Impa, the Enigmatic Sheikah, Sage of Shadow

[Skyblade12]

So now, Impa is rumored to be on the roster, as said by the very one who provided pics and video footage that cannot deny their authenticity.

Actually, we can still doubt the authenticity of both leaks, which are separate leaks done by separate people. Oh, and the two different leakers had two different remaining rosters. So, yeah... There's that.

 

[andimidna]

Actually, we can still doubt the authenticity of both leaks, which are separate leaks done by separate people. Oh, and the two different leakers had two different remaining rosters. So, yeah... There's that.

Yea, but the one with Ridley, Impa, and Mach Rider seems much more credible than the one with Chorus Men.
Ridley has been teased for over a year now, only to be deconfirmed? Plus, he has all of his own obvious credentials.
Impa is the next in line Zelda rep in importance, recurrence, recency, and possibly even popularity at this point.
These 2 also work with the Trophy Theory.
And Mach Rider makes sense as a Popular/non-historical Retro Newcomer. Melee gave us G&W as a historical retro rep, and Ice Climbers as another retro rep chosen for uniqueness. Brawl gave us R.O.B. as a historical retro rep, and Pit as another retro rep chosen for popularity. With Duck Hunt all but confirmed as our historical retro rep, where's the other? Sakurai specifically stated an emphasis on retro characters in this game. Pac-Man may represent retro Namco, but that isn't really the same role as G&W and R.O.B., representatives of NINTENDO'S history. And Little Mac is here too, but he has his PO Wii design, PO Wii moves, a PO Wii stage, and even a PO Wii Final Smash. His retro history seems mostly represented through alts, and likely music too. I wouldn't call that a retro character at all. And with Pit no longer being a retro character, and Ice Climbers being cut, we do need more. And yea, I'm saying Pit is no longer retro as a fact and not an opinion, and I'm not even going to bring up the fact that some people actually think Palutena is a retro character... I swear, if Dark Pit gets called a retro newcomer when he gets confirmed...
Anyways, Ice Climbers are probably cut. So here comes my theory I posted in the Official Leak Thread.

...wait, speculation is flipping again. I'm gonna have to post this later.

 

[I_DON'T_KNOW_YOU!]

 

[TheDarkKnightNoivern]

Where did that come from? Impa's render is terrible

 

[ihskeyp]

Where's this from? The render is meh. But I'd accept a 'meh' render for impa.

 

[Ffamran]

Where did that come from? Impa's render is terrible

Where's this from? The render is meh. But I'd accept a 'meh' render for impa.

I can't find the render and Skyward Sword's render is much better and doesn't have that bug-eyed look.

 

[andimidna]

Woah, I haven't seen this before.
I do think Impa and Wolf's renders both look darker than the official ones, and not what I'd expect.

But how can we really tell if they look bad?! It's so small, the picture isn't the highest quality, it's on a 3ds... Oh, wait... Are those white things her eyes?! Wtf?! Ok, I've never seen this render before, or Wolf's, but I'm not putting much confidence in this yet. Maybe I've learned from last time... Ugh.

Edit: but doesn't that stat page look very realistic and interesting and real?!
*calm down*
Original post of picture link please

Edit: Ehh... now that I've looked at it on a larger screen it looks fake. The spot of random dark green on Link's picture, the dark line inbetween Zelda and Sheik, and the spot of yellow on Diddy Kong's picture make this look photoshopped (Dang it @ Diddy Kong you disproved Impa's leak ). I'd be less quick to judgment if that Wolf picture couldn't have been easily taken from Brawl, and if the render looked... at least decent.
Hmm... well it's not time to give up. Since her main competitor is gone (RIP Fabuhim), and she could have easily be planned as an alt but got upgraded, and she could have been planned as a late semi-clone due to her popularity rise if she wasn't ever a Sheik alt, and because her role in Skyward Sword showed her ongoing significance was not going to stop and that she had fighting potential she could have been planned unique since the beginning (don't forget the trophy theory). And who knows if they knew about the characters in ALBW and HW? It's possible, but SS is enough to make her a top contender, along with the ability to be included in any way (alt to clone, semi-clone, unique based off SS, unique based off HW) The characters that got "leaked" and then were later called lies don't have to worry, they were all top-contenders... except Mach Rider. Sucks but, looks like he's not in I guess.
I'm not 100% convinced he was lying though, they could have been trying to cover up a few characters to try to save some surprise and possibly some guy's job. Who's to say whoever made that collage of insults and censored pictures was telling the truth, or knew everything the leaker knew?
Messing with us twice? Really? idk.
But really I see the remaining unconfirmed contenders for the last spots (the reason why the CSS looks bad and all-star mode is locked) as (in this order) Mewtwo, Dixie Kong, Ridley, Impa, Chorus Men, King K Rool, Mach Rider, and Isaac.
And if there are more Brawl veterans, Wolf, ICs, Lucas.
Lucas getting cut works with Gematsu, which I think was correct but outdated (which I was going to say in my previous post)
I think Ice Climbers and Chorus Kids were planned but cut due to the 3ds version not being able to handle them. And I think Chrom was planned but cut for the unique Robin.
Seeing no Lucas wouldn't surprise me. And ICs being cut works with the E3 2013 statement that they were having trouble. But Wolf... why Wolf? I guess cause he was a late addition to Brawl so low priority and possibly DLC later along with Lucas and Snake and maybe even some Pokevets?
Anyways, if 5 spaces are left... well, how did they know the characters were cut? Or did they not know...?
Er...
I'm going to say Mewtwo, Dixie Kong, Ridley, Impa, and Wolf if he wasn't stated to be gone in the Ninka leak.
I want to say King K Rool or Isaac instead of him, but I'm not sure anymore.

