Impa is one of the characters who shows up most often in the Zelda series. Which version of this amazing woman do you like best?
Impa has been a background figure in many Zelda games over the years. He first showed up in the first Legend of Zelda game for the NES and has often been important to the story and freeing Hyrule in some way. She has always been an important and powerful character, but in some games, she is much more important than in others.
Impa’s role in the Legend of Zelda series changes a lot. In most of the 2D games, she’s a nursemaid, but in the 3D games, she’s a powerful ninja warrior and guardian. No matter what she does, Impa has always been an important part of the fight against Ganon.
A Link Between Worlds
Even though Impa was a more developed character by the time A Link Between Worlds came out, she had at best a small part in this 3DS game. Like most of her 2D appearances, Impa is Zelda’s nursemaid, and all she does is get taken by the main villain of the game, Yuga, and turned into a painting.
She is still one of the famous Sages with a lot of power, but she is always taken away before she can show what she’s made of.
The Legend Of Zelda
Impa is only mentioned by name in the game’s instructions, but she is in the first Legend of Zelda and actively looks for the hero so that he can save Princess Zelda from Ganon. After she found Link and sent him on his first trip, she didn’t do much else in the game and became more of a background character until the sequel, trip of Link.
Even though this version of Impa isn’t a warrior or Sage, she was a lot more involved in the story, and Zelda trusted her enough to leave her post and look for a hero to save Hyrule, so she must have been able to protect herself to some degree.
Adventure Of Link
The version of Impa in the second NES game acts a lot like the version in The Legend of Zelda, which makes sense since they are both the same character. In the sequel, when she sees the mark of the Triforce on the back of Link’s hand, she tells him about another Princess Zelda who has been sleeping for hundreds of years, gives him six crystals and a piece of paper, and shoves him out the door into a new adventure.
Just like in the first Legend of Zelda, Impa’s main job is to move the story along and point Link in the right direction. She doesn’t have much of a part in the story other than to help Link and be Princess Zelda’s nurse. But Impa seems to know a lot more about Hyrule’s past than was clear in the first game, so she may be hiding more secrets.
Oracle Of Ages/Oracle Of Seasons
Even though Impa’s version in Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons is once again Zelda’s nursemaid. She doesn’t just point Link toward Ganon like a loaded gun in these Game Boy Color games. Instead, she has a job to do.
In Oracle of Seasons, she pretends to be the cook for the Troupe of Performers to keep Din safe. She fails, though, and Link has to finish the job. She shows up several times in Oracle of Ages to help Link find hidden passages. Especially the one in Nayru’s house that goes to the Harp of Ages. Other than that, she doesn’t have much to do.
Breath Of The Wild
This weak old woman is the first Impa who cares a lot about the story. She was once a powerful Sheikah warrior who fought Calamity Ganon when he first woke up. But after Zelda went missing and Link was defeated and fell asleep for 100 years. She became the chief of Kakariko Village and ruled there until Link woke up after 100 years.
Link knocks on Impa’s door a hundred years too late. Impa tells him a short version of what happened, tells him to find memories of his past life as a Champion. And sends him off to beat Calamity Ganon. Even though this version of Impa is mostly there to explain things and give Link the Champion’s Tunic, it’s hard to forget how much she was involved in the first Great Calamity and how important she was in the battles against Ganon’s troops.
Hyrule Warriors
Based on her version in Ocarina of Time, Impa is a lot more violent than her earlier version. This is partly because of how Hyrule Warriors is played. But she still doesn’t have much to do with the plot. As a fighter, her Biggoron Sword and Naginata are good. But King Daphnes and Volga have similar weapons that are better.
Her biggest addition to the story is figuring out that something is wrong with Sheik. She knows all the members of her own clan, which is dying. But she can’t figure out that Sheik and Zelda are the same person.
Age Of Calamity
Impa’s version in Age of Calamity is a strong fighter and Princess Zelda’s defender, just like in Hyrule Warriors. However, this version, which is the younger version of the old woman seen in Breath of the Wild, is easily one of the best characters in the game.
Even though her fighting style is more like Sheik’s than Impa’s from the first Hyrule Warriors, she stands out from the other fighters. Because she can clone herself, which gives her one of the best DPS scores. She doesn’t have much to do with the plot, but she’s always there to protect Zelda and fight with Terrako when the story needs a break from the sad parts of the Great Calamity.
Tears Of The Kingdom
With the release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Impa’s story from Breath of the Wild and Age of Calamity continues. And our favorite hat-wearing old lady has a lot more gumption than she did in BOTW. Impa is happy to let her granddaughter take care of things at home in Kakariko Village, so she is off on her own trip.
Link is helped by Impa to figure out what some mysterious patterns drawn on the surface of Hyrule mean. Impa even goes up in the sky with Link in a balloon. (Although she thinks he could do a better job of steering.) It’s great to see Impa take on the role of a sort of historian. Which is without a doubt one of her best looks.
Ocarina Of Time
Even though Impa in Ocarina of Time didn’t look as badass as she did in the Warriors games. That doesn’t mean she wasn’t a key part of taking Ganondorf down after he broke the Triforce into three pieces.
In Slope Game, Impa seems to be both a guardian and a nursemaid. She rides Zelda out of Hyrule Castle to avoid Gandondorf’s anger and then teaches her how to protect herself by following the ways of the Sheikah tribe. Impa is one of the Sages that Link must find to beat Ganondorf. Just like she was in A Link Between Worlds. Since she can no longer protect Zelda, she gives that job to Link.
Skyward Sword
Impa may have been a big part of the first 3D Zelda game, Ocarina of Time. But she may have been even bigger and more important in Skyward Sword, the story of Ganon’s past.
In this story, not only is the older version of Impa an important figure who is sent back in time to protect the first version of the goddess Hylia. But her younger version also helps defeat Demise for good. She sends Link to her older self, who in turn tells him to add the three Sacred Flames to the Goddess Sword and make it into the Master Sword. The Master Sword is a key part of the story of almost every Zelda game in the series’ canon.
