Aonuma not afraid to incorporate modern technology in the Zelda universe

[Riachu]

Kenryoku_Maxis said:

The day Zelda goes down 'steampunk' is the day you see it fall down the same path as Final Fantasy. Focusing on graphics and storyline and losing more and more sales each title.

Spirit Tracks looks good simply because the train is just as Aonuma says, a means of transit and a story device. Not something the entire game focuses on and something that changes the feel of the entire game (aka, makes the games style focus on a new genre or platform).

Part of the reason I think Twilight Princess saw mixed reviews and fan support is because the focus was so much on the 'style' and graphics. If a Zelda went 'steampunk', or any other style besides what they have been in the past, ultimately that's the path the series would be forced down.  And Zelda more than any other series is rooted in its past.

First off, Final Fantasy sales go up and down as each new main installment is released with the first main FF game even gen being the best selling FF game of that gen.  Also, FF focusing on graphics and story is what made FF so popular in the West in the first place.  In Zelda's case, it was gameplay.  Zelda focusing more on graphics and story wouldn't really decrease its popularity much if at all.  If anything, the series has dropped in popularity since Ocarina of Time but more due to the lack of innovation.  Recent FF games haven't seen sales as high as FFVII but that is only because FFVII saw sales numbers that many RPG don't even get remotely close to.  Doesn't change the fact that FFXIII is one of the most anticpated games in both America and Japan.