Tingle

Characteristics
He is a middle-aged man of 35 who is obsessed with "forest fairies," even though he appears to be human, and so dresses up in green costumes resembling that of which the main character, Link, wears. He has also wears red shorts and a necklace with a 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's thusfar appeared in some way in every new Zelda story (except for the GBA Four Swords) since his debut in Majora's Mask, either as an ally or antagonist.

Appearances
In Majora's Mask, Tingle serves to help Link 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 bringing Tingle's picture to him earns Link a Heart Piece.

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.



Tingle also pleased fans when he appeared in a dingy prison cell on Windfall Island in The Wind Waker. 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 link cable. This allows a second player to control Tingle to help the first. 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. 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 appears with 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" 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.

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.)

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 Knistone Fusions remain. Once Link has done every kinstone fusion, Tingle will give him the Tingle statue.

According to Nintendo, all the Zelda games take place generations apart, 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.

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 is set to star in his own Nintendo DS game, Tingle RPG.

Trivia

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