Tingle
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Tingle | |
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 Tingle |
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| Game series | The Legend of Zelda |
| First game | The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (2000) |
Tingle, known as Tincle (チンクル Chinkuru?)[1] in Japan, is a fictional video game character of The Legend of Zelda series, first appearing in Majora's Mask in 2000. Since then, he has appeared in each installment of the series up through 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 the evident unpopularity of the character among Zelda fans in the United States.[2] 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.
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[edit] Characteristics
Tingle is a short, paunchy 35-year-old[3][4] man who is completely obsessed with "forest fairies"[4] and dresses up in a green costume, slightly resembling that of the main character, Link. 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!" (くるりんぱっ kururinpa~?). 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.
[edit] Tingle's siblings
Ankle is Tingle's younger brother and Knuckle's twin. In The Wind Waker, he is found turning the grinding wheel at Tingle Tower with David Jr.. The reason he does so much work is to support his brother, Knuckle. He also had a love of gardening. He also makes a small appearance in Four Swords Adventures, and later in The Minish Cap, where he fuses Kinstones behind Lon Lon Ranch.
Knuckle is Ankle's twin. In The Wind Waker, he is largely a side-quest character, requiring use of the Tingle Tuner to find. By doing so, Link can gain the Hand-Me-Down Tuner which has more options. He also makes a small appearance in Four Swords Adventures and later in The Minish Cap where he fuses Kinstones in the Trilby Highlands.
David Jr., although similar in appearance to Tingle and his brothers,[5] is actually from Windfall Island and is unrelated to Tingle. After getting shipwrecked on Tingle Island, he was set to work turning the wheel. Unenthusiastic about his role, he does it anyway, although he is prone to complaining. He also makes a small appearance in Four Swords Adventures, and later in The Minish Cap, where he fuses Kinstones in Lake Hylia. When reading his inscription in the Nintendo Gallery, it infers that his father was the one who made the ghost ship chart, but died immediately after doing so.
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] The Wind Waker
Tingle's first appearance in The Wind Waker is in a small, dingy prison cell on Windfall Island. He was imprisoned 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 and assist Link 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. 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 (supposely) saved by Tingle after his ship was sucked into a cyclone.
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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"[6] 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.[citation needed] 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, Purlo is very greedy and shares Tingle's love of Rupees, but unlike Tingle hates Link.
[edit] 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. It seems to be the earliest chronological appearance of Tingle.
[edit] Tingle's Balloon Fight DS
Tingle's Balloon Fight DS (チンクルの バルーンファイトDS Chinkuru no Barūn Faito DS?) is a Nintendo DS arcade style platformer published and developed by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console, which is solely available to Platinum Club Nintendo members. Tingle's Balloon Fight is one of the two Tingle-centric games for DS, the other being Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland. The game itself is based not only on The Legend of Zelda, but on Balloon Fight as well, making this the third entry in the latter franchise (following the first title and Balloon Kid).
Tingle's Balloon Fight uses the same game design as Balloon Fight. The game has three modes: Balloon Fight (single player), local wireless Balloon Fighting Spirit (2–4 players), and Balloon Trip (single player). Performing various accomplishments throughout the game (winning multiplayer matches, achievements in scoring, and other as yet unknown methods) unlocks artwork in a gallery of Tingle portraits, available on the Options screen of the game. According to the offer, the story is that 35 year old Tingle challenges the "Balloon Fighting Spirit" of the bosom oak. The game was released exclusively to members of Club Nintendo in Japan.[7]
[edit] Other roles
Tingle also appears in Super Smash Bros. Melee as part of the Termina Bay stage, as well as an Assist Trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. He also appears as a trophy in both games, the former based on Majora's Mask and the latter based on The Wind Waker.
Tingle was also Prince Facade's map maker in the open CG Zelda movie project The Light of Courage based on Joe Cracker's original script.
[edit] 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".[8] 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".[8]. Instead, Tingle, in his Wind Waker incarnation, appears as an Assist Trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
[edit] References
- ^ Nintendo's official "Welcome to Tincle's House" site. Retrieved on 2008-02-25.
- ^ Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland microsite. Retrieved on 2007-10-05.
- ^ Tingle: "Alas, though I am already age 35, no fairy has come to me yet..." Nintendo. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. Nintendo. (in English). (2007-10-05)
- ^ a b Tingle Figurine: "It's been several years since Tingle first became enchanted with deciphering maps in the hopes it would help him find fairies, and he's lost many things during that time. He's raising funds to begin his search for fairies, hoping to embark sometime in his thirties, while the lust of life is still upon him. At the age of 35, the pressure's on!" Nintendo. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. Nintendo. (in English). (2007-10-05)
- ^ Chris Carle (2007). "We delve into obscurity on the videogame side of things and emerge with Zelda's Tingle lookalike.". OCD: David Jr.. Retrieved on September 27, 2007.
- ^ Electronic Gaming Monthly, June 2005, Ziff-Davis
- ^ Anoop Gantayat (2007-04-19). Tingle's Balloon Fight Impressions. IGN. Retrieved on 2008-03-20.
- ^ a b IGNcube's 2004 "Die, Tingle, Die! Die!" Campaign. IGN (2004-06-09). Retrieved on 2007-11-30.
