Great game, underrated by some, overrated by others
I'll just briefly go through some of the main points about this game that I would have wanted to know when I purchased it.
This game is certainly true to the old Zelda formulas, that is for sure. It's fairly linear, and most of your time is spent in dungeons or solving puzzles/doing mini quests on the overworld. A few things such as the bug collecting, doing favors for people to earn gratitude crystals, and upgrading items add a few fun extra elements to the game, but don't completely change the pace. The story is still engrossing and the puzzles and dungeons are as fantastic and fun as ever. You often travel through the same areas a couple times throughout the journey, but when you do travel through an area again, they are completely different due to changes in the environment and enemies, and what tasks you have to perform.
The graphics aren't amazing, but I think they work best with the wii, the watercolor style that is a bit more 'artsy' than the serious dark tone of twilight princess. (Personally, I miss the cartoonish graphics of Windwaker)
As for controls, I think they are fairly responsive. They certainly take full advantage of the wiimote's capabilities, and I rarely found myself frustrated with what link's sword was doing compared to my wiimote. The key for the controls is to be calm and make careful deliberate strokes with the wiimote when precise cuts of the sword are required in the game. It's easy to get caught up in the game and forget to be careful, and occasionally you'll goof up, but it's never a gamechanging setback.
Overall, I think the game was great. I've played some Zelda games before, namely the more recent ones in the series, and I don't know if I can say this is my favorite one, but it's certainly a fun playthrough if you are a Zelda fan. Yes, it didn't change the formula remarkably or completely flesh out an overworld with more tasks and side quests, but that doesn't mean its bad. The controls are sound, the graphics are solid, and the story is as engrossing as any other. If you are looking for a good Zelda game, here it is.