Since OoT there were insane expectations attached to any 3D Zelda, especially on generation jumps. There was a subset of extremely volatile, extremely loud and extremely immature Zelda fans around, the same who trashed the Wind Waker aesthetic.
Add to that many people were excited Zelda was returning to a darker aesthetic, which to many people signified a return to OoT greatness and perfection.
Add to that the N64 and GameCube eras where dark times for Nintendo fans and their highly rated exclusives were a source of immense pride. Fanboys basically needed their talking points, and since Nintendo systems at the time sold terribly and had sparser third party offerings than say, the PS2, the immaculate nature of franchises like Mario and Zelda were held up as the triumph of these systems. That would change in the Wii era in terms of sales when the console became a phenomenon but now the system lived or died by its first party AAA games.
Add to that the expectations of a launch title on a new system that was clearly trying something new lots of people loved.
Add to that the review culture at the time generally being anything less than 9.0 signifying a "bad" game, even though Jeff actually rating it great instead of superb. That attitude has not totally gone away today, but I don't feel it's as severe.
So when Jeff gives that score, one which honestly appears totally accurate, he touched on a whole bunch of nerves that had nothing to do with the game's quality (how could it; most people hadn't played it yet).
