Late last year, Dark Horse Comics, makers of many fine books and other products that are basically a fan’s dream, unveiled their The Legend Of Zelda Encyclopedia. It comes in a couple of sweet editions, one of which matches the covers of their comprehensive Hyrule Historia and their The Legend Of Zelda: Arts And Artifacts book. The other is more of a direct homage to the series’ physical origins, since it’s a replica of the original The Legend Of Zelda NES cartridge. This is a rare scenario where it makes sense to judge a book by its cover: The outside looks great, and based on the new pages that are being previewed today exclusively on Nerdist, the inside is equally excellent.
The book is set to be published on June 19, and the preview pages… well, preview… what we can expect from it. There’s concept art, lore about the series, maps, character drawings, and other details about the games. It’s literally encyclopedic (it is an encyclopedia, after all), so if you want information about the Zelda series, it’s probably in this book. Both editions are 328 pages, and include, among other things, “an expansion of information from The Legend Of Zelda timeline,” “rare development sketches of your favorite characters,” and “an extensive database of items and enemies.” The standard edition is available for pre-order here, while the pre-order for the deluxe edition can be found here.
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Check out the pages above and let us know in the comments which edition of the book you have your eye on!
Images: Dark Horse Comics