Its pretty amazing. It has concept art for all the games, as well as a detailed history of Hyrule including stuff about the different Races, the chronology of the games in respect to when they happen on the official zelda timeline and all that jazz. Its sweet!
A little mistake to find in the Hyrule historia for all you anal fans out there. Check out the medallions on the page with the sages from OOT. If you're super die hard you'll spot it!
I had pre-ordered it on amazon shortly after I learned Black Horse was going to license and translate the Japanese version. It's a very cool concept and includes some neat ideas that even as a long-time Zelda fan, never really occurred to me. The book itself is decent for what it is, but, I made the flaw of over-hyping it. As such, I ended up disappointed with the amount of of detail and insight. Perhaps most disappointing is that there's, basically, a disclaimer in the front of the book that says the entire thing is theories not verified by Nintendo. As long as you know that going in, though, I think it'd be an enjoyable read for most Zelda fans--definitely worth $20.
I preordered Hyrule Historia and asked straight up, "Is there going to be a collector's edition or bundle coming out?" They told me no. Barnes and Noble told me no. So I preordered it. I found out a few weeks later that there is in fact going to be a special edition but will Barnes and Noble let me in on it? Nooooooooo, they're all sold out now so I have to go to the internet. After a miss by a day and a miss by two hours of sites with stock, I finally broke down and got one for 125 bucks. So now I've got my freakin' hardback and it's never getting opened. It's in my collection with my unopened games now. Three wootz for HH!
The limited edition was EXTREMELY limited. Like, not even worth it honestly. Some bits from HH: One, the obvious thing is, per page 68, this chronicle picks up information that is merely believed to be true "at this time", meaning, the entire thing can be retconned if Nintendo chooses it to be. Per page 69, "The Tragedy of Zelda I", as she is referred as, happens during the era of decline in the DT. This means that Zelda I is not actually the first Princess Zelda. She would have existed thousands of years after SS Zelda and the establishment of Hyrule. Sky Era It also seems to directly confirm that Demise HIMSELF is reincarnated, per page 76: It also seems the war to unify Hyrule was not just an event that simply preceded OoT; page 84: "The war in Hyrule raged unabated for countless eras." This must mean that sometime after SS, there was a war that lasted for quite a while to unify Hyrule. This would be interesting to explore in future games. It also may play into those who would become the Twili. OoT/ALttP: Page 87: Kaepora Gaebora literally is Rauru looking after Link before he draws the Master Sword. The text also seems to imply at some point that the Temple of Light was not always apart of the Sacred Realm, but I'm not 100% positive. Page 93: The Hylian Knights, referred to in ALttP, are descendents of the "Hero" who governed the Crest of Courage. It seems from pages 92/93 that Ganondorf was originally sealed after Link was defeated in the DT. Later on, it says "many years later" on page 93 on the side, although I'm not sure if that has to do with ALttP or the Imprisoning War. Per page 93, "Little did they realize that the Sacred Realm had been transformed into the Dark World by Ganondorf's evil heart." It later states on this page, Also, from page 93, Somewhat interesting. HH actually correctly says Agahnim is a priest, not a Wizard! Thank God!! (pet peeve) About Agahnim, per page 94, "In truth, he is an offshoot of Ganon, sent forth from the Dark World." This confirms what a lot of us believed already, that Agahnim was Ganon's alter ego. Per page 96, The Master Sword once lay inside a Temple where it lays in the Lost Woods, but it has decayed over time. This would place ALttP thousands of years, in all likelihood, after OoT. Perhaps the same amount of time has passed between OoT and ALttP and OoT and TP, given the similar nature of the placing of the Master Sword. Per pages ~100-102, Link in ALttP, OoX, and LA are all the same Link. After LA, his whereabouts are unknown (page 103). LoZ/AoL Hyrule enters an era of prosperity after the defeat of Ganon (page 104), and each successive king of Hyrule uses the Triforce, as per the back story of AoL. The Wizard from the backstory of the AoL is also mentioned to either be a follower of Ganon, or an "offshoot", "much like Agahnim". It doesn't say which, in typical Nintendo fashion. So Zelda I is not literally the first Princess Zelda. These events take place long after ALttP, which I find fascinating, as it is so different than we all originally believed, but it makes a LOT of sense. Per page 106, Link from LoZ is "thought" to be a descendent of ALttP Link. This again is very interesting. Beginning of the CT: Page 110: This implies to me that the Triforce is without time in a sense, and once it splits once, it is split for good. That is why Ganondorf had the ToP without even knowing it in TP. Page 110 confirms MM takes place a few months after OoT child ending. Just a little anecdote. Twilight Era Per page 113, It was at this point that the Goddesses dispatched the light spirits to banish those who would become the Twili. The details of exactly who the sages of this era are is unknown. Really vague here. hm. Page 114: Ganondorf's goal is revealed. Unite both the Twilight Realm and the Light World and create a single Dark World. They should have told us this in the game!!!! It also confirms that at least hundreds of years have passed since Ganondorf's execution and "peace had reigned". Page 115: "The princess then poured all her power into Midna, saving her life." We already know this in a sense but the book still says nothing about what happened to her body, which does annoy me. I really wish we knew. Pg. 116: City in the Sky, they say its relation to the "Sky Era city of Skyloft is unkown." Frustrating. Page 117: "The Temple of Time, home to the Master Sword's Pedestal, has rotted away and lies in ruins within the forest." Matches ALttP This I think is one of the most important bits: Ganondorf's end at the end of TP. Page 118: This implies that Ganondorf may not be dead, and that the ToP may have just gone inactive. It could be reactivated at some point. Wind Waker Era: Pgs 123-124: All it says is that Ganondorf was resurrected after being sealed along with Hyrule, both after the seal on the SR and the seal on Hyrule itself. Knowing some Japanese, I am interested in what word they used for "resurrection"; again, Japanese is so complicated and sometimes a literal and rigid translation isn't the best one. Page 127: There's more from WW but nothing that I found new or super interesting, but as always, feel free to add. That's all I've got. I didn't do FSA or MC because I haven't played them. I also didn't do ST or PH because, well, I didn't feel like it. Also, a tidbit from Skyward Sword: The Parella were originally designed as primitive Zoras. But the artists were told that they wanted something even more primitive, so they went back to the drawing board. Which has to put SS thousands of years before OoT, as a rough estimate, if they are the pre-evolved versions of the Zoras.
I believe that the fact that it was limited to 4000 copies is precisely what makes the book worth it. I collect things, usually in mint condition, and it hasn't failed me so far. I like having unopened Zelda games and limited edition books, it's my thing. I do the same with Magic but...that's an embarrassing story for another time.
I think the LE is kind of ugly compared to the normal version. And if you got it on release, it's still marked inside as a first edition. I hope that comes to mean something.
