The maximum for me would be Link and Zelda. Anything else can be thrown out the window.
Constantly I see threads asking "wut woud u liek 2 reetern from old zelduhs lolololol", these people obviously being too thick to realize that rehashing the same idea will only contribute to the stagnation of the series.
Zelda has stagnated. You cannot deny that. Majora's Mask was the last Zelda game that truly innovated the formula, while every game after has further stagnated the series, culminating in
TP, the perfect example of a series that has become stagnant.
TP brought no innovation to the series, only gimmicks, most of which had been done better in previous games anyway.
Examples:
Wolf Link = Transformation masks in MM
Twilight Realm = Dark World from A Link to the Past
Gale Boomerang = Boomerang re-skinned with a wind effect
etc.
Regardless, I'm sure we can all agree (Or rather, the intelligent among us can all agree) that Zelda badly needs change. It needs a game that did what MM did, truly innovating the Zelda formula while still feeling like a Zelda game.
I am in favour of stripping everything from previous games from the next game, retaining only the core elements of the series (Such as Link). The formula needs a huge revamp and change, like what MM did. I want new enemies, new items, new locations, new mechanics, and most importantly,
new, innovative ideas.
Well, that's my rant. Discuss.