286: Hey, Listen, I Like Navi

[Brendan Main]

Hey, Listen, I Like Navi

Nobody likes to be told what to do, especially while playing a videogame. But Brendan Main argues that is precisely why Navi from Ocarina of Time is the best sidekick ever.

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[The Great JT]

I don't really hate Navi. Hell, as far as help characters go she's probably the best. It's just it does get annoying hearing her shouting "Hey! Hey! Listen! Hey!" a billion flippin' times. Yes, I'll go to Death Mountain, Navi, just let me finish my sidequests!

 

[LostTimeLady]

I like Navi too. She's the first person you meet in Hyrule in OoT and she's extremely useful and a faithful companion. Also, I like the fact that instead of have a gossary of terms for enemies etc you can ask her when you Z-target, nice intergration of gameplay I think. In Majora's mask with Tatl it's the same (only a bit more bulshy but that's who Tatl is!).
Oh, and Navi's cute. That alone is a reason to like her.

 

[Antylamon]

I never found Navi annoying.

 

[sunburst]

Navi is annoying. She's also an invaluable companion. But still annoying.

 

[ike42]

If only it were an occasional text bubble instead of the aloud "Hey Listen!" It's the audible part that gets so annoying. Only the first should be audible and thereafter she should remain silent until the next clue.

 

[Tomtitan]

The thing is though, Tatl, your fairy sidekick in Majora's Mask, is everything Navi is... but immensly less annoying. The reason for that is whilst Navi prompts you with 'hey, listen!' in that irritating voice, Tatl just rings a little bell. It achieves the same effect, but with a lot less annoyance.

So yeah, I appreciate all that Navi did for me, but Tatl showed us that it could have been done in a less annoying way.

 

[ryo02]

HEY *repeat 1000 times*
LISTEN *repeat 1000 times*
WATCH OUT *repeat 1000 times*

no wonder links a mute he was driven mad by her years before the game starts.
ok she's not so bad but I wish she had more to say.

 

[Ramzeltron]

Oh wow, someone who actually shares my same opinion about Navi.

 

[Ravek]

no wonder links a mute he was driven mad by her years before the game starts.

Actually he didn't have a fairy until the game started, because he's not a Kokiri.

 

[Fraught]

no wonder links a mute he was driven mad by her years before the game starts.

Actually he didn't have a fairy until the game started, because he's not a Kokiri.

And besides, wouldn't it be more logical if he'd be a loud-mouted obscene-spouting guy, due to having to try to muffle out Navi's bullshit (I don't know, I sometimes do that in a conversation when it's warranted)?

 

[PureIrony]

I actually find Navi's voice enjoyable. Her "Hey" is my notification ringtone.

 

[ahrnygoose]

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I don't really hate Navi. Hell, as far as help characters go she's probably the best. It's just it does get annoying hearing her shouting "Hey! Hey! Listen! Hey!" a billion flippin' times. Yes, I'll go to Death Mountain, Navi, just let me finish my sidequests!

Navi always repeatedly bugged me about the damned Death Mountain like some child on vacation asking "Are we there, yet?" If not for that, I might not have minded the shouts of "Hey!" and "Listen!" so much.

 

[ahrnygoose]

Love the line in the article "Bad turns to worse. Worse turns to Water Temple."

 

[Taylor Grzechowiak]

Amazing article. It's things like this that make me step back and look at the games I've enjoyed and see all the things that the creators did so amazingly right. Thanks for this insight!

 

[Taylor Grzechowiak]

Amazing article. It's things like this that make me step back and look at the games I've enjoyed and see all the things that the creators did so amazingly right. Thanks for this insight!

 

[Izkata]

Is this a repost?

I remember reading an identical article a long time ago, probably a year or more ago...

 

[Drakmeire]

I didn't mind navi since my copy of the game didn't have the infamous glitch where she didn't shut up so she only talked when needed.

 

[Shade184]

I actually find Navi's voice enjoyable. Her "Hey" is my notification ringtone.

I've been needing a new message tone for a while now. A Zelda-themed one, that is a brilliant idea. Now I just have to choose between "Hey! Listen!" and the "got item" tune, haha.

 

[Thorvan]

I adored Navi. I found her adorable, extremely helpful (I have distinct memories of her teaching me how to beat the water temple boss) and her little voices chimed in just frequently enough to be comfortingly reliable without being terribly annoying. Watch out!

Tatl was less annoying because of her bell replacing the voice, but significantly more annoying just because she was, well, a bit of a stupid *****. (To the extent that fairies can be.) While Navi felt like she was encouraging you to go in the right direction, Tatl felt like she was punishing you for going in the wrong one. I felt they hit the perfect balance with Midna in Twilight Princess, though, and it was also nice in that game to find out that this little imp thing was actually relevant to the greater plot.