With the recent reveal in the first Nintendo Direct of 2021, many Zelda fans have been both excited and disappointed that the 2011 Wii game The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword was getting an HD remake for the Nintendo Switch set to release later this year. For fans of the game, it was the biggest and best news of the year. For those who didn’t quite enjoy it as much, any news for the sequel of Breath of the Wild would’ve been better, and it’s very easy to see why.

When the game first released in 2011, it received a surprisingly good score from both game critics and fans, and I say surprisingly because—since then—many fans have complained non-stop about the mechanics, art style, villains, maps, etc. Skyward Sword received a 10/10 from IGN—a gaming magazine article that also publishes walkthroughs as well as reviews and updates on the most recent games—and a 93% on Metacritic. However, it’s labeled as the worst selling game in the franchise, not including the HD remake of Wind Waker for the Wii U, as it sold only 3.5 million copies. Meanwhile, its predecessor Twilight Princess sold over 8 million across both the Gamecube and Wii. So why such a drastic difference in the opinions of players and the amount of copies sold?

Well, fans aren’t completely wrong to point out the game’s flaws. When Skyward Sword was initially released, Wii motion controls had been introduced alongside it, and they weren’t exactly good. Especially when it came to combat. The Wii remote worked as an extension of Link’s sword in-game, and wherever you moved it the sword would follow. At least, that’s how it’s supposed to work. Many fans have experienced the struggle of trying to move their remote to the left only for Link’s sword to slash from the right. Thankfully Nintendo has learned their mistake and improved their motion controls for other consoles such as the Switch. But motion controls were a huge problem for Skyward Sword players. Not only that, but the game held the player’s hand far too often. Link’s new companion, Fi, was the player’s guide and a way to explain where they should go next if they ever get lost. But it was quite an annoyance when she would pop in to tell the player where to go or what to do every five seconds.

And that, my beloved gamers, is who we’re talking about today. May I introduce the most annoying, yet loveable, Zelda sidekick in gaming history: Fi.

Now the question remains: how does Fi manage to be both loved and hated by Zelda fans? Well, as I’ve said before, Fi shows up in the game a lot, and I mean a lot. Here is where we get to the spoilers, folks.

Skwyard Sword starts off with the iconic duo of Link and Zelda living on an island in the sky called Skyloft. In Skyloft, people are given giant birds by the goddess Hylia to fly around on. Why are people living in the sky? Well, the surface is dangerous as it’s full of monsters and the minions of the game’s villain, Demon King Demise. To protect her people, Hylia placed them on a secluded piece of land that she proceeded to throw into the sky, high above the clouds, where neither Demise nor his armies could get to them.

To celebrate this, every year the people of Skyloft hold a ceremony where a young woman plays the part of Hylia, and a race is held to determine who gets to play the part of the Chosen Hero. In the game, Zelda is picked to be Hylia and Link manages to win the race. After the ceremony, the two go for a quick flight around Skyloft on their Loftwings—the giant birds gifted by Hylia—when a giant tornado suddenly flings Zelda off her bird and down beneath the clouds to the surface world. That night, a mysterious woman appears to Link and asks him to follow her. That mysterious woman turns out to be Fi, the sword spirit who resides within the Goddess Blade that Link obtains from her and, later, the iconic Master Sword. From then on, she becomes the player’s companion for the rest of the game.

At first, Fi seems pretty cool: her design is unique as is her role in the game’s story. But the player quickly learns how frustrating it could get to be around her. When Link receives his first mission to go down to the surface to search for Zelda in Faron Woods, Fi shows up to guide Link a multitude of times, even when the player has just received information as to where Zelda was from the kikwis—a race of racoon-birds that live in the forest and have plat-like features they use for camouflage. She does this in other regions on the surface such as Eldin and Lanayru, which the player constantly has to revisit to continue the story and, thus, have to hear Fi explain the same thing five different times.

Yeah, not the best way to write a character who’s supposed to be your partner for a majority of the game. While it wouldn’t be so much of an issue for newer players who haven’t touched any other Zelda games, it’s quite bothersome for seasoned veterans of the franchise. After all, the premise of The Legend of Zelda is that it’s a puzzle adventure game. You’re not supposed to be constantly told where to go, you have to figure it out with the information given to you by the game’s NPCs. So that’s how Fi is often written off as a nuisance and one of the worst Zelda sidekicks ever. Not to mention that, as a character, she doesn’t often express emotion and is more akin to a robot. She can be quite insensitive at times and provides more facts than emotional support for Link, who is constantly distraught at being separated from his childhood friend. However, there’s also many fans who, despite this, absolutely love Fi as both a companion and a general character of the game. How can that be?

This is where the ending of the game comes in. After Link defeats Demise both in the past and present, and everyone prepares to return to Skyloft, Fi reveals herself from the sword for a final time. She explains to Link that her mission as his guide is now complete, and that in order to successfully finish their quest he has to relinquish ownership of the Master Sword—and by extension, her. To do this, he has to place the sword in the stone pedestal within the Sealed Grounds Temple. However, this would also put her permanently to sleep, and she would no longer be able to manifest into her physical form. With a heavy heart, Link does what he’s told, and puts Fi to rest within the Master Sword.

Then comes the crucial moment where Fi appears to Link one last time to deliver a tear-jerking speech as a soft piano melody plays:

“My purpose was to obey the command of the goddess and lead you, the chosen hero of this land, on your quest. When I first awoke and began this task, I perceived it as merely serving my function as a servant to Her Grace. However, I have come to consider the information corresponding to our time together among the most previous data I have on record. I do not have the capability to fully understand the human spirit, Link… But now, at the end of my journey with you, as I prepare to sleep within the Master Sword forever, I experience a feeling I am unable to identify. I lack sufficient data to be sure of my conclusion, but I believe this feeling correlates closest to what your people call…happiness.” 

She then proceeds to thank Link, explaining that she could feel herself fading away, and says, “May we meet again in another life,” before disappearing back into the Master Sword forever.

This is where Fi’s characterization comes into full display. Despite the frustration, agitation, and overall unpleasantry that she’s carried throughout the game, Fi eventually grows from a cold, emotionless being into a loving and unforgettable companion. From watching Link throughout their journey, she comes to understand humans and creates a strong bond with the chosen hero. A bond that is abruptly severed when the time comes for them to part ways, and just when she was beginning to understand and feel human emotion too. Watching this scene, it’s almost impossible not to cry. The way the music, dialogue, and facial expressions work together to create a scene that brings tears to the eyes, both from the beauty and sorrow of such circumstances. What likely hits the hardest here is the revelation and knowledge that Fi continues to reside within the Master Sword through the rest of the series within the franchise’s timeline and watches over Link’s many reincarnations. Of course, this is not a sentiment that all Zelda fans share, but it was enough for her to receive thousands upon thousands of fan work dedicated to her memory. She even gets a cameo within Breath of the Wild, her presence expressed through the bright blue glow of the Master Sword, and in Hyrule Warriors as a playable character.

Even though Fi will likely forever hold the title of “Most Annoying Zelda Companion”—right next to Navi—many fans still hold her in high regard, and it is thanks to Nintendo’s writing of her character and the overarching narrative of the entire Zelda franchise that such a paradox exists. Many Zelda fans are excited for the HD remake, and for many reasons. Some are anxious to run through the terrifying Silent Realm levels within the game, others plan to buy a copy for the high-definition experience of the game’s art stye, and some just want to see one of the game’s main villains, Ghirahim, back in action. But one thing many of them share is the hope to see Fi and reexperience their journey with her, as annoying as she may be, if only to relive that final cutscene all over again