Well, Wind Waker may not have surpassed it if you consider the initial impression they both made, but I went back and played them both again recently and thought that WW was the better game.

I will prepare to receive the massive 3D Zelda game bonanza tackle. I always was the Zelda kid when it came out on picking franchises so it will be wonderful to see incoming ambitious projects.

That way the NINTENDO'S-NOT-HARDCORE-WAAA-FUCKYOU wankers will sit down and shut up.

I like Majora's Mask better.

Actually, don't tell him I said that. I don't want him to stop until he makes a sci-fi Zelda. Unless, of course, him stopping brings in someone who will.

^ Same as I do, hehe, but we got nothing to lose in this. :]

I think Wind Waker was very close to the level of OoT.

I'm very glad to know the amount of passion he still holds.

I hated TP and I loved OoT. I thought TP was going to be the second coming I bought it without a second thought, I popped it in and played it and said to myself what the hell is this? In short I disliked the who dog gameplay thing, and I really disliked the waggle, so yeah Eiji Aonuma please go back to the drawing board and give me a REAL successor to OoT, and dont stop until you do goddammit.

Aonuma is great. Good on him for wanting to best Ocarina of Time.

Twilight Princess was almost better than OoT. Too bad they screwed it up with the many return and timed visits to the temple

Sci-fi or full steampunk Zelda would be FASCINATING!

Wind Waker was an amazing experience. The last third of it was epic and, as a zelda fan, down right heartwarming.

Plus, I really did enjoy sailing.

The Legend Of Zelda is one of the most consistent franchises in video games. It's hard to argue this, and it makes it even harder when you're trying to top what many consider the "best" game in the series. If he succeeds, then we're going to have one of the greatest games ever created on our hands. If he doesn't top OoT, then we will still have what will probably be another stellar Zelda game.

Either way, we all win :)

So he wants to make the BEST REMAKE EVAR?

As much as I love the games, sometimes I wish the Zelda series took itself a little more seriously and amped the difficulty up a few notches. That would be a good start I think to surpassing past expectations. Of course, this is a casual friendly Nintendo we're talking about... so that will never happen.

And call me mother fucking crazy, but it would be nice to see Zelda on a more powerful system. Then maybe we could see a truly MASSIVE and detailed world to explore instead feeling limited as they do at times. This too, will never happen though... which is why they should go back to 2D sprites ;-)

@Tubatic

That's just it. Wind Waker stands the test of time better then Ocarina, because while the graphics and gameplay of both (especially OoT) really start to show, Wind Waker has a soul that holds up.

The interactions with characters and environments feel rather empty in OoT. On the reverse, WW has this sort of heart to everything.

I don't know, it's kind of hard for me to explain. Just my opinion, though.

And not to mention the characters on WW are the most expressive I have ever seen in a videogame.

Awww, chillax Eiji, you already did that with Wind Waker. :]

I really like Twilight and Phantom Hourglass. But he needs to keep trying!!

Except Phantom Hourglass was annoyingly easy.

So if he actually makes a game that surpasses OoT, wouldn't that mean it would be the greatest game ever created???

Oh wow, what words from Eiji-san!
I loved Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, AND Majora's Mask (yeah).I believe that OoT has already been bested by Twilight Princess and most probably by the other 2 too.

Sure, the other games don't instantly blow you away like OoT did in it's time but that's because the subsequent games borrow heavily from it. I believe they are better products overall. Anyway, it's admirable to see that this guy just wants to keep improving! I'll wait patiently for his next Zelda game. =)

Phantom Hourglass was...annoying to say the least. I really didn't like that game for many reasons. =/

I thought windwaker was pretty epic. How do you get better than Ocarina though? It's going to be hard. I hope he can do it.

Remake Wind Waker without the stealth missions, and we may have a winner.

Or make a new IP. Whatever works.

Now thats dedication.

and who wins in the longrun? we doooooooo

Wow, that's really good to hear. Ocarina Of Time is my favorite game ever, and I actually thought that Wind Waker was very close to it in terms of quality, but hey, if they want to make good games, i'm all for it.

Also, as people said above, a steampunk Zelda title would be VERY cool.

Just do Wind Waker again with a motorized boat, bigger islands, and no fetch quest. That'd be enough for me.

I'd give my left testicle for him to give it to somebody else. And to another system. if zelda/link was done in the same way the new tomb raider is?? man, that'd rock. asassins creed-like controls are ALREADY a staple of zelda, so imagine on a real system with hardware to back it up.

Good luck dude. Epic game is epic.

Steampunk Zelda? It's so crazy it just might work! There could be a nature over industry vibe that would justify Link riding his horse everywhere when better technology exists and some interesting steampunk machinery based puzzles.

I loved Twilight Princess. I loved Wind Waker. I loved Oracle of Ages. I loved Oracle of Seasons. I loved Link's Awakening. I loved Phantom Hourglass. I loved Minish Cap.

