The Legendary Editions, explained
The Legendary Editions are Viz's recollected form of Himekawa's original ten volume run: five larger tomes, published 2016 to 2017, each collecting a natural unit of the run, with the full set also sold as the Legendary Edition Box Set, 9781974718191. This page is the contents map, because the pairings are the part buyers get wrong.
Ocarina of Time, Legendary Edition, 9781421589596, collects the original Ocarina of Time volumes 1 and 2. Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages, Legendary Edition, 9781421589602, collects the Oracle pair, original volumes 4 and 5. Majora's Mask and A Link to the Past, Legendary Edition, 9781421589619, collects two single volume works, original volumes 3 and 9, which are not a story pair. The Minish Cap and Phantom Hourglass, Legendary Edition, 9781421589626, collects original volumes 8 and 10, again a publishing pair rather than a story pair. Four Swords, Legendary Edition, 9781421589633, collects original volumes 6 and 7. Counted out, the five tomes contain all ten original volumes exactly once.
The Japanese kanzenban counterparts of the Legendary form are recorded in the census for the sets they mirror: Ocarina of Time at 9784091421463, Oracle at 9784091421470, Minish Cap and Phantom Hourglass combined at 9784091421494 and Four Swords at 9784091421500. They are separate Japanese editions, not translations in reverse, and they complete the bilingual picture of the recollected run.
The buying decision is form, not content. The Legendary Editions are the current, uniform, larger format reading set and the only form sold as a five book box. The 2008 to 2010 singles are the first English printings, smaller, and the collector form of the run. No story material is exclusive to either in this bibliography's records, so a reader can choose on shelf and budget with a clear conscience.
One boundary keeps the set honest: Twilight Princess is not part of the Legendary programme. It has its own eleven volumes and its own Complete Box Set at 9781974749669. A Legendary box contains exactly the ten early volumes in five tomes, and any description promising more is describing something else.
