Tingle is a fictional character from Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda series of video games. From his debut, he has been a recurrent character in the series.
Characteristics
Tingle is a short man of 35 who seems to be obsessed with "forest fairies," even though he appears to be human, and so dresses up in green costumes slightly resembling that of which the main character, Link, wears. He is about a foot smaller than Link in his Wind Waker incarnation, and so can be judged as less than three feet tall. He wears tight red shorts and a necklace with a clock that is permanently stuck at 4 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", which he invented. Don't steal it.
Appearances
According to Nintendo, all the Zelda games take place generations apart[citation needed], with The Wind Waker taking place many centuries after the events of Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, yet Tingle has been in every game since his debut except for a Game Boy Advance remake of A Link to the Past (including the Four Swords section). This may imply Tingle as being immortal, or possibly a time traveller. Another possibility is that there are several Tingles throughout time, just like there are many descendants of Link and Princess Zelda
Majora's Mask
Tingle makes his debut in Majora's Mask. He helps Link to navigate through the world of Termina by selling him maps if Link shoots down his red balloon and speaks to him. His maps come cheaper if bought in the area that they are maps of. Tingle appears in North Clock Town, Romani Ranch, and the entrances to Woodfall, Snowhead, Great Bay, and Ikana Canyon. His father is the man who operates the pictograph contest at Woodfall Swamp, and is ashamed of his son's antics, though he admits that he perhaps spoiled Tingle too much.
Oracle of Ages
Tingle appears in Oracle of Ages to give Link a chart that he uses while crossing the sea. Tingle also will give Link an upgrade to the Seed Satchel.
The Wind Waker
In The Wind Waker, Tingle first appears in a dingy prison cell on Windfall Island. When freed, Tingle gives Link the Tingle Tuner, which can be used if the player connects a Game Boy Advance to the GameCube via a Nintendo GameCube-Game Boy Advance cable. This allows a second player to control Tingle to help the first player. Tingle also gives the player a crudely drawn map to Tingle Island. He can then be found on the island near the top of Tingle Tower.
Tingle also plays a vital role in the storyline: he is the only person who can decipher Triforce Charts to help Link find the eight pieces of the Triforce. If Link visits him on his private island near Windfall Island and pays him 398 Rupees, Tingle will decipher the map with his special "magic words": "Tingle, Tingle, Kooloo-Limpah!" In The Wind Waker, Tingle Island is also home to two other Tingle look-alikes in differently colored suits. The one dressed in pink is Tingle's younger brother Ankle. The white one is an "ordinary" person, David Jr., whom Tingle 'rescued' from a shipwreck and made to work in the Tingle Tower, keeping the top rotating. Ankle also has a twin brother named Knuckle dressed in blue, who can be located on Tingle Island after completing a Tingle Tuner side-quest on Outset Island.
Four Swords Adventures
In Four Swords Adventures, Tingle takes on the role of a friendly antagonist. If a player leaves too many Force Gems lying around for too long without taking them, Tingle will eventually appear on his balloon and try to steal them. The players must try to grab them before he does. (When multiple players play Hyrulean Adventure, this function can be disabled.)
The Minish Cap
In The Minish Cap, Tingle, Ankle, Knuckle and David Jr. will fuse Kinstones with Link, an action he can do with many characters during the game, which influences the game world in some minor way to give the player 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 and his brothers will also tell Link how many Kinstone Fusions remain. Once Link has done every kinstone fusion, Tingle will give him the Tingle statue.
Other appearances
Tingle is also spotted in Super Smash Bros. Melee as part of the Great Bay stage. His balloon acts as an additional platform to players, but when a player strikes and pops his balloon, Tingle falls down and the platform is temporarily inaccessible. However, Tingle is so small and elevated that his balloon is not much of a factor.
Tingle was set to star in his own Nintendo DS game, Tingle RPG; however, according to Eiji Aonuma, this game was scrapped in favour for Phantom Hourglass. [1]
Trivia
- Homsar dressed up as Tingle in the 2005 Homestar Runner Halloween Special, Halloween Potion-ma-jig.
- Tingle bears a mild resemblance to Nintendo composer Koji Kondo.[citation needed]
- A lot of Zelda fans absolutely despise Tingle, due to his weird or annoying actions (The most notable of them is the large sum of money he asks for map deciphering in Wind Waker, a bill of which eventually turns out to be about 3184 rupees).[citation needed]
- The number of anti-Tingle posts on the Nintendo Community Forums far outstrips those against any other Nintendo character.[citation needed]