It's an interesting idea. I'd like there to be safe havens and refuges, though... I'd really like character driven sidequests, like Majora's Mask, to feature. A post-catastrophe Hyrule doesn't rule out that possibility. Re-uniting families, loved ones, gathering items etc. Perhaps a sidequest similar to Colony 6 in Xenoblade Chronicles?

Some really interesting ideas, though. I'd love to see a non-linear, open Zelda that emphasises exploration, mystery and tough enemies with minimal "main story" narrative. I don't think that's incompatible with character driven sidequests, because if you have that too, it becomes about saving the people in the world as well as saving the world itself.

I like some of your concepts, but not the whole thing. Here's my take on The Legend of Zelda: The Silent World:

Indeed, the world has been destroyed. Link is the last known survivor - everybody else has been turned to Stalfos. Everyone. Stalfos. Well, and a variety of other monsters and the lot.

Additionally, the world is eerie silent. The only sound is a very faint wind. There is no music. There are no cries from the monsters. It would seem the monsters are (currently) voiceless. The only sounds in the entire world are from Link.

As Link sets out on his mission, he triggers a transformation in his "Kokiri Village"-type initial locale (perhaps after completing an initial dungeon), resulting in it coming back to life. The silence is gone.  Sound and music suddenly fill the air - but so do the cries of the monsters. 

This then leads Link directly into the next step in his journey - another (mini) dungeon, where he defeats an evil boss. Upon destroying the evil presence here, the region suddenly comes fully back to life. All the monsters are gone. The air is now filled with the fairies/bugs/dust-particles you see in the air so commonly in Zelda games.

At this point, you see the shadow of something disappear off-screen... SOMETHING, or someONE, came back to life, and vanished. This will establish a living being presence throughout the remainder of the game - but a very rarely seen one - so as to make it not entirely desolate and void of interaction.

Throughout the rest of the game, you're going through and first destroying the Silence in each respective map area, then ridding it of the evil in general. The elimination of the evil is specifically what brings people back to life in each area, and they begin rebuilding. As you progress through the game, the places you saved earlier on become more rehabbed, and you're given access to new places and options in these areas.

Since each map area consists of two separate steps, that allows for actually two separate dungeons in each area. Also, sometimes you may not be able to beat both of them back-to-back, in a linear fashion, but you may need to beat one area's Silent dungeon before you can access another area's Evil dungeon. So you may end up having to beat multiple Silent dungeons in a row before overcoming another Evil.

Additionally, the giant monster roaming the world is actually Beast Ganon. He roams any areas that are still Evil - silent or not - but he's incapable of entering areas that are no longer Evil. When more of them show up, they're (slightly inferior) copies of himself that he's made, because he sees that something is slowly stealing his world away from him and he doesn't like that. The copies, though, ARE killable - but only with an item earned late in the game (and, of course, one of the NPCs you save - perhaps the original one that ran off-screen at the beginning of the game - tells you how to kill them). The final dungeon includes a mini-boss fight against two of them at the same time, and the final fight is against Ganon himself, because you've shrunk the Evil World down to only his castle or whatever.

Much of what ISN'T changed to your idea would definitely still apply - Monster Hunter-esque overworld,  Super Guide-esque options. But my idea would give a reasonable source for shops and where you'd GET the Super Guide items. It'd also allow more of a blending of classic Zelda bleakness and more modern Zelda people and minigames, etc.

Yeah, it's stupid that Nintendo doesn't do this.  But yes, it would need to be all on one system and it's too late for this with Wii U.  Their next gen system should see a Zelda in years 2,4 and 6 of its life cylce.  It should feel like a true reboot that would draw in new fans while being the best Zelda ever for the old ones.  You build one engine, one artstyle and make three games out of it, with the second two only taking 2 years using many assets from the first.

Nintendo needs to get back to basics in its game-making.  Like on the NES when we would get SMB 1,2,3 and Zelda 1,2.  Not milking games, but making solid new entries in the series, not just "the Wii version" rehash, or "Wii U rehash" of classic titles.

I think, too, that a back-to-NES-basics approach is as much about gameplay as it is theme and style. There needs to be more action, more nimble, fast-paced combat. Open exploration. Unexpected secrets. And no hand-holding. Find your path and figure out puzzles on your own.

Isnt that like Dark Souls?

The Legend of Zelda: Dark Souls ^^

Right, mine would just be a plot to "excuse" that (though as Rol said, it doesn't need an excuse, which is why i also think the plot would be cool on its own.)

This is certainly a better balance with my bleaker idea, and could allow for more character-driven sidequests like Asriel said, later on in the game.

I pretty much disagree with everything you just said...its hard to actually pick a place to start arguing @.@

I guess I'll just sum up my thoughts. Nintendo makes each Zelda game the way they want to make it. At the start of the process they have complete freedom over where to take the franchise. With this they have made games that are tonally varied with different art styles and gameplay. Doing this takes time to make each Zelda game a new fresh experience. Doing a Zelda trilogy would lock the franchise into one thing for too long and also shorten dev time resulting in less new-ness in each game.

This is part of what makes the Zelda franchise great. It never sits on its hands for too long (and if it did, fans would start complaining that Nintendo is just rehashing everything) and you never know what you are going to get for the next outing. I find it silly that you say it is "stupid" that Nintendo doesn't do this. It is a path that they could take but I don't really see the benefit, other than quantity over quality...

Also, back in the NES days, it was a lot easier to make games. Cost of game development and development time have both increased exponentially and are higher now than ever before. You cannot expect any company to make games of top tier quality at that speed...

Also, Nintendo does a lot more than "rehash" classic titles. I've used the phrase "Same Name, Different Game" before to describe Nintendo frachises becaus while they still have the classic names attached to many of their games, the actual gameplay varies greatly...