I had the luxury of watching E3 on a 52 inch HDTV on G4HD. As such I was able to ditch my laptop, and spent a good 2 hours simultaneously drooling a nursing a pretty big erection during their presentation. Zelda hit first, and boy did it hit the hardest. I was exceptionally excited for it, and at some points I was yelling at my TV at how awesome it looked. Yeah, I know they couldn't hear me, but I yelled all the same!
 
It had a perfect artstyle, as it seemed like an excellent blend of Wind Waker and Twilight Princess. I really disliked how Twilight Princess looked in terms of its color and environment, and I absolutely loved everything about Wind Waker's style, so this was a great combination for me. 
 
The demo of the actual game was weak, but that's to be expected with the huge amount of IR interference, something even Epic Mickey suffered from. But beyond that, the swordplay looked fantastic, the items looked actually fairly unique and interesting, and the general "feel" of the game looked exactly like the Zelda I know and love. I was so psyched that Nintendo had decided to go this direction, as I was worried they were either going to deviate too much or not enough. 
 
Then I went online. 
 
The reactions people were having astonished me. It was bad enough to see Gerstmann acting like a wet blanket over Twitter, but to see people say they hate the artstyle or that the technical difficulties were somehow indicative of the final product astonished me. Twilight Princess' trailer united Nintendo fans all over, and I don't think I ever heard a single word of hate for it. Yet this trailer and demo somehow divided the community in a way I haven't seen since Wind Waker, and this time they're divided on both the graphics and the style. I have even seen posts of people claiming that this game may as well be Twilight Princess with a new coat of paint. Yeah, what?
 
Perhaps most confusing of all is the fact that SS seems like the very definition of compromise; it's a mix of the new and the old, realistic and cel shaded, innovative and yet classic design. It should be the best of both worlds in every aspect...yet for some people, it may as well have the worst of both worlds. 
 
Where do you stand? Did Nintendo do too much, not enough, both those things, or neither?

I'm pretty excited for it.

I was going to say that it seemed like a good style. It combined a kind of cartoony look with a more serious look. Some parts didn't wow me, but it seems fine so far. I was going to say that. 
 
Then I saw the kirby game, and now everything else looks ugly in comparison.

I'm on the 'please for the love of God do something new with the Zelda franchise' side of things. So I'm totally disappointed. 

Looked like the same old Zelda with + controls, and thus my inability to get excited for a new Zelda game since the 90s continues. That's not to say I think it'll be bad, but yeah, it's Zelda.

I have no problem with the style or graphics. Like you said, it seems a really good compromise between air quotes realism and Wind Waker's over the top design. It's stylized is what is it, and it works well. 
 
My problem with the game is that I don't see the advantage of having to wave a Wiimote about to do everything when really buttons and sticks work fine. I guess it's good that it's more central to the game with enemies requiring more exact strikes, but honestly that just looks annoying and bothersome to me. 
 
Still though, we'll see when it comes out I suppose. Maybe it could be good, too early to say.

I still wonder about the format of the game. Will it be another set of dungeons, or will they completely revamp that like they have been hinting they would....
 
Also...no Earthbound still hurts me on the insides...

I can't convince myself not to buy this, Zelda enchanted me when I was 8 years old, hard to resist to try to get that sort of old feelings back, but I get what you are saying. 
 
I would defend it by saying, wait for gameplay videos, reviews and the such, no point in whining over a game that isn't finished.

" I'm on the 'please for the love of God do something new with the Zelda franchise' side of things. So I'm totally disappointed.  "

It showed nothing but broken gameplay (yes due to technical difficulties) and a style that wasnt bold like TP or WW but in between and looked kinda ugly maybe because its early times. 
I think it's a bit silly for people to be dissapointed that there not doing anything major with the franchise seeing how they havent really for anything (apart from mario maybe)

I'm a little confused why some of you are disappointed that they aren't doing anything new...when we haven't even seen anything. Not even a single dungeon. We saw two redone enemies, new controls, and some of what is clearly a demo/tutorial level. 
 
