. How Link gets off afterward is unclear.
130	* HonestAxe: A fairy fountain on Mount Crenel has a sign outside it reading "No bomb throwing!" If you disregard the sign and throw a bomb into the fountain, a Great Fairy pops out and asks you if you threw a Gold Bomb or Silver Bomb into her fountain. Answering "neither" nets you an expansion to your bomb bag.
131	* HouseFey: The Town Minish is an offshoot of the Picori who loved humans so much that they eventually chose to move in with them, helping with tasks like baking bread and making shoes, but always doing so in secret.
132	* IceCrystals: These form natural blockages in the Temple of Droplets, including sealing the Water Element in one larger giant block. Smaller ones can be melted with the Flame Lantern.
133	* IcePalace: The Temple of Droplets is a small, igloo-like iceberg with an underground cold dungeon built within (Link needs to shrink in order to enter), and is plentiful in ice. The boss is a frozen Octorok.
134	* ImpossibleItemDrop: Justified. It is stated that tiny little people called Minish hide useful items in random places in order to make life easier for explorers like Link.
135	* ImprovisedParachute: When utilizing a whirlwind, Link will extend his cap to hover upward while slowly descending to the ground.
136	* InconsistentDub: The Italian translation of the game translated Peahat literally as "Pisello Cappello", rather than the usual translation "Bulbocottero".
137	* InconsistentSpelling: For some reason, Darknuts are called "Dark Nuts" in this game.
138	* IncredibleShrinkingMan: Link is able to shrink down to the size of a [[{{Lilliputians}} Minish]] thanks to Ezlo, a member of their species that accompanies him. It only works if [[PlatformActivatedAbility there are particular platforms Link can stand on]] to invoke this ability, but it allows him to access places normal Hylians can't and can be reversed the same way it's initiated.
139	* InevitableTournament: [[AvertedTrope Averted]]. It's over at the beginning of the game, and no other tournaments occur during the game's duration.
140	* InterclassFriendship: Link is ChildhoodFriends with Princess Zelda. In a case of GenerationXerox, his grandfather (the local blacksmith) and the king had a FriendlyRivalry in their youth.
141	* InterfaceSpoiler: If you luck into the figurine of Link and Ezlo, it mentions that they're on a mission to restore the [[spoiler:Four Sword, which tells players familiar with ''The Legend of Zelda'' that [[StealthPrequel this game isn't simply a standalone title using characters from the series]]]]. Said item is not actually called by this name until you obtain it ''very'' late into the game, so getting this figurine early spoils the twist rather anticlimactically.
142	* ItsAllUpstairsFromHere: The highest climb in the ''Zelda'' series takes place here, going from Hyrule's humble surface, to high above even the high-flying Palace of Winds for the battle with the Gyorg Pair. One has to wonder if said battle took place near the mesopause.
143	* ItsAWonderfulFailure: Occurs if you fail the TimedMission at the end of the game, [[spoiler:in which Vaati will drain all the Light Force from Zelda's petrified body, leaving her as lifeless stone and himself a god.]]
144	* JourneyToTheSky: Link has to climb to the top of the Veil Falls to find a tornado that takes him to the Cloud Tops. There, he has to traverse through a maze-like area (and hovering from one part to another with mini-tornadoes in the process) to find another big tornado and rise to the Wind Tribe's homeland, and ''then'' walk upstairs to the exit of the highest floor to find ''yet another'' tornado that takes him up to the Palace of Winds, where the last PlotCoupon (the Wind Element) can be found.
145	* JumpPhysics: When using the Roc Cape, Link can hop and float short distances.
146	* TheKeyIsBehindTheLock: Talon lost the key to Lon Lon Ranch, and the spare key is inside the house. The solution is to shrink down to Minish size, enter the house through a small hole, pick up the key inside and bring it to him.
147	* KingMook: A special case. Two bosses (Big Green [=ChuChu=] and Big Octorok) are simply [[MookPromotion regular enemies]], but as Link has shrunk to flea size they're gigantic from his perspective.
148	* LastLousyPoint: The game's final Heart Piece and the SoundTest are locked behind the Figurine Gallery sidequest. It looks simple and feels like an optional task like it was in ''The Wind Waker'', but in order to get the key to Herb's house and obtain the Heart Piece you need to show him a ''complete set''. Not helping is that getting a new figurine is RNG based, and the cost increasingly gets more expensive over time as you obtain new figurines. The Phonograph and the 600 Rupees contained inside are a BraggingRightsReward, but the bliss of having a full set of 20 hearts is made a lot harder through this sidequest alone.
