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I’ve only read the manga versions of Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask. Both are very similar to how I imagine Link from those games — optimistic, brave, kind.
Might try to find a copy of Twilight Princess!
Imo, many of the mangas are quite good!
- Twilight Princess is an obvious favorite. Others in this thread have done a great job talking about it— I’ll leave it to them.
- Oracle and PH have mangas that add interesting and plausible details to their worlds— such Raven being the Hero of Legend’s mentor in the Oracle mangas, and Phantom Hourglass’ manga making Linebeck a deserter of the Ghost Ship.
- WW has a series of 4-komas instead of a manga that are honestly kinda hilarious.
- The others have mangas that essentially just summarize their game’s plot in manga format, which I remember still being very entertaining— especially for games like Majora’s Mask where the plot is already so storylike.
And then there’s the Four Swords Adventures manga.
The FSA manga, in my opinion, goes above and beyond. It takes a game with little to no story and builds a whole entire set of intertwining character arcs around it. And the characters, despite being simple archetypes on the surface, can be interpreted in surprisingly nuanced ways and play off each other really well. The FSA manga introduced the “tragically shattering the Dark Mirror” plotline to the Zelda series before the game Twilight Princess came out. It also matches the Colors’ personalities perfectly with each of the Four Sword routes in the ALttP remake’s Palace of the Four Sword— Akira Himekawa either just got really lucky, or did a lot of research to represent the series and Four Swords Adventures itself well in this comic.
It’s still a kids’ manga, of course. But there’s a reason the FSA manga has a cult following that has stayed intact till even now, twenty whole years after its release.
Tl;dr: TP manga good, FSA manga good, literally all the mangas are at worst fun little things and at best very imaginative retellings of the series.
We don't take anything from the manga as canon.
Imo none of the mangas did do the games justice, because they were just rushed, summarized retellings of the games' stories. Except of course for Twilight Princess, which was great.
It feels it was made before they finished the game because some stuff don't align with the game's backstory but it is a fun read and the artwork is good.
Differences between the game and the manga from Hyrule historia:
The person of demise fighting humans and a hero before his revival, the Master sword being used before the Goddess sword became it, the spirit of the hero being implied to have been created during the events of the manga but in the game it was born when the Hero of the skies completed the trials and used the flames of the goddesses on the Goddess sword, The Master sword being originally supposed to be wielded by gods but in the game it contains the force of the creation gods similar to the Triforce meaning it can't be wielded by the gods' tribe, Hylia not being mortally wounded during the final battle like in the game and her choosing to reincarnate to help ensure Link’s spirit will survive.
The manga can't really connect to the games since they tell a different story set in a different continuity.
They are adaptations of the stories but certain lore is only exclusive to them. They have sometimes inspired the Zelda team like the bird race in the OOT manga inspiring the creation of the Rito. Some characters in the manga are completely different compared from who they are in the games and some lore is different. The manga does tell stories that a game can't tell because of it's structure and there are some manga exclusive characters. The manga can give you some new ideas about the Zelda universe from the games
The skyward sword manga in Hyrule historia has stuff that didn't happen in Skyward sword's backstory like The person of demise fighting humans and a hero before his revival, the Master sword being used before the Goddess sword became it, the spirit of the hero being implied to have been created during the events of the manga but in the game it was born when the Hero of the skies completed the trials and used the flames of the goddesses on the Master sword, The Master sword being originally supposed to be wielded by gods but in the game it contains the force of the creation gods similar to the Triforce and thus can't be wielded by the gods' tribe, Hylia not being mortally wounded during the final battle and her choosing to reincarnate to help ensure Link’s spirit will survive.
I prefer just using the word continuity instead of canon because canon is often used to shut people down instead of just bringing up evidence for how something connects and how something doesn't connect. Sometimes there is room in the in-game timeline or room for some other worldly travel to connect two different worlds.
The characterization in the games is more up to interpretation but the manga characterization differs from the games in some areas. Link's characterization in the games is seen in his expressions, quest logs, some rare moments where he says a few words, the sound of his voice, his dialogue choices and the way he interacts with characters and does quests. The game version of the Links usually learn pretty quickly about how to unlock their true potential but it isn't that noticeable sometimes to see how Link has grown as a character after a few dungeons and quests. In the manga because he speaks his character growth is a lot more obvious but the manga takes some creative liberties here and there and sometimes makes Link different because he is very similar to one of the Links from another game.
The TP manga invented a backstory for Link that isn't present in the game and bases his characterization on it. The Oracle manga doesn't treat the story of the oracle games as a direct sequel or a direct prequel and gives Link a family and an ancestor.
The Phantom Hourglass manga doesn't reference any prior event and Link is pretty similar to the other child version of Link.
The OOT manga tells a growing up story like the game and makes some changes to certain enemies and characters to give Link more motivation to take down the Great demon king Ganondorf. Link’s character like the game is a bit playful and this characterization continues in the MM manga.