I dunno, I'm with you guys in the sense that advancing Zelda is important, and that means moving farther away from the classic style. But I feel people are reading a bit too much into it. 
 
Honestly, the stuff I did see proved (to me, at least!) that they're finally listening to their longterm fans and improving the general experience. For instance, Link can now dash like in many action games. That's neat. The quick items menu was long overdue. I do hope that they are both indicator that Zelda won't be reinventing the wheel, but they'll at least be improving on its already legendary style

" I'm on the 'please for the love of God do something new with the Zelda franchise' side of things. So I'm totally disappointed.  "

the broken live demo didnt help
 
It looks good, im excited to see more

"My problem with the game is that I don't see the advantage of having to wave a Wiimote about to do everything when really buttons and sticks work fine."

Those graphics did look nice, however all I really care about is the story and if the story sucks, the entire game will suck for me.

The only reason I have a Wii is for Mario Galaxy and Zelda.  Today's press conference made me seriously consider selling it.
 
EDIT: Oh, and Metroid Prime, too.

I thought it looked pretty great, myself, although I would've preferred a continuation of either the full Wind Waker style or the full Twilight Princess style. I guess most people just expected more after all the hype, maybe?
 
Eh.

I'm buying a Wii for it.

I would have liked the trailer they showed to reveal some of the story, instead of just rehashing what we just saw demoed, but the game looks great. 

While I would have preferred a full -on wind waker like look, the compromise is okay.  If it actually works well, the "motion plus" sword control could be pretty good.  However, the pointer control of the bow, hookshot, etc. was one of the few decent ideas in the Wii conversion of Twilight Princess.   Losing those for what looks like a less precise method seems like a silly change for the sake of change.  Why not use motion plus for the sword, whip, etc. but keep the pointer controls for those items which you aim and shoot?  
 
 As far as the structure of the game itself, I would like to see some new ideas.  However, considering how little of the game we've seen so far they may be there.  It is too early to honestly know one way or the other so I'm going to reserve judgment.     
 
EDIT: I am also worried about using the nunchuck's motion control to control the shield.  My experience has been that the gyroscope in the nunchuck is pretty much worthless unless it is simply used for --> shake to do something.  Even then it often triggers inadvertently.

I think the art style is too happy looking, and bright. Bare in mind that I really liked Wind Waker's style, but I think this one isn't cartoon-y enough to work that way, and it certainly isn't "realistic" enough to work like Twilight Princess did. Honestly, I was hoping for the game to be all dark and depressing, and for the game to have a more realistic style, like Twilight Princess. On the other hand, if the game plays well, I won't mind too much. 
 
On the other hand, I hate the new HUD (why is there an outline of WiiMote with WiiMote condem?), and I'm not a huge fan of motion controls, and am a little iffy about buying a WiiMotionPlus solely for Zelda.

" @TheMasterDS said:

"My problem with the game is that I don't see the advantage of having to wave a Wiimote about to do everything when really buttons and sticks work fine."

I think you pretty much described people's dilemma with the Wii in general. "

 On the other hand, I hate I'm not a huge fan of motion controls, and am a little iffy about buying a WiiMotionPlus solely for Zelda. "

Funny how every time Zelda gets brought up in discussion on the Internet, people like to tear the series apart, yet every time it gets brought up in conversation in real life, people have nothing but the utmost respect for the franchise.

I've not been interested in Zelda ever. So it was nice to see a classic, but its not something I plan on buying. Pretty much how I felt about everything Wii related during Nintendo's conference. Golden sun, Kid Icarus, it looked interesting and it was new, but I probably won't buy any of it. The 3DS maybe.

The art style looks great.  It has some new interesting looking items and weapons.  The enemies look like they're more engaging to fight than just waggling the sword around at them.  It's Zelda.  It's going to be awesome.  People asking for a radical design shift are pretty much setting themselves up for disappointment.  There's nothing wrong with wanting it, but they're pretty much expecting going in that they'll do something there have been no hints at all they were ever planning to do.  It'd be like if I was pissed off because Marvel vs. Capcom 3 didn't include DC characters, or include a racing segment.