149	* LeafBoat: While Link is tiny, he can go on top of a leaf and use his [[BlowYouAway Gust Jar]] to propel himself across the body of water.
150	* LegacyCharacter: Like ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker The Wind Waker]]'', this game shows a hero, who could be a previous Link, in the prologue.
151	* LethalLavaLand: The aptly-named Cave of Flames combines this with MinecartMadness, as Link has to cross large pits of lava by riding speedy minecarts. There are also rocky platforms that have to be crossed quickly, as they'll sink into the lava shortly after Link stands onto them.
152	* LevelInTheClouds: [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Cloud Tops]], several layers of clouds that can be walked on and even dug through with the Mole Mitts in places. The Palace of Winds is a five-story dungeon floating above a tower built on the highest of these cloud decks. And as if that isn't high enough, the boss battle appears to take place a very long distance above the dungeon. [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes Also, Ezlo is afraid of heights.]]
153	* LevelOfTediousEnemies: There are a number of enemies that serve to prevent Link from using items in any capacity, such as Wisps or Beetles, or enemies like Like Likes/Rupee Likes will trap Link and eat his shield or rupees while doing no damage to him. For the most part, these enemies are spread throughout levels so that they're one-room obstacles, but several Mole Mitts caves only contain these enemies and place them in extremely cramped sections so that there's no chance Link doesn't get grabbed by one.
154	* LivingStatue: The Armoses in Wind Ruins are revealed to be Minish creations. Link can enter one and activate or deactivate them by pressing their inner switches.
155	* LifeEnergy: The Light Force is directly tied to [[spoiler:Princess Zelda's life. If Vaati succeeds in draining the Light Force from her, she will die. [[NonstandardGameOver This can happen]]]].
156	* LilyPadPlatform: There are lilypads that can be used to cross bodies of water in the overworld before getting the flippers when [[SizeShifter tiny]]. The ones that begin appearing in Castor Wilds after Link does certain Kinstone fusions are the ''only'' way to traverse the quicksand when Link is small, as he cannot use the Pegasus Boots when he's in that size.
157	* LoadBearingBoss: Defeating Vaati during his second phase causes Hyrule Castle to start collapsing. Link, Zelda and Ezlo attempt to flee to the Elemental Sanctuary, but Vaati then ambushes there and enters his OneWingedAngel form, leading to the definitive part of the FinalBoss battle.
158	* TheLostWoods: The Minish Woods are an evergreen forest containing the [[{{Lilliputians}} Minish]] Village and the Deepwood Shrine, the first proper dungeon in the game where the Earth Element resides. Also, the first half of the Royal Valley is a [[BlackoutBasement dark]], purple forest full of ghosts and crows that can only be traversed by following directions set out by each area's sign.
159	* MacGuffin: The Light Force, within Princess Zelda, which Vaati wants so he can ascend to even greater heights of power than his already-considerable level. For Link, it's the Picori Blade/[[spoiler:the Four Sword]], which will allow him to fight off Vaati's curses on everyone.
160	* MacroZone: Any time you shrink around human sized areas, they become these kinds of levels. Overlaps with MouseWorld.
161	* MagicMusic: Playing a song on the Ocarina of Wind summons a bird to take you throughout Hyrule.
162	* MarathonLevel: The Palace of Winds is by far the most extensive dungeon in the game (and it already takes the longest for Link to ''find''). You don't even get the compass or map until you're roughly halfway through it, and by that point the game had tricked you in thinking it would be over because you found the Boss Key and opened a Boss Door beforehand. Ezlo even lampshades this with his comment of "How much farther do we have to go!? This place goes on forever!"
163	* MassiveNumberedSiblings: The Blade Brothers are seven swordmaster siblings throughout Hyrule who teach Link new sword techniques (along with the spirit of their ancestor, Swiftblade the First).
164	* MeaningfulName: The cobbler who sleeps a lot is named Rem (as in, REM sleep). The Minish who lives in the library is named, creatively, Librari.
165	* MenLikeDogsWomenLikeCats: Romio and Julietta, who live together in Hyrule Town, have a pet dog and cat respectively.
166	* MetalSlime: While they don't disappear to make their spoils un-gettable, there are the gold versions of any common Mook. Only certain Kinstone fusions unlock them, and then you have to hunt them down in some treacherous (or tedious) spots in the overworld. When you find them, you'll discover them to be (a) lightning fast, (b) super aggressive, (c) requiring a boss-level amount of hits to kill, and (d) typically surrounded by several of their standard kin. But you'll get 200 rupees out of it, and ''The Minish Cap'' is a game that actually has a use for rupees.
