A big part of exploration in the older games was being able to enter then dungeons in almost any order and going to parts of the overworld where the enemies kill you because you're too weak. I really miss that in the newer titles, every playthrough is the same. I don't want every nook and cranny accessible immediately, but I don't think it's too much to ask to give us access to each general area at the start of the game.

Basically, if this game has everything Twilight Princess had, plus (or minus in some cases) everything everybody in this thread mentioned, it probably will be the best Zelda game ever. And because the best game ever is already a Zelda game, it would make it the best game ever. ;)

you know zelda is about the same as metroid now right?

Zelda you have power bracelets to lift rocks.
-> Metroids you have different shots to open doors.

Zelda you have levels to get loot
-> Metroid you have zones to get loot

Zelda you have hidden hearts
-> Metroid you have hidden containers

Zelda has the graplin hook
-> Metroid has whateverthenameofitsamething.

Zelda has Z targeting
-> Metroid has Z targeting

Zelda always ha

They are now both in 3D so the top view/platformer aspect is gone.

The only differnces are:

Fantasy Vs SciFy
Sword+Shield Vs Gun
Villages Vs no one to talk to

so what defines zelda is those differences.

I was actaully thinking that Metroid played a bit like a First-Person Sci-fi Zelda. The games both have very similar formula's and I really think that needs to change. I really enjoyed Twilight Princess but mid-way I felt like I was just going through the motions rather than enjoying the game. They need to add some new innovations to the formula and I'm quite confident that the next one on Wii will.

Interesting, I've only played OoT, MM, TP and I thought the spiral-like gameplay was a staple of the series. So the old ones were more open?

I think Nintendo were limited by those stupid GC discs last gen. Even though the Wii isn't much more powerful I expect this Zelda to be quite a leap over Twilight Princess. I mean, a more detailed world filled with NPCs to talk to and sidequest to complete. And fully orchestrated music!

I also hope fishing is really fleshed out. With Motion Plus it could be amazing.

Very good article. I also do feel that Zelda Wii will be a very good game, but hey it's a console Zelda game... it's guaranteed to be one of the best games ever right off the back. So that's my Zelda bias showing, but it does show the amount of time and effort spent by Nintendo on creating one of the most critically acclaimed franchises ever.

It's hard to gear right now how this game is going to unfold but we can go by past comments that the Zelda series might be taking a turn to something a little more "radical". And of course it would fit with the story as the ending to TP was very unsettling. I'm not going to speculate too much on the game cause I really have no idea but I really can't wait to see first screens and trailers of the game.

What gives me hope was the "Ice Temple" in Twilight Princess. I literally didn't know I was in a dungeon until I picked up the compass. THAT was well-done, and it reminded me of the Dark World's third dungeon in Link to the Past.

 Correct. The first one in particular was almost like a WRPG; you could go anywhere from the start, and tackle almost any dungeon in whatever order you wished (I believe there was one dungeon that required a certain item to beat, but you could do all the others however you wanted).

Of course, this assumed you could FIND the damned things...and I loved that part so very much.

Imo zelda: TP had very ugly graphics compared to some games on the wii(mostly made by Ninteno)

I expect zelda:wii to look as good or perhaps better then monster hunter 3.

There is absolutely no way this game will live up to the hype. We know this already.

Therefore, Nintendo needs to ride that wave high and damage control later. Most importantly they need to take advantage of the hype first, and the game second. Hype it, hype it Nintendo.

Why do we know it won't live up to the hype? Damn near every Zelda has.