This is about outlining what you would like to see in your ideal Zelda game, based on what you like best about the franchise. It should be implied by te subject matter, but this is mostly for people who enjoy at least one game in the series. If you come in here and say you want Zelda to be Kingdom hearts because you like Kingdom Hearts and not Zelda, you're kind of missing the point.

One guideline:

1. Don't be a dick.

This should be easy to follow. Break it? Well, you know how it goes.

Anyway, yeah. Whether you are satisfied or dissastified with the current direction of the series: doesn't matter. I'd prefer you didn't talk about that, but whatever. This is about what you would like in the series.

Be as specific as possible. Paint a picture with words, so the rest of us can know what you would like to see.

I'll try and nail something down later.

I would like a darker Zelda game like Majora's Mask.  It's been a while since they had one like that.  Things would be in  a place a lot like Hyrule but not actually Hyrule (something like Termina). Everything would be a little more artsy.  "Freaks" would populate the town.  Characters would talk a lot but not actually say much of anything in between the awesome temples and bosses.  Some of the main baddies would be things like a gigantic talking butt, a super model that lays eggs, and a bunch of Gerudo thieves that shoot energy balls at Link from what looks to be Guitar Hero controllers.  At the very end of the game, Link would wake up from a dream and then begin his next adventure.  Most gamers would throw stuff at the screen and scream.  I would laugh since I'd get the joke.

Khuutra, I love you and your rules.

Someone should make a comic out of it.

1. The Trio: I just love a Zelda game that contains all three of the Triforce wielders. It's just great to witness the characters interact, being that each one is just so different from the other. Link is the silent and courageous hero, Zelda is the wise and beautiful princess, and Ganondorf is the powerful and ruthless villain. And yet each character is so much more than just that. I have to admit, I cheered when it revealed that Zant was just a puppet for Ganondorf. And when some called cop-out, I called awesome conclusion thanks to the gravity of the timeless feud between the now-complete Triforce Trio. Final battles don't get much better than the one in Twilight Princess folks, and that's thanks to all three of them participating.

2. The Lone Ranger: If there's one thing I love about Hyrule (and to a point, the Great Sea) it's that I just love to explore the untamed land around me. I started playing Zelda with Ocarina of Time, and there was nothing, nothing (nothing) like when you first approached Hyrule field. It was immense, it was mysterious, and it was mine to explore. It was never to be conquered, but just to be experienced. Riding Epona (and the King of Red Lions) through the land... just to ride. It's a very freeing feeling. No side quests, no NPC's, no distractions. It's just you and the land ahead of you.

3. The Bosses (and the items to defeat them with): Zelda bosses are always great, no doubt about it. I mean, so many of them follow the "find weakness and exploit it 3 times to win" formula... but that's just the basic of the basics. To find that weakness, and to expolit it using your newfound item... now that's the fun part! I mean, we've got guys like Twinrova (using your Mirror Shield to reflect their attacts) or Stallord (using the Spinner to crack its spine, and then to go on a rollercoaster ride!). These are some great bosses in the Zelda universe, I just love the way that you have to use brains and brawn to get to them.

Those are the big three (at least for me). There's plenty of other things I enjoy that I'd implement in a future Zelda game, like pseudo-dungeons (like the Mansion in Twilight Princess... it took me at least a half an hour to realize that I was in a dungeon. Brilliant.), the classic Zelda tunes (hopefully in orchestrated form this time around.), clever puzzles (clever, not aggravating *Looks at Water Temple*), and a musical influence (Ocarina, Wolf Howling, Flute blowing, ect.).

Well... I like the combat of 3D Zelda games, so it should be in 3D... There should still be a fair amount of puzzles though, including puzzlish bosses... whatever system its for should be considered (ala motion controls for TP and SS and stylus controls for PH and ST)... there should be an overworld of some sorts, and One should be able to go off the beaten path... there should be smaller dungeons and hidden spots to get goodies like heart pieces... If there is a horse or a ship or something, it should be able to trasvel to a lot of places, sort of like Agro in Shadow of the Colossus... Orchestrated music of course... enemies should be fairly dangerous attacking solo, unless they're a part of some sort of puzzle... bosses should be plentiful... and I want to be able to carry as many ruppees as I want.

My Ideal Zelda game....

The openness of Zelda I with the difficulty of Zelda I and II with the story progression of Ocarina of Time

I want to see Zebes when i leave towns and dungeons. Not literally, obviously, but i want a wilderness that's really maze-like with a lot of junk to find, and not just empty space. The overworld should be smaller, but denser. I want dynamic sword combat, but at the same time i want to be able to kill anything with everything, just that certain items would obviously be more well suited to certain enemies (but only a few be item-exclusive)

And i want bosses that are generally smaller and more mobile than the towering, stationary behemoths they've come to be in the past few Zelda games. Think Gohma in Ocarina vs Gohma in Wind Waker, or Odolwa (if that was his name), and Gyorg in Majora's Mask, or Ganondorf and Ganon, or like many bosses in Mario games. They're bigger and badder than you, sure, but they can also move and really engage you.

An open, exploration based game, focused on clever use of the items to win over difficult enemies in battles. Dungeons are more like like scary waves of enemies with little chance to heal by running backwards or dodge in the enclosed space, which would be possible in the overworld.

Items, including the traditional Zelda ones, are scattered about the overworld and dungeons, but none are necessary to complete the game and it's like Mega Man where there are good orders to pick the items up in to be able to challenge the successive dungeons easier. Same for heart containers - you have to go out of the way to pick them up but then they help. Then you can fight the final boss whenever you feel ready. Yes, even 5 minutes into the game, and it should be possible to win then (but obviously with a Level 1 sword it'll take 50,000 hits to beat Ganon, and with 3 hearts and no armour one boss attack would kill you).

There would be few puzzles in the game, and no compulsory ones. Finding hidden items/hearts through 'Metroid' logic i.e. exploration and pushing the boundaries would be the closest.

The gameplay would be, in the majority, action. Fights with genuinely scary and powerful monsters would be common (not just enemies to slow you down) and it would require clever and fast use of the weapons you have in order to win (no mashing sword button). All of the items could be used in combat, there are no items that are just a 'key' to unlock the next 'door'. Bosses would also require weapon speed and skill to stop.

There would be minimal dialogue in the game, no cutscenes, no forced tutorial and you would recieve the sword in the first cave ala Zelda I. The time from putting in the disc to fighting with a sword will be sub-30s.

Now, as to technology - all weapons would use MotionPlus as much as possible. Switching weapons should not be done with a button but instead miming the weapon you want (e.g. draw imaginary arrow to use the bow, slice to use the sword) will switch automatically. Since this is an ideal game there would be no misinterpretation of your actions - the game would be as good as a nearby human in determining what weapon you're pretending to use.

All in all, it would be a Zelda where you feel like a true adventuring hero.

So what you're saying Soleron, is you want a WM version of the first Legend of Zelda only without being constrained by the need for a raft or a lantern?

I would like to see a 3D Zelda will the old Zelda hallmarks: great swordplay, vast overworld, being very open, and being a challange. There can be a story, but I want it to be light. Not overbearing.

Amen