Even The Legend Of Zelda's Creator Hates Navi
Gaming legend Shigeru Miyamoto has no time for Navi in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, as the franchise creator explains why he hates her in a resurfaced interview.
27th Jan 2022 11:56
Nintendo
Even The Legend Of Zelda's Creator Hates Navi
Gaming legend Shigeru Miyamoto has no time for Navi in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, as the franchise creator explains why he hates her in a resurfaced interview.
27th Jan 2022 11:56
Nintendo
"Hey, listen" - if these words send shivers down your spine, chances are you know we're talking about The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of time and the ever-hateable Navi. Yes, it turns out it is possible to hate someone more than Skyrim's Nazeem.
While Navi was supposed to be a helpful guide through the time-torn Hyrule, she instead would pop up at the most inconvenient times to ruin your gameplay. While she was handy for Z-targeting, Navi is usually remembered for telling you to go to Kakariko Village when Link was already in Kakariko Village. You aren't alone in your hate though, the creator of Zelda also isn't a Navi stan.
Why Does The Zelda Creator Hate Navi?
In a resurfaced interview, Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto doesn't have much time for this bundle of blabbering annoyance. The translated interview comes courtesy of Shmuplations and reveals how Navi didn't end up how Miyamoto has originally envisioned her.
"I think the whole system with Navi giving you advice is the biggest weak point of Ocarina of Time," said Miyamoto in a scathing take. "The truth is I wanted to remove the entire system, but that would have been even more unfriendly to players. You can think of Navi as being there for players who stop playing for a month or so, who then pick the game back up and want to remember what they were supposed to do."
Not holding back, the gaming legend then went on to band Navi and her whole system as stupid. "If you read Navi's text, she says the same things over and over," he continued, "I know it makes it sound bad, but we purposely left her at a kind of 'stupid' level. I think if we'd tried to make Navi's hints more sophisticated, that "stupidity" would have actually stood out even more."
Will We See Navi Again?
Not that Navi slander really needed to be brought back into the cultural zeitgeist, but the resurfaced interview is sure to get your blood boiling as a reminder. Thankfully, Navi has been mysteriously absent since Ocarina hit the N64 in 1998. With Ocarina of Time coming to PC via a fan port, get ready to hate her all over again.
Thankfully, Navi's appearance was fleeting. After Zelda sent Link back to his own time in Ocarina, Navi left his side and was last seen flying away from the Temple of Time. When we got to Majora's Mask in 2000, Navi was nowhere to be seen. The prologue had Link heading out to find her, but considering we've never had a true sequel, we don't know if they reunited. The question of what happened to Navi is one that's haunted us since Ocarina.
There are plenty of dark theories - like Navi transforming into Twilight Princess' spiderlike Armogohma boss - but in reality, she's probably Zelda's equivalent of Jar Jar Binks and was phased out. With Breath of the Wild 2 coming out this year, there's every chance we could see Navi again. Could Nintendo really turn around one of its most divisive creations? We'll leave you with a reminder that the Editor of Cracked once described Navi as "a naggy, clingy spouse."
About The Author
Tom Chapman
Tom is Trending News Editor at GGRecon, with an NCTJ qualification in Broadcast Journalism and over seven years of experience writing about film, gaming, and television. With bylines at IGN, Digital Spy, Den of Geek, and more, Tom’s love of horror means he's well-versed in all things Resident Evil, with aspirations to be the next Chris Redfield.
