It seems a bit sad to me that so many people are clamoring (if we are to believe it) for the "next step" for Zelda which is a) "realism" and b) full-on, conventional production values (i.e. voice acting, elaborate CGI, etc). We've talked about this here before, but since Aonuma-san brings it up, it's worth mention again: Link's lack of speech and the fact that you have to READ text in the game is just part of the game's aesthetic. Engine-based cut-scenes also add to the overall cohesion of the game. It's rather telling about most gaming journalists that they put what they want (which is typically what the mainstream wants) over the artistic sensibilities of the creators.
I'm always astonished when people try to argue that Nintendo avoids these kinds of prod. values out of some sort of Scrooge-like frugality. (In the case of Mario Sunshine, I wholeheartedly agree that Nintendo dropped the ball on the CGI and voice acting--it was wretched, even if the game was well-nigh brilliant). Wind Waker is a fantastic game, and it's no less good because it goes in a different direction than a game like Final Fantasy [insert Roman numeral VII-XI here]. Some would say that Wind Waker "lacks" in this area. I say Wind Waker is the better for it.
But, it's not hip to be old-fashioned, nor is it a good idea to not give gamers precisely what they want. But if we're to believe for one second that games are an artform, even in the slightest degree, we need to understand that the creators, lo and behold, sometimes know better than we do what makes something truly good. It's different for every game (although, in my opinion, RPGs are like playable books, and are worse off the more voice and less text they have), and if every game looked and sounded like Final Fantasy, I'd cry my eyes out. Heck, Tidus in FFX makes me want to cry just thinking about his horrible, horrible, nearly-game-ruining voice.