167	* MetaTwist: A major twist on the PlotCoupon gathering formula happens when Link finishes the third dungeon just to discover that the MacGuffin he was searching for isn't there anymore.
168	* MinecartMadness: Cave of Flames has sections where Link has to travel rapidly across rails by riding a minecart. In two instances, he has to press a switch that shifts the rail junctions so he can reroute the minecart onto a new area.
169	* MiniDungeon: Royal Crypt. Upon completion, Link receives a gold Kinstone from King Gustaf to open the Source of the Flow, enter the Veil Falls and reach the Cloud Top to access the Palace of Winds.
170	* MissingSecret: You can only find homes for two of the three Oracles from Gorman. In the European version, Gorman even says that he can build a third house south of the library if he could get rid of the stray cats on the lot. The cats disappear late in the game, but so does Gorman.
171	* MonsterCompendium: There's a figurine collection similar to that of ''The Wind Waker'', though with a different method of obtaining them. Figurines are obtained by spending Mysterious Seashells at a [[RandomDrop dispenser machine]], with your chances of getting one you don't have yet based on how many figurines you have and how many shells you spend. Most of the figurines are available from the get-go, but others (like bosses, including the final boss) have to be unlocked by progressing through the game [[DoubleUnlock and then won from the drawing]].
172	* MonsterInTheIce: The boss of the Temple of Droplets is the [[GiantMook Big Octorok]] (actually just a normal-sized [[{{Mook}} Octorok]], but it ''looks'' big since the dungeon is [[MouseWorld Minish-sized]]). It and the [[PlotCoupon Element of Waters]] are both initially frozen, but thawing the Element also thaws the boss, forcing you to defeat it.
173	* MookBouncer: Both the Wallmaster and the Floormaster will take Link to the beginning of the dungeon if they grab him.
174	* MookPromotion: Minor enemies are occasionally promoted to GiantMook bosses. In this instance, though, [[NormalFishInATinyPond the enemies haven't become more powerful]]; Link has simply been [[IncredibleShrinkingMan shrunk to a smaller size]].
175	* MouseWorld: When Link is small, the world is explicitly portrayed as such, with the Minish living in the rafters of buildings, out of sight of humans.
176	* MuckingInTheMud: Castor Wilds consists of a quicksand-like marsh with safe zones in the form of raised land. Traversing it safely requires getting ahold of the Pegasus Shoes, which let you dash across before the muck can take hold.
177	* MythologyGag:
178	** Since this game was developed by Creator/{{Capcom}}, by the same team that developed [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames the Oracle games]], we see the three Oracles from those games as {{NPC}}s in town.
179	** Syrup's figurine mentions how she's looking for an apprentice, referencing her granddaughter Maple (also from the Oracle games).
180	* NaturalElements: The Four Elements, which are mystical jewels capable of restoring the power of the Four Sword, and are also located in a dungeon themed around their respective element (Earth in Deepwood Shrine, Fire in Cave of Flames, Water in Temple of Droplets, and Wind in Fortress of Winds). Interestingly, the Wind Element was originally placed in the Fortress of Winds which, despite its name, is actually an UndergroundLevel.
181	* NeglectedSidequestConsequence: Most Kinstone Fusions can wait for whenever the player feels like doing them. However, there is one that will result in a missed opportunity to get Light Arrows if not done relatively early in the game. One of the characters offering Kinstone Fusion is a resident of Hyrule Town in exotic clothes who mentions being from far away. Fusing with him will unlock a teleporter that brings Link inside a building he can't leave, in which a bedridden old man named Gregal can be helped by sucking the ghost that's plaguing him with the Gust Jar. Later in the game's main plot, Link will be able to enter the building from its physical location, Cloud Tops. By that point, Gregal will have recovered and give Link the item. If Gregal isn't saved by the time the Cloud Tops are reached in the main quest, he'll have died, and the Light Arrows are never obtained.
182	* NewWorkRecycledGraphics: The game recycles a lot of sprite-work from the ''Four Swords'' games. This makes sense, as this game is a prequel to said sub-series.
183	* NonstandardGameOver: [[spoiler:At the end of the game, if Link can't get to Vaati before the three bells ring, [[https://youtu.be/6LGAwr0vpoM?t=113 Vaati will have taken all of the Light Force from Zelda]], killing her and making Vaati invincible. Ezlo states that it's all over and you see the Game Over screen.]]
184	* NormalFishInATinyPond: [=ChuChus=] are among the first {{Mooks}} you encounter in the game, and they go down in a few sword swings. A lone [=ChuChu=] serves as a boss in Deepwood Shrine, but because you traverse through the dungeon while tiny, this normally non-threatening {{Mook}} becomes a dangerous GiantMook that's harder to take down.
