Tingle

is a recurring character in. He is known for his flamboyant behavior, catchphrase, and outfit: red briefs worn over a green full-body jumpsuit with a pointy head and ears. He is often seen floating in the air, attached to a red balloon.

Tingle first appeared as a map merchant in. He has a significant role in, and has minor roles in , , and. References have been made to his character in nearly every major title since then. Three spin-off games and a DSiWare app centered on Tingle were released from 2006 to 2009.

In, Tingle is the son of the Swamp Tourist Center Guide. He is 35 years old and claims to be the reincarnation of a Fairy. He is looking for a fairy of his own and is eager to be friends with Link on account of Tatl. Tingle's father is exasperated by his son's immaturity and still refers to Tingle as a child despite his age.

Tingle floats up in the air on a balloon. He uses his vantage point to plot maps of Termina, which he sells to help his father. He sells them to Link "for cheap" as a sign of friendship.

Tingle can be found in each region of Termina:
 * in North Clock Town
 * on the Road to Southern Swamp
 * on the Road to Goron Village
 * on Milk Road
 * above the Marine Research Laboratory on the Great Bay Coast
 * atop Ikana Canyon near the Music Box House.

In each region, Tingle sells two maps: the map of that region and the map of the next region in Link's quest. Tingle sells the maps for other regions at a premium of 40 Rupees. It is cheaper for Link to buy the map of a region in the region itself—5 Rupees for the map of Clock Town, 20 for the others.

Wares and Pricing
Link can submit a pictograph of Tingle to win the Swamp Pictograph Contest managed by Tingle's father.

Tingle is able to identify Link in his alternate forms because he recognizes Tatl floating by Link's side. Tingle is the subject of four questions in Keaton's Quiz.

In, Tingle can be found floating on top of a stump in the Forest of Time. To reach Tingle, Link needs Ricky's assistance the first time, as his path is blocked by holes and cliffs. There is an alternate route through a cave to Tingle that does not require Ricky, but in order to extend the bridge across the gap, Link needs the Seed Shooter to hit a Crystal Switch around a corner. Tingle gives Link the Island Chart that he uses while crossing the sea to reach Crescent Island. If Link returns later, Tingle will also give Link an upgraded Seed Satchel.

In, the people of Windfall Island had put Tingle in jail for stealing a Picto Box. Once Link frees him, Tingle gives him the Tingle Tuner in return so Link can ask him for help at any time. Afterwards, Link can find Tingle on Tingle Island, where he also meets Tingle's younger brother Ankle and his friend David Jr. Link can also meet Knuckle, Tingle's other brother, on Outset Island. Tingle can translate Triforce Charts for Link so he can find the Triforce Shards at a price of 398 Rupees each.

By using the Tingle Tuner, Link can interact with Tingle. The young hero can buy items from him, find hidden Tingle Statues in dungeons, and fulfill sidequests on Windfall and Outset Islands. In the Tower of the Gods, five legendary pages can be found, which tell the history of Tingle from. In, Tingle's Tuner is replaced by the Tingle Bottle, therefore removing various interactions with Tingle.

In, Tingle collects Force Gems. Throughout the game, anytime Link finds a big Force Gem outside of dungeons, Tingle will also try to get it. If Link picks up the Force Gem first, he will retreat. Link can also shoot an Arrow at Tingle to slow him down. Tingle also tries to pick up the huge Force Gems, but his balloon can not carry them.

Tingle posts signs throughout the stages called the Tingle Times, which tell a story of an experience Tingle had in the area, offering insight to his childish nature. Tingle also runs the Tingle's Tower, a multiplayer minigame gallery that can be accessed by progressing through the Hyrulean Adventure mode.

In, Tingle can be found on a ledge east of Link's House after the young hero initially fails to cross Castor Wilds. When spoken to, Tingle mistakes Link for a Fairy and promptly requests that they fuse Kinstones. Tingle will also tell Link that he gave Kinstones to his TMC:, and promises that if the young hero fuses Kinstones with each of them, he will receive something significantly beneficial. Tingle hopes to become a Fairy by fusing Kinstones.

When Link successfully fuses Kinstones with Tingle, one of the trees in North Hyrule Field will open with a chamber containing a Switch connected to a torch and a Treasure Chest containing a Kinstone Piece. When spoken to afterwards, Tingle and his brothers will tell Link how many Kinstone Fusions he has left to complete. When Link has done all Kinstone fuses, Tingle will give him the Tingle Trophy, which replaces his Kinstone Bag. After Link fuses Kinstones with all of the TMC:, he will offer to fuse Kinstones with the young hero again, which will cause a Golden Tektite to appear on Mount Crenel.

Purlo, the manager of the STAR Game in, was designed to look like a realistic version of Tingle.

Tingle's likeness appears on a wanted poster in Mercay Tavern.

A figurine of Tingle can be found in several houses and shops in, namely the Trading Post, where it can be seen in the credits. The Trading Post also has a golden version of the figurine on a higher shelf.

Ferrus has a poster of Tingle in his house.

[[SS -]]
SS: keeps a Tingle plush on her desk at the Knight Academy in SS undefined.

