Did anyone else get their copy yet? I'm pretty impressed...lots and LOTS of artwork, and the timeline info is really interesting, though I'm still annoyed with the timeline itself. It's a gorgeous book too - really attractive hardcover.
I have it. Went through it cover to cover. Way too Skyward Sword heavy in the front. The Skyward Sword prequel comic is neat though. Overall, it is very well down. A lot of dedication went into this book in terms of presentation and effort in the translation (Agahnim is finally referred to as a priest instead of a wizard in an official English translation!), but I know the book could have been better. Like... look at Link's Awakening's art section? There's nothing there I would have loved it if they expanded the book with some material from both "The History of Zelda Art Collection" and the "Zelda Box Fan Book" that Japan has received over the years. Heck, Zelda Box alone was nearly 120 pages dedicated soely to The Wind Waker. That's a lot of material! But, still, the art section's probably my favourite in the book. Lots of interesting stuff there. Throughout the book I like that they've translated the developer notes on the sketchy. Just interesting tidbits scattered throughout. As for the timeline, it is what it is. I've... adjusted to it, I guess. They explain it well and it is, unfortunately, the best way to have a timeline with out running into to perceived retcons that don't actually exist.
Is this a good buy for someone who isn't too terribly interested in LoZ (sorry!) or its lore but loves artbooks and developer's commentary? u_u
You were! What happened? :( And... I'd be more inclined to say 'sure', if the entire first third of the book wasn't devoted to Skyward Sword. Since, as far as I know, you haven't played it :X The second third is all lore and such. The last third is the artbook section for everything that isn't Skyward Sword (since that's covered in the first third). As far as the commentary goes, there aren't interviews (that's more ZeldaBox territory. Really wish we got that released here). But there is some insight. You see early versions of characters. You see notes between artists saying things like "please make this section in polygons, not a texture" or "please don't animate her as pigeon-toed as I drew her" XD But most of the real commentary that aren't just "asides" shows up in Skyward Sword section. So... yes, but play Skyward Sword first EDIT: Actually, for just art and commentary... there is the Internet XD Most of the non-Skyward Sword art in this book isn't new and has been around online for ages. For some more art you may want to look up the scans of the two other books I mentioned earlier. And for commentary (although it would be almost entirely devoted to The Wind Waker), GlitterBerri (who was hired by DarkHorse to work on Hyrule Historia's translation) just started fan translating the Zelda Box book and you can see her progress at her website (or just look at the raw scans online since you can read Japanese anyway).
I... have played some of the console games and the DS games. That's it. XD; Skyward Sword has been sitting on my shelf in its plastic wrap since last Christmas (although at least it's not mine and I don't know where my WM+ is anyway so it's not really my fault). I mean, I appreciate the series but I was never really driven to play it a whole lot. I think TP's controls really put me off, haha. I guess I'll be passing then. :P Might be interested in looking up dev stuff on TWW and MM though, since I loved the direction in both games.
:( I be sad now (Although, really. That is enough. OoT, MM, TWW, TP, PH, ...and ST? You're missing everything in their throwaway timeline of old games. No biggie. Though you really need to play TMC or LA) Yeah, not much on MM. There is some cool art of weird things they did use. I think I posted some on Twitter before. Like the blades of grass with noses XD But just a couple of pages (half of one was devoted to Tingle :\) and no commentary. For TWW, go with the Zelda Box. Skyward Sword doesn't use IR, just motion. Even for aiming, it isn't where you're pointing. So, all your TP (and general Wii, I guess. Because it hates you) issues with the sensor bar don't apply to Skyward Sword. And... did your copy not come with a Motion Plus controller in the box?
Not that I'm aware of? It's not my copy. :/ The only WM+ I have is from some golf game and I don't know where it went. Might not even have it anymore so I need to buy a new Wii remote and while I'd love an excuse to get that gorgeous pink one, it doesn't really seem worth it for just one game when I've already got an excess of controllers around the house.
