Tingle

Tingle is a recurring character in the Legend of Zelda series. He is a thirty-five year old man who is obsessed with "forest fairies". He desires more than anything to be one even though he appears to be Hylian. Tingle dresses up in green costumes resembling that of which the main character, Link, wears. He believes that this is what "forest fairies" wear. In The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, after Link releases him from his cell, he believes Link is a fairy.

His suit consists of red shorts and a necklace with a clock, which is stuck at four o'clock, on it. Tingle is normally seen floating around suspended by a red balloon. He uses his bird eye view to draw maps of the areas that he visits. His father, the manager of the Southern Swamp's pictograph contest, sees him as a fool. Tingle has appeared in some way throughout most of the new games in The Legend of Zelda series, with the exceptions of The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, since his debut in Majora's Mask, either as an ally or somewhat of an antagonist.

According to Nintendo, all of The Legend of Zelda games other than direct sequels take place generations apart, with The Wind Waker taking place many centuries after the events of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, yet Tingle has been in most of the games of the series since his debut. Tingle could thus also be included as one of the "reincarnation" characters such as Link and Princess Zelda who are reborn centuries apart throughout history.

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
In Tingle's first appearance, Majora's Mask, he is a cartographer that sells maps to Link to help him navigate Termina. 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 in the Southern Swamp, and Link will receive a Piece of Heart if he shows him a picture of his son.

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages
Tingle appears again in The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages. Floating above a stump southeast of Lynna City, he gives Link a chart to help navigate the Crescent Strait. Tingle will also give Link an upgrade to the Seed Satchel if he returns later in the game.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
In his third appearance, The Wind Waker, Tingle is first found in a dingy prison cell on Windfall Island because he stole Lenzo's pictograph box (which he fervently denies doing). When freed, Tingle gives Link the Tingle Tuner, which can be used if the player connects a Game Boy Advance to the Nintendo GameCube via a special link cable. This allows a second player to control Tingle to help the first. Link can then enter Tingle's cell and proceed through a small maze where at the end lies the pictograph box and messages Tingle wrote, detailing his theft and revealing a darker side of Tingle.

Tingle also gives the player a poorly drawn map to Tingle Island. 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 of Courage. In addition to translating the Triforce Charts, he helps Link further by supplying him with the IN-credible Chart. 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! Become...READABLE!"

Tingle also appears with two other Tingle-esque characters in differently colored suits. The one dressed in pink is Tingle's younger brother Ankle. The white one is an "ordinary" human, David Jr., whom Tingle rescued from a shipwreck and made to work in the Tingle Tower. 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.

Tingle can often seem to act selfish and can try anything to earn a lot money. Some examples are that Tingle charged Link 201 rupees to have the IN-credible Chart which would require Link to upgrade his rupee purse just to purchase the chart that costs 1 rupee more than he could carry. He charges Link 398 rupees to make Triforce Charts readable, totalling 3,184 rupees to decipher each one. Others would be that David Jr. tries to explain to Tingle that he isn't a fairy but he tends to ignore him. Apparently, Tingle can be quite lazy too by forcing David and Ankle to work by lying down when "working" with them at Tingle Island.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures
In Four Swords Adventures, Tingle takes on the role of a friendly antagonist. If Link 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 Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
In The Minish Cap, Tingle, Ankle, Knuckle and David Jr. will fuse Kinstones with Link. When all four have fused Kinstones with Link, a passage opens at the north end of Hyrule Field, which leads to a chest containing the Magical Boomerang. Tingle and his brothers also tell Link how many Kinstone fusions remain. Once Link has fused every Kinstone with another character, Tingle gives him the Tingle Statue as a reward.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
The character Tingle does not appear in Twilight Princess, but a character named Purlo does. Purlo is a direct reference to what Tingle would look like if he was a more realistic character. Purlo is the manager of the STAR Game tent who wears a similar costume to Tingle, wears a watch around his neck, and is obsessed with Rupees.

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
In Phantom Hourglass, Tingle appears on what looks like a WANTED poster in the Mercay Island milk bar, behind the bartender.

Reception
Tingle is easily one of the strangest characters in the Zelda series. His dress, strange habits, and flamboyant personality are often perceived as annoying by gamers, and the character has been highly criticized in the west. In stark contrast, Tingle is one of the most popular Zelda characters in Japan, which has presumably led to his many appearances in the series, as well as the two spin offs in which he has the starring role, both of which have yet to be released in America. Tingle is the only character other than Link to have received this honor.

Super Smash Bros.
Tingle also makes appearances in the Super Smash Bros. series. He appears in Super Smash Bros. Melee as part of the Great Bay stage. His balloon acts as an temporary platform to players, but when a player strikes and pops his balloon, or just stands on it for too long, 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.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, he appears as an Assist Trophy. He uses his usual magic words, causing random effects. His effects are summoning balloons to fly away with (which has no effect on players), flowers after which he zooms the screen on the one who summoned him, and several regular as well as golden hammers, as well as other effects.

Trivia

 * Tingle bears a mild resemblance to Nintendo composer Koji Kondo.