I'm the exact opposite of you. The more labyrinth like the dungeons are and the more chances there are of getting lost in then, the more I dislike them. It's simply not fun to me to wander around in all the same rooms for any period of time, wondering which switch or door I might've missed. Not as a central recurring mechanic. On the other hand, getting 'lost' during free exploration of an organic game world I find entirely entertaining. But the Zelda dungeons have always struck me as the most un-organic and to an extent boring parts of the world. A bunch of rooms with utterly abstract trigger based puzzles. Searching for a key to get to the next puzzle never was the series high point for me.
What I can agree with is that it doesn't get so much better by just eliminating the chances to getting lost. A linear sequence of entirely arbitrary puzzles lasting an hour or so is still just that. Completely antiquated as a game concept, even if the puzzles themselves have generally been entertaining. Other games have long since managed to build more organic worlds were the progress isn't divided into an hour of overworld exploration and story sequences, only to be utterly interrupted by an hour of grinding through trigger based puzzles.
Which is why I'm all the more hopeful that the short shrines and reduced amount of potentionally even optional dungeons in BoTW will finally make the perfect contemporary Zelda for me, not one stuck in a formula cemented in the nineties, that's been trounced in terms of how organically the game flows by other games since then.
I agree. When I think of my favourite parts of past Zelda games, plenty of other things come to mind before the dungeons. The best part of Wind Waker was the adventure on the massive sea, coming across islands and discovering what they housed, getting to know windfall and other islands and the characters on them.
The best part of Majora's Mask was the atmosphere and world, the characters and their side quests, and the fantastic music. The fact it took everything you were familiar with in Ocarina and took it in a completely different, really bizarre, melancholy and dark place.
Even Ocarina of Time, Kakariko Village and Gerudo Valley and Desert were some of my favourite parts of that game. The Forest, Spirit and Shadow Temples were also great, but a large part of that was the atmospheres they had.
The best part of Skyward Sword was Skyloft and... well, not much else really. The sky was empty and the 'world' wasn't much of a world, as it was segmented and decidedly un-adventurous. Which is why Breath of the Wild looks much better for my tastes.
So yeah, while some might love the dungeons, they're definitely not the highlight of the Zelda games for all players.
I never did beat it, and still might not before BotW takes me away, but I still enjoying some of it, especially now I just got the swift sail to make traveling faster if I wanted to.XD WW sure has a wonderful adventurous feel as you are roaming the ocean.