I hated Link to the Past, and I <i>really</i> hated Ocarina of Time.

I personally think that Wind Waker surpassed Ocarina. I just think that the fact that we had already played Ocarina when we played Wind Waker and Twilight hinders our ability to see that they are superior games.

Good for him that he's so motivated to perfect his works, but I want to see him put that mentality to work on a new series, the first game of which is better than Ocarina. It can't be the best game ever made forever.

I still think Wind Waker is better than Ocarina. Majora's Mask was brilliant, but also frustratingly difficult for me. As pretty as Twilight Princess looked, I didn't like it as much as Wind Waker. I wonder how much of the praise Ocarina gets is derived from the fact that we keep adding it to our top 100 list over and over again. Do we add it to the list because we like it, or do we like it because it's on the list? I certainly remember being bombarded by gaming magazines with praise for Ocarina when I was just getting started in gaming. Surely that has to have some influence, doesn't it?

I think it's impossible to make a game that will be considered better than OoT. A new game wouldn't have out of control nostalgia going for it. It also probably won't be as revolutionary, as it won't have taken Zelda from 2D to 3D. It also won't be able to please the rabid OoT fanboys.

He already made that game, it's called Majora's Mask, the only Zelda game after OoT that actually requires skill and thinking. Also, I never understand all the WW love on this site. Yes, its very pretty and has a great atmosphere, but sailing + too many stealth sequences + was never in danger of dying once + easy puzzles = fail in my book.

hmmm i always thhought he was the main man in just MM and TP....

gonna have to read up on this

Franchise is gonna need a bit of revamp for that, its beyond stale at this point.

Windwaker really was a great game, and I thought that twilight princess came veeery close to OoT, but I'm kinda glad it didn't cuz it gives us the promise of more and more hard work on the series instead of it just being marketed like how Nintendo does their consoles nowadays...

By that logic, shouldn't he have stopped right after Majora's Mask?

Well, let's see what he manages to do this time around with the actual Wii Zelda. Maybe they will actually achieve intuitive, fun and realistic sword-fighting in games, just like OoT made 3D action plausible. Afterall, let's face it, and I'm sorry steam-punk-zelda-wishers, Zelda is medieval by nature. Making it too different would be somewhat dumb. I'm all for a new IP with the setting and Zelda elements, but mixing too much lends to losing the spirit of things.

Somehow I wish the new Zelda was delayed so much that it would actually have to be released for the Wii 2, making it possible that the team lent to it thinking, effort and passion enough to make the true OoT surpasser. Such title that could only be achieved by promoting a gaming revolution just like OoT. Besides, it's not like we NEED a new Zelda every 3 years. The series is so adored and highly praised that it was, at least to me, taken to a different level. I'm willing to wait as long as it takes for a brilliant new Zelda that manages to present such greatness that really maskes it stand apart from anything else in the industry. Remember, there were 7 years beetwen A Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time. 2011 seems a good time for a new Zelda, released a while after Wii 2.

In another interview of his it seemed as Twilight Princess was kind of a make-or-break for the company, with the risky release of the Wii and having its entire development cycle through the dim year of the withering GameCube. With enough money and time I believe he will be able to surpass OoT.

It's not like there are not portables and spin-offs to keep us occupied until then.

@Springsteen

The only problem is we are impatient as FUCK, mainly when its up on a new Zelda game AND its over a year of difference for release. Hell I am aching for the AstroBoy movie and its 11 months away. Jesus.

Eiji Aonuma was not the producer of Ocarina of time. He was just one of many directors under Miyamoto.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0648870/#miscellaneousX20crew

Miyamoto was the producer and the man behind LoZ:OoT:

http://ign64.ign.com/articles/066/066649p1.html
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0594427/#director
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_Zelda:_Ocarina_of_Time#Development
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nintendo_games_created_by_Shigeru_Miyamoto

Wind Waker was already better than Ocarina. Mission accomplished!

if only the boys at Sonic Team had that kind of motivation.

I think wind waker may have been better than OoT, Same as TP. I get this warm feeling going to the village in windwaker and the cool visuals. TP just seemed so fresh, never playing a game like that..... Then again I was six when I played OoT....

I have loved every single Zelda title... For Nintendo consoles. I agree that OoT is still the best of the Zelda games, entirely, with its Good and Bad points. I enjoyed Wind waker so much and the same goes for Twilight Princess. It's a hard task to improve what OoT did, but I'm happy to know that Mr. Anouma will work to do it.

I enjoyed TP a lot(Even though I was slightly disappointed Zelda had such a small role in the game), but it just didn't give me the same feeling OoT did. But if Aonuma manages to make a game as good as OoT - or, even better - I will happily wait for it.

I don't know... The Wind Waker was damn close.

@ Rider Chop,
Actually i think sonic team does have the motivation, they are just going about it the wrong way.....poor sonic