Impa, the Enigmatic Sheikah, Sage of Shadow

[WeirdChillFever]

Lately I've been feeling more and more optimistic about Impa's chances....considering (not just the new Zelda game and her possible role within said game) but Zelda's 30th Anniversary next year...and (unlike for Metroid) Nintendo actually does try to celebrate Zelda anniversaries...
Besides Link, Zelda and Ganon; What other character has been apart of The Legend of Zelda since the beginning?

*Gohma!*

Ok...besides bosses...Impa of course...What better way to celebrate Zelda's longevity than by putting a DLC fighter that represents Zelda's history (to an extent)? Of course this wouldn't be the only way they'd celebrate it, but one of many things they could do...

Now I want Gohma for Smash.

 

[Diddy Kong]

So who here expecting to see Impa being revealed in the 20 Minute Presentation this Sunday?

 

[6 g0d]

So who here expecting to see Impa being revealed in the 20 Minute Presentation this Sunday?

trying not to get my hopes up but how amazing would it be my mouth is watering just thinking about it

 

[Diddy Kong]

I just had a sort of gut feeling, since a 20 minute long presentation is a lot of time for a game already released. She could very well be teased as a DLC fighter, or as an alternative costume to Sheik I thought.

 

[6 g0d]

who else saw the hyrule warriors 3ds leak becuase that could deffinitly hype up impa and make it much eassier for impa to get in

 

[POKEMANSPIKA]

who else saw the hyrule warriors 3ds leak becuase that could deffinitly hype up impa and make it much eassier for impa to get in

Impa was already in the game though.

 

[Yomi's Biggest Fan]

Impa was already in the game though.

I think he meant being easier for Impa due get in Smash due to more hype from the 3DS port.

 

[Diddy Kong]

Yeah I just saw the trailer, looking real good. Even though I never expected King Daphness as a new character, and him turning in the King of Red Lions. Tetra looks cool though. But I still hugely prefer Impa. And I think that a 3DS port could mean that a new title is in development, as it must've probably been done because the game got hugely popular. Which is another good sign for Impa, fortunately.

 

[6 g0d]

this is my worst nightmare ryu confirmed :[ and roy just looks.... weird...

 

[Diddy Kong]

this is my worst nightmare ryu confirmed :[ and roy just looks.... weird...

Don't be so upset, this is actually real good for Impa. Even if I don't personally feel so much for Ryu, it's a fact that these two characters where chosen outside of the Ballot. And they are even being released alongside Lucas. So that means they're creating much more characters at once than we thought before. Also, Roy not changing too much means that we've got at least 2 semi-clones as DLC. I don't think it's out of the possibility to think there will be more semi-clone characters as DLC. Especially for series with the need of a new character, as Donkey Kong and Zelda. Same exact thing happened with Brawl, and the Mother and StarFox series. So again, I see this as very positive for Impa's chances.

 

[6 g0d]

yeah diddy that accaully makes alot of sense :] in other good news DREAM LAND 64 im honestly the mopst exited about this who else is iching to hear that music again

 

[Diddy Kong]

Am actually quite confident Impa will make it in. She might just be a mere semi-clone, like . She and Dixie Kong seem the most likely characters for this treatment.

 

[Sir Gengar de Èctoplasma]

Am actually quite confident Impa will make it in. She might just be a mere semi-clone, like . She and Dixie Kong seem the most likely characters for this treatment.

Wolf isn't really a semi-clone... but I agree otherwise.

 

[Diddy Kong]

Wolf isn't really a semi-clone... but I agree otherwise.

Then Wolf is even a better example of how I think Impa will turn out eventually.

 

[6 g0d]

HYRULE CASTLE CONFIRMED not sure if it means anything but its zelda so it cant be bad :]

 

[Diddy Kong]

Yes I can't imagine it being bad news. Seems like Sakurai acknowlegdes Zelda doesn't exactly have a lot of content this time around. I just feel like spamming ballot votes right now for Impa because I really want her now more than ever.

