Impa, the Enigmatic Sheikah, Sage of Shadow

[Diddy Kong]

Both Goroh and Gray Fox attack immediately yes, but first they drop from the sky. I think Phantom will be a complex,sprt of summoning attack, probably one which can be controlled even. I doubt it's an AT to cause of it's lack of pink eyes. Regardless, it has been left unexplained, but to me, it seems more like a move.

I supported Midna to before Brawl's release, but wouldn't expect her now. Ganon would be completely awesome, yet very unlikely. And yes, Toon Zelda is a bad choice, yet I think the Phantom pretty much means she's out of the picture. If TP Zelda has it as a move, she's redundant cause TP Zelda already represents the Toon Zelda series. And if it's an AT after all, it'll likely HAVE to be Toon Zelda. Even this makes Impa more likely.

Think her Final Smash could even be similar to Negative Zone in a way, now that Luigi probably won't have it.

 

[Shaking//very]

The Phantom Zelda has been confirmed to be an Assist Trophy by the animation Zelda is doing next to it matching her assist trophy summon from Brawl.

no she's not, nothing has been confirmed yet.
you'll be suprised. or not. i don't know

ima impa supporter btw, i unlike others would like impa to replace sheik, with an updated yet similar move set
most people who use zelda, don't use sheik. most people who use sheik ( a ****ing lot ) don't use zelda. i think separating them this time around isn't the most craziest idea. spares a lot of time transforming or pressing a certain button at the character select screen

also yeah impa is the fourth most important zelda character; she's there in every game in every timeline one way ( or from ) or another. she's also the orginal keeper of the triforce of power, her character development received a huge boost with skyward sword.

ghirahim won't be there next game, midna is long time gone and i don't even get why people think vaati would make it in.
tingle is the only competition, but i think he's too perfect as an assist of hazard.

 

[Diddy Kong]

Tingle indeed seems like an obvious returning AT to at this point. Soubt many more after Little Mac will become fighters. Maybe Isaac, or Samurai Goroh (eventually) but other than them? Am hard pressed to see others make in. Lyn would be awesome, Saki would also be sweet, but I doubt they are gonna make too many characters out of previous ATs.

 

[andimidna]

no she's not, nothing has been confirmed yet.
you'll be suprised. or not. i don't know

ima impa supporter btw, i unlike others would like impa to replace sheik, with an updated yet similar move set
most people who use zelda, don't use sheik. most people who use sheik ( a ****ing lot ) don't use zelda. i think separating them this time around isn't the most craziest idea. spares a lot of time transforming or pressing a certain button at the character select screen

also yeah impa is the fourth most important zelda character; she's there in every game in every timeline one way ( or from ) or another. she's also the orginal keeper of the triforce of power, her character development received a huge boost with skyward sword.

ghirahim won't be there next game, midna is long time gone and i don't even get why people think vaati would make it in.
tingle is the only competition, but i think he's too perfect as an assist of hazard.

Look at my mains. They're both my most used characters. It's very useful to be able to deal quick damage with Sheik, and switch to Zelda to use a finishing move. Then switch to avoid stuff like final smashes

 

[Diddy Kong]

Look at my mains. They're both my most used characters. It's very useful to be able to deal quick damage with Sheik, and switch to Zelda to use a finishing move. Then switch to avoid stuff like final smashes

You play with items on then..?

 

[andimidna]

You play with items on then..?

Not so much lately. But I used to always.
Most of who I play Smash with are non-competitive, Kirby-mains that play on Temple with the items on. So that's usually what happens...

And Zelda's Down B is especially perfect for Kirby's cook.

 

[Guybrush20X6]

Well Impa replacing Sheik went nowhere. Diddy's gonna go ape over this. (Drop the pun and run)

 

[Pacack]

Hey, at least we were right about the Phantom.

 

[Igneous42]

Well Impa replacing Sheik went nowhere. Diddy's gonna go ape over this. (Drop the pun and run)

Technically Impa isn't confirmed non-playable. But yeah, if Impa were to get in it would've made sense that she'd be the spiritual successor to sheik and since Sheik is confirmed back now Impa seems unlikely. Especially with Greninja added in, though a pokemon's presence seems weird to have any affect on a Zelda characters it's just another Ninja-like character. Impa could still show up as an alt outfit for sheik though who knows. It would be the first example of a character's alt costume being an entirely different character though.

