What are the best video game related art books?

[dsheinem]

In the past year or two I've picked up a number of art books that I really like to flip though. I particularly like the recent ones put out by Dark Horse (Hyrule Historia, Bioshock Infinite, The Last of Us, The Art of Final Fantasy), but I know that there are others I've seen that look interesting related to Capcom fighting games, Metal Gear Solid titles, etc. I also have the Smithsonian's Art of Video Games book, which is excellent.

So I thought I'd ask - what books are worth picking up? I'm specifically interested in art books instead of strategy guides, unless the strategy guide has a very strong/separate art section. I'm especially interested in hearing about books that are hardcover, have high quality paper and printing, and feature any "behind the scenes" information about the included artwork.

I also don't know much about art books that weren't produced in the past few years, so I'd love to hear about older stuff. I know these books have been more common in Japan for a long time...so while English versions are ideal, I'd not be opposed to hunting down high quality Japanese art books.

So what should I be on the lookout for?

[BogusMeatFactory]

I really enjoyed the Art of Warcraft book. Although paperback, there is a lot of original artwork that spans each game in the series, including the defunct adventure game. They point out very interesting facts within the world and connect the dots to a lot of the characters. The book was released pre-World of Warcraft, however.

Other really good ones that I recommend are Udon's publication of the Art of Street Fighter. I enjoy the compilations of high quality fan art, especially for something like Street Fighter. It doesn't give much information, on the series itself, but the various compilations they have put out have been really entertaining to look at. Paperback as well, but they have good paper stock and it is very sturdy.

The last one I recommend is the History of Sonic the Hedgehog. It's roughly 300 pages, hardcover and has tons of information on the development and history of the Sega Icon. It was really interesting and a ton of fun to read as it not only talks about Sonic, but it also talks about Sega as well and its history.

[prfsnl_gmr]

I have The Complete Prints of Yoshitaka Amano, but the forthcoming Art of Final Fantasy (which I do not have and which is mentioned in the OP) is probably more relevant to this topic. That said, The Complete Prints of Yoshitaka Amano is a pretty awesome book.

[catnip]

Yeah, basically anything by Amano is great; I love the Art of Final Fantasy IX, cuz man, what a great/bright style.

Definitely interested in this topic, though, as I could always use more art books.

[IrishNinja]

some great ones here, i wish the Phoenix Wright one was cheaper. ive imported a few sega ones, but when they're in moonspeak i mostly wish there was more pics than text, heh.

Okami and some really great ones can be had on the cheap as well!

[oxymoron]

Capcom 30th Anniversary Encyclopedia is pretty neat. It's only 9.90 shipped on amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Capcom-30th-Anniv ... apcom+book

[IrishNinja]

^it's great too, like a little Marvel Universe Encyclopedia for Capcom, i wanna say...and like you said, the price is right!

[oxymoron]

Ya, especially because it's hardcover too.

[jamtero]

Xenogears Perfect Works. There is a translation out there beautiful artwork and detailed backstory on the game so you can see how deep the rabbit hole goes

[dsheinem]

I'm bumping this because I have really been into picking up art books of late but I've yet to find a good resource for what books were published (either in the US or Japan) prior to the 2000s (and really, prior to 2005 or so). Anyone have some cool art books from the 90s or 80s?