In a way, it also sort of eliminates a true sense of adventure. There's less motivation to explore when you have full access to generally all overworld terrain right off the bat. That's not totally true all of the time, but don't deny the fact that when you obtain something like bombs or a hookshot in a dungeon, the first thing you do once you clear it, is use them to explore places you couldn't reach before. Places you saw earlier in the game where you would need them, but couldn't yet access. If you already had said items, there would be not much time in between one dungeon and the next, because you'd have already thoroughly dissected the overworld and all of its secrets. That's not really any fun. And is probably part of the reason why I whipped through A Link Between Worlds so quickly.
Believe it or not, I think pieces of heart are one of the biggest promoters of overworld exploration. They're usually pretty well hidden and oftentimes involve some backtracking and remembering details. Having immediate access to all items, and therefore all dungeons totally shatters that element. I think A Link to the Past did nearly a perfect job with this. I suppose it was also the title that introduced the idea of heart pieces, but while it did have a fixed dungeon order, and therefore a general dungeon item order, you could still bypass it if you felt brave enough. The dungeons within your access were generally the same in terms of difficulty--just certain elements were different that made you think a little bit more as well as deemed them slightly more "dangerous." But you could always go into a dungeon, grab the item in it, and leave to proceed to a harder, more difficult dungeon. I did this a lot. (I normally saved Skull Woods for last because it's my least favorite dungeon, but in order to get past the first room in Ice Palace, I needed the Fire Rod. So, I would use the Cane of Somaria--which I got from Misery Mire--to hold down that pressure switch to get access to the big key room, instead of pushing a statue and risking getting snatched by a wallmaster. Then I'd get the Fire Rod and get the heck out of there.)
And I don't think I really want a solid non-linear game like A Link Between Worlds--at least, not for a while. I liked how A Link to the Past was open to the option, but sometimes you really had to work for an odd dungeon order, depending on what order you end up doing. Sure, it's probably making things more complicated than they need to be, but it certainly makes for a unique playthrough. Ocarina of Time is the same way, in most cases. There is a more distinguishable step up in difficulty from dungeon to dungeon in that game (at least, moreso than in A Link to the Past), but if that doesn't hinder you, then nothing will. Nothing wrong with clearing the Fire Temple first, Forest Temple second and the Spirit Temple third... nothing... at all...
