The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time‘s Navi has long been the source of some of gaming’s oldest memes, primarily due to her incessant need to hold Link’s hand throughout his journey to save Hyrule. I say that somewhat sarcastically, because I personally never had a problem with how frequently Navi interrupted the experience. Granted, when I was a kid, I really didn’t have much of a problem at all with game design in general because I was ignorant of it and just having fun—something gamers have seemingly lost over the years. Nevertheless, the upcoming Ocarina of Time remake has made some massive changes to Navi, no doubt due to the criticism she has been receiving for nearly three decades, and it’s one of those upgrades that I think has been overlooked on account of some of the remake’s other major improvements.
To be fair, the Ocarina of Time remake’s manual jump button and free camera are two of its biggest quality-of-life upgrades, especially for veterans like myself, so forgive us if we’re not immediately awestruck by the changes to Navi’s role. Still, I think the iconic fairy’s new mechanics are worth talking about, considering she has received the brunt of the original N64 game’s criticism for so long. Specifically, the optional combat advice, environmental secrets she can help uncover, and new dialogue that allows her to react to what’s happening without constantly interrupting gameplay are all notable changes worth mentioning, as they effectively make her the companion she was always meant to be, rather than the babysitter she actually was.
Beginning with changes to Navi’s frequent interruptions (because that’s largely what she has been most criticized for), several early previews of the Ocarina of Time remake have confirmed she actually interrupts much less frequently now. For example, in Chris Scullion’s preview of the game for VGC, the author states, “[Navi] can be called upon during battles if you lock onto an enemy then press Right on the D-Pad, at which point she’ll give advice on how to defeat them, but this is purely optional.” Of course, “purely optional” is the key phrase worth paying attention to here, because in the original game, Link might encounter a new enemy, only for Navi to automatically interrupt said encounter with her infamous “Listen!” or “Watch out!”
The upcoming Ocarina of Time remake has made some massive changes to Navi, no doubt due to the criticism she has been receiving for nearly three decades…
Scullion then went on to say that when Navi does make unsolicited interruptions, it comes in the form of a speech bubble instead of a game-pausing event. The author compared it to “the way NPCs behave in recent Mario games like Super Mario Odyssey, where if you walk close to them a speech bubble will appear with dialogue, without you having to actively walk up to them and press a button.” This was naturally corroborated by other hands-on previews of the Ocarina of Time remake, like Nintendo Life’s, for example.
But Navi’s improvements go beyond simply making her less annoying in the remake, as they also allow her to be more helpful. In Josephine Watson’s Ocarina of Time remake preview for TechRadar, the author pointed out that “fairy messages” are scattered throughout Hyrule, which offer clues for advancing in a dungeon or uncovering secrets. So, rather than Navi constantly barking at you about what might be hidden in the area, your curiosity is essentially rewarded once you find one of those messages Watson described. It’s a small taste of Zelda: Breath of the Wild‘s approach to exploration and discovery put into the Ocarina of Time remake, and I, for one, find that to be a welcome improvement over the original game.
Navi’s New Dialogue Gives Her Relationship With Link Room to Grow
I think what’s most interesting about these changes, though, is how they could ultimately affect Navi’s relationship with Link. In the original Ocarina of Time, Navi was technically Link’s companion, but most of her interactions with him involved telling him where to go, what to do, or how to defeat an enemy. Granted, she was sent by the Great Deku Tree to help Link in the first place, so I can’t exactly blame her for doing her job. Still, considering how much time the two spend together throughout the game, it’s a shame their relationship never really gets much of a chance to grow beyond that.
With the remake’s new approach to Navi, however, I think there’s a good chance that could change. Having her react more seamlessly to what’s happening around Link without constantly interrupting gameplay should make her feel more involved in the adventure, rather than someone who only speaks up when there’s something Link needs to know. Even the new fairy messages play into that, as they give players a reason to actually seek out Navi’s guidance rather than wait for her to force it on them. Again, I never really had a problem with Navi in the original Ocarina of Time, but I can still appreciate Nintendo giving her a chance to be more than a walking tutorial. If anything, these changes might finally help other players see her the way I always did.
- Released
-
November 5, 2026
- ESRB
-
Everyone 10+ / Animated Blood, Fantasy Violence
- Developer(s)
-
Nintendo
- Publisher(s)
-
Nintendo
