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Tingle (character)

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This article is about the video game character. For other characters, see Tingle.
Tingle
Tingle series and The Legend of Zelda character
File:Tingle.png
Tingle in Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland
First gameThe Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (2000)
Created byTakaya Imamura
Voiced by

Tingle[a] is a recurring character in The Legend of Zelda series. First appearing in Majora's Mask, he has since appeared in several installments. He has gone on to be the star of Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland,[3] and its sequel Irozuki Tingle no Koi no Balloon Trip, as well as the minigame collections Tingle's Balloon Fight DS and Dekisugi Tingle Pack. He has been received negatively by western fans, who felt his appearance in The Wind Waker made the game worse. The negative reaction to him lead to him being left out of Twilight Princess.

Concept and creation

Tingle was created by Takaya Imamura for The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, a game designer at Nintendo EAD, doing so in a "very relaxed manner."[4][5] He is a 35-year-old man who is obsessed with the "forest fairies" known as the Kokiri and dresses up in a green costume.[6] The Legend of Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma explained that Tingle had been designed as a way for the player to access maps in Majora's Mask. He wanted such a character to have humor to them, and wanted him to be the one to make the maps as well as sell them. He further explained that this thought process had resulted in the character becoming a "a really weird guy".[7] Aonuma compares Tingle not wanting to grow up and wearing green to Peter Pan, also noting that he is not gay.[7] He is also known for his catchphrase: "Tingle, Tingle! Kooloo-Limpah!" Chinkuru, Chinkuru! Kururinpa! (チンクル、チンクル! クルリンパー！). The word "kururinpa" is used by Japanese people when they spin their finger around and point to someone, indicating that they may be a crazy person.[8]

Appearances

Tingle made his debut in the Nintendo 64 game Majora's Mask. Throughout Link's adventure, he helps Link navigate Termina by selling him maps of various areas. His father operates the pictograph contest at the Woodfall Swamp, and is ashamed by his son's behavior. Tingle's next appeared in The Wind Waker, where Link frees Tingle from prison and is given the Tingle Tuner as a reward, which allows a second player to play as Tingle. In the Wii U remake, Tingle gives Link the Tingle Bottle instead, which can be used to post on Miiverse. In both versions, Tingle gives Link a map to Tingle Island, and can be found for the rest of the game on this island. He deciphers the charts needed to haul the Triforce Shards from the ocean floor, with the number of charts reduced in the remake. He is accompanied by his brother, Ankle, and a man named David Jr. who is made to work by Tingle. His brother, Knuckle, also can appear, though only through use of the Tingle Tuner. He appears in various minor roles across the series, including Oracle of Ages, Four Swords Adventures, and The Minish Cap. He also makes minor cameos in games such as Phantom Hourglass, Spirit Tracks, and Skyward Sword. In Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom Link is able to collect and wear a Tingle outfit, which gives him a night speed bonus and makes other characters afraid of Link.[9][10]

Tingle's first starring role was in the spin-off title game known as Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland for the Nintendo DS. It tells the story of Tingle becoming who he is after meeting a character known as Uncle Rupee, who encourages him to obtain wealth by any means necessary. In its sequel Irozuki Tingle no Koi no Balloon Trip, a regular man is sucked into a magical book and turned into Tingle, and has to establish relationships with women in order to escape. He is the star of Tingle's Balloon Fight DS, a rebranded and updated version of Balloon Fight, and Dekisugi Tingle Pack, a DSiWare application that includes several different minigames. Tingle appears as an additional playable character in Hyrule Warriors via the Majora's Mask DLC pack.[11]

Outside of The Legend of Zelda and Tingle series, he appears in Super Smash Bros. Melee as part of the Termina Bay stage, as well as an Assist Trophy in Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. In those games, he threw out a large amount of items that could quickly be grabbed by all of the fighters, though may also do nothing instead. He also appears as a trophy in those games, the former based on Majora's Mask and the latter two based on The Wind Waker. Tingle also appears in Super Mario Maker as one of the unlockable "Mystery Mushroom" outfits.

