Super Smash Bros. Ultimateis arguably the definitive iteration ofSmash, including every past character from previous games, adding long awaited characters like Ridley and Banjo & Kazooie, and even bringing some unexpected surprises likeMinecraft’s Steve and Sephiroth fromFinal Fantasy 7. Now, with 3 more slots to be filled inSuper Smash Bro Ultimate’s Fighters Pass Vol. 2, there are more questions than ever as to who will join the all-star roster.
The latest iteration ofSmashintroduced a new feature known as Spirits, the battle-aiding power-ups which have given representation to many series inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate. While characters like the Mach Rider and Shantae may not make it intoSmashas playable fighters, at least they live on in the celebration of video games in some form as Spirits. However, Spirits have also introduced some new fan rules to many, potentially deconfirming many fan-requested characters, and a newHyrule Warriors: Age of CalamitySpirit Board eventhas deconfirmed one highly-requestedZeldacharacter as DLC in the eyes of many.
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Spirit Fan Rules Explained
Over the years, fan rules have dictated speculation, completely ruling out playable characters like Geno due to theinclusion of his Mii Costume inSmash Ultimateor even Shadow the Hedgehog andGolden Sun’s Isaac due to being Assist Trophies. However, newer fan rules have to do with Spirits andSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate’s Spirit Board events.
Many fans have decided two things when it comes to Spirits, the first being that if a character not yet available as a playable fighter already has a Spirit inUltimate, that Spirit is their representation inSmashand thus rules them out from being added as DLC. The second Spirit fan rule is that sinceUltimateseems to hold off on releasing series' Spirit Board events for when a particular series' DLC fighter is added to the game, a character whose series has already had a Spirit Board event is also ruled out.
The release of Min Min last June disproved the fan rule that characters who already have Spirits won’t be made playable, giving some fans hope that a character like Paper Mario could still be added to the game. However, many considered Paper Mario to be deconfirmed when aPaper Mario: The Origami KingSpirit Board eventwas held last August, since many assume it means the developer wasn’t holding off on releasing aPaper MarioSpirit Board for the character’s playable release. Now, many fear thatHyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity’s Impa may suffer the same fate.
The Character in Question: Impa
It would be an understatement to say that fans want Impa inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate, with some going as far as creating entire movesets for the character to mod her into pastSmashgames. However, there’s no denying thatZeldacharacters are complicated, with there being more than several iterations forcharacters like Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf,and Impa is no different. In almost everyZeldagame, Impa has appeared as either a village elder, a nursemaid to princessZelda, or a younger, agile protector and aid to the princess. It goes without saying that the latter is the iteration of Impa that many fans have requested to see inSmash, and a new young Impa inHyrule Warriors: Age of Calamityseemed to increase the character’s likelihood of making it in as DLC.
While many ofUltimate’s DLC characters have come from series that are new toSmash,DLC fighters like Bylethand Sephiroth have shown that characters from series that already have playable fighters can still be added to the game, which led many to note that it has been quite a while since a newZeldarepresentative was added toSmash.
Initially, many fans thought that Zelda fromBreath of the Wildwas the most likely choice for a DLC character from the series, being that a sequel to the game is already on the way, and multiple versions of the same character inSmashis not unheard of, especially when it comes to Link. But recently, the introduction of Impa’s latest iteration drew fans to advocate even stronger for the addition of the princess' loyal protector instead.
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Impa’s Chances
Impa’s representation in theSmashseries has been rather scattered, not even receiving anything so much as anAssist Trophy in the series. InSuper Smash Bros. for 3DS and Wii U, different iterations of Impa fromSkyward SwordandOcarina of Timeappeared as trophies in the game, essentially ruling out the character from being added as DLC. InSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate, Impa fromOcarina of Timewas added as a Spirit, and while that initially deconfirmed the character for some fans, hope was restored when Min Min gracefully broke that first Spirit fan rule. But now it seems that Impa’s chances may once again take a big blow thanks to the second Spirit fan rule.
InSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate’s most recent Spirit Board event, an Impa (Age of Calamity) Spirit was added to the game along with Master Kohga and Diminutive Guardian Spirits. While the latter two characters aren’t highly requested forSmash, Impa’s inclusion as a Spirit came to the dismay of many fans, since if the Impa fromAge of Calamitywere to be added toUltimateas a DLC fighter, it is highly likely that anAge of CalamitySpirit Board event would have been saved for her playable release. Now, with two differentSpirits inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate,Impa’s chances of being added to the game seem lower than ever.
Where Impa Stands Now
If fans of the series have learned anything, it is thatSuper Smash Bros.is anything if not surprising. Time and time again, fan expectations have been blown out of the water, especially withUltimate. So, while Impa’s chances of being added toSuper Smash Bros. Ultimateas a DLC fighter seem rather dire, there is always a chance that Sakurai makes an exception for the popularZeldacharacter, but how could that play out? Of course, there are the chances thatUltimatebreaks the second Spirit fan rule by adding Impa fromHyrule Warriors:Age of Calamityanyway, but for now, while anAge of CalamitySpirit Board event may rule out the character fromSmash’s roster, it’s important to note that there are other iterations of Impa that could be added to the game.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimatemade a big change to manyZeldacharactersin the game, altering some of their appearances to represent different games in the franchise. While some characters' appearances didn’t change, Link was changed to representBreath of the Wild, Zelda was changed to representedA Link Between Worlds, and Ganondorf was changed to representOcarina of Time. These changes made it clear thatSmashis focused on representing the diversity of the series, so adding Impa from anotherZeldagame as a DLC fighter could play into this as well.
AlthoughSuper Smash Bros. Ultimatehas held differentZelda-themed Spirit Board events, there have not yet been events focusing on eitherOcarina of TimeorSkyward Swordspecifically. Min Min breaking the first Spirit fan rule could prove helpful for Impa here, having her join theUltimateas herOcarina of Timeiteration. What may be even more likely though is the addition ofSkyward Sword’s young Impa. Not only does this version of Impa have no representation inSmashyet, but still lends itself to an agile moveset and would also represent a newZeldagame in theSmashroster. What’s more is that aSkyward SwordImpa could tie-in to the release of thelong-rumoredSkyward SwordSwitch port.
Although everything seems up in the air when it comes to which characters are added toSuper Smash Bros. Ultimateas playable fighters, it is always fun to speculate. For now, whether fanscope with the loss of Genoor discover wild new combos for characters daily, it seems likely that more surprises await fans of the game this year.