" I'm on the 'please for the love of God do something new with the Zelda franchise' side of things. So I'm totally disappointed.  "

I really can't explain why Zelda (and most of the Nintendo presser) disappointed me so much.  Honestly I don't care a lot, but listening to people go fucking batshit bananas over announcements of incremental updates to 20 year old franchises just puts me into Hulk mode.  Listen, I'm glad that you guys are enthused that you are going to play the same exact game, with the same lineup of dungeons and enemies, with one or two more items, a slight change in controls, and a slightly different artstyle.  But to hold this up as an amazing announcement just seems kind of crazy to me.
 
I guess I just want innovation out of E3, and maybe the 3DS will do that, but Zelda is just pure fan service, which is fine for people who really love Zelda.
 
The way it seems to me, the big "divide" is between people who are really jonesing for more Zelda and people who just aren't.

I agree with those disappointed, even though I've never really been a huge Nintendo fan. Nintendo seems unwilling to do anything new with Zelda. Aside from Windwaker, they've basically been remaking Ocarina with one or two more new things every game.

It looks like fun but it certainly doesn't seem like anything to get all wet over.

I really liked the look of it, and it was kind of a bummer they weren't able to successfully show off the demo. People who can't think more than 2 seconds ahead will instantly dismiss it, but whatever. They just will miss out on a great game.
 
And to all those that just complain about Nintendo not doing anything new, get used to it. They will continue to bring their current franchises to the forefront because they are successful. EVERYONE know who Mario is. Why wouldn't they slap his mug on everything? 
 As long as Nintendo keeps making good games, I don't care if they use the same characters and settings that are well established and loved by millions. As long as the game is fun, sign me up dude.
 
Wow sorry for the rant. I just think most people don't like to give Nintendo the chance they deserve.
 
Anyway I am super excited to see more of this new Zelda.

After playing Spirit Tracks I think I am done with the Zelda franchise for now. I will still take a wait and see approach, but the presentation today really did nothing to ignite my desires for the title. Then again, I have never really been that big of a Zelda fan. I never played the NES games as a child (I have since, but only recently), I thought the Super NES game was inferior to titles like Secret of Mana or Illusion of Gaia, the Ocarina of Time wasn't worth the two years of delays, Wind Wakers boat exploration was boring and Spirit Tracks train missions were even worse.

People hated the graphics?
 
Wind Waker all over again.
 
It looks like a painting.

" People hated the graphics?  Wind Waker all over again.  It looks like a painting. "

It wasn't so much the controls as it is that the game is the same old shit that we see from Nintendo with every Zelda installment. It's tired franchise that hasn't evolved in god knows how long and is just completely uninteresting at this point.

" While I would have preferred a full -on wind waker like look, the compromise is okay.  If it actually works well, the "motion plus" sword control could be pretty good.  However, the pointer control of the bow, hookshot, etc. was one of the few decent ideas in the Wii conversion of Twilight Princess.   Losing those for what looks like a less precise method seems like a silly change for the sake of change.  Why not use motion plus for the sword, whip, etc. but keep the pointer controls for those items which you aim and shoot?    As far as the structure of the game itself, I would like to see some new ideas.  However, considering how little of the game we've seen so far they may be there.  It is too early to honestly know one way or the other so I'm going to reserve judgment.      EDIT: I am also worried about using the nunchuck's motion control to control the shield.  My experience has been that the gyroscope in the nunchuck is pretty much worthless unless it is simply used for --> shake to do something.  Even then it often triggers inadvertently. "

All I know is that there'd better come a free Motion Plus attachment with the game. I am not spending extra money on an accessory just to play one title.

