Hyrule Historia is a book released in Japan on December 21st, 2011 for 3,255 Yen. Its 274 pages feature art and information from every game in The Legend of Zelda series. The text of Hyrule Historia is in Japanese, but many English-speaking fans are hard at work translating its pages. There are no plans for Hyrule Historia's release outside of Japan.
Most significantly, Hyrule Historia revealed the Zelda Timeline, a much debated topic previous to the book's release. Since the book is in Japanese, fans have spent much time translating the Zelda Timeline, which begins with Skyward Sword and ends with three separate time lines.
Hyrule Historia mentions that the translation of Hylian Text appearing in Skyward Sword is impossible, but fans have cracked the code.
Collected below are scans of Hyrule Historia pages along with translations made by fans.
Here is a breakdown of the content of Hyrule Historia.[1]
The rest of the book contains an evolution of Link's character designs over the years, a catalog of Zelda games, and some other extra stuff.
A page of art from the original Legend of Zelda. (Needs Translation)
A page of art from Twilight Princess.
Page 172
Midna
Crown as viewed from above
Back
Front
Facial Expressions
True Form
Midna who has regained her normal form, seen at the end of the story. If Zelda is a “Western princess,” then Midna gives off the air that she would be a “Middle Eastern princess.”
Fused Shadows
Concept Art (True Form)
Page 173
Concept Art
Midna’s concept art. There is a wealth of variation between the different designs; so much so that one could say the only thing they all have in common is that they're all wearing masks.
A page of art from Twilight Princess. (Needs Translation)
A page of art from Skyward Sword. (Needs Translation)
This page reveals the order of the Zelda games.
Page 110
The World of Twilight and the Descendants of the Hero
Link, the Hero of Time achieved his victory and was successful in sealing away Ganon.
Having returned to his original time, Link meets Zelda thus spinning another history.
Ocarina of Time
The Age of the Hero of Time (Childhood Age)
Hyrule’s Other History
Return of the Hero of Time
Through Princess Zelda’s power, the seven years that Link spent asleep were turned back, and Link was able to return to the age he normally should have been in.
The first place Link headed was the inner gardens of Hyrule Castle. Princess Zelda was staking out Ganondorf just as she had when she first met Link.
Meeting Zelda (caption)
Announcing the Future
Link tells Princess Zelda about what happens in the future. In order to prevent Ganondorf from entering the Sacred Realm, Princess Zelda entrusts Link with the Ocarina of Time and instructs him to go far away.
At this time, the sign of the Triforce of Courage shone on the back of Link’s hand. Link, the hero who had finished his fight against the great evil in the future, secretly embarked on his journey.
Link’s Departure
Link borrows Epona from Lon Lon Ranch. For many months, he wanders in search of his old partner Navi and loses his way in a mysterious forest.
This forest led to the other world Termina.
The Hero’s Return
The place Link appeared when he returned was the Temple of Time. It was an age where the Master Sword remained stuck in the Pedestal of Time, before the Sacred Realm had been opened. With his partner Navi disappearing into the sky, Link began to walk down a new history.
The Triforce of Courage
The symbol of Courage rests on the back of Link’s hand. Ganondorf was sealed with the Triforce of Power still with him. As such, the other parts of the Triforce continued to rest with each of the gods’ chosen ones.
Link with the Crest of Courage (caption)
Page 111
Strife in the Other World Termina
Majora’s Mask
Age of the Hero of Time (Childhood Age)
A World to be Destroyed in Three Days
Termina, with its moon steadily falling, would be destroyed in three days’ time.
An imp named Skull Kid stole Majora’s Mask from the travelling Happy Mask Salesman. The mask’s fearsome power transcended the level of pranks and came to negatively impact all areas of the world of Termina.
Link too was a victim of the Skull Kid’s pranks and was transformed into a Deku Scrub in addition to having the Ocarina of Time and Epona stolen.
The Skull Kid and the fairy Tael (caption)
Deku Scrub Link (caption)
A New Partner
Link, having reclaimed the Ocarina of Time, was able to return to his original self thanks to the Happy Mask Salesman and was asked by him to retrieve Majora’s Mask.
Along with Tatl, a fairy concerned with the Skull Kid’s behavior, Link went to stop the pranks that had gone too far.
Link and the fairy Tatl (caption)
Happy Mask Salesman
Termina
A strange world wherein many of its residents looked the same as people from Hyrule.
Sisters Romani and Cremia who look similar to Hyrule’s Malon (caption)
Majora’s Mask
An abominable mask said to be used in ancient spells.
Majora’s Mask (caption)
The Fairy Tatl
A fairy that along with its younger brother Tael, carried out pranks with the Skull Kid. When getting chased by Link, Tatl was abandoned by the Skull Kid and came to partner with Link.
Termina’s Four Regions
With Clock Town, a city with a clock tower, at its core, Termina’s four regions span in each cardinal direction: the swamps of Woodfall, the mountains of Snowhead, the sea at Great Bay, and the Ikana Valley. The Ikana Kingdom had perished, but each region had its own tribe governing it.
