Tingle (character)

Tingle
The Legend of Zelda character
File:Tingle.jpg Tingle
First game	The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (2000)

Tingle (チンクル, Chinkuru) is a fictional video game character of The Legend of Zelda series, first appearing in The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask in 2000. Since then, he has appeared in each installment of the series up to The Minish Cap, except for Oracle of Seasons and Four Swords. Since then, he has not made in-person appearances in the main The Legend of Zelda series, due primarily to a perceived unpopularity of the character in the United States. Instead, he has gone on to star in his own video games for the Nintendo DS: Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland, currently released in Japan and Europe, and Tingle's Balloon Fight DS, exclusive to Japan.

Characteristics

File:Normal tingle3.jpg

Tingle as he appears in Majora's Mask.

Tingle is a short, paunchy 35-year-old man who is completely obsessed with "forest fairies" and dresses up in a green costume, slightly resembling that of the main character, Link. He is about a foot shorter than Link in his Wind Waker incarnation, and so can be judged as less than three feet tall, although he appears to be much taller in Majora's Mask. In Majora's Mask, he wears tight red shorts and a necklace with a clock that is permanently stuck at four o'clock. Tingle is normally seen floating around on his red balloon, drawing and selling maps for his father, who sees him as "a fool". He is also known for his catchphrase: "Tingle-Tingle, Kooloo-Limpah!".

Tingle appears to have a fixation for Rupees and other similar collectibles, such as Force Gems in Four Swords Adventures and Kinstones in The Minish Cap. In Majora's Mask, Tingle can be found around Termina selling maps, and in The Wind Waker, he translates Triforce Maps for a high price, among other things. Tingle's fixation for Rupees is explained in his Nintendo DS title Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland, where it is stated that Tingle needs Rupees to live, as a result of a curse placed on him by Uncle Rupee.

Appearances

According to Nintendo, most The Legend of Zelda games take place several generations apart, with The Wind Waker taking place hundreds of years after the events of Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, yet Tingle has been in every Zelda game since his debut in Majora's Mask, except for the port of A Link to the Past on the Game Boy Advance. He does not appear in Twilight Princess or Phantom Hourglass, however there is a picture of Tingle in Phantom Hourglass. This may imply that there are several Tingles throughout time, just like there are many incarnations of Link and Princess Zelda, or that Tingle is a single entity living through many generations.

Majora's Mask

Tingle made his debut in the Nintendo 64 title Majora's Mask. Throughout Link's adventure, Tingle helps Link navigate the land of Termina by selling him maps of various areas (although, Link has to shoot down Tingle's balloon with the bow and arrow or the bubble technique used in Deku form). His maps come cheaper if bought in their respective areas. Tingle appears in several areas, including Clock Town, Romani Ranch, Snowhead and Ikana Canyon. His father operates the pictograph contest at the Woodfall Swamp, and is ashamed by his son's antics, although he admits that perhaps he spoiled him too much.

Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages

Tingle appears in the land of Labrynna in Oracle of Ages, and gives Link a chart that he needs to cross the sea. Tingle will also give Link an upgrade to the Seed Satchel in a linked game, which can hold 99 of every seed.

Tingle doesn't appear in Oracle of Seasons, but he is mentioned by a fairy who thinks he should grow up. However, the fairy is too busy and asks Link to tell Tingle her message in the form of a secret.