" All I know is that there'd better come a free Motion Plus attachment with the game. I am not spending extra money on an accessory just to play one title. "

" It wasn't so much the controls as it is that the game is the same old shit that we see from Nintendo with every Zelda installment. It's tired franchise that hasn't evolved in god knows how long and is just completely uninteresting at this point. "

I still buy it. But the fact that nintendo said they where going to make it easier, and the fact that it looks like they ripped out all the control schemes out of wii sports resort, does not fill me with hope. Also the fact that it was still in fucking hyrule, really disappointed me. It needs a complete break from the Zelda universe as we know, Zelda need to move into something like a western, modern, futuristic, setting. Or maybe a Zelda game inspired by a Mediterranean, Japanese, or African culture environment. ice temples, fire temple, or forest temples just piss me of at this stage. It so bloody 80's. It some like that, but still with Zelda nuances. If nintendo goes down the same road, i still buy it, enjo it, but zelda for would mean less to me. It would no longer belong in the pantheon of games like the gta, mass effect, mario, metroid, MGS calibre of gaming. 

" @Lashe said:

" I'm on the 'please for the love of God do something new with the Zelda franchise' side of things. So I'm totally disappointed.  "

This is great because you have an avatar from Suikoden. Hilarious. "

I like Zelda. This game will be more zelda. I am, therefore, excited.

It's troubling to see people think this way.  Would you rather play a new game with characters you know and love, than the same game but with characters you never seen before?  The Zelda series has yet to get tired, mostly because it changes significantly every installment, and of course, the games don't stop becoming hugely acclaimed games, as well as commercial successes, with each game winning at least one Game of the Year. "

People want Zelda without... without all the things that make Zelda awesome?  Temples, dungeons, collecting stuff, gimmicky special weapons, boss fights that are conveniently themed around items you got five minutes ago, some variation of the Master Sword and Link, getting to kill giant arachnids with conspicuously weak-point shaped eyes, exploring Hyrule - which is pretty much a brand new world in every game, despite claims that the series is stale and unchanging - I really don't see what the point is.  If you aren't a fan of The Legend of Zelda, just a tip, but the new Legend Of Zelda game might not be for you.  

Hey guys, they already reinvented Zelda for all you guys who are so desperate for the game to go "dark".   It's called Darksiders, and it's actually a surprisingly decent game.
 
Zelda stays consistent for the most part because of Nintendo's audience.  They've always been known for ushering new people into gaming, the kids especially.  A brand new Zelda game is like passing the torch to the next generation of future gamers.  Of course, we grew up with ALttP and OoT, so we obviously have a basis for comparisons and we have a platform for crying "REHASH" to the heavens.  But this will be a bunch of kids' first Zelda game, and I can't think of a better formula to follow than OoT if you're trying to show a child the wonder of gaming.
 
Zelda doesn't need to become more "mature", because we aren't the target audience here.  Nintendo doesn't succumb to their old fanbase growing up, and instead decides to focus on games that will be fun for everyone.  Obviously, tons of those people who grew up will buy this new Zelda game, because the formula is STILL fun and STILL holds up today.  I played through Link's Awakening the other day, and still had as much fun as I did the first time I explored Koholint Island.

" @ryanwho said:

" @Lashe said:

" I'm on the 'please for the love of God do something new with the Zelda franchise' side of things. So I'm totally disappointed.  "

This is great because you have an avatar from Suikoden. Hilarious. "

That would be an intelligent and witty reply if it wasn't an image from the first game in the series.  "

" @Willy105 said:

It's troubling to see people think this way.  Would you rather play a new game with characters you know and love, than the same game but with characters you never seen before?  The Zelda series has yet to get tired, mostly because it changes significantly every installment, and of course, the games don't stop becoming hugely acclaimed games, as well as commercial successes, with each game winning at least one Game of the Year. "

Tell me the huge innovations since the series went polygonal. Seriously, they're running on nostalgia and hardcore fans at this point. "

I wish they would have went 100% windwaker with it, there was some magic missing from the environments, they seemed slightly devoid of any artistic flair. The most exciting bit was when link did that tiny bit of free running, THAT is the direction i want Zelda to go in. While the demo was meh, i know this will be a good game. Nintendo has yet to make a crap 3d Zelda.