The Legend of Zelda: Art & Artifacts Hardcover – February 21, 2017

Art & Artifacts is an absolutely stunning collection that every Legend of Zelda fan will appreciate. This hardcover book is filled with gorgeous artwork from across the entire Zelda series, from the early days of the franchise to its more recent entries. The quality of the art is breathtaking, with detailed illustrations, character designs, and environments that bring the world of Hyrule to life in ways you’ve never seen before.What sets Art & Artifacts apart is its incredible variety. It features everything from concept art to final renders, giving fans a glimpse into the creative process behind some of the most iconic moments and characters in gaming history. Whether it's the majestic designs of Link, the beautiful landscapes, or the intricate details of the various dungeons and temples, each page is a visual treat.In addition to the artwork, the book includes insightful developer commentary, stories about the making of the games, and historical context, making it more than just an art book—it’s a tribute to the legacy of the Zelda series. The high-quality paper, full-color pages, and large format make it a joy to flip through, and it’s clear that a lot of love went into crafting this book.Overall, Art & Artifacts is a must-have for any Zelda fan or anyone who appreciates video game art. It’s a beautiful and thoughtful celebration of the Zelda series that will leave you inspired and in awe. Highly recommended!

A gorgeous, full-color oversized book packed with everything Zelda. From character illustrations to pixel art, the images are truly breathtaking, and a must-see for anyone who has ever whiled away the hours in Hyrule.Illustrations are presented chronologically by game. Beginning with the original The Legend of Zelda and going all the way to Breath of the Wild, you’ll encounter images you’ve never seen before from your favorite Zelda game in these pages. Each game section in the first half of the book features familiar key art, like illustrations you may remember from the instruction manuals and game boxes, along with concept art.There’s some serious nostalgia in these pages. Whether it’s the iconic image of a cartoonish Link as the book begins or the Master Sword on its pedestal in the sunlit forest, the illustrations in this book can immediately transport you back to childhood, or to simpler times when you first picked up a Zelda game.The second half of Art & Artifacts focuses on characters. Sorted by game, not only is there art for Link, Zelda, and Ganon, but all of the minor named characters and enemy creatures. The names themselves are fascinating, odd, and somewhat familiar, like skulltulas and stalfos. Each game also has a page of detailed item icons, living up to the “artifacts” in the title.Unlike Hyrule Historia, this art book is light on text, although there is a lengthy interview with Nintendo’s art team about the history of Zelda‘s concept art in the last pages. If you’re looking for more about the games’ history and stories, stick to Hyrule Historia, but if you’re looking for a book with pages of art to flip through at any time, Art & Artifacts is the collection you want sitting on the coffee table.

I'm an artist and art book collector, particularly video game and concept art ones; I just received this book yesterday and it immediately took a spot on my top 3 of all time.The book is around 400 pages of official Zelda art, literally every piece of official art ever made for a Zelda game from the first NES one to Breath Of The Wild; it includes art from the manuals, posters, box covers, sprite sheets, items, promotional art, etc. It is by far the most art per dollar you can get in book form, and it's an absolute must get for anyone who is either an artist, zelda fan, or art book collector.Every page is filled with artwork and minimal to no text; personally, I love this; I hate when game art books have a ton of writing on them, I'm getting them for the art after all; the book does include a hefty 10 page or so section containing interviews with Nintendo artists who have worked on Zelda and it's a great read!Other developers/publishers please pay attention, this book should be standard for game art books; I'm not talking about the length, not every game has enough to fill 400 pages; but I do hope other companies follow this format of nothing but art followed by interviews and writing about the game.

Expensive af, but very beautiful thick heavy lovely art

First of all, if you're a die hard Zelda fan, nothing in this book is new as this book is essentially a collection of promotional and concept art for the series. If you been following Zelda from the beginning: seen all the game manual, read through all the Nintendo Power, Game Informer Magazine or have exposed yourself to all the advertisement through the years then nothing will pop-up and surprise you.This book has maybe 25-33% more art than the Hyrule Histora. I say art, because aside from the small interview section in back there's barely any text describing the art aside from the character's name or what game it came from. There is an interview in back of the book, but it mainly discusses the art of Zelda rather than the lore. You will not get insight or commentary in terms of hidden story lines or about the Zelda timeline in this book.You do get art from the entire series from the original Legend of Zelda to Zelda Twilight Princess HD or Zelda Tri Force Heroes. There are 3,4 pages dedicated to Zelda Breath of the Wild, but again just promotional art you have seen before.Like the Hyrule Historia, the ink and paper quality i really good. Great coffee table book for when you have guests over or want to browse through it if a loading screen ever pops up.Overall great compilation of promotional Zelda art through the ages in one location