English Translations For Tears of the Kingdom Master Works Preview Pages Now Available

Posted on May 22 2024 by Julia Wilson

Nintendo recently announced that a Tears of the Kingdom Master Works book will be coming to Japan on August 30th, 2024. This 464-page A4 hardcover book already has fans excited, with the prospect of artwork, storyboards, and design concepts from Tears of the Kingdom, as well as comments from the game’s developers. However, at the time of this writing, the collectible has only been announced for Japan; thus, the preview pages shown off by Nintendo have only been available in Japanese.

Thankfully, the team at Zelda Universe have translated some of the text from the released promotional media into English.

The above artwork featuring Princess Zelda includes a Designer’s Note, which has been translated by Zelda Universe staff member Reina Proctor as follows:

“DESIGNER’S NOTE: At the time of the preview that announced Princess Zelda’s short hair, I was excited to see everyone’s reaction. Since we were turning over a new leaf, we had to give the impression of a new [story] beginning, right?

“In the last game, the princess had an elegant image. In this work, we aimed for a lively and more approachable design. For the drafts, we tried various hairstyles but considering the length completely changed the image while preserving the original hair volume, the current design began to naturally take shape.

“The hooded cloak can withstand hard cave exploration that is of a thick material. In fact, we referenced the design of Zelda’s father’s [the King of Hyrule] robe from the last game. Please look for it.”

The artwork for the environment below Hyrule Castle includes a Secret File, which Zelda Universe’s Proctor has also translated:

SECRET FILE: “The business memo about the structure under Hyrule Castle was drawn to be shared among the staff members. Sealed Ganondorf and the castle, the location of the cave Zelda and Link walked through in the opening scene (the Mural Room), and the large Malice purifying pillars extending from Hyrule Castle [etc.] are established details that are drawn.”

Thank you to Reina Proctor and the team at Zelda Universe for sharing this information with the Zelda community.

To date, Nintendo has not made any statements with regards to a formal release of an English version of the Master Works book. Zelda Dungeon will keep you updated of any further announcements, so watch this space!

What do you think of these translations for the Tears of the Kingdom Master Works book? Let us know in the comments below.

Source: Zelda Universe