Should Zelda Have a Book Series? Would You Read It?

[Djinn]

Quite a few video game series have been translated into novels recently. While some are pretty enjoyable, others are obviously written by authors that know little of the game. But players still like them as an extra edition to the mythos and the extra adventure in their favorite series. They have done a fairly decent job at translating the Halo series (depending on the reader though) And the newest in the series that depicts the Forerunner has shed a lot of light on the deeper parts of the story and revealed a few of the mysteries present in the games. Some series are largely expanded on in the books which some fans do like. Not everything can be placed in the game as it might take away from the gameplay. But for people who are genuinely interested in the story as much as the game the book series are great.

But what I would like to know is would you like a series of books based on Legend of Zelda? Would you read them or refuse them and for what reasons? Even knowing that a few aspects of them might be inaccurate or directly contradicted by future games, would you still read them just to enjoy a story taking place in Hyrule?

I would like them myself but I believe some stipulations should be placed on them. I do not think the author should take too many liberties with the setting as it has been firmly established, the characters however could be used to their liking as long as it does not contradict any important aspects of what we know about Hyrule so far. Things like altering what is already established on Gerudo or Hylians, or inventing different kinds of Goron apart from what we have seen in the games. If the author keeps to the series closely then I would not mind reading about any new adventures in Hyrule. Apart from the few mangas, there has been little extra media in recent years.


This is not a new development either, back in the NES era we had some books based on games. They might not have been completely accurate to the original developers ideas, but it was the 8bit era and normally the only story anyone had to go by was what was found in the instruction manual. Even the Mega Man story was not well developed at the time the Mega Man 2 book was written, and given the amount of story info present now I believe authors could do a better job.

 

[Fiery Klongo]

I have been making a Zelda Oot book for over two years but it still is not done yet

 

[linksonick]

I definitely wouldn't mind reading a Zelda novel, the only kinds of Zelda books ive read are the manga and volume 1 of an Oracle of Seasons choose your own adventure book

 

[navi_the_fairy]

I would definitely read books based on the Zelda series! I think that would be a great idea. I'm always up for another Hyrulean adventure.

I have been making a Zelda Oot book for over two years but it still is not done yet

I would definitely buy a copy of your book if you got it published once you're done!

 

[Blazestarre]

A Zelda book series could have the potential to be incredibly awesome or just down right terrible. It really depends on the author and how well the canon is interpreted. The games aren't really built around story, they're about gameplay. There's a lot of story information in them, but there's also a lot of holes that players fill with their own ideas and imaginations, especially in the earlier games. If a book series is published, would it be considered official canon or just published fanfiction? I would assume the latter, considering how previous supplemental material has been treated, but you never know.

Since I do indulge in fanfiction, I wouldn't mind a book series, but it would depend on what type of story it's telling. I would prefer a novelization, just because I'm more interested in a more in-depth look at the games. The author would also be important, which would probably be the big determining factor on the quality of the work. He/she would have to be familiar with the series to write a decent book, at least in my opinion. I wouldn't want established canon from the games to be contradicted. Interpretations are fine when something wasn't made clear in the game, however. As long as the execution works, then I wouldn't have a problem.

So, in short, if the books were written by someone familiar with the series and was a competent writer and storyteller, then, yeah, I'd read them.

 

[Djinn]

Yes it would definitely depend on the author. Like I said in my initial post, I really had the idea to create this thread based on the Halo series specifically. Most of the books released were dull and not very well written. But the series did have it's fans. Now the most current book about the Forerunner is written by a well known author and is very well done. It also shows an amazing amount of insight into a previously unknown aspect of the series. And reveals a lot of the mysteries of the series. This led me to think what if an author revealed a little bit more of what is going on in Hyrule as well. Obviously the games cannot give the complete story in every little detail, or else it would be far too long and boring a game. But a book can cover the little things like happenings in Hyrule castletown or some more on Zora and their lifestyle.

There's a lot of story information in them, but there's also a lot of holes that players fill with their own ideas and imaginations, especially in the earlier games. If a book series is published, would it be considered official canon or just published fanfiction? I would assume the latter, considering how previous supplemental material has been treated, but you never know.

Now a Zelda series I think would fall into the same position as the various mangas. Based on the story, but takes enough liberties to not be considered a canon part of the story. The mangas do fill a lot of the holes in the stories with ideas of the writers. Some are generally accepted and liked, while others are not so much. Still they are small enough for people to not get too upset over them. Even then people consider them non canon but still an interesting piece of entertainment. Maybe not all together fan fiction, especially when it is endorsed by the parent company. Which Nintendo would still have to give their approval to any published works of their properties like this.

 

[Vincent]

No... I really think there shouldn't be one. As for reading it... only if it is officially licensed by Nintendo, fully agreed upon by Miyamoto as canonical, and produced by people who have written for the games. Otherwise, it's just fanfiction.

