Playing the song that returns you to the start of the 72 hour cycle is nothing like Ocarina of Time's save.

What's wrong with Ocarina of Time's save system? It's on demand via the start menu and works just fine. You start off at the last entrance you went through so it could've been a bit better, but that's how 2D Zelda's handled things before then and many 3D games of the era and even later on did similarly.

It's only been this generation where I'm routinely seeing game saves that will stick me right back to exactly the moment I left off.