The changes listed here are too extreme. The problem of course is that people want to upend the entire teatable when that is not the issue. It doesn't change enough, and it sacrifices the soul of the game. Settings and main characters won't change the things that are so intrinsic to the experience, like puzzles and that sense of exploration, and yet you're giving up the atmosphere that has been built through each title. It's an uneven tradeoff. When you change something, you have to make sure that it at least partially makes sense in the framework of the series. Zelda has always been about medieval fantasy. Sometimes things don't always make sense, like how a phone can be hooked up in a hut with no telephone wires, but that is part of the charm.
I think that 1) if you make things a little more scientific, then you think of it as needing an explanation, and I think that takes away from the unspoken charm that has always existed in Zelda. And 2) Zelda has been in that style for so long, without any hint of modernity besides some general wackiness, that it has almost planted its flag in that soil. Metroid sure as hell doesn't need to change from creepy, alien, isolated corridors. Why should Zelda? Certainly it has more breathing room to, but I don't think it would suit the game, as it would be injecting too much new atmosphere that wasn't there before. And if you just want to make it more subtle, then what's the point to begin with? It doesn't change enough to appease anybody, and it just causes a shit storm amonst fans.
Likewise, Majora's Mask did something drastically new and yet was unalienably Zelda. It had the same general setting, albeit in a different place. It had the same Link as the main character. It abided by all the typical Zelda staples. And yet it was boldly different. Granted a game that radical isn't going to come around every day, but there is so much wiggle room within the established formula that changing what Zelda is should be off limits. There is so much that can be done that is new and yet still Zelda. It just takes an effort to go in that direction. Don't take an unwillingness to go that way (if you can even say that about Aonuma, which I don't think you can) and supplant that by going in a different direction altogether.
Tristam said:
The Megaman formula was fine, but the series became unbelievably stale; so many iterations had passed that it was only a matter of time before you faced off against "Rainy Turtloid" (I'm not making that one up).
Likewise, the Zelda formula is fine, but the series has become stale -- everything is too damn predictable. I don't think changing Zelda aesthetically is enough; it's merely a new coat of paint. I do think it should be shook up structurally and probably mechanically too (assuming the next one is on Wii).
There are complaints that Zelda fans don't have any idea what they want, but I have a pretty good idea of what I want, or what I think would do wonders for making the next Zelda game more fresh:
Megaman also had the same exact formula but cycling bosses and weapons and levels in and out. Even the X series was basically the same thing. Zelda at least has made attempts to change from game to game. Each have different themes. Sometimes you're traveling through time. Sometimes you're using masks. The styles are different. The atmosphere can vary quite a bit (LA and MM for example). Sometimes the games are more open ended. Sometimes they're more stringent. Some focus on dungeons. Others focus on overworld stuff. Some are primarily multiplayer titles. One even tried to go side scrolling.
I'm not saying that Zelda is some bastion of creativity to the point where every game is a different skin. But Zelda has done a lot within its formula, a lot of the time more than some "original" games do on their own. For some that's not enough. For me Zelda hits a sweet spot: it gives the same thing I love while changing it up just enough from game to game. That is one thing I love about it.
EDIT: I think having a dedicated Zelda team is almost counter intuitive. It used to be that they barely knew if they would make a new Zelda. Now you have a dedicated team that is churning out new Zeldas constantly. Maybe they should take their time or take a break or something.
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