Navi

Navi (Pronounced, ) is a character in Ocarina of Time. She is a fairy who serves as Link's companion in his quest to save Hyrule.

Ocarina of Time
Since Link is not a real Kokiri and does not have a fairy to call his own, Navi is summoned by the Great Deku Tree to accompany Link on his quest to save Hyrule. Throughout the game, Navi points out clues in the environment around Link to help him solve puzzles, as well as providing him with a variety of clues as to how to progress in his quest. Navi also helps the player learn the controls in the game, such as teaching how to open doors or how to push and pull blocks. Link can listen to Navi's advice by pressing the C-Up Button in the Nintendo 64 controller whenever her name flashes on the screen above all of the item buttons.

In gameplay, Navi's primary purpose is to function as a focusing target. By pressing the Z Button, Navi will target the most nearby object, enemy, or person. She glows yellow to indicate when she is targeting an enemy, blue when Link can talk to someone from a distance, and green when she is targeting something of interest. Any time Navi targets something, she will yell out to Link "Hey!", "Listen!", or "Watch out!" Pressing the C-Up button while Link is targeting an enemy will allow him to hear Navi provide information about said foe. Once Link learns "Saria's Song", the young hero can communicate with Saria through Navi. When Navi's help is not being used, she seemingly hides herself inside Link's hat; however, she can be summoned at any time by pressing the A Button while Link is standing still. In the 3DS remake of Ocarina of Time, Navi often tells the player to take a rest from playing.

Although Navi can target most enemies and give Link clues as to how to defeat them, in the battle against Ganondorf, Navi is unable to help the young hero due to the waves of darkness produced by the King of Evil. Once Link defeats Ganondorf and escapes the crumbling Ganon's Castle along with Princess Zelda, Navi apologizes for not having helped Link in the battle. However, Ganondorf emerges shortly after from the castle ruins and transforms into Ganon. Navi, willing to aid Link, exclaims that she will not be held back by Ganondorf again and joins the young hero in the fight, where they eventually defeat the King of Evil. After Princess Zelda sends Link back to his original time, Navi can be seen leaving Link's side for undisclosed reasons as she flies away into the lit window inside the Temple of Time, never to be seen again.

Majora's Mask
It was widely speculated that the "beloved and invaluable friend [...] with whom he parted ways when he finally fulfilled his heroic destiny", mentioned in the introductory sequence to Majora's Mask, is Navi. This was made all the more probable given the "fairy flying" sound-effect that is played after the text disappears off the screen, but before the Lost Woods scene begins.

However, years later, this was confirmed by the official artbook Hyrule Historia, which said Link was indeed searching for Navi for months on the Lost Woods until he found Skull Kid. This was already told in the Majora's Mask manga, but it wasn't part of official canon of the series.

Other games
She has not been seen in any other Zelda games other than the Wii version of Twilight Princess, where her "blue fairy" design is used to indicate the pointer of the Wii Remote when it is not being used for other functions, like aiming the bow.

Relationship
The precise relationship between her and Link is a matter of contention, since it is left ambiguous by Nintendo - the only time she speaks during the game (with the exception of the "Hey" and "Listen" sound effects) is during the introductory sequence and during the Temple of Time sequence. However, in an interview with Shigeru Miyamoto, he mentioned that Navi was jealous of Princess Zelda, saying that Link's fairy companion "feels something for [him]."

Development
When the concept of Z-targeting was being developed, an upside-down triangle was used to determine which enemy Link was targeting. The designers felt this marker was too simple, so they wanted to replace it with a cute fairy girl, believing it would fit the Zelda atmosphere. However, the Nintendo 64 was not able to support such a fairy, so a ball of light with wings was used instead. She was originally called the Fairy Navigation System, but was later renamed Navi. After naming her, many of her functions were designed, such as changing color to distinguish between friends and foes, acting as a guide and providing strategy tips.

Her design also allowed developers to overcome a problem in Kokiri Forest. Due to the Nintendo 64's limitations, it was difficult to display the villagers and structures all at once, so each person was paired with a fairy to help locate them. When Link approached them, their owners would appear and he could interact with them. Both of these expanded the story so that Link was the only child in the forest without a fairy, then he met and parted with a fairy companion.

Reception
Navi is one of the more criticized The Legend of Zelda series characters, which is due to her constant yelling of "Hey!" and "Listen!" throughout the game and for giving "unsolicited advice." Cracked.com editor Tim Lovett listed Navi the eighth most annoying video character, mentioning how she "pester[ed]" Link like a "naggy, clinging spouse." Although Mikel Reparaz from GamesRadar credited Navi for helping players by locking onto targets and enemies, he criticized her for the overused "Hey! Listen!" phrase and listed her as the number one most irritating female character. Additionally, another GamesRadar editor ranked her second place in a list of "cutesy characters" they want to "beat the crap out of," describing her as a "tactless" Tinkerbell and considering her to distract players from the gameplay. GameDaily also listed her as one of the gaming characters they "wish they could kill, but can't."

Impact and Legacy
Despite her much criticism, Navi is notable in that she is one of the few characters with any voice-acting in the series, and the only other character (aside from Link in The Wind Waker and Beedle in both The Wind Waker and Skyward Sword) who uses English words. She also became a milestone in the Zelda series as being the first of Link's canon fairy companions, as she would pave the way for other upcoming sidekicks such as Tatl. Ciela from Phantom Hourglass uses two of the same voice clips as Navi (her "Hey!" and "Look!" clips). Additionally, because early trailers for the game featured the fairy's quotes yet did not show Ciela's name, many fans initially believed she was Navi.

In the Wii version of Twilight Princess, Navi, or at least her "blue fairy" design, is used as the Wii Remote cursor that is displayed on-screen. Moreover, in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, a fairy resembling Navi is seen flying next to Link in front of a forest holding the Pedestal of Time. This same fairy appears as part of one of Link's taunts during combat; she emerges from Link and circles him once with him looking on, before hiding herself back into Link. Navi is also used as a mouse cursor for the Ocarina of Time 3D Site.

Trivia

 * Navi's name comes from the word "navigation".
 * It was originally supposed to be named "Fairy Navigation System", but since the name was too long, developers changed it to Navi.