 

[Nat Perry]

Impa has very slim/fat chances. On top of not being a Nintendo or Zelda all-star, she just doesn't have much to cull from in terms of moves. Sakurai will have to pull from some moveset out of his...brain, or use moves inspired by Hyrule Warriors involving her giant-аss sword and naginata. Which would be really odd, as characters' movesets are either inspired by their mainline games or they are contrived from scratch.

Maybe the new Zelda will have an Impa with some moveset potential. I'm not sure how they can top her Skyward Sword/Hyrule Warriors designs though. Because those are awesome.

 

[Jetmann]

Since all the DLC characters also have the splash tag-lines, I'd hope Impa's would be something like "Impa is ready to serve!" or "Impa materializes from the shadows!"

 

[Diddy Kong]

Impa has very slim/fat chances. On top of not being a Nintendo or Zelda all-star, she just doesn't have much to cull from in terms of moves. Sakurai will have to pull from some moveset out of his...brain, or use moves inspired by Hyrule Warriors involving her giant-аss sword and naginata. Which would be really odd, as characters' movesets are either inspired by their mainline games or they are contrived from scratch.

Maybe the new Zelda will have an Impa with some moveset potential. I'm not sure how they can top her Skyward Sword/Hyrule Warriors designs though. Because those are awesome.

I think she got the very best chances out of every potential Zelda newcomer. Her competition is really just Young Link, Toon Zelda, Tetra, Ganon and Vaati. I can't see any of these characters being chosen over Impa. Especially considering Impa has been with the Zelda franchise till the beginning, her role in Skyward Sword, and her being the first playable ally in Hyrule Warriors.

Young Link was never that popular and redundant with Toon Link around, Toon Zelda would be an obvious clone, Ganon is already pretty much in the game, and Vaati hasn't had an appearance in forever. Tetra is yet another variation of Zelda, and has less to work with than Impa if you want to insist on movesets from the mainline games.

I also fail to see why Impa couldn't get a Hyrule Warriors-inspired moveset, but in Tetra's case it's acceptable. Hypocrisy much? Not that Impa cannot be inspired from her Skyward Sword self, which at least provides Impa with two set Special Moves, the barrier and magical orb attack. Then, give her something iconic to being a Sheikah, the Deku Nuts, and boom, 3 Special Moves.

Judging by her stance she uses she could be easily inspired by the classic Monk-archetype. Fighting with her palms, pushes, and combine that with some ninja shenanigans, and her magical-based attacks and I think she's already a solid character. The best example I could find is the way Wang from Tekken fights.

It'd be a clever way to represent her being a Sage in Ocarina of Time, and her being graceful yet deathly, and it shows a defensive way of fighting, as she's Zelda's caretaker and bodyguard, plus it shows patience which is something you need when waiting for centuries to complete your mission. With some creative liberty, I think Impa would be the perfect character to represent Zelda with. She'll be sticking around, and most likely will be in Zelda Wii U to. I see no reason to chose anyone else but her from the Zelda franchise. If not now, surely in Smash 5.

 

[Nat Perry]

Now that you've showed me the video with her barrier and orb attack, I now see your point. I had clearly forgotten about that scene. She still doesn't have the best potential, but your point about her being a monk-type character akin to Wang sounds pretty awesome actually.

As for Tetra, I never said anything about her. Her getting a moveset inspired by Hyrule Warriors makes sense. She already had a sword in the first place and a pistol (?) makes sense as she is a pirate. The only thing that makes sense about Impa's water- and blade/naginata moveset is the naginata (naginata trope), which still doesn't make sense at all, but it works for the game I guess.

I'm more in support for Impa now that you've given me and explanation.

 

[Aetheri]

Keep in mind Sakurai has come up with movesets for characters from out of thin air before...

With Impa's ties to the Goddess of Time or her role as the Sage of Shadow as well as her being a Sheikah, she's got quite a bit to work with...especially if you include her abilities from Hyrule Warriors...

 

[TheDarkKnightNoivern]

Keep in mind Sakurai has come up with movesets for characters from out of thin air before...

With Impa's ties to the Goddess of Time or her role as the Sage of Shadow as well as her being a Sheikah, she's got quite a bit to work with...especially if you include her abilities from Hyrule Warriors...

