ZD Top 5 – Items from The Minish Cap

It may not be the most popular or well known game in the Zelda canon, but The Minish Cap stands in many gamers’ memories as a unique, worthwhile title that often doesn’t get its due. This week, we decided to reflect on the game by asking Zelda Dungeon staff to rank their Top 5 items from the game.

Which items do you most fondly remember from The Minish Cap? Did you love or loathe kinstones? Where is Vaati these days? As always, leave your own lists in the comments.

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Jon Lett – View Profile

5. Tiger Scrolls
4. Bottles
3. Roc’s Cape
2. Kinstones
1.  Four Sword

The Minish Cap, even with its rather limited inventory, had some great items that were used very well. I appreciated the amount of new items, and the clever uses for all of them. But still, the Four Sword itself truly intrigued me the most. The multiplying idea was obviously all well and good in the Four Swords titles, with multiple people playing and the games being based around it, but the actual progressive creation of the legendary weapon, and Link learning the early uses for it in Hyrule, made gameplay all the more endearing. The puzzles made good use of it when required, and best of all, the fights involving it were awesome. The Gyorg Pair was an extremely clever battle that had you acting on the fly with your sword and cape, and the Vaati fight was even better! The 2nd and 3rd forms made good use of the multiplication ability, and it was just one part of an epic battle with the game’s epic antagonist. I miss the Four Sword, its games, and the games’ villain; I sure hope we can see them all again someday.

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Alexis Anderson – View Profile

5. Din/Nayru/Farore’s Charms
4. Flippers
3. White Sword (Three Elements)
2. Roc’s Cape
1. Kinstones

Initially I did not understand how Kinstones were supposed to work, but once I figured them out they were a super fun part of this game! I can’t explain why I enjoyed matching them so much, but they were incorporated in such a way that I actively went looking for them (and I rarely complete side quests when I play Zelda games, at least the first time through). If I recall, matching them with Tingle and his groupies was the best to try for? Matching with Din, Nayru, and Farore was exciting too. And Roc’s Cape is always a favorite of mine–whatever lends Link the capability to jump is going to be a pleasure to put to use.

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Thomas Jacobs – View Profile

5. Gust Jar
4. Cane of Pacci
3. Remote Bombs
2. Roc’s Cape
1.  Four Sword

The Gust Jar makes for an interesting weapon: it can suck up bushes and enemies alike, turning foe against foe with a great burst of wind. The Cane of Pacci is reminiscent of using the Magic Hammer against the turtle enemies in A Link to the Past: one good knock and they are flipped over. Double fun this time, because you can use it to make big jumps. The Remote Bombs function to make the bombs a very useful weapon: not only can you use the bomb itself to hit enemies and damage them over and over again, but with the press of a button you can set it off and deal some major damage. The Roc’s Cape, well, who doesn’t like making massive jumps, soaring through the air, and delivering powerful attacks from the sky? But finally there is the Four Sword itself. Not only does it deal a lot of damage, but it can also allow Link to make copies of himself to aid in puzzles. While the use is basic, it is something unlike we’ve ever seen and I hope to see explored more in the future.

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Kira Koneko – View Profile

5. Cane of Pacci
4. Roc’s Cape
3. Gust Jar
2. Four Sword
1. Kinstones

I have always felt that the Minish Cap is the most underrated Zelda title and deserves much love! I must admit, however, the first time I played through the game I really wasn’t expecting much–but as I delved deeper into the story and the more I found out about The Minish, I became absolutely hooked. The fact that I was able to then become Minish-sized and enter their world made it all the better. From the Cane of Pacci to the Gust Jar and Roc’s Cape, I enjoyed acquiring and using items immensely Although they much more useful than the Kinstones, those Kinstones were still my absolute favorite! Like Alexis, I found myself surprised to enjoy collecting them so much; I, too, went traipsing around searching for all of them, much like how I endlessly searched for all the Skulltula’s in Ocarina of Time. These are the only such collection quests I have completed finding in their entirety–except for helping Mother Maiamai, of course!