 

[Guybrush20X6]

Technically Impa isn't confirmed non-playable. But yeah, if Impa were to get in it would've made sense that she'd be the spiritual successor to sheik and since Sheik is confirmed back now Impa seems unlikely. Especially with Greninja added in, though a pokemon's presence seems weird to have any affect on a Zelda characters it's just another Ninja-like character. Impa could still show up as an alt outfit for sheik though who knows. It would be the first example of a character's alt costume being an entirely different character though.

*cough*daisyinmelee*cough*

 

[FalKoopa]

As a moderator, it does me good to see that the Impa vs. Sheik debates that made Diddy rather infamous are a thing of the past now. (-_-)

 

[andimidna]

Wow, nice job, Diddy!
You got the Phantom right!

I bet you're soooo happy right now!

 

[LaniusShrike]

I'm happy that Sheik and Zelda are separated now and that Sheik's still in the game... I still say that it's entirely possible that Impa could come in as a separate character, cloned or no, or even as a costume alt. of Sheik.

Her replacing Sheik was just one of several possibilities, and it obviously wasn't the most desirable one for most of the community. I'm still holding out for her to become an entirely separate character.

 

[Diddy Kong]

Well Impa replacing Sheik went nowhere. Diddy's gonna go ape over this. (Drop the pun and run)

Well, I certainly DO NOT like how things turned out to say the least. It was such a ****ing tease to!

Hey, at least we were right about the Phantom.

Yes that's true. And I'm happy that Zelda turned out to be exactly how I wanted! Sheik won't be a liability for her no more, but Sheik as a separate character just is... SO WRONG! It definitely hurts Impa's chances yes.. And Greninja isn't making things better with how much he's like Sheik.

As a moderator, it does me good to see that the Impa vs. Sheik debates that made Diddy rather infamous are a thing of the past now. (-_-)

Well there's that of course... Still leaves a bitter aftertaste man. But yeah, still got Diddy so...

Wow, nice job, Diddy!
You got the Phantom right!

I bet you're soooo happy right now!

Yes, feeling all jolly and dandy.

I'm happy that Sheik and Zelda are separated now and that Sheik's still in the game... I still say that it's entirely possible that Impa could come in as a separate character, cloned or no, or even as a costume alt. of Sheik.

Her replacing Sheik was just one of several possibilities, and it obviously wasn't the most desirable one for most of the community. I'm still holding out for her to become an entirely separate character.

This is probably the more optimistic and probably realistic approach now. Sure, most thought Impa's chances where never too big, but I really felt we stood a chance with the whole Phantom fiasco. I still do believe she is the most likely newcomer for Zelda, but untill I've seen both Mewtwo and Jigglypuff, as well as the likes of Falco, Wolf and Lucas returning and a possible 6th Mario character I'm not all too confident anymore.

If Impa however does end up making it, I'd be overjoyed. However, expect me to mostly focus now on the likes of King K.Rool, Mewtwo, Isaac and Ike. It was fun while it lasted. I mean, I eventually did got everything I wanted! Except the exact characters. Damn, a black dreadlocked woman would've added quite some more diversity to the roster. Now it's just all blonde princesses again, and Samus

Sheik getting those moveset changes is weird to. Sure, a new Down B was a given where she to be a character on her own, but the Side B being bombs..? BOMBS? That's not even creative. I mean, Sheik's moveset was already 100% made up outside of Up B. I would've at least opted for the Deku Nuts, and remove them as item if nessecary. But no, we get bombs and a Down B move called Fish which is far too similar to Zero Suit Samus's Down B... How much more awesome would a barrier be? And some sort of Greninja-like invisibility, coupled with magic? Greninja being a sort of ninja + elemental abilities fighter kinda kills the chances of an unique Impa I feel... So at best, am gonna hope for semi-clone status.

Guess it's not all too bad in the end. But still, a big damn kick in the nuts.

 

[Arcadenik]

At least one of my mains (Zelda) is finally separate! That's what I always wanted for a long time.

 

[Diddy Kong]

Am mostly happy about that, and solo Charizard to. But no Impa is really a bummer. And I'd be even far more upset if Mewtwo and Ike wouldn't make it in, but Chrom would. That way, all my least favorite character possibilities happened. I was mostly upset about Brawl's roster cause of Sheik being in, but not Mewtwo.

Btw, the bombs Sheik has could've very well been inspired by 'Old Man Impa' the scrapped character from Twilight Princess. This is only a detail Impa fans could know, so that sucks even harder. Would've even preffered it if Sheik did Impa's Barrier for Down B!

 

[BluePikmin11]

just hope for an Impa alt. costume.

 

[Diddy Kong]

If it'll be based on OoT Impa I won't want it.