In, Tingle is promised a life in a paradise, Rupeeland, by a creature named Uncle Rupee. The only thing he would have to do is collect as many Rupees as possible and throw them into the tower located under the Western Pool. Tingle accepts and then is changed into a Tingle. Under this curse, his money became his life, so if he runs out of Rupees, he will die. Uncle Rupee also provides him with an assistant, Pinkle, who fulfill the role of Tingle's sidekick and suggested love interest. Tingle travels to many islands and fulfills many tasks to get the money to get to Rupeeland. It is then revealed to him by the Grand Fairy that Rupeeland is a paradise for only Uncle Rupee, the demon whose power depends on Rupees. If Tingle were to proceed, everyone would be turned into a Tingle, forced to work for Uncle Rupee until the end of time. Tingle manages to free Pinkle, and with her help, confront Uncle Rupee. Using the Rupees he has collected, Tingle manages to defeat him, and is freed of the Tingle curse. When the Grand Fairy asks him what he was going to do with all the money left, Tingle replies that he was going to use it to lead the life that was initially promised to him.

was a special promotional game released only in Japan. It was mostly just an updated version of  with a Tingle theme. Along with music from, one of the new additions to the game is a special Tingle artwork gallery, where 20 pieces of art can be unlocked.

In, Tingle is seen as an ordinary man at the beginning. He orders a book from a television sales program, which is said to make its readers popular among women. However, he gets sucked into a picture book world when he opens it and becomes Tingle. The only way to exit the world is to dance with the princess. On his way to find her, Tingle teams up with his new friends Kakashi, Buriki, and Lion. Tingle must advances from page to page with his three friends, following the yellow-brick road.

Unreleased Vanpool game
In 2010, Vanpool began development of a horror game for the Nintendo DS. The project was eventually canceled.

Tingle makes a cameo appearance in the Great Bay Stage from. His balloon can be used as a small platform until popped. Upon landing, he will do his dance and eventually blow up a new balloon. He also appears as a Trophy.


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In, Tingle appears in his appearance as an. When summoned, a random effect occurs. These include:


 * Releasing s and s.
 * Making the stage gravity lighter by releasing balloons.
 * Making the ground slippery by throwing banana peels.
 * Releasing flowers causing the camera to zoom in on the player who summoned him.
 * Giving everyone status.

Tingle also appears as a Trophy and two Stickers.


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In and, Tingle appears as a playable Warrior. In, he is available in the DLC Pack. He uses the Balloon as his class of Weapon, with which he can use to bounce off of, float into the air, and even blow up into gigantic size to pop and damage nearby enemies. It can also fling Tingle into the air by tapping the dodge button after being blown with the Strong Attack button, allowing him to evade attacks or continue hitting foes. Tingle also uses a Wallet, Map, and Bombs to attack.

In, Tingle does not drop any unique Materials when defeated. In, he may either drop his Map as a silver Material or his Watch as a gold Material.

Koei Tecmo wanted to add Tingle to the initial release, but the idea was rejected Eiji Aonuma.

Tingle once again appears as an Assist Trophy in. He also appears as a Trophy in both versions.


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In, Tingle appears as a Spirit with the ability, Slumber Immunity, which makes a Fighter immune to sleeping. Tingle also appears on the Great Bay Stage reprising the same role from.

Kooloo-Limpah
Kooloo-Limpah are Tingle's "magic" words he created. Kooloo-Limpah is a romanization of "kururinpa," the sound that Japanese people make when doing the "Cuckoo sign," a circling motion of the index finger at the ear or side of the head that signifies that a person is crazy.

The effects of Kooloo-Limpah in are always random, including a Ting or a Link homing Tingle Bomb.

Name Origin
Tingle's first starring game was released for the Nintendo DS in Japan as Mogitate Chinkuru no Barairo Ruppī Rando. It was not released in North America due to his unpopularity there. It was later released in Europe as.

The game explains many aspects of Tingle, including the meaning of "Tingle." According to the game, Tingle is not a person, but a state of being; a curse that can befall every living being. Tingle in is not called Tingle. A name must be chosen as "Tingle" is not available. Tingle's real name plays an important role in the story and as such needs to be recognizable from his curse-name. This curse is the work of Uncle Rupee, a demon who becomes stronger as he obtains more Rupees. Rather than collecting them himself, Uncle Rupee chooses a person to collect them for him. By offering him access to the supposed paradise Rupeeland, Uncle Rupee manages to trick Tingle in being that person. Upon accepting the offer, Tingle is changed into a "Tingle."

A Tingle is a servant or slave of Uncle Rupee. Whoever becomes a Tingle automatically gains the green and red outfit. Such a person will become dependent of Rupees himself. For a Tingle, being without Rupees equals death. If a Tingle succeeds in getting enough Rupees for Uncle Rupee, the latter becomes incredibly powerful and capable of turning everyone into Tingles. As such, it is up to the first Tingle that is created by Uncle Rupee during his attempt to conquer the world to stop Uncle Rupee before it is too late.

Tingle's obsession with Fairies is also explained, as Tingle seems to get romantically involved with a Fairy princess named Pinkle, with Fairies being Uncle Rupee's archenemies. Uncle Rupee is the manifestation of evil Rupee power (greed/egoism), while Fairies are the manifestation of good Rupee power (charity/altruism). As such, a Tingle that chooses to fight Uncle Rupee will find himself aided by the Fairies.

While Tingle is almost solely a state of being, it also acknowledges that Tingle is a person. Towards the end of the game, Tingle meets his uncle. He physically resembles Tingle, a reference to Tingle's brothers from previous Zelda games. While he does not seem to be a Tingle, he does wear clothes like Tingle, only with different colors. He also has a balloon to reach places far away. This seems to suggest that Tingle might be similar to Link in that the person Tingle is destined to become is the hero needed to defeat the evil, which would tie the two concepts of Tingle together.

Reception
Tingle is one of the series' most controversial characters. In 2004, IGN staff launched a "Die Tingle, Die!" campaign, expressing the editors' wish not to see the character in another Zelda game. The campaign cites Tingle's role in the "tedious fetch quests" of.

Given that three Nintendo DS games were released in Japan featuring Tingle as the protagonist—as well as a DSiWare app—it seems Tingle's unpopularity stems mainly from the West.