Ah, I see better now what you mean by Item 4. Now I get that you're coming from an emotional place on the narrative, and that's a point I'd feel like an asshole arguing, so I'm glad I didn't. You're totally validated. *hat tip*
Yes, narrative-wise, you and I agree that it's a technical sequel to Ocarina, and one of the first Zeldas that was out-and-out intended to be a continuation of a previously-established storyline. However, I tend to view individual Zelda titles similarly to different Mega Man series (the Network Timeline not included). I view the relationship between Ocarina and Wind Waker much like I view the relationship between the Mega Man Classic and the Mega Man X series. Does that make sense? One hero's adventure ends, leaving another hero to pick up his mantle at a later point in time. The only exceptions to this rule are those where it is explicitly stated that you are playing as the same Link as a prior game, like the protagonist shared by A Link to the Past and Link's Awakening.
When I say Wind Waker isn't Ocarina 2, I mean that tons of people seemed to be expecting another game of the same quality (or better) as Ocarina with graphics on-par to what Nintendo had shown off with the Spaceworld demo footage of Link and Ganon facing off. I feel like they were expecting THAT kind of sequel, and decried Wind Waker when they didn't get it. In retrospect, I think Nintendo was smart by playing things off the way they did. It never would have been possible at the time to out-do the massive popularity and impact that Ocarina had, so they chose not to, while at the same time paying respect where it was due.
But I'll leave things off here. I won't try to sway you either way; I'm kinda done with traditional Internet Arguments. I like to engage in these kinds of exchanges to learn more about these things. I can't be "right" on liking a game that you don't, so I'd rather learn WHY you don't and use that knowledge to further my own understanding.
Tangentially, one friend of mine hasn't played a Zelda game all the way through since A Link to the Past. Story completely aside, he HATES the 3D Zeldas for being 3D. I see the 3D Zeldas as an extension of the 2D Zeldas, personally. The only thing that has really changed all that much from SNES to N64 is the placement of the camera, when it moved from over Link's head to (mostly) behind his back. But my friend could never really adjust to the perspective shift for some reason. In this case, I understand WHAT he doesn't like about modern Zelda titles, but I'm still not sure on the WHY. I expect him to be on-board for A Link Between Worlds, though, for obvious reasons.
EDIT: You're not putting too much into this. Story-wise, I understand completely. I feel the same way about other stories, so far be it from me to tell you you're overreacting. Cheers.
