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I have all three of them. If you want a complete collection, get all three. The differences are as follows...

Hyrule Historia has the first official documentation of the Zelda Timeline and describes the canon lore surrounding each game, as well as some artwork. There are a few other things, but most people get it for the lore.

Art and Artifacts is a book full of art, including concept art, that spans across the 31 years the franchise has been around. No lore is included in this book.

Now the Hyrule Encyclopedia has lore, release info, timeline updates, and a depth of info that is on a whole different level than the Historia. For a collector's guide, this book will tell you a good place to start. There was one minor retcon to the timeline that many fans debate, but it is very minor and overall inconsequential.  I highly recommend this book as it is by far the most informative.

 

One thing to remember about any contradictions to the timeline between Historia and Encyclopedia is that the lore from the Historia came directly from Nintendo themselves.  The Encyclopedia however, writers took some creative liberties when writing the lore section based on both the Historia and info found in the games.  These writers do not work for Nintendo however so while most of the info will line up, many argue that any retcons in Encyclopedia are non canon as a result.

 

On the other hand Nintendo did oversee the project and signed off on what we were given, so it could be argued that the minor retcon is indeed official.  I personally believe this unless Nintendo comes out and says otherwise, or it is referenced as such in a future game.  As I said, the change is too minor to matter so either way will affect nothing in the overall canon of the franchise.

Last edited by Shiken - on 22 June 2018

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