Smash Ultimate and Legend of Zelda fans hoping to see Impa as a future DLC fighter may be out of luck as Nintendo announced its next Spirit event will celebrate Age of Calamity.
The Legend of Zelda hasn’t had a new representative in Smash Bros since Brawl when Young Link was discarded and replaced with Toon Link to match the recent Wind Waker art style.
While many have hoped to see the likes of Majora or other Zelda characters in Ultimate, the one that fans seemingly wanted the most was Impa – a relatively important figure in the franchise’s history.
With the release of Hyrule Warriors and more recently, Breath of the Wild’s prequel, Age of Calamity, fans have been pushing the idea more than ever that Impa could be coming to Smash, especially considering she is playable in both titles.
【スピリッツイベント】100年前の戦場へ ゼルダ無双 厄災の黙示録出現スピリッツその2スピリッツ名：インパ （厄災の黙示録）種類：アタッカー階級：ACEスキル：投てきアイテム強化出典：ゼルダの伝説 シリーズ#スマブラSP pic.twitter.com/2ZoncFKkzY
— 大乱闘スマッシュブラザーズ【スマブラ公式】 (@SmashBrosJP) January 6, 2021
That has all changed, however, as Nintendo recently announced its next Smash Ultimate Spirit Event will feature three Spirits from AoC, including Impa.
Though Spirits have become DLC fighters in the past, notably ARMS’ Min Min, there has yet to be a case of a non-base game Spirit becoming a playable character.
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It also seems unlikely that Nintendo would do this event with having Impa as a Spirit and then reveal her as a DLC fighter.
Fans on Reddit didn’t take the news too well: “It’s gonna be like 20 years between Toon Link and the next Zelda character.”
“Ah damn, Impa was my most wanted character, even though I felt like she was a long shot,” one user remarked. “Cool that the Warriors games are finally getting some kind of representation in Smash though.”
Others commented on how Impa was “the best part of AoC” with her unique moves that could have translated very well to Ultimate.
Even though Impa may not be coming, fans still haven’t completely given up hope that Fighters Pass Volume 2 will include a Zelda character, as Breath of the Wild 2 remains in development and it would make sense for Nintendo to use Smash to promote the game.