 

[HylianHeroBigBoss]

just hope for an Impa alt. costume.

Thats pretty much all we can hope for at this point. Its a damn shame too, such a missed opportunity, damn you sakurai and your traditions.

 

[Frostwraith]

What was so special about Impa anyway? And why are people acting like Impa absolutely had to replace Sheik? For the sake of recency?

Is there anything wrong with, even after ending with switchable characters, keeping Sheik, who has her share of popularity among the Smash fanbase? It would be a big disservice to many fans if ZSS and Sheik were removed just because switching characters mid-battle was removed.

By the way, I'm not trying to cause a flame war or something (it would be pretty hypocritical if I did that, especially considering I'm a mod), but anyway, I felt like dropping here to make people question some things.

Thats pretty much all we can hope for at this point. Its a damn shame too, such a missed opportunity, damn you sakurai and your traditions.

You say that like it's a bad thing. And I think Sakurai has broken a lot of traditions this time. Actually, if you know his game design philosophies, you will know he's not really a man of traditions. Look up on why he quit HAL Laboratory in the first place, for example.

I honestly did not expect Sakurai to separate Zelda/Sheik and Samus/Zero Suit Samus. It came as a surprise, but I'm actually seeing it as a more positive thing as time passes. It rubbed me the wrong way at the moment Sakurai revealed them, but after giving some thought, I'm pretty accepting of it now.

 

[Delicious Tears]

Recency are for the weak!

 

[Diddy Kong]

What was so special about Impa anyway? And why are people acting like Impa absolutely had to replace Sheik? For the sake of recency?

Is there anything wrong with, even after ending with switchable characters, keeping Sheik, who has her share of popularity among the Smash fanbase? It would be a big disservice to many fans if ZSS and Sheik were removed just because switching characters mid-battle was removed.

By the way, I'm not trying to cause a flame war or something (it would be pretty hypocritical if I did that, especially considering I'm a mod), but anyway, I felt like dropping here to make people question some things.


You say that like it's a bad thing. And I think Sakurai has broken a lot of traditions this time. Actually, if you know his game design philosophies, you will know he's not really a man of traditions. Look up on why he quit HAL Laboratory in the first place, for example.

I honestly did not expect Sakurai to separate Zelda/Sheik and Samus/Zero Suit Samus. It came as a surprise, but I'm actually seeing it as a more positive thing as time passes. It rubbed me the wrong way at the moment Sakurai revealed them, but after giving some thought, I'm pretty accepting of it now.

Impa has actual fighting skills of her own. She would've made a FAR BETTER revamped Sheik than what we got here... Bouncing Fish and those bombs are quite lame in comparision to Impa's magical attacks and barrier. Not that Impa wouldn't be able to do them either of course... I'm just extremely dissapointed we got Sheik separate, cause to many it doesn't make quite sense. Having two separate entities of Zelda playable, separate, also feels wrong. At least Impa is her own character, and that was what it's all about.

 

[Depressed Gengar]

If ZSS and Sheik were such a big deal, then why weren't Squirtle and Ivysaur?
Oh well, no use crying now. Let's just hope Fan Service Samus and Fakah Sheikah get cut in the future.

 

[D3monicWolv3s]

I'd be happy to see the OoT shiek as an alt.

The series is about trophies brought to life by two freakish hands that flop around a stage as a final bosses. Also something about a tron knockoff that controls them or whatever in brawl.

I don't get it. What kind of sense were you building where there couldn't be two versions of a character? Doctor Mario is just Mario if he went to med school. Having Sheik vs Zelda, is no weirder than having a match with 4 marios playing against each other.

 

[HylianHeroBigBoss]

What was so special about Impa anyway? And why are people acting like Impa absolutely had to replace Sheik? For the sake of recency?
You say that like it's a bad thing. And I think Sakurai has broken a lot of traditions this time. Actually, if you know his game design philosophies, you will know he's not really a man of traditions. Look up on why he quit HAL Laboratory in the first place, for example.

I honestly did not expect Sakurai to separate Zelda/Sheik and Samus/Zero Suit Samus. It came as a surprise, but I'm actually seeing it as a more positive thing as time passes. It rubbed me the wrong way at the moment Sakurai revealed them, but after giving some thought, I'm pretty accepting of it now.

It wasnt really about recency so much as it should be a character that can move forward with the series, sheik only exists in smash bros like giga bowser does now. Impa is an ever present character in the mythos and it would have been nice to have that represented with her and not just zeldas one time alter ego.