Spirits of the Ikana region (caption)
The Deku Scrubs of the Woodfall region (caption)
The Gorons of the Snowhead region (caption)
The Zora of the Great Bay Region (The Indigos) (caption)
This page reveals the order of the Zelda games.
Page 112
A Discomforting Feeling around Clock Town
The first place that Link set foot on in Termina was the city of Clock
Town. With the carnival coming up in three days and the moon
falling, the town was chaotic. It was said that the moon was growing larger in the sky day by day.Using the Ocarina of Time, Link was able to turn back time to three days before the moon would fall. Link would come to revive the sleeping giants residing in each of the four regions by obtaining many mysterious masks and returning the world to its normal state.
The Four Giants and Majora’s Mask
On the fated day, the four fiants caught the falling moon in their
hands and prevented its collision with Clock Town. But the one behind
the entire plot turned out to be Majora’s Mask itself which was
controlling the Skull Kid. Link chased after Majora’s Mask to the
moon. After some bizzare battles unfolded, Link finally exterminated
it by transforming into the Fierce Diety.
Majora’s Mask returned to the possession of the Mask Salesman and fear of the moon vanished from the world.
Link saw the townspeople of Clock Town on the night of the third day happily enjoying the carnival. After leaving Termina behind, Link’s whereabouts are unknown.
Mysterious Masks
Masks that house the souls of the dead. When worn, the wearer takes
on the full appearance of that soul’s body in life. Link transformed
using these masks to wield powers humans do not possess. The reason Link transformed into a Deku Scrub was due to the soul of a Deku Scrub that passed away in the forest that connects Hyrule and Termina.
Mask-User Link(caption)
The Legendary Giants
Friends of the Skull Kid and guardian deities of each region. The Skull Kid felt abandoned by them when they left to their respective regions to fulfill their mission, leading to him run amuck using the power of Majora’s Mask.
The Moon and Skull Kid (caption)
Clock Town and its Mayor’s Family
The city at the center of Termina with a giant clock tower at its core. The carnival held once a year floods the town with tourists from every region.
Concerning the mayor’s family governing the town, their son Kafei’s wedding with Anju was near at hand, but he was transformed into a child’s body by the Skull Kid.
Mayor (caption)
Madame Aroma (caption)
Kafei transformed into a child’s body (caption)
Fiancée Anju
Page 113
Age of the Hero of Time (Childhood Age)
Twilight Princess
The Execution of Ganondorf, the Demon Thief
The Dark Cloud Threatening Hyrule
Meanwhile in Hyrule, with Princess Zelda having heard from Link about what would happen in the future, she alleged that if Ganondorf was left unchecked, it would spell the end of Hyrule.
Many years later, it was decided that Ganondorf, having mastered magic and feared as the Demon Thief, would finally be put to execution.
Ganondorf (caption)
The Arbiter’s Grounds and the Mirror of Twilight
At the Arbiter’s Grounds [in Japanese, literally “the Desert Execution Grounds”], Ganondorf’s execution was carried out by the six sages. However, Ganondorf, having been chosen by the Triforce of Power, did not die and killed one of the sages. The frantic sages sent Ganondorf to the Twilight Realm using the Mirror of Twilight.
The sages were then ordered by the gods to protect the Mirror of Twilight.
Ganondorf’s Execution (caption)
Exile by the Mirror of Twilight (caption)
However, Ganondorf’s hatred came to distort the Twilight Realm.
Ganondorf, the Demon Thief
Possesses the sign of the Triforce of Power and wields magic. The Ganondorf of this timeline could never have touched the Triforce in the Sacred Realm, so it can be thought that some intervention transpired due to Link still possessing the Triforce of Courage when he returned to his time.
The Sages
Much about the sages of this era, including their names, are unknown. A crest can be seen on each sage, so it is known that they were the sages of Light, Forest, Fire, Water, Shadow, and Spirit.
Ganondorf’s Hatred
The hatred of Ganondorf who was filled with loathing and wickedness.
History of the Twilight Realm
In the distant past, the people were devout and a long period of peace lasted. However, eventually a war over the Sacred Realm Hyrule came to pass. Amongst the people, those talented in magic [called the “Interlopers” in the English version] emerged and using powerful magic tried to rule the Sacred Realm. [Translator’s Note: In Japanese, articles such as “a” and "the” do not generally exist. Furthermore, the Japanese word used for the Sacred Realm, "seichi," literally means “holy land.” Therefore, whether Hyrule is “a holy land” or is in fact the name of the Sacred Realm is uncertain. For consistency, I have translated seichi as “Sacred Realm.”]
The gods dispatched the four Light Spirits and sealed away this magic into the Fused Shadows. Furthermore, these magic users were exiled to the Twilight Realm, never again to come in contact with the World of Light. These people who lived amongst the twilight in time came to be called “those of the twilight.”
