They already tried something new - Phantom Hourglass. They never said it'd be a console Zelda that was "something new", and Phantom Hourglass was most definitely something new.

Not to mention PH is the best Zelda to come out since OoT. Togepi above me doesn't have a clue what he's talking about.

That would be your opinion - I thought Zelda:PH was really awesome. It just wasn't quite long or deep enough (too much casual), and not hard enough. Needed more ship/sailing elements, and more RPG components.

Considering it was a DS game - it was amazing.

What the hell?

PH wasn't really that innovative anyway. What did it bring?

1. Ship customization...an alright novelty

2. Temple of the Ocean King...which is possibly the worst idea ever.

3. Writing on map, good but really obvious

4. Touch controls, they work nice but that's about it

5. Online, I suppose some people might like it but I really really hated it

How was it "something new"? Follows the exact same Zelda formula and still manages to mess up. Hell, I'd say TP was more "something new" that PH.

I'm surprised whenever I hear people saying they liked PH, to be honest.

I hope Anouma gets his balls back. Majora's Mask was his greatest work, imo, and by far the most unique Zelda, but when it came out, the fans bitched, moaned, and complained, causing him to take a step back with the next Zelda. The WW was innovative in some ways (cel-shading, sailing), but for the most part it was more of the same, and not near as out there as Majora's Mask. Even so, fans bitched, moaned, and complained yet again, so he became even more reserved and created Twilight Princess, what many consider to be nothing more than Ocarina of Time 2.0.

Granted, all were excellent games, and I love them all to death, but I just hope Anouma pushes the boundaries with the next title. He seems to listen to our complaining, even when it's not good for us, so now that we're begging for something new maybe he'll really break the mold with the next installment.

Hell, he's already said he plans to do just that.

I haven't finished the game yet, but I basically agree with this.

The controls are probably my biggest complaint.  I feel the game depends on the stylus far too much, and the gameplay suffers because of it.  The DS is more capable than the N64, so the gameplay should've been able to surpass OoT/MM easily, but because they decided to make it a tech demo for the stylus it really limits what you can do.  They should've only used the stylus where it would've added to the gameplay, like in Pokemon D/P.

In addition to this, there are other minor things that make the game feel somewhat un-Zelda-ish to me.  Now this is extremely trivial, but I found it strange to be able to use my sword while in buildings outside of dungeons, and I didn't like the menu system at all.  Personally, what I think they should've done was make the map screen just like the menus from the console Zeldas, allowed you to switch between the two just like you could now, and let you cycle through the menus screens via the stylus.

Now I know that was just nitpicking, but PH almost felt like it was made by an entirely different team than the console Zeldas.  Many of the minor consistencies throughout the series were gone, and some things just felt out of place.

When they say that the next Zelda won't be "traditional" like past Zeldas, I honestly don't think they'll mix things up that much.  It will be like SMG.  They through in really cool gravity puzzles that mixed up the basic platforming, but other than that it was still the same old Mario.

Personally, I don't think the new Zelda will be all that different.  You'll still have your targeting system, your puzzles, your dungeons, maybe even a fairy following you around, but they'll throw in something to mix things up a bit, something to give a new twist to the older, tried and true formulas.

I just hope they have an awesome overworld like OoT (though bigger, and not so boring, empty, and restricted like TP's), awesome characters like MM, and awesome dungeons like TP. :)

As for artstyle, cel-shading would be great, but maybe with a darker, more realistic theme to it.  Something like Prince of Persia.  That would certainly provide a ncie twist to things as well.

They need to keep it as an action adventure game involving link and being set in a fantastical setting in which technology hasn't gone far past the sword. Other than that I agree the series needs a serious shake-up. To me Twilight Princess felt incredibly stale, an 8.5 from me at best.

I love the Zelda series so I really do hope they manage to shake the gameplay up in a good way next time. Just give it to Shiggy.

One thing the next Zelda NEEDS: Koji Kondo.

Twilight Princess's soundtrack was rather unmemorable, and it didn't provide the overworld with that same awesome atmosphere that the soundtracks of LttP, OoT, and MM did.

I expect them to announce a new Zelda at E3.

I think it will be to TP what MM was to OoT. Slightly improved gameplay/graphics, but different story/setting. And with enough original new ideas.

Next one could have shapeshifting into 4+ different animals (wolf, eagle, dolphin, goat, rhino...). Maybe dancing with the Wiimote+nunchuck.

Here's a question that's on my mind: to cut-scene or not to cut-scene?
I like cut-scenes a lot, but in Zelda they shouldn't be too long. Your thoughts?