Were cut vets part of the original Ninka Leak? And not the linkperson extension or the 2nd extension with Impa and Mach Rider?

Edit: forget to mention how I doubt she's an assist due to Zelda having 4 already

 

[Gene]

Ugly renders or not this looks legit. I can't find anything resembling Impa or Wolf.

 

[TheDarkKnightNoivern]

Ugly renders or not this looks legit. I can't find anything resembling Impa or Wolf.

People can very easily make good renders, these aren't even that great anyway, Impa's eyes are huge, her hair isn't very detailed and overall it just doesn't look good

 

[andimidna]

Hmm... well remember how the Palutena Leak look kind of ugly, but it's original unedited picture came out recently and her model actually looked very beautiful imo
This could be the same sort of illusion caused by a small picture on a dark, unclear 3ds.
While the render probably wouldn't be too hard to fake... the concept seems very detailed, the visuals look original and unique. And it would make sense that this mode would return and be more complex. Everything here makes sense, I just can't be too sure because it's not the prettiest leak... heh...

People can very easily make good renders, these aren't even that great anyway, Impa's eyes are huge, her hair isn't very detailed and overall it just doesn't look good

Yea, her hair looks like clay

 

[Gene]

People can very easily make good renders, these aren't even that great anyway, Impa's eyes are huge, her hair isn't very detailed and overall it just doesn't look good

Neither does the quality of the image. But I see your point.

 

[Nultos]

it is obviously fake, this guy cant even do math. Lucario kos add up to 34 but it says 33.

 

[Gene]

it is obviously fake, this guy cant even do math. Lucario kos add up to 34 but it says 33.

That math is pretty unforgivable.

 

[Diddy Kong]

Is it real or fake now? I don't want to be hyped for nothing!

 

[andimidna]

Is it real or fake now? I don't want to be hyped for nothing!

There were a lot of people calling the pictures fake for reasons that got proven untrue. But even if there is some reason for Lucario's 34, Starlow appears to be written in a different font than the leaked trophies. The S looks different...
I can't say there's much going for this anymore...

But I'm not sure she even needs leaks to be likely anymore...
Still, would love for her to get that push over a 50% chance, and there's going to be more leaks, so... check the leak thread every once and a while just in case.
Man, I wasn't even that big on her before, and started showing more support after Ghirahim was deconfirmed just because I wanted Zelda to get what it deserved somehow and this was the only likely option. But after the Mewtwo/Ridley/Dixie/Impa/Mach Rider leak, after feeling the hype that felt like her confirmation, I got really attached to the idea of her being in. I will be very disappointed if she's not in. Just because of those expectations...
Mach Rider I'm ok with, but the other 3 too, if their not in, this roster will feel incomplete.

 

[CJ Falcon]

What if we ended up getting old lady Impa as a playable character?

 

[Skyblade12]

What if we ended up getting old lady Impa as a playable character?

Alt costume. Still awesome.

 

[Diddy Kong]

At this point, all Impa is good Impa.

 

[RayaGRH]

Impa could transform into old SkySwo Impa for her final smash, and open the gate of time. Wouldn't that be fun Part of what makes Impa unique is that she has so many different incarnations, it would be cool if they recognized that!

