Players have been in the dark about any new news regarding The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 for a long time now. However, this gives fans a lot of time to speculate and theorize about what could be appearing in the upcoming title. Due to the nature of the original title and the cinematic trailer, many fans look forward to hidden lore pertaining to previous Zelda titles.
Many past Zelda titles have had unanswered mysteries, but there is one that has gone unanswered for far too long. This mystery even had another game with the same potential incarnation of Link playable, but didn't give even a hint of an answer.
Back in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, there was a small and underplayed moment that happened after Link finally defeated Ganondorf. Once Link was sent back to his own original time, his faithful and trustworthy partner throughout his adventure through time simply leaves without a word. After that moment, players never found out what had happened to Navi.
The Legend of Zelda's Navi
Navi is one of the more controversial characters in the Zelda series, with her navigation help being irritating to many players. Her voice lines have become somewhat memetic over the years with the iconic "Hey! Listen!" line being recognizable to many gamers and Zelda fans alike. However, there are also many fans who have warmed up to the little fairy over the years and want to know what happened to her after leaving Link. Players also want to know exactly why she left as well.
Navi was very important to Link with her being Link's fairy in Kokiri Forest. She was tasked by the Great Deku Tree to stay by Link's side and accompany him on his journey to go save Hyrule. Her leaving isn't just a one-off event meant to be forgotten, as the opening of The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask has link venturing outside of Hyrule on a journey to find Navi. However, no answers are found in that title, as events not relating to Navi take center-stage in Majora's Mask. Even at the end, Link is left being on the search for Navi again with no answer on whether or not he found her.
The non-canon manga adaptation for Ocarina of Time slightly expands on this with Navi telling Link that she loves him, implying that the reason that she left was because that she felt that Link was better off with Zelda. However, it must be stated again that the manga is not canon to the Zelda timeline or any of the games. Any additions like that line are purely artistic flair for the story.
However, this may change in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2. This upcoming title seems to have to do with Hyrule's past due to the corpse of an incarnation of Ganondorf seen in the cinematic trailer. Corpses of the famous whale entities from other titles in the series can also be found in the original Breath of the Wild as well. Due to this, it's possible that Navi may return if fairies live that long or someone like a great fairy would know of her fate.
Breath of the Wild's Nabi Lake
In the original Breath of the Wild, there are three lakes that are named after the little blue fairy. They are Nabi Lake, South Nabi Lake, and West Nabi Lake. While some may think that these lake names are just similar to Navi's name, "Nabi" is actually the Japanese pronunciation for Navi's name. There isn't really any story significance to any of the Nabi lakes in Breath of the Wild. However, with it being confirmed that the original map for Hyrule will be used and built upon in Breath of the Wild 2, it's very possible something new may lie there for players in the future title.
For there to be lakes named after Navi implies that Navi either did something important after the events of Ocarina of Time or that the hero of time himself named these lakes. Either way, it's very possible that something related to Navi could be in this location in the future.
Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 - What Happened to Navi?
It is doubtful that Navi's fate would play a large part of the story in Breath of the Wild 2, but it's possible that there could at least be an Easter Egg at least or a side quest at most. This is because of how Zelda games generally aren't meant to be played in a specific order in order to enjoy and understand the story. Even with Majora's Mask being a direct sequel to Ocarina of Time, players didn't require any knowledge of the initial title in order to play Majora's Mask. If Navi does make some sort of appearance, players won't be expected to know who she is.
However, there has to be someone in the world who had to know what happened to Navi if she didn't just die alone somewhere unknown. If she is still alive after hundreds of years then it's possible for her to have new characterization that could help players grow more attached to her.
There have been theories in the past that the Great Fairy seen in Twilight Princess is actually a more powerful Navi. With the events of Breath of the Wild seeming to be an entirely new branch of the Zelda timeline, it could be possible that Navi does become a Great Fairy after living so long in the Breath of the Wild timeline.
If Navi did become a Great Fairy, her meeting with the Hero of the Wilds would probably lead her to talking about the Hero of Time and what she did with him. This could also lead to her telling Link's current incarnation about why she left and what she did afterward. Of course, this conversation could still be possible if she was a living normal fairy, but having her as a Great Fairy would cause players to visit her more often for her upgrades.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 is in development.