Gaming Lounge

[Koh]

Here's my personal opinion...while I think OoT is a great game (with its share of flaws like any other game), I think the likes of Majora's Mask and the Oracles were better, simply because they were far more creative with their mechanics, and the puzzles were more intricate (except maybe in Seasons, since that one is more action-based).

I also get that want for an open world much like Zelda 1 and LTTP. You can have a world that invites you to explore every nook and cranny without it being cryptic, as LTTP shows. You can go anywhere except for Death Mountain right off the bat, finding treasures and such. Because of that the Ice Rod, although a required item, should've been something you found by poking around on the overworld. I can't recall ever having a problem missing it or anything like that as some mentioned above; if you just looked around your surroundings, you'dve found it anyway.

As for linear vs non-linear, I always favor non-linear more, because it makes the game much more replayable, and opens up varying paths of finishing the game. Zelda 1 for instance, I've done swordless, and that wouldn't be possible if they forced you to do every single level in the numbered order. It's nice to have mixing and matching options for a more customizeable experience. I'd say keep the level numbers with this design approach though, because the not-so-skilled players could be kept on a steady difficulty curve, while the more skilled players could tackle the 5th dungeon first, if they so desire.