One of the biggest appeals of Hyrule Warriors: Age Of Calamity is that fans can experience historical events only referenced in Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild. As such, the game dives into the past of characters like Impa, Zelda's loyal companion and grandmother to Paya, giving players a brand new perspective on the lore.
In addition, Impa is a legacy character who appears in different variations across several Zelda games, so fans of the series also get a new look at Impa in comparison to the others who share her name. Impa is not just the resident ninja of Age Of Calamity, but also a character with many secrets waiting to be discovered.
She's A Hyrule Warriors Staple
Any player of Age Of Calamity will probably know that Impa is the first unlockable character that can be recruited, but fans who are new to the franchise may not know that is a repeated role for her. In the first Hyrule Warriors, Impa is also the first character that can be recruited.
This means that Impa is set to become a series staple, as future titles will almost definitely feature her as a playable character and may continue this trend of her as the first recruit. Since Impa is often a supporting character in Legend Of Zelda, this franchise may give her the opportunity to become a more prominent presence.
She's The Youngest & Least Experienced Version Of Herself
The version of Impa seen in Breath Of The Wild is over 100 years old, but most other versions of the character at least depict her as being significantly older than Link and Zelda. With this age often comes the experience of a seasoned royal advisor with impressive battle skills.
In Age Of Calamity, then, Impa is not quite as experienced as her counterparts with the same name, although her skill in the game's massive battles doesn't show it. Instead, this age difference is frequently shown in how close Impa is to Zelda and Link, framing her as a friend more than a mentor.
She's Reminiscent Of Sheik
In the first Hyrule Warriors, Impa played like a heavy hitter, using gigantic weapons in battle and appearing as a seasoned military veteran in cutscenes. Sheik, meanwhile, takes the role of the speedy, tricky ninja in that game, a role that Impa takes over with her moveset in Age Of Calamity.
Since Sheik does not appear in Age Of Calamity, it makes sense that another character would take over her unique fighting style, and Impa's connection to the Sheikah tribe makes her the perfect candidate. Thus, players who had fun playing as Sheik in the first game feel at home with Impa's style here.
Her Gliding Technique Comes From Mario
Every character in Age Of Calamity has their own unique animation for using the paraglider, and Impa's technique is familiar to fans of the Super Mario games. Impa's gliding animation, in which she bends all four limbs behind her to hold onto her paraglider, resembles Cape Mario's flying animation from Super Mario World.
Given that both Zelda and Mario are Nintendo franchises, this detail seems like a clear crossover between Zelda and another fan-favorite franchise, as well as an Easter egg for fans. Impa and Mario are very different characters, but they're connected by this visually striking flying style.
Her Older Self Is Played By The Same Actor
The English versions of Impa in both Breath Of The Wild and Age Of Calamity are both portrayed by voice actor Andi Gibson, despite the age difference for the character. Gibson performs both versions of the character differently, representing Impa across the century-long gap between games.
In voice acting, it makes sense that a performer can portray a character at multiple ages, but the act is still impressive, as it requires the performer to change the age of their voice. By using the same actor across these two eras, Impa is also portrayed to fans as a more unified character across appearances.
She Fills A Different Role Than Usual
Often, Zelda games cast Impa as a militaristic leader or an older mentor and guardian to the young Zelda (even going to great lengths to protect Zelda in Impa's most memorable moment), but the fact that Impa is aged down in Age Of Calamity changes her role. She still serves in an advisor position for the young princess, but she is more of a peer and friend.
As such, the relationship between Impa and Zelda in Age Of Calamity presents fans with a new perspective on the duo. This point of view both references the traditional roles that Impa plays and alters the character in several ways, making her presence across the franchise feel more complex.
She's The Clumsiest Version Of Impa
Typically, the different versions of Impa depict her as a wise and stoic woman who is fairly serious, so Age Of Calamity's Impa is unique in that she is quite clumsy. New fans of the franchise may not realize that the comic-relief elements of Impa's character seen here are unusual for her.
The decision to make Impa a little less serious suggests a new direction for the character moving forward, as well. While the series seems like it is staying in the world of Breath Of The Wild for the near future, perhaps later installments will change legacy characters like Impa, Link, and Zelda more radically.
She's Almost Identical To Paya
Many players would probably say that Impa in Age Of Calamity looks identical to her granddaughter Paya in Breath Of The Wild off of memory. Looking at both characters reveals a few small differences, though, such as the fact that Impa has longer hair, their face paint is colored differently, and Paya has thicker eyebrows.
The similarities between these characters are not surprising, but these slight differences show how these two characters displaced by time are not quite the same. They both befriend Link at around the same age, but Impa is a confident friend of Link's, while Paya is very shy, perhaps because of her single relationship status and crush on the hero.
She's Heavily Inspired By Naruto
As a ninja, it makes sense that Impa would draw on other ninja media, although her clearest and most prominent connections are to Naruto. Not only does Impa summon clones and frogs like Naruto, but she also uses some of the many hand signs that Naruto is known for.
Since Naruto is probably one of the most famous fictional ninjas, it makes sense that Impa's design would draw from him and his franchise, although the degree to which she resembles him is notable. With the sequel to Breath Of The Wild coming up, perhaps fans will see more connections between the Sheikah ninja and Naruto.
She Is Approximately 20 Years Old
In the Zelda games, character ages are not often easily found, if they are provided at all, but Impa's age can be approximated due to information from the book The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Creating a Champion. This book states that Impa is around 120 years old in Breath Of The Wild.
Since Age Of Calamity takes place 100 years before Breath Of The Wild, Impa must be around 20 years old during the events of this game. Given that she is presented as a peer to Link and Zelda, this makes sense, as both of those characters are presented as young adults in this game.