Maybe there could be a "rank" system - like in some Shmups - where the game gets more difficult in contrast to how well you play. Such systems can also be cleverly cheated by those intimate with the games, and I think that would add a nice technical dimension.

"Puzzles" in Zelda have gotten extremely predictable and isn't really called puzzles anymore. Spirit Tracks tried to make it more difficult but it was more riddles than puzzles. I want insightful puzzle-like elements, encapsulated with some great sword fighting. Don't take away any of each.

I still don't understand why ppl had to use guides for the Water Temple. It made you think, same way the dungeons in LttP made you think (like the Blind lvl), and the Great Bay temple & Ikani Tower in MM. You don't have a friggin board to look at to figure things out, like a traditional puzzle in the sense of the word. Just makes you use your head outside the realm of combat. In my opinion if you didn't like the Water Temple (besides the iron boot switching), then Zelda isn't really for you. It's reasons like this Zelda will never find a true identity.

That is good to hear. It was encouranging to see standard enemies doing more than 1/4-1/2 a hearts damage in the demo and defeating enemies looks more challenging this time around too. Twilight Princess was far too easy enemy wise so hopefully Nintendo have corrected that.

I've been replaying the Ocarina of Time with nephew, and honestly, I do believe that game is hard than either the Wind Waker or Twilight Princess.  I actually died once!  Pesky newts with swords.

And I personally enjoy the Water Temple.  I've never understood the complaint, and have always gotten throughout it without a hitch, even despite not having played the game in like eight years.

Hopefully they make the difficulty somewhere around the Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask (which was really only difficult because of the time limits, tbh), as opposed to more recent entries in the series.

Nice

I suspect that the biggest problem with the Water Temple was that you had to push a certain block (I believe it was on the second floor) over early on.  Doing this gained you nothing when you did it, but it was necessary to advance later, when you approached from the opposite end. 

Failure to do this led to your journey ending in a seeming dead-end, and the only way to remedy this was to reverse your actions for about five steps (at the cost of lots of time/tedium) until you finally got behind that block and pushed it to where it needed to be, then re-did what you'd already done and get back to the opposite end of said block.  Of course, there was nothing that indicated that this was what you needed to do, since corridors all looked alike and the block being out of place didn't give you much of a visual clue...

My problem every time I play through is following Ruto up. There's a spot between where she initially stands and the room you eventually follow her to which you need to adjust the water level and bomb in order to reach, but I always, always forget to come back there.

?

I don't remember Ruto being in that temple.  Have I just forgotten (quite possible), or are you referring to JabuJabu instead?

You forgot. You see Ruto for the first time in the Water Temple when the water is all the way up. You're on the bottom floor. She greets you, makes reference to your engagement, tells you to follow her up, then disappears.

I C.  Guess it's been longer than I thought!