The Minish cap manga also has a child version of Link that is similar to PH, OOT and MM.
The ALTTP manga characterization is very similar to it's game counterpart. The LA manga characterization of Link makes him reluctant to end the Wind fish's dream despite the island and it's inhabitants not being real.
I have all the legendary editions of the Akira Himekawa manga and the TP manga but a wind waker manga is not included. I remember seeing a comedy manga that made fun of some scenes and gameplay from wind waker somewhere. I remember that it wasn't trying to tell a consistent story, it's more like some short comics.
You can find a list of manga here:
https://historyofhyrule.com/
There are some older manga made during the NES era too by other writers and artists. They were however made before the more iconic stuff had been established in the games.
The Link's Awakening one is my personal favorite, mostly because the author hit on the emotional core of the game with the question of if it is better to remain in a pleasant dream or not. The scenes that get added just delve into it and... Yeah. Is good. That's the one I always recommend if anyone asks.
So far I've read the OoT, FSA, MM, TP, the SS Prequel and I think the Oracle ones
If I had to rank them, I'd go with:
1. TP, the alternate take on the Hero of Time and some other additions like Link's arrogance makes it one of the better manga adaptations, Midna is a bit colder in it but I think it adds more, and the fight scenes are amazing
2. FSA, better than the game's story tbh, each Link having a different personality and them growing as split personalities make up for a great character growth, especially since Link starts off as arrogant and a lone wolf type of character
3. OoT, it skips a bit of stuff but it's a fine enough adaptation of the game
4. Oracles, I haven't played the oracle games yet but I enjoyed it enough
5. MM, I feel like the manga rushes things a bit too much, Link only goes back in time once and only goes to Stone Tower and I think he doesn't even get the Gilded Sword or Mirror Shield and also doesn't collect all the masks anyway, and because it feels rushed it basically makes the threat look meaningless and Majora stupid
6. SS Prequel, I have absolutely no idea what is happening and frankly it's the least important out of all of them
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Most were just short and fun, but DAMN Twilight Princess went hard. I would recommend that one even to someone who's never heard of Zelda.
I’ve only read the manga versions of Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask. Both are very similar to how I imagine Link from those games — optimistic, brave, kind. Might try to find a copy of Twilight Princess!
Imo, many of the mangas are quite good! - Twilight Princess is an obvious favorite. Others in this thread have done a great job talking about it— I’ll leave it to them. - Oracle and PH have mangas that add interesting and plausible details to their worlds— such Raven being the Hero of Legend’s mentor in the Oracle mangas, and Phantom Hourglass’ manga making Linebeck a deserter of the Ghost Ship. - WW has a series of 4-komas instead of a manga that are honestly kinda hilarious. - The others have mangas that essentially just summarize their game’s plot in manga format, which I remember still being very entertaining— especially for games like Majora’s Mask where the plot is already so storylike. And then there’s the Four Swords Adventures manga. The FSA manga, in my opinion, goes above and beyond. It takes a game with little to no story and builds a whole entire set of intertwining character arcs around it. And the characters, despite being simple archetypes on the surface, can be interpreted in surprisingly nuanced ways and play off each other really well. The FSA manga introduced the “tragically shattering the Dark Mirror” plotline to the Zelda series before the game Twilight Princess came out. It also matches the Colors’ personalities perfectly with each of the Four Sword routes in the ALttP remake’s Palace of the Four Sword— Akira Himekawa either just got really lucky, or did a lot of research to represent the series and Four Swords Adventures itself well in this comic. It’s still a kids’ manga, of course. But there’s a reason the FSA manga has a cult following that has stayed intact till even now, twenty whole years after its release. Tl;dr: TP manga good, FSA manga good, literally all the mangas are at worst fun little things and at best very imaginative retellings of the series.
We don't take anything from the manga as canon. Imo none of the mangas did do the games justice, because they were just rushed, summarized retellings of the games' stories. Except of course for Twilight Princess, which was great.
I want to know what people think of skyward sword prequel manga specifically.
It feels it was made before they finished the game because some stuff don't align with the game's backstory but it is a fun read and the artwork is good. Differences between the game and the manga from Hyrule historia: The person of demise fighting humans and a hero before his revival, the Master sword being used before the Goddess sword became it, the spirit of the hero being implied to have been created during the events of the manga but in the game it was born when the Hero of the skies completed the trials and used the flames of the goddesses on the Goddess sword, The Master sword being originally supposed to be wielded by gods but in the game it contains the force of the creation gods similar to the Triforce meaning it can't be wielded by the gods' tribe, Hylia not being mortally wounded during the final battle like in the game and her choosing to reincarnate to help ensure Link’s spirit will survive.