I know about sakurai's game philosophies and sure he has definitely broken some tradition with this game (although his stance against sequels and similar games is kinda broken by smash bros and how similar they are in most cases), but in some areas hes done almost nothing new. Like link and fox for example, they arent a damn ounce different, we have seen many characters get mentions of their changes but those ones havent gotten much if anything, and its the same with how they are represented since much of it still feels like its holding onto things from melee with DK even feeling more like hes from the snes trilogy instead of returns. Im not saying that every thing has to change with the times, since smash bros is all about history, but for these ever changing series like zelda it is nice to have new things to look forward to along with adapting to the new.

 

[Arcadenik]

I'd be happy to see the OoT shiek as an alt.

The series is about trophies brought to life by two freakish hands that flop around a stage as a final bosses. Also something about a tron knockoff that controls them or whatever in brawl.

I don't get it. What kind of sense were you building where there couldn't be two versions of a character? Doctor Mario is just Mario if he went to med school. Having Sheik vs Zelda, is no weirder than having a match with 4 marios playing against each other.

But having a playable Toad battling against a playable Peach who happens to have a Toad shield defies logic.

 

[Frostwraith]

It wasnt really about recency so much as it should be a character that can move forward with the series, sheik only exists in smash bros like giga bowser does now. Impa is an ever present character in the mythos and it would have been nice to have that represented with her and not just zeldas one time alter ego.

I know about sakurai's game philosophies and sure he has definitely broken some tradition with this game (although his stance against sequels and similar games is kinda broken by smash bros and how similar they are in most cases), but in some areas hes done almost nothing new. Like link and fox for example, they arent a damn ounce different, we have seen many characters get mentions of their changes but those ones havent gotten much if anything, and its the same with how they are represented since much of it still feels like its holding onto things from melee with DK even feeling more like hes from the snes trilogy instead of returns. Im not saying that every thing has to change with the times, since smash bros is all about history, but for these ever changing series like zelda it is nice to have new things to look forward to along with adapting to the new.

Good points, however, I don't believe there's need of putting Impa in the game. Sheik happens to be more popular and you know Sakurai dislikes cutting characters precisely because of that.

From what we've seen so far of the game, I think the Zelda series has a lot of content spanning the series' history. Most of the new items are from Skyward Sword.

Anyway, Impa isn't disconfirmed yet. Her chances are pretty low, though.

 

[Deleted member]

I was looking forward to Sheik being replaced, but oh well. I think the two biggest reasons are fairly obvious. One, incumbency bias - Sheik has two games of popularity behind her and there'd need to be a strong push to get her out for Impa. Two, every Zelda design has been from Twilight Princess. Impa was not in the game and Sakurai is not going to just invent a design for a big series like Zelda. Sheik's design is a leftover from development that never got in the game. I remember the flames I got elsewhere for saying this even mattered, but there was no way going to be an original re-design for a series taken as seriously lore-wise as Zelda.

If Link and Zelda had been inspired by Skyward Sword, I do think Impa may have displaced Sheik. Ironically, the fact that Zelda's design in that game is so pathetic to imagine in an actual fight, may be why they didn't go that route. Either that or there's a Twilight Princess sequel on the way that Sakurai knows about, or he felt the SS art style didn't mesh well.

 

[Speculator]

I agree with @ Frostwraith . Sheik might not be so important to the Zelda franchise anymore, but she's sure important to SSB. Sakurai knows that every character has their fans and supporters, especially a two-game Smash veteran.

I know about sakurai's game philosophies and sure he has definitely broken some tradition with this game (although his stance against sequels and similar games is kinda broken by smash bros and how similar they are in most cases), but in some areas hes done almost nothing new. Like link and fox for example, they arent a damn ounce different

The game is already going to feel different to play. SSB4 isn't Brawl with new characters, it's a brand new entry in the series. Think about how different Melee and Brawl feel. You need to be very careful when considering changes to returning characters, because not all changes are going to be well recieved. Olimar had a real shortcoming with his tether recovery, so he's been given Winged Pikmin. Zelda/Sheik and Pokemon Trainer experienced loading lag when switching, so the transformation mechanic was removed. Link and Fox don't really have any big problems like that, so they don't require drastic changes. Changes to those characters are much more subtle - they're about attack power, speed, and adapting them to fit the new SSB4 physics.

 

[Arcadenik]

I think that the main reason Sheik is still in the game is because Sakurai originally wanted to keep Zelda/Sheik together in SSB4... but issues with multiple characters on the 3DS came up... so Sakurai decided to just split all the characters... Zero Suit Samus, Sheik, and Charizard became standalone characters...

