Love him or hate him, Tingle is here to stay in the Zelda universe. First appearing in The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask back in 2000, we've seen him pop up time and again since then and he even got his own game on the DS in the shape of the amazingly named Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosey Rupeeland.
So far The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has been Tingle-free, but that is soon to change with DLC Pack 1 which introduces Tingle's outfit for Link to wear.
To celebrate this momentous occasion the official Zelda website has published an article by Shirakawa, game designer for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which makes for a fascinating read. Perhaps you shared the designer's reaction to Tingle when you first encountered him?
I remember how shocked I was—shocked right down to my bones!—when I first saw Tingle.
I thought "he's such an unsettling character...but...he's also so adorable..." When I started thinking about it, I realized that sometimes hate can slowly turn into love. If you didn’t care about someone at all, you wouldn’t feel “love” or “hate” for him…
Shirakawa then goes on to say that even the haters must care about Tingle a little bit:
I'm sure there are people out there who "hate" Tingle. However, if you hate him, that means you must "care" about him a little bit! And THAT means your feelings toward him might change, in time. Which is why we developed a game featuring him as the main character!
Tingle's not your typical Nintendo character, and if we wanted to create a game with him as the main character, then we were going to make him do and say things typical Nintendo characters would never do! That's the goal we set for ourselves, and it was...very...challenging. But one thing is clear: Tingle made his mark on the world of Hyrule, and now Link is dressing up as Tingle! I'm so proud!
When you wear all 3 pieces of Tingle's Outfit together, they grant you the "Night Speed-Up" effect. So please try on Tingle’s Outfit and run around at night.
We have to say we're big fans of the green suited quirky man, who is completely obsessed with forest fairies. Be sure to let us know your thoughts on Tingle and the outfit in DLC Pack 1 with a comment below.
[source zelda.com]
Comments 74
"However, if you hate him, that means you must "care" about him a little bit! "
I'd care to see him burn
I admit I have a bit of a soft spot for dear ol' Tingle...
He says he's a fairy and I believe him. Also he sold me maps in Majora's Mask and I can't live in a game without a map. So now we're buddies.
notices bulge OwO
Tingle's the creepiest little weirdo whose design can only be explained by a designer with a strong opium addiction. If I never have to see that goofy freaks beaty little eyes again, it'll be too soon. I definitely do not, "love to hate him". I'd erase him from history if I could.
Love him or hate him tingle is here to stay.
Although I wish somebody would kill it with fire.
Shame they couldn't use HD rumble to give you a 'tingle' when you're near rupees or something. Oh well, I guess the Stone of Agony will be back in some form in the future though.
Also, is there anything in video games darker than The Wind Waker where Tingle had slaves with their faces surgically altered to resemble his own, forced to turn a totem in his image for eternity?
Tingle is wonderful. They should just make Tingle's outfit the default for Link in the next game.
Oooh, I like this Countdown to DLC site, forgot the first pack is releasing in a couple of days. Decided to put off BotW until the bigger DLC pack later this year....but the new suits are too tempting
Tingle is just disturbing, simple as that
Plus, I also heard that if you sell the Tingle items in BOTW, you can never get them again. Guess what I'm selling immediately.
'If you didn’t care about someone at all, you wouldn’t feel “love” or “hate” for him…'
So very true.
Tingle's a manky little freak. And that Tingle costume in BOTW is just awful and disturbing. Its special effect is the same as 2 others in the game, "night speed up". The Dark Link and Shiekah costumes already do this.
They should be thinking of new effects. One of the costumes should have had "no slipping while climbing in rain" effect. Or maybe "no damage to weapons while fighting" effect. But the trade off for that costume is consuming rupees per second. Or various minerals consumed for set time limits, e.g ruby = 15 seconds, diamond = 30 seconds. Or a very weak defense, perhaps just 3 compared to others having a maximum of 60. So if you get hit, you're effectively dead.
Do something at least instead of numerous costumes playing a game of snap. There's loads of different effects they could do. Now they've 3 costumes with "night speed up". Did nobody at Nintendo stop and ask simply what about a "day speed up" effect?
Remember how Tingle forces his kin into being his slaves on his island? Good times.
Tingle is very strange, but that's why I like him.
I'm enjoying BOTW and might get the DLC but to be honest, turning Link into a green version of that guy in the basement box in Pulp Fiction isn't on my list of priorities.
You shouldn't provide a platform for the lunatic ramblings of whomever was unfortunate enough to be given the task of turning Link into a thirty-something obsessive creepy manchild. Get help!
