268: Hey, Listen, I Like Navi

[uguito-93]

Hey i never thought Navi was annoying because she gave advise. I always appreciate anything thats helpful. It was the constant "heeeeeeeeeeyyy liiiiiistnen" that made oh so easy to want to stangle her. Also look at Tatl form Majora's mask. The dialogue was replaced with a simple chime and she was endlessly more likable than Navi despite the snarky attitude.

 

[antigodoflife]

I prefer Tatl, she does everything Navi does, but shuts the fuck up in the process.

 

[antigodoflife]

Now I want to hear an argument against Navi, and it can't consist entirely of "She sayz listen and it makes me RAGE!!!". Is that the only reason people dislike her?

Well I hate her because when I play LoZ:OoT too much, the 'Hey, Listen' gets stuck in my head, and because I can imagine sound, it stops me from sleeping, because it repeats in my head.

This is how insanity is created, kids.

 

[DRTJR]

I think Navi has the Hots for Dark link.

Spoiler

 

[rddj623]

An interesting perspective to have on her usefulness in the game. I think I'll have more appreciation then ever before.

 

[Witty-Name]

Interesting piece. Personally I quite liked Navi as a design element and as an optional hint system, what always bothered me was when she intruded with the gameplay. You ought to have been given the option early on to determine how frequently she offers hints, and to turn any gameplay disrupting auto-hints off completely.

She did flesh out the story though. Interesting that Square-Enix opted for a similar fairy sidekick system in Dragon Quest IX to make up for the absence of talking player characters. Looks like Sandy/Stella was even more hated in Japan than Navi is in English speaking countries. Didn't see a problem with her myself, though she probably fits the localisation better than she did the original.

 

[Influx27]

Navi as your conscience. Come on Brendan, you're a doctoral student, please try and avoid thesis which are so obviously bullocks. Navi is not your conscience, because you can never go against Navi. Navi can never tell you to do something that you can choose to act against: your only option is to obey her. Navi never tells you to save Princess Zelda while it is also an option to rape and murder her. Navi never tells you to save a village while you are also able to burn it to the ground. Navi never tells you to open a chest while you're also able to pawn it off to some peasant as a mystery box worth a billion rupees.

Navi is not anyone's conscience, she is the dictator of the game - commanding on high with absolute authority. She is the one who defines what reality is, not the moral compass that explains how reality should be. There are no normative notions, only imperial impetus.

 

[CrusaderRankin]

NAVI..

tbh i never really got irritated by her, id quite like my own personal fairy companion, and if it helps me lock on while im throwing rocks or something at people then WIN

 

[immortalfrieza]

Navi was annoying...sometimes, but Tatl was completely useless.

The problem with Navi was that she was useless too, she was just really annoying at the same time. I actually liked reading her dialog, but she never said anything that wasn't a complete no brainer, and the things that you actually needed to know, like how to get a lot of pieces of heart and such, she never said anything about. Personally, I never needed Navi to tell me how to solve puzzles or beat bosses or anything, including in the water temple, if Navi never was in OoT I wouldn't have missed her in any way.

Tatl on the other hand practically wasn't in Majora's and wasn't helpful at all when she was, is ironic since in Majora's Mask if you didn't have a guide you were pretty much screwed, especially if you're the find and do everything type. The difference with Tatl is that she wasn't helpful, but also wasn't annoying either, in fact I hardly even noticed that she was ever there after a while, so she's easily better than Navi.

In a nutshell, both cases they get it wrong, Navi very annoying and useless, Tatl useless but also not there. Unlike these two a good sidekick should be very useful, but you practically don't know they exist unless they appear in a cutscene or you need a tip, Midna is the perfect example of just such a sidekick.

 

[immortalfrieza]

Navi never tells you to save Princess Zelda while it is also an option to rape and murder her. Navi never tells you to save a village while you are also able to burn it to the ground. Navi never tells you to open a chest while you're also able to pawn it off to some peasant as a mystery box worth a billion rupees.

Ok... now you've made me picture Link doing just that, and for some reason I would find just such a game really entertaining, except the rape part, that gives me pause, but not the kill part oddly enough.