 

[Morbi]

I have no problems with the render, I actually believe that it looks great. However, the awkwardly phrased subtext bothers me to a significant extent, "How many times has Pikachu made Zelda KO?"

 

[andimidna]

Impa could transform into old SkySwo Impa for her final smash, and open the gate of time. Wouldn't that be fun Part of what makes Impa unique is that she has so many different incarnations, it would be cool if they recognized that!

Well, they recognized all the different Mega Men!
And multiple Links.

So it doesn't seem too out there. Even a spoiler like that, just look at Lucina's "Marth" form! It's like a taunt or something

 

[RayaGRH]

Oh, another great thing about Impa (well, the Skyward Sword one anyway) is that she doesn't appear to be white/Japanese. That would make her unique among the human characters, she would be the only one who is ambiguously brown. Which is a nice little bit of extra diversity that she would bring.

Kind of pointless but I just thought of it and so posted it ^_^

 

[Diddy Kong]

I have no problems with the render, I actually believe that it looks great. However, the awkwardly phrased subtext bothers me to a significant extent, "How many times has Pikachu made Zelda KO?"

It's probable that they haven't fully translated the English versions of the games yet. Maybe Nintendo of Japan translates some parts themselves?

Oh, another great thing about Impa (well, the Skyward Sword one anyway) is that she doesn't appear to be white/Japanese. That would make her unique among the human characters, she would be the only one who is ambiguously brown. Which is a nice little bit of extra diversity that she would bring.

Kind of pointless but I just thought of it and so posted it ^_^

This is true, and makes Impa even a better addition. Too many white, blonde girls in Smash.

 

[Ingoro]

I want to believe but, the grammar is off and that makes me doubt it a lot.

 

[I_DON'T_KNOW_YOU!]

I want to believe but, the grammar is off and that makes me doubt it a lot.

Disablad and

 

[andimidna]

Disablad and

Disablad was an edit made by people in on the leak. But that Krystal one is true.
Still, there isn't any part of the Wolf-Impa leak that looks too promising to make up for he minor mistakes.
I'm 25/75 on this leaning towards fake...

 

[T-Hell]

People can very easily make good renders, these aren't even that great anyway, Impa's eyes are huge, her hair isn't very detailed and overall it just doesn't look good

Remember Wario's, G&W's and Ganondorf's renders in the legit leak CSS? Yeah..

 

[TheDarkKnightNoivern]

Remember Wario's, G&W's and Ganondorf's renders in the legit leak CSS? Yeah..

There's are a lot more detailed than this though

 

[iam8bit]

Has anyone found the renders? Most people thought the big leak was legit due to the renders, yet they doubt this one... weird.

I think people just disregard it because the other leaks said Wolf was cut, and they take it as gospel now. In reality, the leakers have admitted to not knowing the final roster and being unsure about who is cut.

I'm voting real.

 

[Skyblade12]

Has anyone found the renders? Most people thought the big leak was legit due to the renders, yet they doubt this one... weird.

I think people just disregard it because the other leaks said Wolf was cut, and they take it as gospel now. In reality, the leakers have admitted to not knowing the final roster and being unsure about who is cut.

I'm voting real.

The renders in the CSS leak (despite not being that good) were still quite a bit better than these. The Wolf render appears to be a direct port of his Brawl appearance, and the Impa render is pretty bad.

There's also several other problems like the grammar and bad math.

I still don't believe the CSS leak, BTW.

 

[Diddy Kong]

So I looked for Impa renders that might match the leak, and I found this instead:

So that's pretty awesome. I always thought that Impa and the Lanayru Dessert where somehow closely related, or that she or the Sheikah originally came from there (headcanons).

Anyway, some have stated that Impa is playable, but she's made in a chibi style. Which could explain the render for her looking like that. She might simply be styled as to fit in with Toon Link's artstyle, rather than Link, Zelda, Sheik and Ganondorf's designs. Which makes sence if she's based on Skyward Sword I feel.

 

[TheDarkKnightNoivern]

Anyway, some have stated that Impa is playable, but she's made in a chibi style. Which could explain the render for her looking like that. She might simply be styled as to fit in with Toon Link's artstyle, rather than Link, Zelda, Sheik and Ganondorf's designs. Which makes sence if she's based on Skyward Sword I feel.

That'd probably look really awkward, If she's in she's likely gonna get the realistic textures of Link, Zelda, Sheik and Ganondorf, kinda like impaz, just with the Skyward Sword model

 

[iam8bit]

She might simply be styled as to fit in with Toon Link's artstyle, rather than Link, Zelda, Sheik and Ganondorf's designs. Which makes sence if she's based on Skyward Sword I feel.

