I think the idea of Zelda being an established formula that always goes to the well is a little overstated. Twilight Princess is the only one that ever felt derivative to me. Majora's Mask and Windwaker are both very dfferent games from Ocarina with very different styles and mechanics. They all have udgbeons that you collect items to defeat, but that just means they're Zelda games. Beyond that, they're pretty individual. Except for Twilight Princess, which is both too much like Ocarina and too easy (though it does perfect a lot of Ocarina's concepts).
Really, only three Zelda games game been modelled as: collect 3 gems, get master sword, beat temples, fight Ganon--Link to the Past, Ocarina, Twilight Princess. And obviously there's a massive difference between Link to the Past and the other two.
My consoles and the fates they suffered:
Atari 7800 (Sold), Intellivision (Thrown out), Gameboy (Lost), Super Nintendo (Stolen), Super Nintendo (2nd copy) (Thrown out by mother), Nintendo 64 (Still own), Super Nintendo (3rd copy) (Still own), Wii (Sold)
A more detailed history appears on my profile.
