Open Plot in Zelda Games?

Ok, this is a pretty broad topic, but I think it's interesting and would like to hear people's thoughts--

I've been playing Zelda since Oca/Time on N64, and have been wondering about the plots in the games... I guess this relates to all other video games too. So after playing one of the three big Zelda titles for a long time, really getting into the game, spending hours a week (and sometimes a day), you of course get totally pulled into this other world. You're trying to accomplish lots of smaller goals, such as beating bosses and dungeons, in order to get to the big goal, beating the game. That's true in the Mario series, and pretty much all other roleplay/fighting games (and maybe all games in general).

Some games, more recently, have been changing that a little- GTA for PS2, for example. There are individual missions to do and all that, but the most fun seems to come in just riding around the city, trying out different things, doing a "mission" now and then, rather than a series of them one after the other. While Zelda has a little of this, too, like sailing around in Windwaker and exploring different islands, in the end the game loses some of that sparkle it has in the beginning when you first start going around from one island to the other, just exploring for the most part. What I mean is that as the game progresses, you realize that every island is there for a purpose and is "used" at some point in the journey. This makes some sense, but sort of narrows down the scope of the game. Picture a straight line-- in Windwaker's case you start on Outset, and end winning the game. You can still play after this, but what's there to do? A few things, but every island's pretty much been seen and there are almost no more missions or little side-quests.

Ok, bear with me, I know it's kind of long... So here's where my little theory comes in (and I'm sure it's been thought of before, but isn't mentioned a whole lot). Instead of that line, with a beginning and end, picture something that started as a line, but had so many little branches and zig-zages coming off it that it there was no real end, and many ways to go.

This kind of a game, with realistically not an infinite number of things to do but maybe hundreds, would really but games on a new level. An example: let's keep going with the Windwaker idea, and say that you start on Outset, and probably go to Windfall, but aren't restricted from that point in what you do. There would have to be some plot, so maybe you'd have to go to the dungeons, but a huge # of new possibilities. There would be 10, 20, 50, 100+ even islands that you didn't have to go to, and would all contain little side-quests taking you places, or maybe just cool little places where you could do something even like be able to build a structure of some sort, or somehow interact in a way that you choose and isn't forced by a pretty strict plot.

Ok, so I got the basic idea across. One great place where you can (or at least I did) really feel how much the Zelda games are missing with this beginning-to-end thing is this:
In Windwaker (I'm just gonna use this again because I played it a lot more recently than the others), I got the deed to the cabana (you actually have to do it at some point- I did it early out of curiosity) on an island SW (I think) of Windfall. I got there around sunset or a little later, all the torches were lit up, and I really got curious and wanted to explore the place. It just looked like this perfect relaxation-island in the middle of all the chaos in the game. When I entered the hut, I was really disappointed to find a little room with hardly anything in it, and some maze that got boring pretty quickly. This would have been a great place for the creators to add something more, like I've been talking about up till now.

I know this whole idea of open-ended gameplay would be really complicated to make, but I can't imagine that it wouldn't be worth it. A game like this might even exist, probably not on the scale that I envision, but maybe something small. Of course it could apply to almost any RPG, but I think it would be expecially great with Zelda. They just announced a new 4-player game, and multiplayer Zelda should be great, but from what I've heard not much closer to this direction. Anyway, this has definitely been longer than I expected, thanx for reading!
(NE thoughts?)

Originally posted by hyrule00

This kind of a game, with realistically not an infinite number of things to do but maybe hundreds, would really but games on a new level.

It definetly would. The Wind Waker was EXTREMELY easy, but according to your idea, any game like that, would then be full of sidequests, and other things, probably making the game longer and harder to beat. A game like this might attract more people into playing Zelda, but take a long time. I sure wish Zelda would be like that, but if it ever will, then it's not going to be anytime soon. A game like this would be very complicating, and take time, but it's something I would enjoy.

My take on it is this.....

Long ago in Hyrule there was a legend of a golden power left behind by the Gods called the Triforce that would bestow it's user with the powers of the Goddesses. Many fought over this relic, though none who did fight knew of its exact location, thus the races and armies fought over lands where it might be hidden. One day an evil found the Triforce and with it created an army that would invade Hyrule from the Triforce's dimension, which ran parallel to Hyrule. The King of Hylia sent for the Ancient Sages and the Knights of Hylia to invade the realm and stop this evil. The people were told by a wise man to forge a sword resistant to all magic, even magic granted by the Triforce.
After a long and taxing war, the races that banned together to defeat the evil did just that, and the Ancients create the Temple of Light to ensure that it never happened again. The Master Sword was placed in the Temple of Time to protect the entrance to the Temple of Light.
Now centuries later a young man named Link grew up in the forest and later came to save Hyrule from the same kind of evil using the legendary blade, the Master Sword.
Time after time the same evil arose in an attempt to take the land of Hyrule and control the Triforce. Time after time Link saved the Princess Zelda, who is closely tied to the Triforce legends as well as the Kingdom itself, and Link also destroyed the evil whenever it arose from the darkness.
And so the Triforce was always protected from the evil, and it was all thanks to one man. Link, the Hero of Time.
L is real

o.O someone posted in the wrong topic methinks..

You know what reall bothered me about Wind Waker? Trading Sequence. In Link's Awakening the trading sequence was vital in order to complete the game. Half way through you needed to build a bridge to cross then at the end you needed it to get through the egg. In Wind Waker, and even Ocarina, the trading sequence was unimportant. Ocarina was for a more powerful sword and WW was between 3 people for a shield that I bet 98% of people never used.

People say that Zelda games are made stronger by all the side quests, but if that's the case then there should be LOADS. Some just for fun, some for hearts, some for rupees and some that are so VITAL to the progressio of the game that you can't ignore them now matter how trivial, hard, easy or hidden they are.It needs huge trading sequences, ones that span across every lcoation and talk to a third of the interactive characters.