 

[DeletedUser9]

As Vincent said, a Zelda book would be kind of pointless unless it was canonical. If they published books, I would like them to be the sort that I could take seriously that relate to the world and story of Zelda. Most good books based on existing series are like this anyway. I wouldn't really mind novelizations of the stories told in the games themselves, but then again, I also would not read them. I'd just play the games.

The idea of books that aren't canon and are basically fanfiction isn't necessarily bad, as I like fanfiction and some of them can be really good. But the only way I'd be interested in this is if it was high-quality. And really, if it's just a fanfiction, I don't see why it should be a published book instead of just a fanfiction. If you're going to put that much work into a fanfiction, you should just write original work. Best possible situation for a Zelda book would be one that expands off the lore. But that likely won't happen unless Nintendo considers Zelda a hardcore series and takes the consistency of its world and story seriously. They seem to be more of this mentality than in the past (probably thanks to Aonuma), but I think they're a long ways off from making games for anything more than fun standalone experiences... granted that's not necessarily a bad thing. :bleh:

 

[MartDiamond]

Could do without it, the strength of a silent Link that let's you put yourself in him would be ruined. Because you would need him to talk or at least think.

 

[Petman1325]

Unless if I'm mistaken, Nintendo actually had books based upon the Legend of Zelda back in the eighties, mainly "Choose your own Adventure" books. I've forgotten what they were about, but they were completely non-canonical and had strange stories to them, such as (I think) competing with a knight for the Princess's love.

Now, we do have a manga series that dates all the way back to A Link to the Past, and the most modern game in the series is Phantom Hourglass. I've only read the Four Sword Adventure manga (Well, part one of it at least), and I thought it was well written, for it gave some emotion where the games fail to create.

 

[Elvenknight]

I personally don't think the Zelda series would make a good book series. It is too actiony for a book, and there are too many loose ends and plot variations, since you go to different dungeons out of order. If it was made into a book, I would read it, mostly because I like trying new books.

 

[Blazestarre]

Now a Zelda series I think would fall into the same position as the various mangas. Based on the story, but takes enough liberties to not be considered a canon part of the story. The mangas do fill a lot of the holes in the stories with ideas of the writers. Some are generally accepted and liked, while others are not so much. Still they are small enough for people to not get too upset over them. Even then people consider them non canon but still an interesting piece of entertainment. Maybe not all together fan fiction, especially when it is endorsed by the parent company. Which Nintendo would still have to give their approval to any published works of their properties like this.

I was also thinking something along the lines of the manga, just more detailed. The mangas bring up interesting things and try to make the stories less video game-ish, but they are really brief and not always the most satisfying. A book could really give those of us who are interested in small details something to think about. Being endorsed by Nintendo would give them credibility, but unless they are canon, it's still, for the most part, fanfiction.

Maybe they could have a book series that had it's own canon, but for the most part was separated from the games? For example, a novelization off OoT would follow the basic plot and important plot points and ideas are kept, but anything that was fleshed out (Link's personality, cultural things not seen in the games, Link's possible romance, character backgrounds not given in the game, etc.) would not be considered part of the game canon. I think this could be a way to make a decent book series that didn't interfere with people's perception of the game.

I think another reason I wouldn't mind a book series is Zelda's story potential. It could be made into a really interesting fantasy story, if written by a decent author, and could have the potential to interest non-gamers as well. Of course, that's if an actual effort to adapt them into a different media was actually put forth and it wasn't just a grab at money.

 

[DeletedUser9]

Now, we do have a manga series that dates all the way back to A Link to the Past, and the most modern game in the series is Phantom Hourglass. I've only read the Four Sword Adventure manga (Well, part one of it at least), and I thought it was well written, for it gave some emotion where the games fail to create.

A manga isn't exactly a book, so I don't know how much that relates to the topic. :bleh: Though it does give you a slightly better idea of what a book could be like.

I was also thinking something along the lines of the manga, just more detailed. The mangas bring up interesting things and try to make the stories less video game-ish, but they are really brief and not always the most satisfying. A book could really give those of us who are interested in small details something to think about. Being endorsed by Nintendo would give them credibility, but unless they are canon, it's still, for the most part, fanfiction.

Another thing you made me think of is just because it's a comic doesn't mean it can't have a deep plot. Some comic books are not necessarily made for action or humor but actually have deeper writing, good examples being Alan Moore's work, like Watchmen or V for Vendetta. They could theoretically do something like this, but as I already said, I think it would require them taking Zelda seriously in a way that they don't, exactly. xP

 

[MikauIncarnate]

I definitely like the idea, but I would prefer it as Manga to an actual written work. To me, Manga just fits with Zelda better. I feel like it would be weird to just be looking at black and white words, and nothing else.

 

[LolGames4U]

I've been reading a fan fic called "Silent Hero" on my iPod Touch; downloaded it off the iBooks Store. Very good! I want to write a fan fic as well that I hope people would enjoy reading!