The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap

We may not have been able to play Twilight Princess this year, but nobody who went through The Minish Cap on Game Boy Advance is complaining. After all, it would be hard for Miyamoto's GameCube title -- or any other game, for that matter -- to compete with this miniature masterpiece.

The Minish Cap hits all the Zelda high spots: Link has his classic arsenal, traverses puzzle-filled dungeons, etc. But the ambition goes far beyond the formula for a simple sequel. Allowing Link to shrink down to miniscule size is truly brilliant -- as is the ways this transformation is handled in the game design. It turns a simple puddle into a vast ocean, and a hole in the wall leads to a whole new world. It's not quite the scope of the alternate dimension aspect of A Link to the Past, but the fact that it takes place on the same plane of existence in some ways makes it better. The developers at Capcom (also behind Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons) effortlessly go between normal and small sizes to take the player on an exciting ride few games can match.

Even the story is a good one, taking itself less seriously than Zelda games in the past. Ezlo, Link's hat, acts as the comic relief, and it's hard not to like the tiny Minish -- once happy to serve larger species, but now experiencing some jealousy over their larger neighbors. The Minish Cap takes things a lot further than simply saving Princess Zelda.

New powers consistently fall into your grasp, and the ones introduced in The Minish Cap are good ones. A jar invokes the spirit of Nintendo character Kirby by sucking in anything you point it at. A pair of claws will tear through rock and walls like scissors through paper. Adding to the long line of wands in Zelda games, The Minish Cap features one that flips objects upside-down. Each item has several real-world uses, and you'll gleefully run around looking for ways to take advantage of them.

Adding replay to Link's quest are the Kinstone Pieces. These medallion halves are found throughout the world, and when combined with someone else's may make chests appear or totally change the face of the landscape. Shells sometimes show up instead of Rupees, and these can be used to buy figurines from a slot machine in a nod to Super Smash Bros.. Hours melt away when pursuing both of these side quests, and will help you hold onto this great game long after you've completed its main objective.

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap is one of the best handheld games of all-time, and for a while was the best thing you could put into your DS. It's ingenious, lengthy, beautiful, and plays perfectly. Twilight Princess can wait; 2005 belonged to The Minish Cap.