Tingle (character)

Tingle was created by Takaya Imamura, a game designer at Nintendo EAD.[4] According to an interview with Kensuke Tanabe, producer of Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland, character designer Imamura created Tingle in a "very relaxed manner".[5]

The Legend of Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma explained Tingle's origins in an interview with Kotaku. He said that the character had been designed as a way for the player to access maps in Majora's Mask. He commented that "we ultimately ended up with a character here that had a little bit of humor to him that [came from] thinking of...'What sort of person would sell a map?' And, well, we decided it would be the kind of person who makes a map. And the way that he makes a map is by floating through the air so that he can see the contours of the land and draw them". He further explained that this thought process had resulted in the character being designed as "a really weird guy".[6]

In an interview with Electronic Gaming Monthly, Aonuma said that he had "found out some American people didn't like him very much" and ultimately decided not to include him in Twilight Princess as a result.[7] In a later interview with Nintendo Dream, he said that the character Purlo is his reference to Tingle in Twilight Princess. According to Aonuma, Purlo's appearance "is the result of wondering what a realistic Tingle would look like".[8]

Aonuma revealed that Tingle's characteristics are reminiscent of the character Peter Pan: "You know, if you think about it, it's this guy in his 30s in a green suit and is flying and never wants to grow up, it all sort of comes together around that". When asked if the character is gay, Aonuma commented, "He's not gay. He's just an odd person".[6]

Tingle, in his Wind Waker form is a short, pudgy 35-year-old, while Tingle, in his Majora's Mask form, is an averaged-sized, paunchy 35-year-old[9][10] man who is obsessed with "forest fairies"[10] and dresses up in a green costume, slightly resembling that of Link. He also wears tight red shorts and a necklace with a clock that is permanently stuck at four o'clock.

In most of his appearances, Tingle sells maps. In Majora's Mask, he is normally seen floating around on his red balloon drawing and selling maps for his father, who runs the Southern Swamp pictograph contest and sees Tingle as "a fool". In Oracle of Ages Tingle also sells a map from his balloon, while in The Wind Waker, he also translates Triforce Maps. Furthermore, he 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. Tingle's fixation for Rupees is explained in the Nintendo DS game Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland, where it is stated that he needs Rupees to live. He is known to dress as a fairy. 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.[11]

Outside of Japan, Tingle received an overwhelmingly negative 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". They titled the article "IGNcube's 2004 "Die, Tingle, Die! Die!" Campaign".[15] When development for 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".[15] Tingle ranked sixth on GameDaily's top 10 ugliest game characters list, stating that his face looks out of place.[16] GamesRadar described him as "Zelda's Jar Jar".[17] Nintendo Power listed Tingle as one of the three weirdos, describing him as both a great cartographer as well as a "fully grown man in a green elf costume who rides a balloon and says, 'Tingle! Tingle! Kooloo-Limpah!'".[18] Fan distaste for Tingle led to his exclusion from Twilight Princess.[7] PALGN editor Matt Keller commented that Tingle was widely considered the weakest part of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.[19] IGN, among others, ranked him number 1 of the top 20 weirdest Zelda characters.[20]

However, many fans have stood up for Tingle, as well his respective game series. Criticism of the character primarily comes from Western gamers, but in Japan, Tingle has garnered a cult following, which resulted in the development of several spin-off games featuring Tingle as their star. In a 2013 interview with VentureBeat, Kensuke Tanabe had expressed interest in making another Tingle game: "I know that people cannot stand Tingle. But to me that challenge is: Could I take this character that is so reviled in the West and just [do] a complete turnaround and make him a beloved, fun character? The idea of that really just gets me going. I know we have made a Tingle game in the past, but maybe at some point down the road". He later joked that "it's like romance: You meet someone and you're like, 'Oh god, I can't stand that person'. And then three weeks later, you're madly in love – it's that turn, that quick whip, that motivates [me] a little bit".[21] 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.[22]