CAN'T PLAY THE VIDEO GAME? READ THE MANGA! PART 1 OF 3

Several popular video game franchises have adapted popular games into manga.  This can be a great addition to your library because of console availability: not all of your students have the ability to purchase all of the consoles to play their favorite games.  Reading the manga versions is a great way to keep up with a beloved series without spending hundreds of dollars on gaming systems.

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The Legend of Zelda: Legendary Editions​ by Akira Himekawa

There are currently five volumes in this series, and with the wealth of Zelda games, there could be more to come.  All of these volumes reflect the adventurous, light-hearted universe of the games, and are suitable for ages 8+.  One major departure for all of these titles is that the dungeons and puzzle-solving that fans love about these games does not translate to manga storylines, and are thus mostly absent from the novelizations.

Like many stories from Japan that are targeted at children, these volumes center around motifs of friendship, trying your best, being courageous, and the classic good-versus-evil.

Four Swords (c2017)
The game was originally released for Game Cube in 2004. The story takes place a century after Twilight Princess.  Zelda and her maidens open the shrine of the Four Swords, hoping to combat the weakening seal of the evil Vaati.  Instead, they meet Dark Link, and good Link ends up splitting himself into four! Together, they adventure to save Hyrule from the evils of the Sorcerer of Winds, Vaati.
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The Minish Cap/The Phantom Hourglass (c2017)
The Minish Cap was originally released in 2004 for the Gameboy Advanced. This story is a prequel to Four Swords and gives the origin story of Vaati.  In it, Vaati searches for the Light Force, and turns Princess Zelda to stone, while simultaneously destroying the legendary sword of the Piccori.  Link must adventure to gather elements to reforge the sword and save Zelda.

The Phantom Hourglass originally debuted on the GameCube in 2007, and is the sequel to the game, The Wind Waker​. In this story, Link and his captain-friend Linebeck sail around the world searching for the Sand of Hours for their Phantom Hourglass.  While Link is courageous and strong, Linebeck shows time and again that he is cowardly and greedy.  The two play off each other well, and Linebeck does eventually get his redemption.  
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Majora's Mask/A Link to the Past (c2017)  ​​
Majora's Mask was originally released in 2000 as sort of a follow-up to Ocarina of Time, although it is not necessary to read OoT before Majora's Mask.  In this story, Skull Kid has stolen the powerful Majora's Mask and is using its power to bring down the moon to destroy Termina, an alternate reality to the Hyrule of OoT.  The game was hugely successful because of its rich storyline, so this translates very nicely into manga format.  

Link to the Past was an extremely popular and highly rated Super Nintendo game released in 1991.  In this story, Link has to once again save Zelda, this time from an evil wizard named Agahnim.  Link has to travel around Hyrule, gathering Pendants of Virtue and awaken sacred maidens.  The twist here is that these maidens are actually locked inside dungeons in the Dark World, a mirror image of Hyrule where curses abound.  
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Oracle of Ages/Oracle of Seasons (c2017)
​These two games were originally released in 2001 for Gameboy Color, then re-released in 2013 for 3DS.  The plots of both games intertwine, creating demand for purchase of both instead of one.  ​

In Oracle of Seasons, Link must travel around and collect the eight Essences of Nature in order to defeat the evil Onox.  In Oracle of Ages, Link is similarly collecting eight Essences of Time in order to stop the Great Maku Tree from being destroyed by the evil Veran.
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​Ocarina of Time (c2016)
​This game originally came out for Nintendo 64 in 1998 and is widely considered one of the best video games ever.  This manga version of the game follows the storyline of Link in his quest to save Princess Zelda and the Seven Sage of the Sacred Realm against the evils of Ganondorf.  The twist in this one?  Link is too young to wield the Master Sword, so it puts him to sleep for seven years.  When he wakes, the entire world has changed! While in the game, the player can move back and forth through time to solve puzzles and dungeons, this mechanic doesn't work in the manga, so the story moves forward with adult Link. ​​​

Sara's Rating: 8/10
​Suitability: Grades 3-12

Tags: Rating: 8/10, Suitability: Elementary School, Suitability: Middle School, Suitability: High School, Manga, Action Adventure, Fantasy, Video Games, VIZ Media