Plus it's not like it'd be hard, some kicks, some magic attacks, some martial arts moves and bam, unique character

 

[Diddy Kong]

Well, at the very least Impa has more than enough tools to make her a very decent semi-clone character of Sheik. Since that's eventually what I think we're getting out of Impa, unless Smash 5 decides to swap Sheik for Impa with a similar playstyle (which I initially thought would happen).

The main difference between Impa and Sheik could be that Impa's ground game is more about Impa trying to create space for herself to zone people out. A more defensive playstyle. Which could be given extra flair by giving Impa additional KO power, and less mobility. Imagine her as a sort of combined and character, both styles in one. As was the original concept of both characters.

I believe with the upcoming Zelda Wii U game, and Zelda being one of Nintendo's biggest series all togheter, and the commercial success that is Hyrule Warriors, we are bound to have a Zelda character for DLC. And seeing as Impa''s competition is mainly different versions of characters we already have playable (and Vaati lol) and Impa has been with Zelda from the start of the series, had a significantly influential revival role in the game's 25th year anniversary celebration (aka, Skyward Sword) has been giving Link's second most iconic fighting style in Hyrule Warriors (Biggorron Sword) plus being Link's first recruitable ally in HW, and being the first playable character alongside Link revealed in the first place... I think Impa's chances are rock solid, as far as Zelda characters go.

The Toon Zelda fanbase thinks that Toon Zelda might be chosen as a pre-ballot DLC character, because she and Dixie Kong where originally planned for Brawl, part of the notorious 'Forbidden 7'. Togheter with a "Toon Sheik" but I do not share this sentiment, because first of all, Zelda and Sheik are now split up, thus if they'd still be looking for a "Toon Sheik" and searching for a character to be able to do magic shenanigans and ninja shenanigans Impa fits the deal. And thus might be chosen before either, unless they are looking for an extremely easy to make clone in Toon Zelda...

 

[TheDarkKnightNoivern]

Well, at the very least Impa has more than enough tools to make her a very decent semi-clone character of Sheik. Since that's eventually what I think we're getting out of Impa, unless Smash 5 decides to swap Sheik for Impa with a similar playstyle (which I initially thought would happen).

The main difference between Impa and Sheik could be that Impa's ground game is more about Impa trying to create space for herself to zone people out. A more defensive playstyle. Which could be given extra flair by giving Impa additional KO power, and less mobility. Imagine her as a sort of combined and character, both styles in one. As was the original concept of both characters.

I believe with the upcoming Zelda Wii U game, and Zelda being one of Nintendo's biggest series all togheter, and the commercial success that is Hyrule Warriors, we are bound to have a Zelda character for DLC. And seeing as Impa''s competition is mainly different versions of characters we already have playable (and Vaati lol) and Impa has been with Zelda from the start of the series, had a significantly influential revival role in the game's 25th year anniversary celebration (aka, Skyward Sword) has been giving Link's second most iconic fighting style in Hyrule Warriors (Biggorron Sword) plus being Link's first recruitable ally in HW, and being the first playable character alongside Link revealed in the first place... I think Impa's chances are rock solid, as far as Zelda characters go.

The Toon Zelda fanbase thinks that Toon Zelda might be chosen as a pre-ballot DLC character, because she and Dixie Kong where originally planned for Brawl, part of the notorious 'Forbidden 7'. Togheter with a "Toon Sheik" but I do not share this sentiment, because first of all, Zelda and Sheik are now split up, thus if they'd still be looking for a "Toon Sheik" and searching for a character to be able to do magic shenanigans and ninja shenanigans Impa fits the deal. And thus might be chosen before either, unless they are looking for an extremely easy to make clone in Toon Zelda...

After seeing Roy I really wouldn't mind a semi-clone anymore. Give her more kill power and less mobility as you said, maybe give her Zelda's magic properties on a few attacks (In blue though) and give her some unique special attacks (Sheik's wouldn't fit her imo) and she'd be a really unique yet still easy and quick to develop character

 

[Diddy Kong]

After seeing Roy I really wouldn't mind a semi-clone anymore. Give her more kill power and less mobility as you said, maybe give her Zelda's magic properties on a few attacks (In blue though) and give her some unique special attacks (Sheik's wouldn't fit her imo) and she'd be a really unique yet still easy and quick to develop character

Yes and I think that makes her an ideal candidate for a Zelda character, because her most likely contesters; Toon Zelda and Tetra would either be a full clone, or be be completely unique. So Impa is a great middle-of-the-road sollution. Also take note on how Lucas and Roy are semi-clones, and DLC, and that the most likely next candidate is Wolf, who's also a semi-clone. Dixie Kong also would most likely be a semi-clone, and many consider her the second most likely pre-ballot DLC character. So I believe Impa has a real solid chance.

 

[Diddy Kong]

Double post but, I just found this, and even though it's a clone Impa moveset, am still sharing it.

 

[6 g0d]

im really hoping she gets in tbh i think she would be incredible

 

[POKEMANSPIKA]

i think if she was a clone it would be of sheik considering she was a shiekah and the fast style would really fit her

I don't want Impa to be a clone, she has enough merit to be her own character. At most, I could tolerate a semi-clone.

 

[Diddy Kong]

Her getting in with an unqiue moveset seems unlikely to me, unless Sakurai is really feeling Hyrule Warriors - and wants to give it a character to represent. I could see that happen, but it might need to await the succes of Hyrule Warriors on 3DS. Another possibility of Impa getting a fully unique moveset is if she's heavily involved in Zelda Wii U, and they add her to the game to promote Zelda Wii U.

Am personally expecting her in as a semi-clone of , but she could be quite different from her statistically. Like and basically. Or and . I could see her getting the treatment to actually.

Impa could be added to the people who loved the character of , giving her key Melee Sheik moves as F Air, U Air, D Air (without dropping) and be a bit slower and heavier (also taller). She could have the Chain, but I'd rather not see that. As a semi-clone, Deku Nuts would suit as a real great replacement for the Burst Grenades, and a chargable magical projectile for neutral B could emulate the Needles. Think Fire Balls and Pills .

Bouncing Fish is a great move, so that is the move I'd most want to stay if Impa gets in as a semi-clone. However, that would probably mean no barrier attack, but I could live without if I'd had to. Bouncing Fish is just a very well designed move, and if Impa can be a more viable character because of it- that'd be great.

Still hoping to see her included.

 

[6 g0d]

impa as melee sheik Kreygasm that would make all my dreams come true impa and melee sheik in smash 4 just the thought of it gets me hyped

 

[Serell]

Recently saw the Hyrule Warriors for 3DS trailer. Never been much of a LoZ fan, but a playable Midna? Count me in. But in that trailer I also saw Impa, and she looked pretty cool. Lately I've been thinking to myself, "What is Smash mising?," and that is giant-ass swords and hair whipping. Shantae would cover the hair-whipping, and Impa with that giant blade of hers looked really cool. But from lightly skimming this thread, I'm guessing she doesn't normally use a giant sword, or that it was made up for hyrule warriors?
Would appreciate someone to enlighten me on who Impa is. If she's an over-sized-sword wielder that is relevant to one of Nintendo's most successful franchises, I'll throw my support towards her. But no giant-ass sword, no vote.

 

[PhantomShab]

I'm guessing she doesn't normally use a giant sword, or that it was made up for hyrule warriors?

Nope, not ever.

I don't support Hyrule Warriors' Impa btw.

 

[WeirdChillFever]

I think that Impa could be the Dr. Mario to Mario.
Heavier and stronger, lending to different comboes.

 

[Diddy Kong]

Recently saw the Hyrule Warriors for 3DS trailer. Never been much of a LoZ fan, but a playable Midna? Count me in. But in that trailer I also saw Impa, and she looked pretty cool. Lately I've been thinking to myself, "What is Smash mising?," and that is giant-*** swords and hair whipping. Shantae would cover the hair-whipping, and Impa with that giant blade of hers looked really cool. But from lightly skimming this thread, I'm guessing she doesn't normally use a giant sword, or that it was made up for hyrule warriors?
Would appreciate someone to enlighten me on who Impa is. If she's an over-sized-sword wielder that is relevant to one of Nintendo's most successful franchises, I'll throw my support towards her. But no giant-*** sword, no vote.

No they indeed made up the Giant Sword fighting style in Hyrule Warriors. And I think that personally, it's a great style fitting for Smash. Imagine a agile, light weighted character with long range, heavy blows and great jumps? Not exactly a rushdown character, because she'd probably have too much endlag for that, but still it's an archetype that's not yet into Smash. The only thing I imagine comes close is on Speed / Jump Monado Arts.

Still, Hyrule Warriors now is getting a 3DS release- so that makes it far more possible to get any sort of notice in Smash Bros. And Impa is Link's first actual ally in that game, and the two handed blade style was first used by Link, in Ocarina of Time. So it's certainly a quite iconic fighting style, even if Impa totally does something else with it than Link. Look at how many weapon styles Link has in Hyrule Warriors, but none for the Biggorron Sword. Young Link comes closest with the Fierce Deity Mask, but it's Impa who has the actual Biggorron Sword.

I'm actually down for Impa in all sort of ways. I'd accept her inspired by Hyrule Warriors, with either the Biggorron Sword, or Naginata - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Q9x4yjxKis , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwWTYcFgHZo - or even better, a combination of both styles, where she summons both weapons through magic (like she does in the videos, with the elemental spears as projectiles and the weapons actually being summoned out of nothing, like does it).

Or, if we're getting Skyward Sword Impa, I'd want her to use the Timeshift Orbs to manipulate time, and use her barrier to be a more defensive character, being a sort of mix between and . Zoning with magical powerful attacks, and casting barriers like . But agile and combo-based as . Maybe make her more defensive than both to.

And yet another possibility is her being a semi-clone of , but with statistical changes added to her. Imagine and or . Yet, I feel that and Impa could easily be as unique compared to each other as the likes of in relation to . Or in relation to . Definiate similarities, but still hugely different and can only be compared on a shallow level.

Remember how everyone said that could never get in due to being too similar to ?
Same was said about in relation to .

Am really looking out for when they release , cause if they could create in such a short time, the time they might've spend what we think is development time for Wolf and a Ballot Character, could actually be spend on more semi-clones like ... And I easily think that Impa and Dixie Kong are the best contenders for these extra DLC character. Both are from relatively big series with no newcomer yet, so they are saver additions than most others. And they've recently showed up their face again in their respective franchises- and both are actually famous enough for most DKC and Zelda fans to recognise.

I really hope am right with this all. Because whatever will happen with the choice of a Ballot Character, I'd be more than satisfied with the roster if it has both Impa and Dixie Kong.

EDIT: Moveset I made just now:

Spoiler

Impa, the protective guardian of Princess Zelda of Hyrule.

Captain of Hyrule's Army in Hyrule Warriors, and Chosen Warrior to protect Zelda's mortal form in the future in Skyward Sword. Sage of Shadows, and Sheikah instructor to Princess Zelda in Ocarina of Time.

Concept: Rushdown Poker / Adaptive (Hyrule Warriors moveset)

Concept justification: Impa would create a new concept in Smash Bros. that brings the style of Hyrule Warriors into Smash. Justification here is that Hyrule Warriors makes it's way to the 3DS now, which makes it more likely for this spin-off title to become a "main-spin-off" title to the Zelda franchise. Much like say, Paper Mario, Mario & Luigi, and similar titles are to Mario.

Impa is a character that is highly relevant to the 'story' of Hyrule Warriors, and is the only character from the game who's not in Smash Bros. to have gotten a new redesign not exactly based on any of her previous looks. Infact, it combines her most ironic roles from Sage of Shadow (OoT), and Hylia's Chosen Warrior (SS). This was one of the detractor's most used arguement against Impa's inclusion: she had no standarised design, ranging from an old woman in the orignal Zelda's handbook, to a fat elderly woman (able to lift cows) in the Oracle games, to the more iconic Sheikah appearances of OoT and Skyward Sword, and again being an old woman in ALBW.

This does opt for a lot of styles for Impa however, and I am going to cover all options here in this thread. Starting however, with the Impa from Hyrule Warriors. I'll state the reasoning for other Impa incarnations in other posts related to her here after this one.

Hyrule Warriors is a typical Hack & Slash game, and with the way how enemies are obliberated in this game, it's hard not to picture such style working greatly in Smash Bros. Controlling the battle field with aggresive, longranged weaponary mixed with agility would be Impa's main fighting style in this incarnation. However, translating Impa from Hyrule Warriors to Smash should make her a little slower overall.

Impa would be a character with amazing agility, matching the likes of with her moves with fast excecution and high mobility but she'd set her self apart by the usage of her weaponary. Roy does this in a similar way but Impa would have more range, and compared to Roy she has ending lag on her moves which make her more similar to in this regard. So she's a character that's all about keeping space, controlling space, and minding her every step, because she'd probably end up as a taller light weight with similar weight to .

Her attacks would have long hitboxes though to create safety, and she'd have a couple of weaker get-off me attacks in which she won't use her sword. Her dash attack for example could be much like a weaker version of 's, but sends the opponent up similary to follow up on her aerial attacks.

Her weapon attacks deal a lot of damage, and have long excecution and major after lag, but they come out very fast, so creating space is essential with Impa.

Special Moves:

B: Spirit Weapon. Impa meditates shortly and blue magic engulves her and blue spirit weapons begin to form around her unleashing a ranged short distance projectile weapon with great priority.
Side B: Spirit Spears. Impa charges up magical spear projectiles that hail down on her enemies from above. Very good for creating a distance between enemies.
Down B: Focus Attack. Impa focusses her blade, which becomes infused with elemental powers (water or fire, or both) and then leaps out on her enemies, dealing considerable damage.
Up B: Spin Leap. Quite similar to Aether but the spin she does in the beginning deal the most damage, no landing hitbox. Best suited to jump upwards vertically, but follows a set horizontal distance in the air.

AAA, D Tilt, U Tilt and Dash Attack are quicker rushdown attack involving kicks and light punches, in case of the dash attack a shoulderbash.

U Air is a double moon spin kick where Impa holds her weapon to balance but attacks by kicking.
B Air involves Impa hitting with the hilt of her blade and doing a kick afterwards.

D Air, N Air, F Air are all huge sword swings that cover a lot of distance, F Air would be mainly used for approaching and also getting KOs. D Air can KO as well.
F Smash is a leaping attack that covers as much range as Shulk's D Smash, but also has considerable lag afterwards.
D Smash is a double spinning attack that functions much like Ike's U Smash but is far more precise and more suited for damaging, less than punishing or KOing.

Uniqueness Factor:

Creates a rushdown character that's essentially full of strategy and punishing compared to the others who are constantly all about getting stage control. Impa creates stage control by being extremely careful in her doings, and chipping in damage little by little, but consistantly, which forces people to approach her differently than other characters. Her rushdown style really comes into play once she has to deal with other zoners. Cause with Impa's mobility and range, she has a good chance to strike before projectile users can create a comfortable distance. Very prone to being punished herself, and being a lightweight with gimpable recovery, Impa's offensive traits should not be abused, even though it'd be extremely tempting due to the damage she can dish out in a relatively short period if all goes to plan.

 

[TheDarkKnightNoivern]

I still think constructing a unique moveset using Sheik as the base would be very possible. A kick here, a karate chop there, a magic attack there and boom unique normals. Specials wouldn't be hard either, a chargeable projectile that looks like the one she used to close the gate of time, the gate of time itself as an up special telport, the barrier attack which would act similarly to Zelda's down B except it stays out longer and reflects projectiles, but doesn't travel very far and isn't chargeable. I'm not sure about side-special but it'd be cool if she used the timeshift stones in some way

Also, I saw someone on for glory yesterday with the tag "Impa4Smash". I think I'm gonna start doing the same, we also need to start drumming up more support on miiverse as well as the Hyrule warriors miiverse

 

[Diddy Kong]

Am going to work on other movesets for Impa to to really create an overall better awareness of just how much this character has to offer as a playable character for Smash. Just a few hours ago, I did a moveset for Hyrule Warriors (albeit not 100% complete, but it captures the essence of a moveset). And am planning on doing Skyward Sword Impa next.

 

[Serell]

No they indeed made up the Giant Sword fighting style in Hyrule Warriors. And I think that personally, it's a great style fitting for Smash. Imagine a agile, light weighted character with long range, heavy blows and great jumps? Not exactly a rushdown character, because she'd probably have too much endlag for that, but still it's an archetype that's not yet into Smash. The only thing I imagine comes close is on Speed / Jump Monado Arts.

You said exactly what I was trying to say. Smash needs a lightweight character with long range, heavy hits, and good jumps. Shulks comes sorta close, but eh... not really.
Welling, seeing how it is unlikely that Impa would be that, I'll venture on in my quest for a good candidate to fit this missing role in Smash.

Really not too interested in having a semi-clone of the #1 top tier...

 

[TheDarkKnightNoivern]

You said exactly what I was trying to say. Smash needs a lightweight character with long range, heavy hits, and good jumps. Shulks comes sorta close, but eh... not really.
Welling, seeing how it is unlikely that Impa would be that, I'll venture on in my quest for a good candidate to fit this missing role in Smash.

Really not too interested in having a semi-clone of the #1 top tier...

I think Impa could be that, assuming they went with Skyward Sword Impa who has superlong arms, they could even add magic properties to further extend it. She'd likely be pretty light due to her skinny build but she'd still be strong since that would be fitting of her character. Plus she's a ninja which would mean she would probably have good jumps if Sheik and Greninja are anything to go by.

 

[Diddy Kong]

You said exactly what I was trying to say. Smash needs a lightweight character with long range, heavy hits, and good jumps. Shulks comes sorta close, but eh... not really.
Welling, seeing how it is unlikely that Impa would be that, I'll venture on in my quest for a good candidate to fit this missing role in Smash.

Really not too interested in having a semi-clone of the #1 top tier...

Yes Impa could really offer a lot, even in her Skyward Sword appearance. Which many prefer, due to it being part of the mainline Zelda franchise. But, I could see Hyrule Warriors ending up being it's own spin-off series in the Zelda franchise now that it's getting a 3DS port. It'll probably even grow more popular when Zelda Wii U comes out.

Anyway, about Skyward Sword's Impa as a more unique character, she has a lot to work with still. She could probably make use of time-related abilities, because she's a time traveller. I brought up Timeshift Orbs and Stones for her moveset before, and people have begun to embrace that idea. She could be the ideal mix between and , but be more defensive than both in the end.

Already made quite a description about this sort of Monk style with magic and time related abilities for Skyward Sword Impa. Am gonna flesh it out a little more, but I think that style to would be highly unique, and wouldn't need to draw upon other characters for inspiration. That's why I think Impa could've been on Sakurai's mind for a while, since there's quite a lot what could be done with her.

Still hoping for Impa as a pre-ballot character. But again, we don't know exactly how Sakurai is handling the ballot, so anything could happen. Am still hoping Impa could get a few extra votes before October. When exactly will Hyrule Warriors be out for 3DS? We might see Impa around that time even?

 

[TheDarkKnightNoivern]

Yes Impa could really offer a lot, even in her Skyward Sword appearance. Which many prefer, due to it being part of the mainline Zelda franchise. But, I could see Hyrule Warriors ending up being it's own spin-off series in the Zelda franchise now that it's getting a 3DS port. It'll probably even grow more popular when Zelda Wii U comes out.

Anyway, about Skyward Sword's Impa as a more unique character, she has a lot to work with still. She could probably make use of time-related abilities, because she's a time traveller. I brought up Timeshift Orbs and Stones for her moveset before, and people have begun to embrace that idea. She could be the ideal mix between and , but be more defensive than both in the end.

Already made quite a description about this sort of Monk style with magic and time related abilities for Skyward Sword Impa. Am gonna flesh it out a little more, but I think that style to would be highly unique, and wouldn't need to draw upon other characters for inspiration. That's why I think Impa could've been on Sakurai's mind for a while, since there's quite a lot what could be done with her.

Still hoping for Impa as a pre-ballot character. But again, we don't know exactly how Sakurai is handling the ballot, so anything could happen. Am still hoping Impa could get a few extra votes before October. When exactly will Hyrule Warriors be out for 3DS? We might see Impa around that time even?

It's supposed to be out Q1 2016. So a little before Zelda Wii U most likely which, assuming she's actually in it, would be great for Impa