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Nintendo has just announced an array of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom merch for release in Japan, and that includes a new book that promises to bring an updated timeline accounting for the latest entry in the series.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Master Works is a big ol' art and lore book scheduled to be released in Japan on August 30, and some specific bits of art are already capturing the hearts of fans. A Google translation of the official description says that the book will include "a new history of Hyrule based on the settings at the time of production." That line already has the Zelda lore community in a frenzy.
Tears of the Kingdom has been a bit divisive among Zelda lore enthusiasts, since it only managed to partially pay off the mysteries they'd been speculating on for years since the launch of Breath of the Wild. With 464 pages of design and lore insights from the dev team, this book promises to clarify a bit of that, including details of the timeline.
Of course, in terms of each game's placement on the timeline, there's not much to add - Tears of the Kingdom is a direct follow-up to Breath of the Wild, and that's pretty much that. But in terms of the history of Hyrule? As Zelda Lore notes on Twitter, the book will "have to address OOT's events, since the conflict with Ganondorf in that game are also mentioned in TOTK again, so expect clarification on the placement of the Imprisoning War."
Some rough translations of the preview pages are already happening, including details like how the temple containing Ganondorf's mummified remains at the beginning of the game is, in fact, the Temple of Light. With morsels of new info like this, members of the community are already preparing for the proper obliteration of everyone's fan theories.
The previous Master Works book was translated as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Creating a Champion, and while I wouldn't be surprised if this follow-up also got an English translation, nothing's been announced just yet. You know what's even more fun than a normal Zelda lore debate? A Zelda lore debate fueled by fan translations of Japanese art books. I legitimately can't wait.
Take a look at our list of the best Zelda games and decide what's wrong with it for yourself.
