An incredible coincidence after 28 years
For the long-awaited remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on the Switch 2 platform, Nintendo inadvertently rehired the same voice actress who lent her voice to the iconic fairy Navi 28 years ago on the Nintendo 64 console.
Full voice acting and preserving the legacy
The modern version of Ocarina of Time has undergone significant improvements, notably receiving full voice acting for dialogues and cutscenes. Game director HokWai Ng noted in a recent Ask The Developer interview:
“We felt that if we were upgrading the graphics so significantly, the cutscenes had to be fully voiced. But at the same time, we didn't want to ruin fans' familiar impressions of how recognizable characters sound. Navi's iconic exclamations like \"Listen!\" or \"Hey!\" have been heard even by those who have never played the game. We categorically did not want to change such iconic elements.”
Blind auditions from Nintendo
To find voices that would authentically capture the feel of the original as closely as possible, the team organized "blind" auditions. Series producer Eiji Aonuma recalls:
- Candidates were evaluated solely on the similarity of their voices to the original 1998 recordings.
- The developers did not know the names of the applicants during the selection process.
- Based on the audition results, Kaori Mizuhashi was selected for the role of Navi — the very same voice actress who voiced the fairy on the N64.
“None of us could have predicted this; it was pure fate,” Aonuma concluded. The remake's credits ultimately confirmed the actress's return to her iconic role almost three decades later.
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