 

[Diddy Kong]

Am glad the topic of Impa still gets discussed. Still think making Sheik separate is not the best of ideas they could implement. Mostly because Sheik is a very specific version of Zelda. In that way, she is as much of a stand-alone character in the series as Toon Link is. Link, Zelda, most likely Ganondorf to, are Twilight Princess characters. Toon Link is from Wind Waker. Sheik from Ocarina of Time.

Separate Sheik with new moves just leaves a real bitter aftertaste of what could've been you know...

 

[Knuckles the Knuckles]

I'd love to have SS Impa as Sheik's alt. costume, or even a clone with some slight gameplay changes. I'd even be happy with OOT Impa, though the most we can hope for at the moment is an assist trophy, seeing how some really promising Zelda characters have been assigned to that role.

 

[Diddy Kong]

Because of that all, I doubt Impa would show up as an AT. Because tbh, for Melee, Skull Kid would've been a great choice. And Midna woud've been great for Brawl. I would've easily prefered those two over Sheik, any time! Impa could still show up as a semi-clone, or an unique character though indeed. But chances are just... That much slimmer.

 

[D3monicWolv3s]

But having a playable Toad battling against a playable Peach who happens to have a Toad shield defies logic.

Considering that is a role Toad played in two previous smash games, it made it unlikely he was going to be anything else. Then Rosalina was confirmed. So yeah.

 

[Diddy Kong]

Toadsworth should've been made her Neutral B. Think it fits best. Would've been cool to have both Rosalina and Toad in.

Anyway, speaking of Impa, it's bad we've missed this oppertunity for her to replace Sheik as a separate character. Sure. It was one of the main reasons why I think Impa would've made a good choice. However, I still think she holds the edge over all other potential Zelda newcomers. Vaati and Ghirahim don't stand that much of a chance. If they'd opt for a Zelda villain, I think they'd chose Ganon any day of the week.

 

[Kind Dedede]

Toon link should have been axed in favor of Impa. Why does Sheik have to leave when we already have multiple repetitious swordsman from the Fire Emblem series? Ike and Marth both played slightly different and worked, so could Impa and Sheik.

I doubt that she will make the game this time around but if they add another character for LoZ series its between Impa or Ganon

 

[Diddy Kong]

Toon Link is quite and important part of the Zelda universe as of now. I always favored him greatly over Sheik cause of this.

Impa and Sheik could easily be as different as Marth and Ike if they'd want. Sure. It's just sort of unfortunate how Greninja has made it harder to envision another ninja-based character in Smash. If Impa has to get in, she'd have to differenciate herself from Sheik and Greninja somewhat. Otherwise people will complain about ninjas in Smash the same way as they are complaining about sword characters. However, I personally feel you cannot down talk on any character cause of similarities. Unless there really isn't that much a character can offer otherwise. Impa is not such a character.

 

[Kind Dedede]

Toon link was a nice take but I wouldn't consider him a standalone character in the world of Smash. May be why we haven't seen Paper Mario, seeing as how Toon Link is involved through overtaking Young Link from Melee. Why we still have him saddens and upsets me.

As for Impa, I don't think Greninja has such a standing force against her inclusion but will agree it dampers if a bit. Her main drawback is the lack of attention towards her inclusion for brawl. I could easily picturing Saki thinking who else is left from the LoZ series to include after the main 4 and settling on TL to bump them up to 5 reps.

 

[Pacack]

I honestly think Tingle has more of a chance than Impa at this point.

 

[Speculator]

Toon link should have been axed in favor of Impa. Why does Sheik have to leave when we already have multiple repetitious swordsman from the Fire Emblem series? Ike and Marth both played slightly different and worked, so could Impa and Sheik.

Going on number of appearances, Toon Link is the most prolific appearance of Link in the whole Zelda franchise. He's arguably more 'Link' than regular Link. Had it been up to me I might not have opted to keep him, but I totally understand why he's there.

Also, The Fire Emblem characters aren't repetitious. Marth and Ike don't fight "slightly differently". They have one similarity and it's that they both hold a sword - and not even the same kind of sword. Their fighting styles are totally independent of each other and it really irks me when people suggest that simply holding a sword is some kind of barrier to be included in in SSB. There were six swordfighters in Brawl and the only ones that fought even remotely similarly to one another were Link and Toon Link, and considering that they represent two incarnations of the same character I'd say that makes perfect sense.

I honestly think Tingle has more of a chance than Impa at this point.

Tingle has always been the frontrunner for a Zelda newcomer in my opinion. The question now is, will there be a Zelda newcomer at all?