185	* NPCRoadblock: Once Link beats the first dungeon, he is unable to get past the guard blocking the west exit of Hyrule Town until he learns the Spin Attack. The guards blocking the north and east exits, will run/walk parallel to Link, preventing him from passing.
186	* NumerologicalMotif: The number 4: four Elements, Four Sword...
187	* OddballInTheSeries: Not to the series as a whole, but rather the ''Four Swords'' trilogy, since it's a single-player installment in a trilogy that previously had much of its focus on multiplayer gameplay.
188	* OminousPipeOrgan: Most of Vaati's music makes use of this.
189	* OneOfTheseDoorsIsNotLikeTheOther: There's a graveyard with one of these. Signs in each area tell you where to go. After a few signs, though, they stop giving straight directions ("Left" or "Up") and start getting tricky, with things like "Same as two signs ago" or "The opposite of the last sign."
190	* OneWingedAngel: Vaati. At the beginning of the battle, he morphs from his human form into a taller, more powerful-looking version of himself, and after ''that''[='=]s beaten, he changes completely into a giant, spherical beast with one huge eye and giant claws -- very much resembling [=DethI=] from ''Link's Awakening''.
191	* OnlyIdiotsMayPass: Link can't get the Pegasus Boots until trying and failing to wade through the muck of Castor Wilds. Also, the Hyrule Town library doesn't open until a Minish tells Link about the Minish elder who lives there.
192	* OpeningNarration: There's an opening crawl at the beginning of the game, summarizing the legend of the sacred light.
193	* OriginsEpisode: The backstory is this for Vaati and the game itself focuses on the origin of the Four Sword, which started out as the Picori Blade.
194	* PermanentlyMissableContent:
195	** The game has the Light Arrows, which can only be found if the player "kinfuses" with a [[GuideDangIt seemingly random, arbitrary person]] to unlock a teleporter that leads to a location later in the game, where they must [[spoiler:save an NPC named Gregal from an evil spirit by using the Gust Jar]], who will then give you the arrows once he has fully recovered much later in the game. Otherwise, by the time you can reach said location normally, [[spoiler:Gregal is dead]] and the item is lost. There are also a handful of kinfusions that are lost if you progress too far into the game. Especially irksome since some of them become unavailable as a result of other kinfusions, meaning they have to be done in the right order too.
196	** When the player fuses kinstones with Eenie, the Goron seen in Lon Lon Ranch that was digging a wall will have enough strength to access the Goron Cave. Later on in the game, Link can find caves dedicated to the Mole Mitts. Certain caves have walls that have kinstone fusions, which can cause more Gorons to show up. If the player finds all 6, [[spoiler: they can get an Empty Bottle. If the player beats the game, they can fuse kinstones with one of the Gorons to make Biggoron appear, which can eventually lead to you getting the Mirror Shield.]] Due to a glitch in the European version, should said player ask to fuse kinstones but cancel it afterward, Eenie will never fuse with you again, causing you to lose everything in this quest.
197	* PinataEnemy: Gold enemies, which are gold [[PaletteSwap palette swaps]] of relatively weak overworld enemies with tons more hit points and more aggressive AI that drop large amounts of money when killed. They appear as a result of certain Kinstone fusions.
198	* PlatformActivatedAbility:
199	** In this game, Link has the ability to shrink to a minuscule size with the help of Ezlo. However, he has to stand on a Minish Portal in order to perform this ability. Depending on the location, the Portal can be a tree stump (the most common, often found in the overworld), a rough stone pad (exclusive to Mount Crenel), a uniquely-crafted stone pad (found in most dungeons), or a pot (exclusive to Hyrule Town; some of these are upside down and have to be flipped with the Cane of Pacci).
200	** As Link progresses in the game, he can find multi-colored floor tiles he can stand on to power up the Four Sword while loading a Spin Attack and create immaterial replicas of his likeness. Afterwards, he can unleash the Spin Attack and move alongside the replicas for a limited period of time to perform an action that would normally require more than one person,
201	* PlotCoupon: Four Elements to restore the Four Sword and gain the power to both save those who were cursed by Vaati's petrifying magic (including Princess Zelda) and defeat Vaati himself.
202	* PointOfNoReturn: You're unable to return once you enter the boss room in Hyrule Castle. First, you deal with a gauntlet of rooms, in which you cannot go back and [[NonStandardGameOver is timed]]. Second, once you defeat Vaati, you are given the option to escape, but various areas are blocked to trigger the final fight.
