I know there are some people who'd like a "hardcore" take on the Zelda franchise
but I'd like to see such people die in a fire.
As for the "legitimacy" of Twilight Princess' darkness or whatever...it had more atmosphere than all the previous games and any since except for maybe Majora's Mask, but it had a very unique ambience that just hasn't been replicated, and I think that's what people mean about TP being dark. Just walking through the outerworld at night, I always had this kind of weird, dreamlike feeling, and I wish another game would go back to that.