Absolutely. I'm not saying there won't be an opt in hint-cheat system. My debate with you was over the guidance structure found on 3D Zelda's, which uses mandatory plot progression and linear storytelling to explicitely and deliberately tell the player where to go next and how to do it, which absolutely won't happen in Zelda U. You can't play through a single 3D Zelda without that guidance and structure. You can play through the entirety of ALBW 20 times without ever setting foot in the fortune teller's house and being told where to go next.

And I don't think Zelda U will be a simple expansion of the ALBW structure. It will be a complex explansion of the ALBW structure.

This guy gets it! ^
Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, if not for the basic  controls and both of them sharing the "Legend of Zelda" name, are two completely different games entirely in what they try to do. But both games do tremendously well and are fantastic at what they both do that they both stand on their own and continue to sell and maintain quality, despite one being released after the other. Same goes with the other 3.

I don't agree with that at all. I think there 100% is a way that Zelda should not be, and many of the main games fall into that, and are therefor significantly less enjoyable because of it.

And most of those games are the 3D Zelda's. People harp on MM being such a unique Zelda, but MM is more of a classic Zelda game than OoT, TP, and SS combined. It's definitely more like Zelda NES in structure and progression that OoT ever was, which is exactly why it's both a better Zelda game and a better game on its own.

Gotcha. I still just find it hard to believe that I'll be playing a 3D Zelda game without there being an overarching narrative guiding the player through the world, regardless of what Aonuma has said. I just don't even know how a game like that would work, especially one of the alleged scale of Zelda Wii U. I guess we'll have to wait and see. 

Also, I still think it's possible for a game to have a linear structure without having a set dungeon order. A looser structure for sure, but still a structure nonetheless. 

The only thing Zelda should be always is an adventure title other then that they can change up the approach to suit, the series is great for not having a uniformed approach, I can go back to each game and still enjoy them because for most part they're not trying to be clones of each other with better graphics and they each have their own focal points and way of executing the Zelda concept, that's what I like each game for what they do.

It doesn't bother me if one game doesn't do what another does and it shouldn't bother any Zelda fan either, Zelda is like the way it is to be open to the prospect differing approaches. You just end up falling in the trap of not liking one game because it's not like WW for example.

This highlights how people mean different things by open world. Windwaker HD and Deus Ex are my favourite open world games.

What most people seem to talk about when referring to open world are the elder scroll esk games. Large world where you can head almost anywhere early on and complete many countless sub-quests. Not may favourite types of game typically. I enjoyed fallout 3 but I don't get the scale of the hype for fallout 4.

I thought Xenoblade Chronicles was an interesting take on open world as in many ways it was a very linear path following the main story but you could stop in any of the vast areas on the way, should you choose, and optionally explore the many subquests. Which I chose to largely ignore. I thought of Deus Ex in a similar way. Many small openworld sandbox areas tied together with a largely linear (With a few minor branching variations) central plot.

Here here. I don't buy into this notion that Zelda games are 'supposed' to be anything. 

There will definitely be an overarching narrative, it's just not going to be one that guides the player. You've already seen how it can be done with ALBW. That game has an overarching narrative and even plot twists, yet most of the dungeons in that game can be tackled in any order.

I don't, unless you mean the way ALBW does it, which is still non linear. Many major events in the plot happen in or around the dungeons, but those events are self contained, meaning that the order in which they happen doesn't matter. The plot in that game is almost completely non-linear. That's likely how Zelda U will be. There will be a obviously be a call to action at the start and there will be a conclusion at the end, but the entire middle will be completely non linear in progression. It's also good to look at MM, the only 3D Zelda with a reletively non-linear plot and most recent 3D Zelda that Aonuma worked on. That game has one of the strongest forms of story telling in the series, and it's almost completely narratively non-linear. As long as the isolated bits of plot are self contained, they don't have to be restricted to a specific linear point in the game.

There could also be linear narrative points that are dependant on how close you are to completing all the dungeons, basically being based on your percentage of completion. So, for example, you beat the first inciting incident dungeon. Call to action plot happens. Once you've beaten two more dungeons, the next big plot thing happens. Beat three more, a major twist happens. Three more again, lead up to the climax. Final dungeon, conclusion. That way, it doesn't matter what order you find the dungeons, and the plot is not guiding you at all about where to go next. Instead, it's merely motivation to find the next dungeon. All the while all of the dungeon plot is happening on a dungeon to dungeon basis in a completely non-linear fashion, and there are sure to be plot sprinkled in places of interest throughout the overworld like towns and taverns. Like was the case in ALBW and many Zelda games.

This can easily be done by doing the same thing most Zelda's do. The whole collect the triforce pieces/save the sages/etc gimmick at the end of each dungeon. Maybe after three sages are saved/pieces are gathered, a giant monster is unleashed. Maybe you need to have at least 7 hearts to get the master sword from the great fairy, but when you get there, she gets attacked by dark link or something, and you need the master sword to tackle some of the harder dungeons or they will be unessecarily difficult, like in Zelda NES. There's a ton they could do without having the type of linear guidance found in most 3D Zelda's.

I would only look at Wind Waker HD, A Link Between Worlds, Hyrule Warriors, Majora's Mask 3D, and Triforce Heroes for hints on what Zelda Wii U will be. Those are the games that will be intimately on his mind, and he's specifically commented on how each of them is influencing Zelda U. They even alluded to the return of masks, and we will almost definitely see some variation of the bombers notebook return. Both ALBW and TH show clear examples of how multiplayer will likely work in Zelda U. Wind Waker's exploration and the way the map is constructed. ALBW's non-linearity and the ability to tackle dungeons in any order. Hyrule Warriors' boss battles being able to travel freely in the open world and the production values of its cutscenes (even though I think SS had much better cutscenes). The only thing we don't see is any hint at voice acting. This game needs voice acting.

I still have hope, though.

No, I don't.

Agreed.

Progression in Majora's Mask is almost as linear as Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword. You will have to do almost everything in a set order because the next area isn't going to be open to you. Ocarina of Time is much more like the original, almost everything is accessible after you become an adult right off the bat. In fact, that game's structured exactly like A Link to the Past where you can do the dungeons out of order only restricted by a couple requirements like needing the longshot to reach the Spirit Temple. In fact, there's at least fourteen varified ways of completing (completing, so not just getting the item and moving along) the adult dungeons of Ocarina of Time without cheating, glitching or other types of advanced tricks. Even in the Wind Waker you can't have this much freedom regarding dungeon order.