203	* PokemonSpeak:
204	** The Minish speak exclusively using parts of the word "Picori". "Picori" is the human name ''for'' "[[CallARabbitASmeerp Minish]]".
205	** [[AvertedTrope Averted]] in the original Japanese and the German, French and Italian versions, where they talk backwards instead. This reveals that most of the Minish's unreadable dialogue in the beginning of the game is actually... just telling you that [[CaptainObvious you are human]] and that they don't understand you.
206	* PostEndGameContent: After completing the game, Link will be able to obtain the Mirror Shield after fusing kinstones with a Goron to make Biggoron appear at Veil Falls. Six more figurines would also become available for collection.
207	* PowerUpLetdown: The Picolyte are several bottled items that can be purchased from Beedle in Hyrule Castle Town. Beedle himself must be unlocked, and there are several varieties of Picolyte that you can unlock as well. Each type of Picolyte is a one-use item that temporarily increases the drop rate of certain items from grass and enemies, such as hearts, useable items, or Rupees. The problem is that each type of Picolyte lasts a mere 30 seconds, and they cost ''200 Rupees'' each--an absolutely terrible cost-to-benefit ratio.
208	* {{Prequel}}: To ''Four Swords'', explaining the history of the Four Sword and Vaati.
209	* PurpleIsTheNewBlack: Vaati is described by an [=NPC=] as being dressed all in black, even though his clothes are purple.
210	* RecoilBoost: You have to use the Gust Jar in a few areas to move a floating platform around like a boat. Normally the jar sucks in items when it's being used, but also produces one big puff when stopped. The recoil is what moves the platform, rather than the suction.
211	* RedSkyTakeWarning: [[spoiler:Vaati's EvilMakeover of Hyrule Castle includes turning the sky a vibrant shade of red red with black clouds everywhere, though it doesn't extend beyond the castle itself.]]
212	* ReforgedBlade: The Picori Blade which is broken, fixed, and eventually upgraded to become the Four Sword.
213	* RestingRecovery: Link can return home to restore his health by sleeping in his bedroom upstairs. Humorously, he sleeps with his companion, the talking hat Ezlo, tucked under the covers next to him.
214	* RetiredBadass: Link's grandfather and the king were both swordsmen in their youth and had a FriendlyRivalry (they once fought each other to a draw in a previous Picori Festival). Neither of them show any combat skills in the present day.
215	* RewardingVandalism: The game explains that there are [[MouseWorld tiny little people]] called the Minish who hide money under plants and other objects for heroes to find.
216	* RewatchBonus: ''You'' are the one who eats the Jabber Nut, but it's Ezlo who does all the talking when you actually converse with the Minish, even though he didn't eat the nut. The Doylist reason is that Link's a SilentProtagonist. But it's also an early sign that [[spoiler:Ezlo is actually a Minish himself.]]
217	* RuleOfThree: There are three [[ForDoomTheBellTolls bells tolls]] in the final dungeon [[spoiler:and after the third, Vaati becomes a god and Zelda is permanently turned to stone]].
218	* RumpRoast: Some fire attacks cause Link's behind to catch on fire, making him run at top speed, making you be careful to not run into any more damage.
219	* SchizoTech: There are two examples, both coming from the Minish tribe; it's surprising when you consider that they otherwise live with a very rural, barely technological lifestyle:
220	** The Armoses that are located in the Wind Ruins and guard the way to the Fortress of Winds are shown to be automatons created by the Minish to serve the Wind Tribe as guardians. Link can shrink his size and enter one to either enable or disable them by pressing their internal activation switches. The Fortress of Winds itself, in turn, has Mazaal, a robotic boss akin to Gohdan from ''The Wind Waker'' which is believed to protect the Wind Element (though Link and Ezlo later find out that the Element isn't there anymore).
221	** There's a Minish who, early on in the game, gives Link a Bomb Bag. Much later, after a certain Kinstone fusion is performed, this Minish comes up with the novel invention of Remote Bombs; these can explode whenever Link wishes to (by pressing the same button that has them equipped), and instead of fuses they have bulbs glowing orange and blue at their top,
222	* SceneryPorn: The view you see of a river valley while you climb up one of the beanstalks that grow once you've fused the correct Kinstones.
223	* SealedEvilInACan: The chest containing all of the monsters in the world, which Vaati frees.
224	* SequentialBoss: Taking down Vaati in the end requires you to fight him in three different forms. (Luckily, between two and three, you can duck into a small room in the castle and reload your health.)