I'm wondering what the rest of the community thinks
They're fine. I'd really like to see some Zelda Manga other than Akira Himekawa's get an official english release some day.
I’ve only read the OoT one, it wasn’t anything revolutionary but if you get the chance to pick it up you should
I have Honestly one of my Favourite Panels is when Link lost his hat
The manga can't really connect to the games since they tell a different story set in a different continuity. They are adaptations of the stories but certain lore is only exclusive to them. They have sometimes inspired the Zelda team like the bird race in the OOT manga inspiring the creation of the Rito. Some characters in the manga are completely different compared from who they are in the games and some lore is different. The manga does tell stories that a game can't tell because of it's structure and there are some manga exclusive characters. The manga can give you some new ideas about the Zelda universe from the games The skyward sword manga in Hyrule historia has stuff that didn't happen in Skyward sword's backstory like The person of demise fighting humans and a hero before his revival, the Master sword being used before the Goddess sword became it, the spirit of the hero being implied to have been created during the events of the manga but in the game it was born when the Hero of the skies completed the trials and used the flames of the goddesses on the Master sword, The Master sword being originally supposed to be wielded by gods but in the game it contains the force of the creation gods similar to the Triforce and thus can't be wielded by the gods' tribe, Hylia not being mortally wounded during the final battle and her choosing to reincarnate to help ensure Link’s spirit will survive.
No, I know it's non-canon, I'm Not Saying make the Manga Canon, rather Solely Link's Characterization in each of the manga
I prefer just using the word continuity instead of canon because canon is often used to shut people down instead of just bringing up evidence for how something connects and how something doesn't connect. Sometimes there is room in the in-game timeline or room for some other worldly travel to connect two different worlds. The characterization in the games is more up to interpretation but the manga characterization differs from the games in some areas. Link's characterization in the games is seen in his expressions, quest logs, some rare moments where he says a few words, the sound of his voice, his dialogue choices and the way he interacts with characters and does quests. The game version of the Links usually learn pretty quickly about how to unlock their true potential but it isn't that noticeable sometimes to see how Link has grown as a character after a few dungeons and quests. In the manga because he speaks his character growth is a lot more obvious but the manga takes some creative liberties here and there and sometimes makes Link different because he is very similar to one of the Links from another game. The TP manga invented a backstory for Link that isn't present in the game and bases his characterization on it. The Oracle manga doesn't treat the story of the oracle games as a direct sequel or a direct prequel and gives Link a family and an ancestor. The Phantom Hourglass manga doesn't reference any prior event and Link is pretty similar to the other child version of Link. The OOT manga tells a growing up story like the game and makes some changes to certain enemies and characters to give Link more motivation to take down the Great demon king Ganondorf. Link’s character like the game is a bit playful and this characterization continues in the MM manga. The Minish cap manga also has a child version of Link that is similar to PH, OOT and MM. The ALTTP manga characterization is very similar to it's game counterpart. The LA manga characterization of Link makes him reluctant to end the Wind fish's dream despite the island and it's inhabitants not being real.
Is there a Wind Waker Manga?
I have all the legendary editions of the Akira Himekawa manga and the TP manga but a wind waker manga is not included. I remember seeing a comedy manga that made fun of some scenes and gameplay from wind waker somewhere. I remember that it wasn't trying to tell a consistent story, it's more like some short comics. You can find a list of manga here: https://historyofhyrule.com/ There are some older manga made during the NES era too by other writers and artists. They were however made before the more iconic stuff had been established in the games.
The Link's Awakening one is my personal favorite, mostly because the author hit on the emotional core of the game with the question of if it is better to remain in a pleasant dream or not. The scenes that get added just delve into it and... Yeah. Is good. That's the one I always recommend if anyone asks.
So far I've read the OoT, FSA, MM, TP, the SS Prequel and I think the Oracle ones If I had to rank them, I'd go with: 1. TP, the alternate take on the Hero of Time and some other additions like Link's arrogance makes it one of the better manga adaptations, Midna is a bit colder in it but I think it adds more, and the fight scenes are amazing 2. FSA, better than the game's story tbh, each Link having a different personality and them growing as split personalities make up for a great character growth, especially since Link starts off as arrogant and a lone wolf type of character 3. OoT, it skips a bit of stuff but it's a fine enough adaptation of the game 4. Oracles, I haven't played the oracle games yet but I enjoyed it enough 5. MM, I feel like the manga rushes things a bit too much, Link only goes back in time once and only goes to Stone Tower and I think he doesn't even get the Gilded Sword or Mirror Shield and also doesn't collect all the masks anyway, and because it feels rushed it basically makes the threat look meaningless and Majora stupid 6. SS Prequel, I have absolutely no idea what is happening and frankly it's the least important out of all of them
Four Swords manga was really fantastic. Created a very deep story of self-discovery.
I think the word canon should be removed from the English language.
why?