Five main dungeons? That would make an absolutely disasterous game. I say Skyward Sword should have 9 dungeons as OoT and TP did.
Even though I'd like quite a large amount of dungeons, I still believe SS should sport many sidequests and mini-dungeons for every true Zelda fan's satisfaction. The truth is we all want a game that is long, but equally balanced in dungeons and sidequests. I would like a combination of OoT's lengthy dungeons and Majora's Mask's multiple detailed sidequests like masks. Perhaps Skyward Sword will incorporate something new into it like masks from MM. That
is highly unlikely because Miyamoto and Iwata claim that Skyward Sword will have less items and be more focused around battle.
I'd really like Skyward Sword to take dungeons in Zelda to a whole 'nother level. I want them to be moody, well-designed and mostly of all... lengthy. I felt that although Twilight Princess' dungeons were very well-designed and graphically impressive, they really weren't too lengthy or difficult. The massive size of TP and WW's dungeons often fooled players - we expect something huge considering the size of the dungeons themselves, right? Wrong. The 8+ floors in some of Twilight Princess' dungeons were not put to use at all. I walked into the Temple of Time expecting to face a whale of a dungeon. Instead I receive a dungeon that is completely linear and not at all difficult. It's sad but true. Wind Waker did the same, but not on such a larger scale. My point is that
quality should never be traded for
quantity.
Thus, I want Skyward Sword to have massive dungeons but still cram was many unique and brain-teasing puzzles into that space a possible. It's hard to pay so much attention to quality and detail when designing 9 massive dungeons... but it is absolutely necessary to make Skyward Sword a smashing success. As much work as possible must be put into SS, every drop of sweat and every ounce of soul the game designers have should go into making SS a
quality game. TP started to fall short near the end - the last two dungeons didn't seem to have as much quality as the fourth, fifth and seventh dungeons. I believe that Skyward Sword should also take a page out of Majora's Mask's book. MM focused a lot on character development and always left you feeling bad for the characters you helped. You actually felt
attached to the characters as you watch their hope dwindle as the menacing moon falls down. This focus on sidequests and minor characters is what made Majora's Mask such a great game - I'm hoping that Skyward Sword can at least incorporate a little bit of MM's magic.
It was also the amount of collectibles in MM that made sidequests such a big deal. Not only were there an insane amount of extra items and upgrades, but they were all monsterously difficult to obtain. I hope a little bit of this carries over into SS. Though it's not so likely, I hope that a
few lengthy sidequests are put in there. I really like the attention directed towards fancy swordplay, but that is nothing compared to the quality and quantity of dungeons. If SS falls short when it comes to actually being a good game, I'm going to cry.
I just hope that Nintendo isn't focusing too much of their attention on the motion controls. They shouldn't forget about sidequests and dungeons either.