225	* SeriousBusiness: Nearly everyone you meet -- regardless of whether they're in deadly peril or even already dead -- is eager to "fuse Kinstones" with Link: match up broken halves of supposedly luck-altering ceramic circles, which Link finds in bushes and under rocks. Admittedly a successfully fused Kinstone usually ''does'' place a new treasure chest somewhere or open a new path, which might justify the almost universal interest... if anyone besides Link ever went looking for the results of successful fusion.
226	* ShellGame: During the Mazaal boss battle, Link must shrink to Minish size and enter the construct to attack its weakness, a glowing pillar. Later in the battle, Mazaal will swallow a large volume of sand, filling up its chamber and burying all its pillars, including the weakpoint. Link must now use the Mole Mitts to dig out the correct pillar and attack before Mazaal ejects him out of its body.
227	* ShieldBearingMook: Darknuts, Red Darknuts, and Black Knights have a shield and a sword. They charge at you, but swash away any sword attack you may try to get in. The key to defeating them is to roll around (they are rather slow to turn around), then deliver massive hurtage from behind.
228	* ShoutOut:
229	** The game is positively ''loaded'' with nods to nearly every previous game in the series via character cameos and familiar leitmotifs. Some sound effects are also directly lifted from ''Link's Awakening''.
230	** The fact that Ezlo the LivingHat resembles a bird evokes the Wise Man's talking bird-headed hat from ''Film/{{Labyrinth}}''.
231	** The cobbler tells you that his shoes are being finished while he sleeps. By this point, you're aware of the existence of the Minish, and possibly that they like to make humans happy because it gives them energy, but that they do so in secret (you'd have to talk to a random NPC to learn this.) Furthermore, there's a vase that lets you shrink in the shop, and if you climb up onto the cobbler's desk, you can see a Minish there. Obviously, this is a reference to the tale of the cobbler and the elves.
232	** Later, in Melari's mines, one of the Minish tells you that "the mine belongs to Melari and us, his seven apprentices", the seven miners being reminiscent of the [[Literature/SnowWhite seven dwarfs]].
233	** Later still, after you can flip stuff (and therefore shrink in several more places in Hyrule Town,) you can get into the rafters of the bar. The forest Minish are visiting there, and remarking about how city life is so exciting, like the tale of the country mouse and the city mouse.
234	** At one point in the game, you meet an AbsentMindedProfessor named Dr. Left. As opposed to [[VideoGame/SimCity Dr. Wright]][=/=][[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening Mr. Write]], as one presumes judging by his hair.
235	** One of the books in the library is titled "''[[Film/MarriedToTheMob Married to the Moblin]]''".
236	** You can cause a beanstalk to grow on Mt. Crenel, allowing you to climb up into the clouds, recalling ''Jack and the Beanstalk''. Smaller beanstalks on Mt. Crenel make the same sound that growing a beanstalk in ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' makes.
237	** One that would pass over the heads of most child players: in Hyrule Town, there are two houses next to each-other. The house on the left belongs to a man named 'Romio' living with his dog, and the house on the right belongs to a woman named 'Julietta' who lives with her cat and her mother named 'Verona', This is an obvious reference to ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet'', whom both live in the Italian town of Verona. According to their collectible figurine, they are in love with each-other and will be married once they have their pets' approval.
238	** Talk to Malon, and you'll hear a three note jingle. It's Epona's Song from ''Ocarina of Time'', which is taught by Malon in that game.
239	* SideQuest: As this game has one of the least amount of dungeons out of all Zelda games, it has an emphasis on sidequests to help balance out the time, similar to other games like ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'', ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'' and the later-released ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks''.
240	* SlippySlideyIceWorld: The Temple of Droplets. There are sliding {{Block Puzzle}}s, narrow slippery walkways over BottomlessPits, and annoying [[BigCreepyCrawlies flies and beetles]].
241	* SolidClouds: In one of the later dungeons, there are clouds you can walk on. Also, there are such clouds you need to explore in order to get to the dungeon in the first place.
242	* SoNearYetSoFar:
243	** The petrified Zelda is kept next to the king's throne in Hyrule Castle, one of the first areas you visit. The rest of the game involves reforging the Picori Blade and upgrading it into the Four Sword in order to free her.
244	** A single dungeon version happens in the Temple of Droplets, where the Boss Door is one of the first unlocked, but the Element of Water is frozen, forcing Link and Ezlo to traverse the dungeon to melt it out. Happens again at the end, when the now unfrozen Big Octorok sucks the Element inside itself, forcing Link to defeat the boss.
245	* SoundTest: This is one of the few games in the series to have one. In this one, it's unlocked by getting every figurine and using a phonograph in a house whose entrance is blocked until they're collected.
