Now then, I disagree with your point about Hyrule field having nothing in it. It's chalk full of stuff.
I would disagree with that.
Again, I hate using graphics as a point because it doesn't effect the game play. I understand that it can be a personal point, but it's unfair to judge OoT objectively on such a subjective point of view.
Well this is about opinion. But the graphics of OoT have always seemed crude to me, in particular the character models. This has a lot to do with the N64's weak texture handling (a whopping 4KB of texture cache), and Mario 64's models were done the same way; Non-textured, shaded polygons. Mario Kart 64 was done with sprites because of it as well.
And I don't understand your point of presentation. Getting the sword and shield presents you all the basics of the game outside of explicitly telling you everything in a dialogue box. You learn as you play, not learn as you're told. Remember, when this came out people were still unfamiliar with moving in a 3D environment so they needed to have a stage where people could get familiar with it.
Actually, I recall seeing lots of signposts that told you exactly what to do during the tutorial part, and they really could have made it less obtuse. Where LttP starts you off with a sense of urgency, OoT has a lazy atmosphere about it.
But even then, you're in the first dungeon within an hour at most if you're really bad at the game from the start. With Twilight Princess or even Skyward Sword it takes a good three or four hours before you get to the first temple. That's bad pacing.
I would argue that all of those are examples of bad pacing, with TP and SS being particularly egregious examples. Stepping out of the Zelda franchise, games like Skyrim start you off with a frantic opening sequence that also gets you used to moving around in the game world without being boring or holding your hand.
OoT, on the other hand, starts with trouble, has you attempt to save a protector of the forest, has you fail to show you how powerful an opponent you're facing, then throws you in an environment much much larger than Kokiri Forest. I think it presents itself very well for a game displaying the power of a three dimensional world.
Actually, that part of the opening isn't even brought up until well after the tutorial parts. It doesn't really have a sense of urgency from the get go.
Though I'm curious, you don't think ALttP slows down a lot after the initial contact with Zelda?
It loses its sense of urgency, but at the same time it liberates you and lets you explore your surroundings. You're still a wanted criminal and your uncle's been killed. There's still unresolved conflict and the game pushes you in that direction as a result. Not to mention it's much faster to move around on the overworld, so exploration doesn't really feel much like a chore by comparison. I would say you could essentially cross much of the overworld in the time it takes you to cross Hyrule Field in OoT.
Here's a few more...
That's right, come get me.
I agree with the others, but would disagree there. Maybe overhyped, but the game is pretty beautiful if you ignore the standard Bethesda bugs. Though, after the first couple of 'quests' in the intro, the game does kind of leave you to your own devices.
There are a few sidequests that make you run all over the place but that's it! There is something to do at the hotspots of the game but other than that there is jutst nothing there...
