There can be and have been better games than Zelda, but the fact remains that it is a proven and established formula that has lasted 20+ years. For those that just pick up a Zelda game and another game, they could easily be swayed with the proper formula towards the other game. But for those who have loved the franchise since day 1, no matter how much "better" the game may be, it won't compare to Zelda.
Personally I didn't like the first Zelda ("gasp" ya ya i know, but it's preferance). I did like Adventures of Link alot, although I thought Princess of Scheherazade was a much better game. A Link to the past did alot in terms of gameplay and Ocarina of Time perfected it, making it a true masterpiece. I liked Majora's Mask alot, although a little more could have been done, it was a great game in its own right. Windwaker completely killed it for me, I barely got past the visuals ( sadly viewtiful joe did better cell shading in my opinion). The gameplay was ok, but better effects and visuals would have made certain actions feel more rewarding. Finally Twilight princess restored my faith in the series (was a breath of fresh air after WW), so if they were to keep the TP visuals with Ocarina gameplay and story style, I would be more than satisfied.
With all that being said, Level-5 and team ICO, given the proper resources and support, are capable of having their great games leave a mark just like Link has. Offtopic: Dark Cloud 1 and 2 left a huge mark in me, as well as SOTC and ICO.
Make games, not war (that goes for ridiculous fanboys)
I may be the next Maelstorm or not, you be the judge http://videogamesgrow.blogspot.com/ hopefully I can be more of an asset than a fanboy to VGC hehe.