246	* SpinAttack: The game returns the hurricane spin as the ultimate attack taught by the hidden martial arts masters. It's particularly effective against Dark Nuts, which is important because you have a timed battle against them near the end of the game.
247	* SpringySpores: The game features both the traditional bouncy type that breaks Link's fall when he shrinks down to Minish size as well as elastic ones that he (or the Gust Jar) can pull on to slingshot himself across gaps.
248	* StartOfDarkness: Vaati put on the Mage's Cap, wished to be a powerful sorcerer, and turned his mentor into a living hat.
249	* StealthBasedMission: At one point, while Vaati has taken control of [[spoiler:or rather, has [[FakeKing cast an illusion to look like]]]] the king, you have to sneak past the guards in order to reach the Elemental Sanctuary.
250	* StealthPrequel: The game introduces Vaati right off the bat and clearly serves as his origin story, but it's not until you've completely reforged and upgraded the Minish sword that it becomes clear you've actually created and are wielding the very [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwords Four Sword]] used to fight Vaati in the future.
251	* StealthPun: '''Diminish''' Cap!
252	* SwordBeam:
253	** Unlike the other games that either give you one or no sword beams, you get ''two.'' One at maximum health and one when you have one heart. If you learned how to do it, that is.
254	** This is in addition to the curse-breaking Spin Attack beam that you use when you unlock the Four Sword.
255	* {{Tagline}}: "The Magic of the Minish Cap"
256	* TakenForGranite: Zelda from the first few minutes of the game onward, as well as many of Vaati's other victims later on. In the NonStandardGameOver, [[spoiler:Vaati drains the life from Zelda's petrified form, leaving her as lifeless stone permanently]].
257	* TakeYourTime: The TimedMission in the final dungeon hinges on three bell chimes [[spoiler:before Zelda is beyond saving]]. Only the first two chimes are scripted, and you can take all the time you like. Unfortunately, the third really is on a timer, which the game does not inform you of, so [[NonStandardGameOver take too long and it will be too late]].
258	* TempleOfDoom: The Fortress of Winds, which is located in an obscure corner of Hyrule and full of functioning traps.
259	* TennisBoss: Vaati's final form requires you to hit back four energy balls at a time before you can actually hurt him, but he [[TacticalSuicideBoss was nice enough]] to leave Link some magic panels that let him use his MesACrowd powers.
260	* ThisCannotBe: To Vaati's horror when you, in his eyes, a mere child, vanquish his second mighty form in the final battle.
261	* TimedMission: The Cucco minigame. Also, [[spoiler:when you're trying to rescue Zelda from Vaati's extraction process, there's a bell that, when rung three times, tells you the extraction process is complete, with Zelda dead and Vaati at full power. The first two rings are [[TakeYourTime not really timed]]--but the third one is. [[NonstandardGameOver That means if you take too long to defeat the Darknuts on that level...]]]]
262	* TimeLimitBoss: In the final dungeon, you need to reach Vaati before the bell tolls three times. The first two are predetermined, but before the third, you need to go fight a trio of Darknuts and defeat them in about two or three minutes, lest that Vaati extracts all of Zelda's life force and give you a NonStandardGameOver.
263	* TogglingSetpiecePuzzle: The early parts of the Palace of Winds feature switches that, upon being hit, extend nearby bridges while also retracting others, and Link has to hit them accordingly to make his way through the dungeon. At one point, he has to hit one of the switches via a [[TrickShotPuzzle trick shot]] (whether with the boomerang or a bomb), since it's placed alongside an obstruction that is preventing a direct shot necessary to extend the next bridge.
264	* TranslatorMicrobes: The Jabber Nut, which lets Link understand the Minish language.
265	* TraumaInn: Link's house works like one, allowing him to sleep in his bed and fully recover. There's also a more traditional inn in Hyrule Town that provides a bonus of Kinstones.
266	* TreeTrunkTour: This happens a lot due to Link's ability to shrink himself and the fact that the game's featured race, the Minish, mostly live inside {{Arboreal Abode}}s.
267	* TwiceToldTale: In order to get the Pegasus Boots, Link must interact with a {{Sleepyhead}} shoemaker who gets covert help from several Minish who help him finish his shoes. It's basically a retelling of Literature/TheElvesAndTheCobbler.
268	* TwoTeacherSchool: The Funday School explicitly only has two teachers, twin sisters Tina and Dina.
269	* UndergroundLevel: Aside from the Cave of Flames, there are walls scattered throughout Hyrule that can be dug into with the Mole Mitts, leading into tunnel mazes of diggable earth that may serve as shortcuts to other aboveground locations or hide secrets. Many of them are quite extensive.
