I very much agree! [and yes a hard-drive would be necessary for how I envisage the next Zelda!]
I don't feel that Zelda needs to change as such, but it needs to feel like a real adventure and offer a real challenge, in an ever changing living expansive world. I want a proper quest, full of exploration.
Make a percentage of the game optional/hidden, so that you have those truely WOW moments when you discover something completly off the beaten track, be it a sidequest, village, item or just a view.
Maybe even hook the game up to the weather channel or give us seasonal change; land and villages that get covered in snow 6 months after you've finished the game, opening up new areas to explore etc...