Retro Zelda Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Book Now Archived Online
Posted on January 30 2022 by Jill Rosado
Zelda historians rejoice! Thanks to long-time Zelda archivist History of Hyrule, high-quality scans of The Legend of Zelda: The Mirage Castle are now available online. This choose-your-own-adventure manga was only published in Japan in 1986, shortly after the first Legend of Zelda game was released, and it’s been an obscure footnote in Zelda history ever since.
Although the book is in Japanese, it’s clear that readers play as both Link and Zelda as the story progresses. Aside from familiar characters and creatures that are still around in the Zelda series, there are also unique characters featured in the book, such as Ganon’s brother, according to History of Hyrule:
I’ve uploaded my 600dpi scans of, what I’m told, is an absolutely incredible Choose Your Own Adventure gamebook from 1986, The Mirage Castle. Yes, that is Zelda, and you do play as her too, and Ganon has a younger brother, General Gaia~ I love it https://t.co/OU0O9u0XDD pic.twitter.com/9lH5HxePnD
— History of Hyrule (@HistoryofHyrule) January 27, 2022
It’s fascinating to see the development of Zelda‘s multimedia presence before it grew into what we know today. I’d love to see this choose-your-own-adventure game translated into English so that I can be immersed in the story; but for now, one can visit the archive page right here to see the entire book as it was originally published. Below is a preview of some of the high-quality scans.
Melora, also known as History of Hyrule, has been a Zelda archivist for over 20 years. Her website holds a collection of scans from books and manga, so be sure to check that out here.
What do you think of The Legend of Zelda: The Mirage Castle? Would you like to see a translated version in order to play through this gamebook? Let us know in the comments below!
Source: History of Hyrule (via Nintendo Life)
