I must admit ive not played that many Zelda games,
I own Link's awakening, Windwaker (and therefore Ocarina of time) And The minish cap. So i'm no stranger to the wonders of Zelda, however i feel that each game is rather formulaic.
Hoever perhaps Soliel is different enough to not be classed as a clone or ripoff (however you see it)
I do feel that it has much better music and graphics than Zelda, and the gameplay gives more freedom, if a little less to do.
The animal companions part (where you can choose two animals to pair up and help you with their skills) is a touch of genious.
Link's awakening is my favourite zelda game by far.
I actually joined Zelda later on... having played OoT on the N64 (because it was pretty much the best game on it ) then encouraged my to buy Majora's Mask and Twilight Princess. I never bought the previous but I've played a couple anyway. My Mega Drive days are filled with memories of Streets of Rage II and all of the Sonic series