What exactly will those changes be, though? There are so many elements of the Zelda games that have been repeated through the series – some are vital, like the usage of Link, but there are many other clichés that can be removed without hurting the Zelda series. Here are three of them.

#3: Dungeon Bosses Who Die From Their Dungeon Item

WELL GEE. A SLINGSHOT AND A LARGE VULNERABLE EYE. WHAT SHOULD I DO?

The problem with bosses in the Zelda series is that you usually know exactly what to do the instant you get the item for the dungeon. Bosses often seem to act like a sort of tutorial for the item in question, which is strange since you’ll need to have used that item several times in order to get to the boss door in the first place.

One way to improve this would be to have multiple ways to defeat the boss. Majora’s Mask was a great example of this, as many of the bosses could be defeated in multiple forms. Defeating the final boss of MM using only Deku Link? Now that’s a challenge.

#2: Items That Soon Become Useless

As soon as you get the bow, this thing becomes 100% obsolete. Why does Link even carry it around?

When I got the boomerang in Twilight Princess, I thought it was pretty awesome. You could select multiple spots to control its path and it whooshed everywhere. Unfortunately, after those few puzzles in the Forest Temple I never really got to use it again. It didn’t hurt enemies, or even stun or affect them in any way. If those puzzles in the Forest Temple were replaced by locked doors and the boomerang was replaced with a small key, TP would have lost nothing of value.

This is simply no fun. There are so many items that have potential yet get stored away because Nintendo made no use for them outside of the relevant boss in the temple. For Zelda Wii, the game would definitely be improve if the items all had a purpose.

#1: Overuse of Ganondorf

Pictured: Ganondorf blasting off again after being defeated by yet another 10-year-old boy.

Ganondorf is becoming hard to take seriously. He has been defeated by various small children at least six times now, and yet he never seems to learn a single thing from the experience and continues to underestimate them. He just lets these children wander free until they arrive at his doorstep with a giant magical sword forged to kill evil and thousands of monsters worth of battle experience, then he blasts off at the end and the whole cycle repeats.

It was kind of cool the first time when we found out that Ganon was the final boss of aLttP, but in TP it seemed very forced – Zant could have flourished as a villain in his own right if he had been given the chance, and Ganondorf seemed to just be a gimmick – an excuse for Zant to have power rather than a character in his own right.

He can be a good villain when used sparingly, but if you stick him into everything, he might just end up suffering from Team Rocket Syndrome – expected, but not respected.

The Design a Boss contest is back this Fall to let users share their ideas and compete to prove who can design the greatest boss of all time. Design a Boss | Lupus is offering the grand prize of a Nintendo DSi and will also award the leading designers with many other prizes. The contest started November 15, 2009 and will conclude January 10, 2010. Hop on to the boards this holiday season to unleash your imagination.

The rules and details can be found in this thread in our Future Zelda forums. So get on there and make the best boss you possibly can. I would enter, but all I can think is Ganontrain and I don’t feel comfortable crushing the competition with such an awesome boss.

If you’re interested in the position, you can learn more here. Keep in mind though that you will need a few things, most importantly a headset with a good-quality microphone which doesn’t sound like you are stabbing a wailing elephant that emits background static.

MM, WW and TP director Eiji Aonuma has admitted in a recent interview that he has been chasing after a perfected “remake” of OoT for a long time now. This should not come as a surprise to TP’s detractors, who often claim that the game was just more of the same in terms of concept, flow and gameplay.

Aonuma also claimed that OoT was simply not as good as the later games in the series, calling the present-day Zelda games “technically superior”.

“It’s complicated. Past things belong to our memories, and they grow bigger in there. If you play Ocarina of Time nowadays, you notice that it’s not that good. Sometimes it doesn’t move as fast as it should, graphics aren’t as beautiful as they should be; there are some confusing parts… Any present Zelda is technically superior. Everything goes faster, more fluid… but to best Ocarina of Time, a great change –comparable to what happened back then– must be introduced. And that’ll be rather complicated”.

This seems to be a hint at what Zelda Wii will contain – a change as major as the jump to 3D that Ocarina of Time is famous for.

You can read the rest of the interview here.

DSCUBED of The Hylia was kind enough to upload the relevant bits for viewing, which you can access here.

Meanwhile, Zangaroa has taken a step up from “best songs” and listed the best Zelda soundtracks, and ZeldaInformer has written an article declaring Majora’s Mask the greatest game ever made.

Feel free to read Kotaku.com’s first impression on the multiplayer portion and after that, watch the two minute video below showing a couple of stages of Battle Mode, some Phantom Zelda gameplay photage, as well as our very first look at Tag Mode where players are able to trade treasures with each other.

We’re not done with information just yet. We’ve also got our hands on a new video showing Link in an all new fighting off some Keese and Chuchus in what looks to be in one of the very first caves Link will explore in the game and much much more (spoilers be warned)

Sources: GoNintendo.com & Nintendo (Thanks Catch for the Tip)

It’s nice to see the US version of the site finally taking an interest in updating the site, especially considering their previous laziness.

#5: Always Cut the Grass

"I'm gonna get me some rupees and bombs!"

If there’s one thing that parents love about the Legend of Zelda, it’s that it gives their children an obsessive-compulsive urge to cut down any grass that they see. Every LoZ player knows that by cutting grass, you can often find rupees, bombs, arrows and even hearts.

Be warned though that these children may not discriminate between long grass and your prized bushes.

#4: Wear Heavy Iron Boots When Walking Into Lakes

Can't see Link swimming? That's because he's doing it right.

I’m sure everybody knows some people who could use this valuable advice. The Iron Boots are a staple of underwater exploration in the Zelda series, and without its help Link could never have explored the temples at the bottom of Lake Hylia.

As humans generally cannot breathe water, this is not a recommended course of action until you find some fishmen to make you a blue version of your clothes that will allow you to breathe water indefinitely.

#3: Pots Must Be Destroyed

This pottery cannot be trusted.

By far the most common of the minions of Ganon that Link encounters on his adventures, pots are dangerous creatures, which often hide in the houses of other people. If you see one, pick it up and smash it against the wall.

#2: Break Into Every House You See

This hero is on a heroic adventure!

Breaking into the houses of strangers is a necessary and important part of Link’s quests. Nobody will mind if you randomly wander into their house with a sword and shield and start attacking their pots – in fact, they will be happy to share valuable information with you when you do so!

#1: It’s Dangerous to Go Alone

A friendly member of the local Neighborhood Watch provides Link with help in the form of a sword.

The most important lesson of all. The world can be a dangerous place, so whenever you go on any sort of “adventure” remember to have backup, whether it is a wingman for a social event, a partner for a scuba diving expedition, or a spiky stick for a walk through the slums.

If you can think of any important life lessons taught by the Legend of Zelda that I missed, feel free to mention them in the comments.

What do you think? Why has magic disappeared from Link’s arsenal?

One interesting non-spoiler to note is that at the start of the game the game will ask you whether you are left-handed or right-handed, which is a feature that I’m sure that the 10% of left-handed gamers would have liked to have back in Twilight Princess.

Here are some of the most interesting pieces of the new artwork.

It looks like the “four Links” style will return for Spirit Tracks’ multiplayer.

A ninja with a giant robotic arm? Awesome. This is Byrne, Chancellor Cole’s minion from the trailer.

A photographer of some sort. It could be that photography will return as a sidequest like in the Wind Waker.