You could see some of the designs for futuristic sci-fi Princess Zelda in the Hyrule Historia
Actually those designs can still be used. Just on Zelda in a far off future world of Hyrule where they are more technologically advanced then they currently are now.
There is still plenty of silliness in Links awakening.
Personally I found the silliness to be far overshadowed by the tone that Link's Awakening had set. The whole dream scape was both alien and familiar, with enemies old and new. The story itself was a sad one and haunting at the same time. This becomes especially apparent when you discover the relief inside the southern Face Shrine and have that hauntingly sad tune playing in the background (the official manga plays on this theme of this story even more-so and it really tugs at your heart). The silly moments I find pass by without a second thought in this game, even with the add-on's in the DX version. Link's awakening is perhaps one of the deepest Zelda stories to ever be made and I"m glad it was.