Saturday, January 26, 2013

Book Review: 'The Legend Of Zelda - Hyrule Historia'

Originally released in Japan as a tie in for 'Skyward Sword' and the 25th anniversary of the first Zelda game, 'The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia', is a gorgeous 276-page art book and covers the complete history of Hyrule. 

The book is already a best-seller even before its release due to pre-orders that sent it to the #1 spot on Amazon's sales chart, unseating '50 Shades of Grey'.

As this was originally a tie in with 'Skyward Sword', there is of course, quite a lot of coverage from that. And I do mean, quite a lot! Lots of concept art and character designs from the game, even on some of the supplemental characters!


The section of most interest to Zelda fans has to be 'The History Of Hyrule: A Chronology'; a complete history of the official The Legend Of Zelda timeline! Right from the beginning when the goddesses Din, Nayru and Farore created the world and left behind the Triforce, to the first game (but last game to be released) in the timeline 'Skyward Sword', all the way through until 'Ocarina Of Time'. After 'Ocarina' it does get a bit complicated though as the timeline then fractures into three! But it is well worth following as it is all very detailed.



The next section documents 25 years of artwork, with never-before-seen original sketches and illustrations from all the games and gives an interesting insight into the character designs from the series.



A special treat is the 32 page bonus 'Skyward Sword' manga by Akira Himekawa, actually based on the game, so probably only read it if you've played the game itself!



So, is this tome worth getting? A very big YES if you're a fan of the series as it's all very in depth and very well put together! A welcome addition to any Zelda geek's bookshelf!



***** out of 5

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