The Wind Waker

Tingle's first appearance in The Wind Waker is in a small, dingy prison cell on Windfall Island for being a nuisance to others and stealing a Picto Box. When freed, Tingle gives Link the Tingle tuner, a device that can be used if the player connects a Game Boy Advance to the GameCube via the Nintendo GameCube-Game Boy Advance cable. This allows a second player to control Tingle to help the first player, or allow one player to multi-task between the controller and the Game Boy Advance by selling him potions, providing him with a shield, allowing him to float and dropping bombs. Tingle also gives the player a crudely drawn map to Tingle Island, and can be found for the rest of the game on this island, near the top of Tingle Tower. According to the Tingle Tuner, Tingle is merely a native of a different island with a Tingle-centric legend, in parallel to the Link-centric legend of Outset Island. Tingle plays possibly his largest role in The Wind Waker, where he deciphers the charts needed to haul the Triforce Shards from the ocean floor. He is also known for his extortionate prices: he demands 398 Rupees per chart, plus 201 Rupees for the IN-credible Chart that shows the location of the Triforce Charts and Triforce Shards from the charts that have been deciphered. This game also introduced his brothers, Ankle and Knuckle, who are twins, and David Jr., who is not related but was saved by Tingle.

Four Swords Adventures

Tingle takes on the role of a friendly antagonist in the GameCube game Four Swords Adventures. If a player leaves a good deal of Force Gems laying around for too long, Tingle will eventually float towards them on his balloon in an attempt to steal them. The players must grab them before he does (although while playing multiplayer, players are given the option of turning this off). There is also a trap in this game that causes Tingle to lead an army of lookalikes and steal the gems directly from the Links.

The Minish Cap

Tingle, Ankle, Knuckle, and David Jr. are able to fuse Kinstones with Link in the Game Boy Advance game The Minish Cap. Fusing Kinstones is an action that Link can do with many people, animals, and seemingly inanimate objects throughout the game, which influences the game world, often only in some minor way, to give Link access to an item or new area. When all four have fused Kinstones with Link, a passage will open on the Castle Grounds that gives him the Magic Boomerang. Tingle, his brothers, and David Jr. can also tell Link how many Kinstone fusions remain. Once Link has done every Kinstone fusion, Tingle will award Link with the Tingle statue.

Twilight Princess

Tingle himself does not make an appearance in Twilight Princess. In an interview with Electronic Gaming Monthly, director Eiji Aonuma stated that he had "found out some American people didn't like him very much" and ultimately decided not to include him in the game. In a later interview with Nintendo Dream, he stated that the character Purlo is his reference to Tingle in Twilight Princess. Purlo is the host of the "STAR CIRCUS" mini-game in Hyrule Castle Town, and indeed he does share some similarities with Tingle. According to Aonuma, Purlo's appearance "is the result of wondering what a realistic Tingle would look like". Among other physical similarities with Tingle, it is notable that Purlo is very greedy and has a love for Rupees.

Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland

Tingle's first starring role came in the Nintendo DS title Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland. It tells the story of Tingle when he was a regular person, how he came to become Tingle, and explains why he is so obsessed with Rupees. The game was released in Japan in 2006, and in Europe on the 14 September, 2007. No North American release date has been confirmed thus far.

Tingle's Balloon Fight DS

Tingle's Balloon Fight DS is a 2007 Nintendo DS game available only in Japan to members of Nintendo's "Platinum Club Nintendo" service. The game is a reworking of the NES game Balloon Fight, though featuring Tingle in the place of the unnamed balloonist.

Other appearances

Tingle also appears in Super Smash Bros. Melee as part of the Termina Bay stage. His balloon acts as an additional platform to players, but when a player strikes or stays too long on his balloon, the balloon pops, and Tingle falls down, causing the player to fall down and take two percent of damage. Tingle then stays on the ground for some time before inflating a new balloon. He can also fall beneath the water which will delay his respawn time. He also appears as an unlockable trophy, which is based on his appearance in Majora's Mask. The trophy description refers to him as "middle aged".

In Phantom Hourglass, the latest game in the Zelda series, there is a picture of Tingle on the back wall in the bar on Mercay Island.

Impact and reception

The editors at IGN did not like Tingle, in part because his role in The Wind Waker was an integral part of "tedious fetch quests". When development for what would later be called Twilight Princess began, IGN hoped that game directors Shigeru Miyamoto and Eiji Aonuma would not include the character, saying "we're not going to stand for him in another Zelda game".