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UndyingNephalim — Impa being a Sheikah
#darknut #impa #thelegendofzelda #vaati #agahnim #zeldaimpa
Published: 2014-10-17 01:52:02 +0000 UTC; Views: 2463; Favourites: 17; Downloads: 5
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Youtube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_j-GE…A sneak peak of the next level in Hyrule: Total War. Impa just being herself I guess.
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Comments: 27
This is by far the funniest Zelda cut scene I have ever watched.
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In Hyrule warriors the Gorons and Hyrule are allies established rather early in the first mission. I like to think the Gorons made the Goron blade as a gift for Impa as she is army general. Impa was most likely honored to receive such a gift as gorons forge powerful swords. Impa is quite noble so choose to wield it with pride, instead of the traditional sheikah naginata.
The weapon could also be a nod to OOT Kakariko village which was originally a sheikah village directly underneath Death Mountain. So it's likely that the Sheikah and Gorons in oot were on very good terms just something to think about.
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If I was Aganim (I know I butchered the spelling), I would tie the sword to her hand. If she managed to get out of even that one, then I would ragequit.
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This is fantastically hilarious, I do get what you mean about the giant sword for Impa.
Even if they were going for a samurai like design (mainly hinted by the unlockable spear for her), it'd be more practical to give her a katana and tanto as her standard weapon.
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I'm guessing they just wanted to make her look super cool, since for whatever reason stupidly huge Buster Swords have become insanely popular in a lot of Japanese fantasy media. Not really sure how they became so popular.
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In some series it probably matches the aesthetics, but yeah, sadly they seem to be thrown in left, right and center
No idea when it all began, I think for video games it may have been Cloud from FF7 that made them fashionable? Don't quote me on that though, just an educated guess.
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I'm mixed on Impa. The thing is, people associate the Sheikah with ninjas, when in reality, we've never seen them really do ANYTHING. The main primary thing they are associated with is Japanese culture in general. HW Impa was really inspired more by a Samurai than a Ninja, which makes much more sense.
I mean, yeah, I always associated Sheikah with ninjas as well. However, the only confirmed Sheikah we've ever seen is Impa, and Sheik who was just Zelda in disguise. Sheik is definitely ninja, but just one reference to ninjas does not mean the entire race was based on ninjas, that's a huge flaw in thinking.
Plus, there are other speculative Sheikah which are definitely not associated with ninjas in any way, shape, or form. Agahnim, for example, is speculated to be a Sheikah as he's got the Sheikah symbol on his robes. Renaldo is also thought to be Sheikah, and he certainly doesn't act like a ninja in any way. Impa never really did anything in OOT, and in SS, she barely did anything. Outside of HW, all of Impa's other variations were all the older design, and none of them were ninja-based by any means.
Impa is the most varied character in the entire series, so honestly, I'd say its perfectly characteristic of Impa to base one version of Impa on a Samurai. She's had so many variations its hard to call it uncharacteristic or anything. Anything we say about it is just fanon, plain and simple.
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I suppose I could list all the traits Impa has displayed that link her more to Ninja culture than Samurai, but I'll leave that up to you if you'd like a list.
Considering Agahnim is a Sheikah Wizard that throws fireballs in my game, I'm not exactly opposed to the Sheikah being more than just "Zelda Ninjas." My issue with the Buster Sword is not that they gave Impa something she's not normally associated fighting with, it's that they chose the most impractical weapon opposite of what has been established of her entirely for the sake of "looking cool." If the Buster Sword was so highly looked upon by Impa, why does she never have it in any other Zelda games? It sure would have been handy to chop up Ganondorf when she was escaping Hyrule Castle in OoT. Or that time when she fights off Ghirahim. Instead of using the iconic Ninjatō she clearly has strapped to her back in multiple Zelda games before, they give her something never referenced, mentioned, or anything from a past Zelda game and then go onto say it's the Giant's Knife... a Goron creation. Yeah good luck linking Gorons to Samurai. It's like giving Princess Zelda a bazooka. Yeah, it's entirely possible the Hylians have Rocket Launchers lying around somewhere and just because the Princess has never used them doesn't mean they don't exist.
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Well Gorons are loyal, strong dedicated warriors and weapons smiths. So it would not be difficult to compare them to samurai
"Iconic" Her sheikah dagger isn't what I call iconic, multiple? like when she was a big lady or an elderly?
"looking cool" The Bigoron Sword is an Iconic weapon in Zelda it's also two handed would you rather Link had gotten a more accurate claymore version giving link him seven weapons? The creator have gone on record saying they wanted to make impa very samurai like for that she needed an iconic sword.
As to why she doesn't have it in any other Zelda game? Impa has easily been the most different character from game to game from old to muscular to fat to lithe.
And yes a Bazooka type weapon was used in Twilight princess sooo yeeeah....