Honestly, this is EXACTLY what I thought.

If Sakurai didn't have access/knowledge about Hyrule Warriors at the time the roster was decided, they could've based their design primarily from Skyward Sword. In that case, it would be easier to make it match Toon Link rather than the Triforce trio, considering they'd have to make a compeltely original model of "realistic Impa" for that.

I think she looks consistent with Toon Link, and Wolf looks consistent with Fox's look in Smash 4. But that's just me.

 

[Diddy Kong]

Maybe she was chosen because of those very reasons? I always thought that Sakurai wanting to include a 'Toon Sheik' in Brawl, and the fact that Zelda and Sheik where split up where a good reason to expect Impa instead of Toon Zelda / Tetra. And Skyward Sword Impa simply would look better if she was actually based on her Skyward Sword look, and not some fabricated look. Even Sheik was based on her look in Ocarina of Time 3D. Impa being made a little more chiby as to fit with Toon Link seems like a good idea to me.

 

[TheDarkKnightNoivern]

Maybe she was chosen because of those very reasons? I always thought that Sakurai wanting to include a 'Toon Sheik' in Brawl, and the fact that Zelda and Sheik where split up where a good reason to expect Impa instead of Toon Zelda / Tetra. And Skyward Sword Impa simply would look better if she was actually based on her Skyward Sword look, and not some fabricated look. Even Sheik was based on her look in Ocarina of Time 3D. Impa being made a little more chiby as to fit with Toon Link seems like a good idea to me.

I dunno, I just can't see it happening, plus if he wanted a toon sheik why not use tetra? That makes tons more sense to me

 

[Diddy Kong]

I dunno, I just can't see it happening, plus if he wanted a toon sheik why not use tetra? That makes tons more sense to me

Because Zelda, Sheik and Tetra all being playable would mean that there are 3 Zeldas on the roster. Ask yourself this for example: do you still expect Paper Mario to be in now that Dr.Mario has also returned? Also, Impa is far easier to include as a clone of Sheik. Tetra would have to be mostly unique. And even if we're going by uniqueness, Impa has more to offer than Tetra. Also, there's the Skyloft stage, and if Tetra would be in I'd expect that the Pirate Ship stage from Brawl would return.

 

[Skyblade12]

Impa would not be a Sheik clone. Her idea back in Ocarina of Time was as a ninja, and did give rise to that as the basis of the Sheikah, yes. But the direction for her since has changed substantially, and there is no way Sakurai would port in a character without at least talking it over and getting ideas from the series directors. Aonuma does not think of Sheik as a ninja at all (which is great, because it never really fit how she acted), and her recent game incarnations has supported his new vision of her.

 

[TheDarkKnightNoivern]

Because Zelda, Sheik and Tetra all being playable would mean that there are 3 Zeldas on the roster. Ask yourself this for example: do you still expect Paper Mario to be in now that Dr.Mario has also returned? Also, Impa is far easier to include as a clone of Sheik. Tetra would have to be mostly unique. And even if we're going by uniqueness, Impa has more to offer than Tetra. Also, there's the Skyloft stage, and if Tetra would be in I'd expect that the Pirate Ship stage from Brawl would return.

But it's not literally Zelda, Zelda isn't in her name and people wouldn't know that she is zelda without actually playing wind waker. Having Zelda, Sheik and Tetra sounds much better than Mario, Paper Mario and Doctor Mario, plus that argument isn't really fair since Toon Zelda and Tetra were planned to be in brawl anyway. I don't see how tetra is harder than Impa, they'd probably take around the same amount of effort to make and whose to say the pirate ship isn't returning on the wii u version, with Wind Waker HD being on consoles it makes sense.

 

[iam8bit]

Maybe not exactly a "Toon" or "Chibi" Impa, but just a slightly modified version of her SS design that fits better with Toon Link. That's what I think the newest leak's design shows.

 

[Gene]

Impa would not be a Sheik clone. Her idea back in Ocarina of Time was as a ninja, and did give rise to that as the basis of the Sheikah, yes. But the direction for her since has changed substantially, and there is no way Sakurai would port in a character without at least talking it over and getting ideas from the series directors. Aonuma does not think of Sheik as a ninja at all (which is great, because it never really fit how she acted), and her recent game incarnations has supported his new vision of her.

Impa can 100% end up being a clone because Sakurai is a cruel and twisted man,