On October 1st, 2020, I quit my retail job of three years. Mentally ravaged by the pressure of abiding by COVID regulations and hardening myself to vile, confrontational customers, I managed to start work full-time remotely. This meant a lot more time online, along with more opportunity to attend Twitch streams.
After six-plus months of not following more than three people on Twitch, October laid the seeds to grow that number exponentially in the months to come. One of the first to really establish themselves as a channel to remember came very… randomly.
Introducing MinishKat. (← Link to her Twitch channel.)
To start, let me proclaim that I’m not super fond of The Legend of Zelda overall. I’ve liked quite a few of the franchise’s titles in the past, though I hardly grew up with them. Was always more drawn to the games that had better movement ability with characters (with such revolutionary mechanics as “jumping”). Nevertheless, it’s one of many Nintendo franchises that I am interested in, and the reputation behind Ocarina of Time specifically is something many players are aware of.
Looking through the Twitch game category, I came across a channel with a cute avatar named “MinishKat” doing an Ocarina of Time “randomizer.” “Oh, I think I know what that is,” I thought to myself as I clicked into it. Indeed, key items and more were completely randomized, forcing the streamer to cover as much ground as the items currently held would allow. With my limited experience with the game, I could do nothing but watch as she meticulously searched areas and uncovered secrets with ease.
It was then that I realized that she was far from an amateur at the game, whether vanilla or randomized. Precision, craftiness, knowledge; possessing the necessary skill and insight to be able to handle dead ends with new leads almost instantly. That, and she’s mastered various advanced tactics via glitches and exploits to make things all the easier. Some of the things she’s capable of doing in Wind Waker and Breath of the Wild need to be seen to be believed. Yet it’s common nature with the stream.
Generally speaking, I’m drawn towards streamers who have a decent variety of things they play. I prefer a mix of both common games and occasional deviations. However, MinishKat has been a near-model of consistency, dedicating herself almost primarily to The Legend of Zelda randomizers and, recently, Breath of the Wild speedruns. (Fun fact: her current personal best is just over 34 minutes.) Also note that I’ve been following her since October of last year; I can name the number of games she’s played outside of LoZ on one hand.
A specific comfort comes from knowing that if the mood strikes me to see some Legend of Zelda content, MinishKat has it on the fly. And to be able to see it done with just as much finesse as the best could produce—even if not without some hilarious gaffes—makes for consistent entertainment. When she casually sends herself darting across the screen on a time-suspended girder, to the point where the game has to lag just to load everything onscreen correctly, I’m astounded every time.
Skill is one thing, personality is another. One thing especially noteworthy of a MinishKat stream is her genuineness. Oftentimes, she’ll start the stream in Just Chatting, catching up with the goings-on of her chat community and various passersby. She tells them of her own situation with great transparency and listens (reads?) intently to the responses in chat. The care she takes in absorbing all the information she can from the community is effortlessly heartwarming.
Even in-game, she’s considerate to any who should pop in. Every new name in chat she doesn’t recall during that specific stream, she greets with a cheery voice, asking how they are and welcoming them in. Generally, from what I can tell, she tries to absorb every message in chat, though speedruns in particular take up quite a bit of focus.
Perhaps you find yourself a productive lurker, slowly accumulating channel points as you do other things. Should you collect enough, Minish has a redemption where you dictate what she should speed-draw in MS Paint, as well as determining her mouse sensitivity during. This is among the most fun (and hysterical) redemptions I’ve seen yet in a well-constructed stream, resulting in some truly marvelous works of art. Or you can be like me and choose to waste your points every 3k.
Plus, she has some of the absolute most cutest emotes I’ve ever seen. Love using them everywhere.
A lot of Twitch streamers nowadays tend to go for the “cozy vibe” with streams, with Minish often vying for this with her own content. While I think she exudes this to some degree, I find her streams to be more calming than cozy. Some may argue the significant difference between the two terms, though for me it’s fairly different. Cozy is more of a sleepy symptom, calm still contains sufficient stimulation. Watching her streams is akin to comfort food, with all the dopamine and none of the fat.
Generally light-hearted with a friendly community, not a single stream I’ve attended has been a dud. A methodical mix of kindness, pro strats, and a professionalism visible in the way she upholds herself. I say this in the most flattering of lights—she knows what she expects from herself and chat, and her determination to produce good content is on full display several times a week. One should never di-Minish her capability to entertain and comfort.
She set the precedent going forward for what an appealing Twitch stream could be for me. All others, aside from who came before, would thus inevitably be compared to the kind of pleasant vibes she is able to produce. As time persists, the state of her content remains resolute in producing the fun vibes that Twitch is most known for. That alone makes her an easy recommendation for anyone looking to find a home on the site, especially for LoZ aficionados.
If any of this has made you interested, I would highly encourage checking out MinishKat on Twitch. You can also use this referral link to support her content with the purchase of any Secretlab chair, this referral link for some Gamer Goo (with discount code “MINISH” for 10% off at checkout), and why not grab an oodie and save $30 with discount code “MINISHKAT” at checkout? My goo-ified, oodie-wrapped Secretlab chair has seen its fair share of use!
For all other Twitch streamer odes, check out the Twitch Streamer Highlight Reel.
Be sure to stop by on the 5th for the next edition of the month’s Twitch streamer shoutout post!
Thank you for your time. Have a great day.
The Visualist's Veranda 