Also Impa is considered the face of the sheikah which makes me think of Hattori Hanzo who is more often than not portrayed as a ninja when in fact he was a Samurai who had a army of ninja and he was also from a ninja village.
Back to her Sheikah dagger it's so uniconic that most folks have never even seen it. In case you are wondering in game it has no sheath unlike the official art it also has a white line along the blade leading to the sheikah eye I'm actually hoping oot skin for impa
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I was confused at first on Impa's giant blade, but you can tell there's some Japanese ninja influence on her. Ninjas are stealthy and ninja also use giant blades in anime. I like her spear much better though....
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Actually the inspiration for her design was ss impa and samurai.
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Well anime, generally speaking does not portray ninjas in the most accurate of fashions. Seems ironic but I think it has more to do with just romanticizing the concept rather then trying to replicate the ones from history.
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The general concepts of ninjas in general, as I have ready, are completely flawed overall. As I'm doing a major focus on ninjas in a franchise I'm working on, I've done a lot of reading. As a whole, from what I've read, the speculative ninjas tended more to hide in plain site than sneaking around in the dark wearing black clothes.
That whole theme came from plays where stage hands wore black to signify that they weren't actually there, and later on, as part of plot twists the "stage hands" which wore black actually took part in the play, usually involving killing someone, which took viewers by surprise. This later became associated with ninjas, when it was never really connected to them before.
Also, ninjas didn't wield any specific type of weapon. They were trained to use literally anything as a weapon. Granted, a giant sword in particular would be something that a ninja certainly wouldn't be carrying around. (Of course, Impa was inspired by a Samurai in this game, rather than a ninja.)
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Well yes. That's the whole point of a ninja and how it's been easily skewed by the general public. Ninjas were never meant to be these big brute behemoths, nor the trained warriors that would fight you to the death like a samurai. They were Assassins. And the mere concept of being caught as a Ninja in Feudal Japan was the biggest shame in the community. If you were caught, you'd either have to get away as quickly as possible or be burned alive by the public. Summoning a Shadow Clone was not a way for you to get by at the time.
Also, from what I've read (And correct me if I'm wrong) Ninjas generally did not wear black, more specially "Jet-Black" when on a sneaky mission. A darker shade of blue was considered to be the more logical method since it blended in better.
That is an interesting fact. I heard some others talk about it. It does kind of make you giggle in how watered down the concept has become.
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Despite being a shot at Hyrule Warriors, the game has obviously influenced you. (Even slightly... although to be fair, you probably influenced IT more than anyone would admit.)
In Hyrule Warriors' defense, the giant sword for Impa makes sense for ONE reason: Zelda as Sheik used the small needles and speed weaponry. My guess is that the developers felt it'd be pretty boring to have two characters fight using the same exact style/weaponry. Though the solution of the "big sword" was indeed a pretty poor choice.
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This is why I love warriors >w< that was just beautiful on Impa's part all the way!
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Okay, why did I imagine Agahnim saying "...with your hands, please" at the end?
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Impa ain't gonna have none of this JRPG crap.
Joking aside, I giggle at the scenario of how Darknuts try to execute Sheikah criminals in a one on one competition. Isn't that a bit unfair? Like if they enslaved Kokiri would it just be Darknuts beating up little green kids? That's fucked up! XD
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But at least they'd give those Kokiri prisoners a giant Darknut sword!
Silliness aside, they probably have the one sided tournaments because just executing them without a fight, even a one sided fight, is considered dishonorable in their culture.
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Great video as always, though as the other guy said, sorta feels like a cheap shot against hyrule warriors. And to be fair to them, only two sheikah and some sparse lore were provided to build up said people. But heh, still some great stuff. Though I feel Volga may give her a run for her money. Can't top humanoid volvagia.
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It's probably safe to say when an entire culture is stated to be based on stealth in multiple Zelda games, that such a culture would not use Cloud's Buster Sword. Yes there have only ever been three Sheikah in canon Zelda games, but there's a lot on their culture in Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess, and even Skyward Sword. Even Super Smash Brothers, a wacky anything goes fighting game that generally breaks universes, has a Sheikah using extreme stealth based ninjitsu despite having the ability to fling fireballs. Considering Skyward Sword is based on the concept of Swords, why would Impa have never used such a wonking huge knife against Ghirahim in that game? Impa using a Buster Sword in Hyrule Warriors was entirely for the sake of "being cool," rather than being an extension of her culture's established fighting styles. Am I making any sense or just blabbering now? Why am I the only one who cares about integrity and consistency in a game about a dude in a green dress who throws pots at walls?
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Your not blabbering, just defending your view. When ever I heard about the sheikkah and being part of the shadows, I assumed that meant they were like the cia or black ops of hyrule. As for skyward sword, perhaps she thought a different weapon was needed,me specially with how tricky and clever girahim is.
Your not the only one though who has had an issue with hyrule warriors. As you've said previously, you prefer a little more subdued nature in your things. Though I did think of something to defend the silver scale usage for Ruto: since link wasn't a Zoral, he wasn't able to fully utilize the scale and, since she's both a zora and the water sage, Ruto is capable of things others aren't. Same for darunia and his hammer, heh.
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Not gonna lie, this feels like a cheap shot at Hyrule Warriors. :b But it's hilarious and badass, so I don't mind.
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I still feel like giving Impa the Buster Sword is like giving Princess Zelda a bazooka or Darunia a pitchfork. Awesome as it may be, it just isn't right.
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Impa using a Biggoron sword is perfectly acceptable, however some fans seem to have it in their head that Impa has to be a ninja even though she's been so many other things over the years.... Oh! and Auru did use a Bazooka esque weapon in twilight princess
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Signs that Impa was based on "Ninja Culture" prior to Hyrule Warriors:
- The Ninjatō. While it's true any class of martial arts could adopt this weapon, it's actually not a historically accurate weapon at all and was created for modern fiction exclusively tied ninja. It's called a "Ninja Sword" because it was specifically an entirely created to romanticize them.
- Virtually every single martial art that Impa displays prior to Hyrule Warriors is based on Kuji Kiri, a romanticized martial art used exclusively by Ninja derived from Taoist philosophy. In Ocarina of Time she performs Retsu with a Deku Nut, a move based entirely in Ninjutsu derived from this Taoism philosophy. She performs even more martial arts based on Kuji Kiri in Skyward Sword (which for the record also established the old lady Impa is simply the young stealth based Sheikah after she has grown old). Sheik displayed many more moves of this romanticized ninja martial art in the Super Smash Brother games, which Impa personally trained her in.
- Impa's outfit in Skyward Sword is based on a common disguise of Ninjas in Fuedal Japan, a Gappa and Zukin: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia…
This outfit is actually much more authentic to Feudal Ninja (it was pretty much just a peasant outfit worn during travels) than the modern "solid black jumpsuit" that Western media often portrays Ninjas in.
- Impa's Outfit in Ocarina of Time, though changed to be a little more impractical because it lacks the chain undershirt, is based almost exclusively on Ninja Kusari.
Impa's portrayals in past Zelda games have been really consistent, I'm really not sure where everyone seems to be getting this "she's different in every game" notion from. Considering that people don't even notice the weapon she's had in several games, it's probably because people just don't even pay attention to her. She is either A) A young and swift martial artist based in Kuji Kiri and the bodyguard of Princess Zelda or B) An old wisdom spouting lady that watches over Princess Zelda. Skyward Sword clearly establishes that the Old Lady Impa is simply the Young Impa grown into advanced age, the exact same person at two different points in time. As an Old lady she probably retains the martial knowledge she displays in her youth, but good luck pulling that off with old lady bones. The only remotely different depiction of Impa prior to Hyrule Warriors was her appearance as a muscular Nurse in the Oracle games, which is quite possibly entirely a fictional creation of Impa by the Triforce used to test Link. Impa as a Zweihander wielding warrior based in Samurai culture did not exist until Hyrule Warriors. That's not to say it's a bad thing, but the truth is they have completely changed her entirely for the sake of "being cool."
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I'm fully aware the ninja sword is a weapon oh Hollywood.
Throwing cows is pretty ninja esque
Before smash bros the only thing Captain Falcon ever did in a fight was shoot a bountyhead at pointblank range with a gun. The dev team wanted to include sheik but she had a lacking feat list "Vanish" is about the only canon move she has in smash. I'm actually quite happy they did away with the chain.
Also her weapons look NOTHING like a Zweihander. Not the shape, style or even size
and prior to HW sheikah naginata. Sheikah tribe only had a few items associated with them. The Trinity of Truth, Sheikah Daggers as Impa carries one and Sheik has one in official art along with her later smash designs and the gossip stones. Perhaps my imagination is just lacking but I do not see how she would have used a few of these with the exception of the daggee of course. However as Sheik is in the game and uses kunai as her primary physical weapon so having impa and sheik both with short knife like weapons would have been kinda not great I'm not saying they would have been the same but still.
And the most different thing is because
Link blond green clothes
Zelda switches it up but it's rare that you wouldn't know she's her
Ganondorf pretty familiar
even malon and epona looks pretty much the same
but impa?
Old and gray woman
Muscular white-haired Ninja-esque bodyguard
Corpulent nursemaid
Blond hair dark skin and lithe
Old with purple hair
Samurai with visual cues of oot and ss incarnations
I'm not saying you are wrong or have a bad opinion I just think the biggoron sword works for her in this setting, I can see what they went for and they nailed it for the most part I especially like she gets the actually Biggoron's Sword and it looks rather great. Although I'm actually hoping in future DLC she gets the Grappling Hook with a darkness element and she can use it like a kusarigama type weapon
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