In all honesty it did lose it's magic for me. It's still a good game but it has aged. I enjoyed Nier muuuuuuuuuuuch more than OOT. The Zelda game that to me still has some of its magic left is Majora's Mask because the concept is different and very well executed. If I were to pit it on current day 3D environment games at least remotely similar, I would say I loved Nier much more for many reasons (*disclaimer, personal opinion only): Enjoyed the audio much more, the music was superb and few OST's in any other game barely comes close. The music when Devola sings near the water fountain is the most soothing in any game. The boss battle music is epic, etc.
-Story is pretty damn good, and although it takes beating it about 4 times to get everything (well the other 3 times you are at about the halfway point), being able to see different points of view that lead up to the point of fighting the Shadowlord and the consequences some choices carry is wonderful. Also it doesn't fall under an everyday cliche thanks to the various characters you meet (Kaine is great, and the Ruler of the people of the mask was awesome growing up).
-Gameplay is solid, and although the beginning may be somewhat repetitive, it is the same in OOT. As a matter of fact, I was bored to death until Link grew up. I did like the water temple though. Nier's strong point was the variety and utilities of spells. Also having a mob being able to kill you in one hit spawn at random was humbling. My chief complaint was the double jump with the Hero throwing out his chest..... lol.
All in all, if the general population takes off their goggles they will see another gem from a dev that went under thanks to SE's poor marketing of a new IP. OOT is still good but the battle system and overall gameplay feels archaic. Majora's Mask still feels fresh because of the 72 hour limit and truly manipulating time and mask collection to continue to progress. Skyward Sword looks promising because of the control implementation and a more unique art style. Zelda's strength has been nostalgia more than anything with the exception of a few titles (wasn't a fan of windwaker due to art style but gameplay was better than expected).
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.