270	* UniqueEnemy: There is only one Blue Tektite in the overworld. He hops around Mt. Crenel same as the red ones, albeit more aggressively.
271	* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: No one seems to mind that Link is running around with what looks like a talking legless mallard on his head while shrinking or growing after jumping onto things.
272	* TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon: This is the first game in the series to choose Hyrule Castle for this role. While the location is technically visitable at several points before the endgame, Vaati's magic eventually warps it into a much more sinister structure than it was before. The dungeon itself is very tall, featuring numerous puzzles and enemies, including multiple MiniBoss battles against Darknuts.
273	* VideoGameCaringPotential: Fusing Kinstones with a man who lives in the town will result in a portal appearing that takes you to the bedroom of an old man you've never met before. There's a ghost circling around him that only you can see, slowly killing him. You can use your Gust Jar to remove the ghost and heal the old man. Later in the game, you learn that the old man is a member of the Wind Tribe, and he'll give you a new weapon as thanks for saving his life.
274	* VideoGameSliding: The game has rolling, which is a commonly fast way of traveling, and it's also assigned to a ContextSensitiveButton.
275	* ViolationOfCommonSense: In order to finish all Kinstones fusions, you must fuse with few things that ''try to kill you'' like the cat Scratcher in Hyrule Town.
276	* VoodooShark: The Jabber Nut doesn't really make much sense. Introduced as a way to bridge the language barrier with the Minish and give Link an excuse for understanding animals, it ends up raising further questions. First, nowhere does the game even hint that Ezlo ate any of it, so how does he manage to go from barely understanding any of the local dialect to full fluency? Second, why does it only let Link understand animals while he's small?
277	* WalkOnWater: Link has to use the Pegasus Boots to run over the quicksand pools in Castor Wilds without sinking.
278	* WarpWhistle: Much like the Ocarina (originally localized as the more generic Flute) in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast A Link to the Past]]'', the Ocarina of Wind calls a bird that carries Link to one of eight fixed locations in the overworld.
279	* WasntThatFun: [[ExpositionFairy Ezlo]] says this when you ride the mine carts in the Cave of Flames for the first time. If Link clearly screaming in horror wasn't an indication...
280	* WhereItAllBegan: The final dungeon is Hyrule Castle, the same place where Link's quest began proper after the prologue ended with Zelda being turned into stone by Vaati.
281	* WindIsGreen: Showcased with the Elements, which are the {{Plot Coupon}}s. Water and Fire are blue and red respectively as usual, but Earth is purple, and Wind therefore is green. In ''Four Swords'', however, the Earth Element is green and the Wind Element is purple, which was reversed in later games (this is given a nod with the original placement of the Wind Element, as it used to be in the Fortress of Winds, which is earth-themed in terms of gameplay; the Wind Tribe then moved to the skies, and the Wind Element is now located in the Palace of Winds, which is actually wind-themed).
282	* WithThisHerring: The BigBad shows up, [[TakenForGranite turns the princess to stone]], and opens a literal Pandora's Box. So, the king gives you everything he apparently thinks you need to deal with all this by yourself: a broken sword, and permission to use the not-broken low-level sword you already had. Link also has a shield by this point, but only because Zelda ''won it for him in a carnival game''. Justified, as opening the aforementioned Pandora's box released the monsters into the world; there was no need for gear before hand.
283	* WorldHealingWave: [[spoiler:In the ending, Hyrule Castle is utterly destroyed, smashing, and thus killing most of the people inside turned to statues. Ezlo tells them not to mourn, and he and Zelda combine their powers to undo all of Vaati's deeds. They restore Hyrule to its former peace and purge the world of the monsters terrorizing it as well.]]
284	* YouAreTooLate: In the NonStandardGameOver, Ezlo exclaims they're too late [[spoiler:to save Zelda, who is now lifeless stone after Vaati steals the Light Force from her.]]
285	* YouHaveResearchedBreathing: One of the hidden sword skills allows Link to... break pots with his sword. Sure, the technique itself is called the Rock Breaker and it also allows the ability to break rocks, but it doesn't explain why he can't just do what other Links have been able to do without training. The ''Oracle'' games and ''Link's Awakening'' required Link to have a level 2 sword to smash pots, so it seems to be thematically tied except that the Rock Breaker doesn't increase the amount of damage Link deals (though the sword he uses does, and it's required to learn the technique).
286	* YouShouldntKnowThisAlready: Sword-fighting moves use variations of the sword button, but need to be taught when you have the right scroll, and show them to the town's sensei.

Context VideoGame / TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap