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The Legend of Zelda
The Legend of Zelda: Art & Artifacts
The Legend of Zelda(TM) Art and Artifacts contains over four hundred pages of fully realized illustrations from the entire thirty-year history of The Legend of Zelda(TM) including artwork from the upcoming The Legend of Zelda(TM) Breath of the Wild! Every masterwork is printed on high-quality paper in an oversized format so you can immerse yourself in the fine details of each piece. This book includes rare promotional pieces, game box art, instruction booklet illustrations, official character illustrations, sprite art, interviews with the artists, and much, much more! The Legend of Zelda(TM) Art and Artifacts collects many of your favorite masterpieces from the storied franchise, as well as rare and never before seen content, presented in one handsome hardcover.
Select artwork from the entirety of the franchise!
A nostalgic look at the past!
An exciting look at the future!
Interviews with some of the artists behind The Legend of Zelda(TM) series!
Select artwork from the entirety of the franchise!
A nostalgic look at the past!
An exciting look at the future!
Interviews with some of the artists behind The Legend of Zelda(TM) series!
427 pages, Hardcover
First published August 26, 2016
122 people are currently reading
1989 people want to read
About the author
Nintendo
518 books184 followersNintendo Co., Ltd. is a Japanese multinational consumer electronics and video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. Nintendo is one of the world's largest video game companies by market capitalization. Founded on 23 September 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it originally produced handmade hanafuda playing cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as cab services and love hotels. The word Nintendo can be roughly translated from Japanese to English as "leave luck to heaven".
Abandoning previous ventures in favor of toys in the 1960s, Nintendo then developed into a video game company in the 1970s, ultimately becoming one of the most influential in the industry and Japan's third-most-valuable company with a market value of over $85 billion. From 1992 until 2016, Nintendo was also the majority shareholder of Major League Baseball's Seattle Mariners.
As of 31 March 2014, Nintendo has cumulative sales of over 670.43 million hardware units and 4.23 billion software units. The company has created and released some of the best-known and top-selling video game franchises, such as Mario, The Legend of Zelda, and Pokémon.
Abandoning previous ventures in favor of toys in the 1960s, Nintendo then developed into a video game company in the 1970s, ultimately becoming one of the most influential in the industry and Japan's third-most-valuable company with a market value of over $85 billion. From 1992 until 2016, Nintendo was also the majority shareholder of Major League Baseball's Seattle Mariners.
As of 31 March 2014, Nintendo has cumulative sales of over 670.43 million hardware units and 4.23 billion software units. The company has created and released some of the best-known and top-selling video game franchises, such as Mario, The Legend of Zelda, and Pokémon.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 136 reviews
February 15, 2019
My wife and I both dismiss Valentine's Day as a commercial holiday. When I got home from work yesterday, she surprised me with this. Luckily I'd gotten her a t-shirt with that caterpillar from the Labyrinth on it so I wasn't caught empty-handed.
The Legend of Zelda series is my favorite video game series of all time and I have fond memories of gazing at the art in the manuals and promotional materials. This book is treasure trove of Zelda art. It's a weighty tome at over 400 pages and I bet there are less than 4000 words in the entire thing, all occurring in an interview with artists on the series at the very end of the book.
Every page is packed with art. There are concept sketches, promotional art, box art, art from the manuals, even pixel art from the games themselves. Every game, from the original Legend of Zelda to the most recent game, Breath of the Wild, is well-represented. I don't have the Zelda II manual anymore but I think some of the art for it came from issues of the Nintendo Fun Club Magazine, the precursor to Nintendo Power. Is Nintendo Power still being published? Anyway, every character, every enemy, and even every magical item is depicted. I can't imagine a better source of Zelda art than this book. Four out of five Triforces.
The Legend of Zelda series is my favorite video game series of all time and I have fond memories of gazing at the art in the manuals and promotional materials. This book is treasure trove of Zelda art. It's a weighty tome at over 400 pages and I bet there are less than 4000 words in the entire thing, all occurring in an interview with artists on the series at the very end of the book.
Every page is packed with art. There are concept sketches, promotional art, box art, art from the manuals, even pixel art from the games themselves. Every game, from the original Legend of Zelda to the most recent game, Breath of the Wild, is well-represented. I don't have the Zelda II manual anymore but I think some of the art for it came from issues of the Nintendo Fun Club Magazine, the precursor to Nintendo Power. Is Nintendo Power still being published? Anyway, every character, every enemy, and even every magical item is depicted. I can't imagine a better source of Zelda art than this book. Four out of five Triforces.
April 25, 2017
As someone who loves Legend of Zelda and has a background in art, I really loved this book. It was fun to see how the style has changed from game to game, and read the interview at the end with some of the illustrators to learn why. I also liked comparing which monsters and characters carried over to different games and how their look changed as well. I would have loved for publication to occur after Breath of the Wild because the new game is by far my favorite, and is absolutely beautiful too.
April 15, 2017
For serious Zelda fans! If you have "Hyrule Historia", then you will love this book also. Really liked the timeline of all the Zelda games that have been released over the years and the cool box art that was used for each game. Liked the different sections that feature the friends and enemies you encounter from each game--some of the detail in the artwork is just awesome! There is also a brief interview in the back of the book with various artists who have contributed their talents to the Zelda franchise.
December 28, 2023
I loved this artwork!
March 12, 2017
I wish there was more information in it, but the art is fantastic.
April 1, 2017
I thought this book would talk about the idea behind the designs in the video games, but it's just pictures of the art and items in the games with no commentary.
May 2, 2025
ALL OF THE ART IS SO PRETTY!!!!! I also really enjoyed reading the artists interview at the end.
April 30, 2017
Awesome pictures. Great for a video game nut
May 8, 2023
A lot of beautiful pictures
May 13, 2017
I'm not sure how much I have to say about this book, because there's not that much that can be commented on. There's no text in it at all other than the names of the characters depicted or the game the art comes from for almost four hundred pages at the beginning, with the first artists' notes not appearing until page 399. Those notes, about the appearance of Link's motorcycle for the Mario Kart 8 DLC, are the only notes next to any illustration in the book.
I can point out some art I liked, though. The best is the Wind Waker art on page 62 and 63, with the woodcuts of the history of Hyrule leading to the victory of Ganona nd the failure of the destined hero to appear, and the stained-glass window depicting Link standing in front of Hyrule Castle and Princess Zelda in the background. I know that there was a lot of controversy at time about Link's appearance in Wind Waker--that it was too cartoony, that it was kiddy, that Nintendo was making stupid baby games for stupid babies--but I thought and I still think that it looked great when I played just after it came out. And hey, that art holds up worlds better than a lot of the "realistic" games released in 2003. It turns out that having a consistent art style is better than always chasing the bleeding edge of graphics if you want your game to stand the test of time.
Page 42 has a beautiful illustration of Ocarina of Time-era Link riding Epona through Hyrule Field which looks like what Ocarina of Time looked like in my memories rather than what it actually looked like when I replayed it in January. The field looks as expansive as it felt at the time and Link is staring off into the distant horizon as he rides with purpose from Lon Lon Ranch. It really captures what it felt like to play Ocarina of Time when it first came out.
There's another good character illustration of Link and Epona on page 154 and 155, with Epona especially being impressive.
I only got a third of the way through Twilight Princess before we moved to Japan and I never picked it back up, but I really liked the illustration of Link and Wolf Link on page 268. They're facing each other, Link away from the viewer and the wolf toward, and both are craning their heads to the viewer's right. It provides a nice synchronicity.
It's not quite the same art, which is why I didn't label it my favorite, but there's a section beginning on page 382 with pixel art from the first three Zelda games.I learned from this book that Zelda in the first game will wear a dress the same color as Link's tunic and that Link's swimming animation in A Link to the Past requires 18 frames to cover all possible swimming directions. I love pixel art and it's all beautifully labeled and presented against a black background, so even though the art in the rest of the book is beautiful, I have a soft spot for the ending.
Not quite the full ending, though, since the book ends with an interview with Wada Takumi,Takizawa Satoru, Nakano Yusuke, and Haruhana Yoshiki, all of whom were artists in various capacities on the Zelda series. This is the interview that revealed that Link was redesigned in Ocarina of Time to appeal to overseas audiences and his look was based on a famous actor (probably Leonardo Di Caprio, but unstated for legal reasons). There's also a note I really liked about detail and how traditionally bombable walls are visually distinct in some way, but if everything in the game becomes highly detailed and full of clutter it becomes impossible to distinguish important targets. That's why Wind Waker's art was scaled back and simplified, to prevent that from happening.
It's a quick read unless you're poring over every illustration looking at every detail, but a worthwhile one. And there's no timeline ridiculousness so it's automatically one up on Hyrule Historia.
I can point out some art I liked, though. The best is the Wind Waker art on page 62 and 63, with the woodcuts of the history of Hyrule leading to the victory of Ganona nd the failure of the destined hero to appear, and the stained-glass window depicting Link standing in front of Hyrule Castle and Princess Zelda in the background. I know that there was a lot of controversy at time about Link's appearance in Wind Waker--that it was too cartoony, that it was kiddy, that Nintendo was making stupid baby games for stupid babies--but I thought and I still think that it looked great when I played just after it came out. And hey, that art holds up worlds better than a lot of the "realistic" games released in 2003. It turns out that having a consistent art style is better than always chasing the bleeding edge of graphics if you want your game to stand the test of time.
Page 42 has a beautiful illustration of Ocarina of Time-era Link riding Epona through Hyrule Field which looks like what Ocarina of Time looked like in my memories rather than what it actually looked like when I replayed it in January. The field looks as expansive as it felt at the time and Link is staring off into the distant horizon as he rides with purpose from Lon Lon Ranch. It really captures what it felt like to play Ocarina of Time when it first came out.
There's another good character illustration of Link and Epona on page 154 and 155, with Epona especially being impressive.
I only got a third of the way through Twilight Princess before we moved to Japan and I never picked it back up, but I really liked the illustration of Link and Wolf Link on page 268. They're facing each other, Link away from the viewer and the wolf toward, and both are craning their heads to the viewer's right. It provides a nice synchronicity.
It's not quite the same art, which is why I didn't label it my favorite, but there's a section beginning on page 382 with pixel art from the first three Zelda games.I learned from this book that Zelda in the first game will wear a dress the same color as Link's tunic and that Link's swimming animation in A Link to the Past requires 18 frames to cover all possible swimming directions. I love pixel art and it's all beautifully labeled and presented against a black background, so even though the art in the rest of the book is beautiful, I have a soft spot for the ending.
Not quite the full ending, though, since the book ends with an interview with Wada Takumi,Takizawa Satoru, Nakano Yusuke, and Haruhana Yoshiki, all of whom were artists in various capacities on the Zelda series. This is the interview that revealed that Link was redesigned in Ocarina of Time to appeal to overseas audiences and his look was based on a famous actor (probably Leonardo Di Caprio, but unstated for legal reasons). There's also a note I really liked about detail and how traditionally bombable walls are visually distinct in some way, but if everything in the game becomes highly detailed and full of clutter it becomes impossible to distinguish important targets. That's why Wind Waker's art was scaled back and simplified, to prevent that from happening.
It's a quick read unless you're poring over every illustration looking at every detail, but a worthwhile one. And there's no timeline ridiculousness so it's automatically one up on Hyrule Historia.
June 3, 2018
The bit of reading is at the end where the Artists that have been part of these pictures share their experience and thoughts of the whole process. It's good to know about some of the things I wondered about regarding some characters' designs are covered on that interview!
This is a love-letter kind of picture book where you find all the art that has covered The Legend of Zelda over the past 30 years up until the first pictures of Breath of the Wild.
This is a love-letter kind of picture book where you find all the art that has covered The Legend of Zelda over the past 30 years up until the first pictures of Breath of the Wild.
January 28, 2018
An absolutely gorgeous volume! It collects 30 years of the most amazing Legend of Zelda artwork! This is primarily a book full of artwork, though I wish it had more text about the art. A must read for every Zelda fan, but I wouldn't say a must purchase.
April 10, 2018
A great little title to browse through if you enjoy The Legend of Zelda franchise or are a fan of good art and animation. I hereby give this book 5/5 hearts ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️trust me you're gonna need them.
September 10, 2020
Awesome art book. I found it odd all of the interviews were shoved towards the back, even though they reference specific pages. Would’ve been nice to have the interviews weave throughout. They were essentially in the same order anyway.
July 28, 2025
4.0
Just really nice to see the evolution of the series and its art over history.
Just really nice to see the evolution of the series and its art over history.
February 5, 2018
If you are a fan of the *Legend of Zelda* (Zelda no Densetsu) video game series, like I am, then you will love this book. This artbook showcases wonderful art from all the games.
July 14, 2019
Formidable, un regalo para todos los fanes. Cuatrocientas páginas de ilustraciones a color y bocetos, así como una entrevista a algunos de sus autores. Quizá lo único que me han faltado han sido comentarios a las imágenes, notas a pie, pero el libro está concebido exclusivamente para admirarlas en su apartado técnico. No contiene apenas nada de Breath of the Wild.
May 20, 2017
Fantastic art, loved it. They could have peppered the commentary throughout the book rather than keep it all in the end
August 6, 2018
It's simply a chronological collection of artwork for the game. It's incredibly striking and amazing reference material. Though my friend has pointed out that it's missing an image of Midna's true form, like come on guys, not even 1 ??
February 24, 2017
4.5/5 stars ~
Thirty years worth of full-color Zelda art on high-quality pages, plus a few pages of creator interviews. It makes a nice set with The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia. It also doubles as a bludgeoning weapon because IT IS HEAVY -- dual-wielding bludgeoning weapons if you have both books.
My only complaint is it doesn't have art from Super Smash Bros. or Hyrule Warriors. I know those games were collaborations, but technically so is Mario Kart, and they featured a few pieces from that game but not the others.
Thirty years worth of full-color Zelda art on high-quality pages, plus a few pages of creator interviews. It makes a nice set with The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia. It also doubles as a bludgeoning weapon because IT IS HEAVY -- dual-wielding bludgeoning weapons if you have both books.
My only complaint is it doesn't have art from Super Smash Bros. or Hyrule Warriors. I know those games were collaborations, but technically so is Mario Kart, and they featured a few pieces from that game but not the others.
May 29, 2017
The Legend of Zelda series has an interesting history spanning back to the original NES, and it has had at least one iteration for each new Nintendo system and handheld, including such masterpieces as; Ocarina of Time, Wind Waker, and A Link To the Past. This book collects the artwork from each game and places them in consecutive order from game posters to character sketches and item pictures. The progression of the series is obvious as well as the advancement in technology allowing for more detailed and intricate designs, and the tone of each iteration is perfectly expressed in the style of each game's artwork/characters.
However, Dark Horse seems to have rushed this out with little thought for design or detail. The first several hundred pages are just artwork with no script besides characters & items names and the titles of each game corresponding to the art. However, the last dozen pages are a fascinating interview with the actual artists discussing the works as they flip through those same previous pages of artwork. Why were the anecdotes and details from the artists not placed next to the artwork they are describing?
This could have been a deeper analysis of the evolving narrative of The Legend of Zelda series with personal anecdotes granting the art a higher complexity than just being plastered on a bunch of pages. As is, this book feels rushed and repetitive with a superficial interview placed on the last few pages. This is not worth purchasing unless you really love The Legend of Zelda or you don't have an internet connection to find all of these pictures with a simple Google search.
However, Dark Horse seems to have rushed this out with little thought for design or detail. The first several hundred pages are just artwork with no script besides characters & items names and the titles of each game corresponding to the art. However, the last dozen pages are a fascinating interview with the actual artists discussing the works as they flip through those same previous pages of artwork. Why were the anecdotes and details from the artists not placed next to the artwork they are describing?
This could have been a deeper analysis of the evolving narrative of The Legend of Zelda series with personal anecdotes granting the art a higher complexity than just being plastered on a bunch of pages. As is, this book feels rushed and repetitive with a superficial interview placed on the last few pages. This is not worth purchasing unless you really love The Legend of Zelda or you don't have an internet connection to find all of these pictures with a simple Google search.
March 6, 2017
Deep in my soul, I knew I was lying when I purchased this book. I said to myself: surely, this book will have some substance. It can't be as disappointing as Hyrule Historia. Yet, here I am, seven million pages of artwork later, without having learned more than a few things here and there. There are no descriptions, explanations, clues, cultural tidbits - nothing of note, really - to be found in this book, but for the brief interview at the back. And, the interview is really interesting only in a few parts, in which they discuss where certain artifacts took their inspiration. Were I the interviewer, this would have been the bulk of the interview, but it seemed only an afterthought, and an unimportant afterthought at that. In summation, this is a pretty book, but it is only a trinket; there is nothing substantive within its pages, which have about as much depth as a thimble.
June 10, 2017
As an art book it's pretty fantastic. It's an excellent showcase for all the art that has been drawn and painted and published throughout the years for all the games in the franchise. It's even got a (small) section for Breath of the Wild! Nevertheless, I WAS expecting more written content, as in interviews or explanations regarding the creation of these pieces, or the history of the games' artistic development. All it's got is an interview with a group of Nintendo artist near the end; it's pretty informative and entertaining, which makes the fact that there isn't MORE of it all the more disappointing. I really like The Legend of Zelda: Art & Artifacts, but I can't deny I was expecting more.
November 29, 2017
This book is hard to review because it is almost completely artwork. If you're interested in seeing art from the Zelda games (and they're all covered here up until Breath of the Wild) then you're going to really enjoy looking at the book. The image quality is high and the book is really nice-looking. The only potential reading is an extended interview with the artists behind Link's design in the back. It is detailed and a fitting tribute to the people behind this awesome series' art. For the price, this book is excellent and sure to please any Zelda fan. I like it better than the previous book put out by Dark Horse and am happy to have it on my shelf!
January 13, 2018
This fine collection of masterpieces is the most beautiful thing I have laid eyes on in a while. There's so much detail in even the NPCs, it's crazy-good; it really gets you to appreciate the magnitude of the work the Nintendo teams get up to. I found the art style of A Link Between Worlds to be the most memorable (seriously gorgeous ( ♥ω♥ )) and the 25th-anniversary illustration was quite something as well (´∀｀)♡ I also loved the cute, little concept art/doodles next to some of the artwork and I can't wait to have more of that beautiful Breath of the Wild scenery in the next book ♡＾v＾♡
June 16, 2017
Beautiful. Simply beautiful.
July 17, 2022
It’s beautiful and fulfills my want to see the hard work the designer have put into all of the thing in the book!
July 8, 2022
THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: ART & ARTIFACTS is part of a series collects artwork from 30 years of Zelda games. Some, such as the key art (the artwork used in promotional campaigns), you'll have seen; others, such as concept sketches of key art in various stages of production, will be brand-new to all but the most devoted Zelda scholars. (It's my favorite series, but I confess I don't have the time to mine the Internet for new nuggets of video game information unless I'm writing about it.)
At over 400 pages, this tome belongs in any fan's or collector's library. It's organized in sections, and most proceed chronologically by release: Zelda, then Zelda II, then Zelda: A Link to the Past, and so on. It has almost everything you could want, even a collection of character sprites from the 2D-era games. There's even a section that displays each title's box art in Japan and North America.
The biggest attraction for me, which I was not aware of when I began reading, is a lengthy interview with several artists at Nintendo who have worked on Zelda games over the past three decades. Each discusses their major contributions and behind-the-scenes details such as the difficulties they faced in creating "Toon Link" for 2003's Zelda: The Wind Waker, what Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto thought of various incarnations of his beloved characters, and more.
I have only two complaints. First, there are a few times in the interview when the artists mention sketches and illustrations that ended up not being used for a particular game. Those pieces did not make the cut for this book. For instance, one artist created a "burlier" rendition of Link for 2006's Twilight Princess, but that take was scrapped for one more in line with his appearance in 1998's Ocarina of Time. Even though "Burly Link" wasn't used, what better place to show him and other unused concepts than this book?
Second, I said earlier that ART & ARTIFACTS comprises mostly art you'll have seen online and in magazines. It's still invaluable for fans and collectors, and I know one book cannot hold every piece of artwork for a series as venerable as Zelda. But more never-before-seen artwork would have made a fantastic book even fantastic-er.
At over 400 pages, this tome belongs in any fan's or collector's library. It's organized in sections, and most proceed chronologically by release: Zelda, then Zelda II, then Zelda: A Link to the Past, and so on. It has almost everything you could want, even a collection of character sprites from the 2D-era games. There's even a section that displays each title's box art in Japan and North America.
The biggest attraction for me, which I was not aware of when I began reading, is a lengthy interview with several artists at Nintendo who have worked on Zelda games over the past three decades. Each discusses their major contributions and behind-the-scenes details such as the difficulties they faced in creating "Toon Link" for 2003's Zelda: The Wind Waker, what Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto thought of various incarnations of his beloved characters, and more.
I have only two complaints. First, there are a few times in the interview when the artists mention sketches and illustrations that ended up not being used for a particular game. Those pieces did not make the cut for this book. For instance, one artist created a "burlier" rendition of Link for 2006's Twilight Princess, but that take was scrapped for one more in line with his appearance in 1998's Ocarina of Time. Even though "Burly Link" wasn't used, what better place to show him and other unused concepts than this book?
Second, I said earlier that ART & ARTIFACTS comprises mostly art you'll have seen online and in magazines. It's still invaluable for fans and collectors, and I know one book cannot hold every piece of artwork for a series as venerable as Zelda. But more never-before-seen artwork would have made a fantastic book even fantastic-er.
February 5, 2018
Zum Inhalt: Klappentext
THE LEGEND OF ZELDA steht für mitreißende Abenteuer, grandiose Artwork und einzigartige Spielkonzepte. Mit seinen Games rund um den sagenumwobenen Helden Link definiert Nintendo das Genre der Adventure-Rollenspiele immer wieder neu und verknüpft dabei Altbewährtes mit innovativen Ideen. Nach dem grandiosen Erfolg des Artbooks HYRULE HISTORIA öffnet Nintendo seine privaten Schatztruhen nun ein weiteres Mal und verzaubert uns in THE LEGEEND OF ZELDA: ART and ARTIFACTS mit umwerfenden Farbillustrationen der ersten 30 Jahre, Charakterdesigns, bisher unveröffentlichtem Material, einem Ausklapp-Poster, exklusiven Zeichnungen zum Game BREATH OF THE WILD und vielem mehr. Zum krönenden Abschluss bietet das Werk in einem umfangreichen Interview mit den Künstlern und Entwicklern von Nintendo noch einen wertvollen Blick hinter die Kulissen der japanischen Videospielschmiede.
Meine Meinung:
Als ich das Buch aufgeschlagen habe, dachte ich nur "wow". Es ist zwar sehr wenig Text enhalten, aber hier geht es ja auch um Art und Artefacts. Die dargestellten Illustrationen sind großartig. Die Farbgebung ist der Oberhammer und man kann sich daran nicht satt sehen. Charakterdesigns wie sie besser nicht sein könnten. Von Link über Zelda, Epona, die Feen bis Ganondorf, sind wirklich alle Charaktere enthalten. Zudem werden die Items vorgestellt. Seien es Schatztruhen oder Waffen, Edelsteine oder Hilfsmittel, die Link bei seinen Quests gegen das Böse gute Dienste erweisen. Besonders toll finde ich das Ausklapp-Poster. Und den Blick hinter die Kulissen. So interessant, ich konnte das Buch nicht aus der Hand legen. Hier ist Nintendo wieder ein Meisterwerk gelungen, welches mein Zelda-Herz höher schlagen lässt. Zudem ein absoluter Eyecatcher im Buchregal.
Cover:
Das Cover ist ein absoluter Eyecatcher, der sofort alle Blicke auf sich zieht.
Fazit:
Für Fans des Kult-Spiels ein absolutes Must-Have, das in keiner Sammlung fehlen sollte.
THE LEGEND OF ZELDA steht für mitreißende Abenteuer, grandiose Artwork und einzigartige Spielkonzepte. Mit seinen Games rund um den sagenumwobenen Helden Link definiert Nintendo das Genre der Adventure-Rollenspiele immer wieder neu und verknüpft dabei Altbewährtes mit innovativen Ideen. Nach dem grandiosen Erfolg des Artbooks HYRULE HISTORIA öffnet Nintendo seine privaten Schatztruhen nun ein weiteres Mal und verzaubert uns in THE LEGEEND OF ZELDA: ART and ARTIFACTS mit umwerfenden Farbillustrationen der ersten 30 Jahre, Charakterdesigns, bisher unveröffentlichtem Material, einem Ausklapp-Poster, exklusiven Zeichnungen zum Game BREATH OF THE WILD und vielem mehr. Zum krönenden Abschluss bietet das Werk in einem umfangreichen Interview mit den Künstlern und Entwicklern von Nintendo noch einen wertvollen Blick hinter die Kulissen der japanischen Videospielschmiede.
Meine Meinung:
Als ich das Buch aufgeschlagen habe, dachte ich nur "wow". Es ist zwar sehr wenig Text enhalten, aber hier geht es ja auch um Art und Artefacts. Die dargestellten Illustrationen sind großartig. Die Farbgebung ist der Oberhammer und man kann sich daran nicht satt sehen. Charakterdesigns wie sie besser nicht sein könnten. Von Link über Zelda, Epona, die Feen bis Ganondorf, sind wirklich alle Charaktere enthalten. Zudem werden die Items vorgestellt. Seien es Schatztruhen oder Waffen, Edelsteine oder Hilfsmittel, die Link bei seinen Quests gegen das Böse gute Dienste erweisen. Besonders toll finde ich das Ausklapp-Poster. Und den Blick hinter die Kulissen. So interessant, ich konnte das Buch nicht aus der Hand legen. Hier ist Nintendo wieder ein Meisterwerk gelungen, welches mein Zelda-Herz höher schlagen lässt. Zudem ein absoluter Eyecatcher im Buchregal.
Cover:
Das Cover ist ein absoluter Eyecatcher, der sofort alle Blicke auf sich zieht.
Fazit:
Für Fans des Kult-Spiels ein absolutes Must-Have, das in keiner Sammlung fehlen sollte.
May 5, 2019
As the second Big Book of All Things Zelda, I can't help but compare Art & Artifacts to its green brother The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia. Though it is bigger by half, this red tome is much more specific in scope, which I think is a great improvement. There's hardly any text, sure, but the contents don't really require much in the way of text.
Art & Artifacts contains a lot of art, ranging from promotional material for the games to illustrations from instruction manuals, character illustrations, some pixel art, and a handful of sketches, spread out over some 400 pages. Unlike Hyrule Historia, the vast majority of works included in this book are finished illustrations without their artists' notes. This feels like a breath of fresh air after the first book, which zoomed in on Skyward Sword's art (and the other Zelda titles to a lesser degree) and the development thereof. Though it is utterly fascinating to get a look into how Zelda characters are created and designed, it slowed my journey through the book to a crawl at times. Not Art & Artifacts, no! The red book is content with giving you just the art, and works better as a book to open and flip through on a whim as a result.
This is a book for Zelda fans first and foremost, and can be enjoyed even by non-artists. It doesn't say much, but it sure shows a lot. It's just an absolute joy to look at, and that's all it really needs to be.
Art & Artifacts contains a lot of art, ranging from promotional material for the games to illustrations from instruction manuals, character illustrations, some pixel art, and a handful of sketches, spread out over some 400 pages. Unlike Hyrule Historia, the vast majority of works included in this book are finished illustrations without their artists' notes. This feels like a breath of fresh air after the first book, which zoomed in on Skyward Sword's art (and the other Zelda titles to a lesser degree) and the development thereof. Though it is utterly fascinating to get a look into how Zelda characters are created and designed, it slowed my journey through the book to a crawl at times. Not Art & Artifacts, no! The red book is content with giving you just the art, and works better as a book to open and flip through on a whim as a result.
This is a book for Zelda fans first and foremost, and can be enjoyed even by non-artists. It doesn't say much, but it sure shows a lot. It's just an absolute joy to look at, and that's all it really needs to be.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 136 reviews