Hyrule Historia

Did You Know?

• The book sold approximately 441 copies each day to stay in Amazon.com's top five bestselling books, according to Publishers Weekly.
• It topped The New York Times Best Seller list in the "Hardcover Advice & Misc." category.

Content

Hyrule Historia contains 276 pages documenting The Legend of Zelda series, including artwork and production notes. It is divided into three major sections: "The Legend Begins: The World of Skyward Sword", "The History of Hyrule: A Chronology", and "Creative Footprints: Documenting 25 Years of Artwork". The book also includes a foreword by series creator Shigeru Miyamoto, an afterword from producer Eiji Aonuma, and an art piece created for the series' 25th anniversary.

A "Special Comic" manga by Akira Himekawa appears at the end, set before the events of Skyward Sword. The first section focuses on Skyward Sword, featuring character designs, concept art, and development commentary, including unused artwork. The second section establishes the official timeline of the series' fictional events, though Nintendo noted that the chronicle collects information believed true at the time and may change. The third section presents artwork arranged by release date, showing the evolution of Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf, with some pieces previously unseen by the public.

A list of official games concludes the section, mentioning some spin-offs such as The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition and Link's Crossbow Training.

Development

Producer Eiji Aonuma stated that staff members examined "stacks of ancient documents" to produce the timeline. The book was originally released in Japan on 21 December 2011 with a brown cover and gold type, coinciding with the series' 25th anniversary and the release of Skyward Sword. Dark Horse Books inquired about a collaboration with Nintendo around 2009, but editor Patrick Thorpe believed fan demand drove the translation. The English translation was announced in August 2012, with six translators and three designers; handwritten notes were all translated. The English version is slightly larger and uses heavier paper but has the same content. Cary Grazzini designed the English cover, which was originally planned with a brown background and various Link forms but was redesigned to a forest green cover with gold embossing of the series logo, a Triforce, and the three goddesses' symbols.

Publication

Dark Horse Comics published the English edition on 29 January 2013 in North America, Europe, and Australia, with an intended price of US$35 but often sold for around $20. The initial print run of 250,000 was expanded to nearly 400,000 due to demand. A limited collector's edition of 4,000 copies featured a faux leather hardcover with the Gate of Time and gold gilded pages. A digital version was included with a limited Wii U bundle for The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD on 20 September 2013, and the digital format was released separately on 14 April 2020. Hyrule Historia is the first of three books in the "Goddess Collection", followed by The Legend of Zelda: Art & Artifacts (February 2017) and The Legend of Zelda Encyclopedia (published 19 June 2018). A fourth book, Master Works, subtitled Creating a Champion, was released on 20 November the same year.

Reception

The book was well-received, though reviewers noted specific shortcomings. Jesse Schedeen of IGN scored it 8.4 out of 10, calling it a "handsome hardcover tome" that celebrates the franchise, but criticized its heavy focus on newer games and lack of emphasis on pre-Nintendo 64 era content, as well as no mention of Philips CD-i games or animated series. He found the manga entertaining but wished it were in full colour. Destructoid's Chris Carter praised the physical quality and "beautifully minimalistic cover", noting the Skyward Sword focus was well-executed.

He considered the timeline reasonable but felt the "Creative Footprints" section favored popular games and the game list seemed an afterthought. Christian Donlan of Eurogamer described it as a "handsome glossy-papered volume" that reveals extensive information without removing mystery, calling the timeline "an odd idea, perhaps, but quite a nice one". Henry Gilbert of GamesRadar+ called it "an incredibly classy collection" and applauded the timeline inclusion, praising the cover design, translation, and paper stock.