Impact and reception

Outside of Japan, Tingle received an overwhelmingly negative reception, compared to notoriously criticized Star Wars character Jar Jar Binks by GamesRadar+.[12] 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", a sentiment shared by PALGN writer Matt Keller, who felt he was the weakest element of the game.[13][14] When development for Twilight Princess began, IGN staff 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".[13] Fan distaste for Tingle ultimately led to his exclusion from Twilight Princess, though the character Purlo was meant as a reference to Tingle, with the idea of him representing how a realistic Tingle would work.[15][16] Commenting on the negative reception, Kensuke Tanabe expressed interest in making another Tingle game, hoping that he could turn him into a beloved character among western fans.[17] Writer Kyle Hilliard, however, despite finding him strange, regarded him as one of the most endearing characters in The Wind Waker.[18] Due to Tingle's continued absence as a character in the Zelda series, he is a common gamers' meme and in-joke, with the question of "Where's Tingle?" being a recurring joke around the time of Zelda title releases.[19]

Notes

  1. ^ Japanese: チンクル, Hepburn: Chinkuru, also romanized as Tincle and Chinkle in Japanese materials.[1][2]

References

  1. ^ "Nintendo's official "Welcome to Tincle's House" site". Retrieved 2008-02-25.
  2. ^ "Nintendo's official Four Swords Adventures Website". Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  3. ^ "Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland microsite". Nintendo of Europe. Retrieved 2007-10-05.
  4. ^ 『いろづきチンクルの恋のバルーントリップ』開発スタッフインタビュー 2時限目 キャラクターのお話 [Ripening Tingle's Balloon Trip of Love development staff interview, second part: Character talk] (in Japanese). Nintendo Online Magazine. August 2009. Retrieved 2009-08-31.
  5. ^ "Interview: Tingle (DS)". Nintendo of Europe. 2007-09-06. Archived from the original on 2012-09-04. Retrieved 2009-06-04.
  6. ^ Aonuma, Eiji; Himekawa, Akira (April 14, 2020). The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia. Dark Horse Comics. ISBN 1506721389.
  7. ^ a b Totilo, Stephen (18 February 2015). "Nintendo Explains Where Tingle Came From". Kotaku. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
  8. ^ Maher, Cian (2021-01-27). "The Genius Of Tingle, Nintendo's Most Underappreciated Character". TheGamer. Retrieved 2023-04-26.
  9. ^ Fillari, Alessandro (5 July 2017). "Where To Find Tingle's Outfit - Zelda Breath Of The Wild DLC". GameSpot. Retrieved 2023-04-30.
  10. ^ Bellingham, Hope (2023-05-30). "Zelda Tears of the Kingdom NPCs either fear Tingle or want to fight him". gamesradar. Retrieved 2023-06-05.
  11. ^ Nunneley-Jackson, Stephany (2015-01-17). "Here's what is included in the Majora's Mask DLC for Hyrule Warriors". VG247. Retrieved 2023-04-30.
  12. ^ Joe McNeilly (March 25, 2010). "5 reasons to hate Zelda". GamesRadar. Archived from the original on June 15, 2011. Retrieved 2010-04-14.
  13. ^ a b "IGNcube's 2004 "Die, Tingle, Die! Die!" Campaign". IGN. 2004-06-09. Retrieved 2007-11-30.
  14. ^ "Freshly Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland Review". PALGN. 2007-10-07. Archived from the original on 2012-07-15. Retrieved 2009-05-27.
  15. ^ Electronic Gaming Monthly, June 2005, Ziff-Davis
  16. ^ ニンドリドットコム～青沼英二さんロングインタビュー～ [Nindori.com ~Eiji Aonuma long interview~] (in Japanese). Nintendo Dream. Archived from the original on 2007-02-02. Retrieved 2009-09-14.
  17. ^ Valdes, Giancarlo (2013-06-17). "Nintendo producer imagines what Metroid and Tingle could look like on Wii U". VentureBeat. Retrieved 2015-01-15.
  18. ^ Hilliard, Kyle (October 15, 2017). Big Book of Zelda: The Unofficial Guide to Breath of the Wild and The Legend of Zelda. Triumph Books. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
  19. ^ Carpenter, Nicole (2023-04-25). "Is Tingle in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom?". Polygon. Retrieved 2023-04-30.
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