http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/53765/collecting-rupees-will-be-more-important-than-ever-in-zelda-a-link-between-worlds/

Saw this on GoNintendo...it's an interview with Aonuma from Official Nintendo Magazine. He talks about how rupees are SUPER important in the game and how you'll need to collect a LOT of them. This lines up with the screenshot of the Item Shop where instead of arrows, bombs, and other throwaway items, the entire arsenal of KEY items is on display in the shop. This implies that we'll be buying items ourselves instead of finding them in chests in each dungeon. And if that's the case...is it too much of a stretch to assume that perhaps we'll be able to do the dungeons in any order?

Think about it...you find a dungeon...you can't progress very far because you need an item, and there are some clues as to what item you need. So, you travel the overworld, cut some grass, kill some baddies, collect rupees and then go to the Item Shop and buy the item you think you need for that dungeon. On your way back to the dungeon, you discover ANOTHER dungeon which requires a completely different item. Now you have a choice...go do the first dungeon you found with the item you just bought. OR, go collect more rupees and buy ANOTHER key item and go do the 2nd dungeon you found instead. Obviously, this is just speculation, but would be cool if so and would kind of set a precedent for what they say they are trying to do with the NEW Wii U Zelda game-let you do dungeons "out of order."

Thoughts, comments, opinions?

It seems like the only way they could do it, without having to make each dungeon so complex that there are multiple valid ways to do the dungeon, but also without losing the intricacies of dungeon layout that 2D Zeldas especially have always held dear.

Especially useful if rupee chests are prominent in some dungeons more than others.

If I need to grind for Rupees just for that than no thanks. That would be tedious and the Wind Waker Triforce quest all over again. Give me the traditional way then, linear so be it.

this actually makes sense

Yeah, I can understand your concerns. I guess for me, it will depend on how easy Rupees are to come by and how much each item in the shop costs. Maybe there will be a "suggested" order for the dungeons, based on the price of each item. So for relatively few Rupees you can get the cheapest items and do the "easiest" dungeons, and while you're in the dungeons you'd "naturally" earn enough Rupees to get the next item for the next "suggested" dungeon. But, for those people who want the freedom to go in any order, they're free to explore and grind for Rupees in order to get the more expensive items and thus do the "more difficult/later" dungeons whenever they want, as early as they want. That wouldn't be so bad. 

Yeah let's hope it's something like that. I'm not against non-linear if it's done right and there's a 'natural' way to progress through the game. As far as Zelda games go, I think Ocarina of Time and A Link to the Past did great in that aspect.

Agreed, some way of making a "natural" way to progress evident is always helpful, and hopefully they'll do that while still opening up the freedom for those who want that. Guess we'll just have to wait and see. Probably will find out in an upcoming Fall or Holiday-centric Nintendo Direct. 

That would make the game extremely tedious. What if a dungeon requires more than one item?

I would hate to go in and out of a dungeon just to buy a new Item that I suddenly need in that dungeon. damn having to do soo much work to find out whats hiding behind a door that I need a grapple-hook to reach

I hate rupee hunting! :-S

that would be the end of Zelda for me

I'm not saying I'm for or against the idea, just wanted to hear other people's thoughts. I understand the concerns of back-tracking and tedium though.

Of course, this is all just speculation, but hopefully if it turns out this way, they'll have made smart design decisions that would prevent frustration. Maybe each dungeon would only "require" one item other than your sword and shield, but would be easier with other items...thus giving you choices and options again. Or maybe the dungeons would be "grouped" where you could do the first three in any order...but must have completed all three before moving onto dungeons 4, 5, or 6...that way dungeons four and beyond could require new items, but also make use of the items from the first three dungeons. Just ideas...will be interesting to see what the structure actually is. I just can't imagine there not being SOME freedom when you have KEY items available for purchase at the Item Shop.