Tingle is a sympathetic stan. The costume says everything about this link.
@dronesplitter I think one was his brother, the other was a stranger who had the misfortune to wash up on that island. The fact that he's also ended up with identical features is what makes it so disturbing.
PS: Link wearing that outfit makes me think of Lord Percy at the end of this Blackadder clip:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBhTIoIXoTI
Don't forget, Tingle also has his own game on NDS.


@ToneDeath Yeah, that's even scarier. Makes me think they make the guy wear a mask or disfigured him so he'd fit in.
Heath Ledger Tingle: "wanna know how I got these scars?"
@Anti-Matter Unfortunately.
On Melee we had a pact, stop fighting and kill Tingle the moment he came back on Turtle Bay.
@SLIGEACH_EIRE
Tingle is so weird and a bit creepy in my opinion.
Just look at his silly face.
I'm a Tingle fan.
@sketchturner Good man
I agree with the designer of the game. Tingle is quite loveable.
I love Tingle. He is such an odd character and super adorable!
@ToneDeath that is spot on! I love Blackadder. My favorite episode would have to be the one with The "Scottish Play".
Tingle doesn't bother me. He is a tad goofy and loves adventures. Maybe he just wants to be The Hero of Time.
I'm surprised that the outfit doesn't also make Link run while doing the airplane arms.
The official Zelda tier list:
1. Tingle
2. Every other character
3. Western gamers with no sense of humor
The game designer has got a point. The opposite of love is not caring about something. So I guess if you're choosing between not caring versus hating, hate would be closer to love.
Either way, I don't mind Tingle. It's not like he's popping up on the screen every 10 minutes or anything though so I don't see why people could dislike him that much....
Hate can turn into love. And love can turn into...
Tingle belongs in Zelda because he is so unlike anyone else in the universe.
Perhaps he is a rift between worlds, an unwitting gateway between Earth and Hyrule?
@SLIGEACH_EIRE
Boo hoo.😥
@Pod
(looks back at picture)
Dear lord you're right!!!
Least it's Link in the costume
TINGLE IS BAE
Tingle is not real. Only a videogame character. Videogames are supposed to be for escape from the real world and any poop it may contain. Life is short, so why waste time hating on a videogame character?
That outfit isn't touching my Link!
Tingle is a terrible character whose presence ruins any zelda scene. I doubt my first introduction to him stealing my force orbs in Four Swords Adventures helps my opinion.
I hated Tingle when I first met him, but I've since learned to have more of an open mind, and to disregard the typical American reaction of "oh, we don't like Tingle, he must be gay, and gay is bad, mmmkay?".
Now I like him, and Rosy Rupeeland is a pretty cool game.
Also, Tingel Island is a real place in BotW so we've all been thinking about him at least......
@dronesplitter Oh, man. Your Heath Ledger line really made me laugh. That's good!
Unsettling....that is the best description of Tingle, ever
I don't mind Tingle (especially in Majora's Mask, where he kind of fits in with the whole creepy vibe), but that outfit is never touching my character. It's hideous.
So a grown man dressed in head to toe green lycra and a pointy hood running around at night isn't creepy AT ALL!
The only shocking thing about Tingle is that he is a Nintendo char
The one outfit I refuse to collect. I find Tingle deeply disturbing.
@Lumine
"I'd rather kill Tingle to be honest."
You know, we could all pretend that Link got the costume by murdering Tingle and stripping it from his corpse...
Hahaha, I just love this character, and all the more after reading this delightfully (characteristically) bizarre Nintendo designer article. The noises he makes in Hyrule Warriors are so unsettling too! Really gotta find a copy of Rosy Rupeeland some day.
I'd like tingle more if they put tingle's balloon fight for sale in the west on 3ds.
@Anti-Matter wow! I just have the second one. I did not know about the other ones. Were they released in Europe or USA?
What a load of kooloo-limpah
Adorable? Not the word I use to describe Tingle.
TFW your reminded that Tingle has a game dedicated to him while Waluigi doesn't.
Haha Tingle's super! I have a Wind Waker Tingle plush that sits proudly next to Link and Zelda. I suspect more than a few people will be having a "stupid sexy Flanders" moment with Link's new outfit!
I had never played a Zelda game with Tingle (other than cameos, like in Skyward Sword) until I played Oracle of Ages for the first time a few years ago. As weird as the character is, he's hard NOT to love.
Nintendo needs more colorful characters like this guy.
Tingle is hilarious, and am actually sad this is the only representation he gets in Breath Of The Wild. He should get a floating platform that you can shoot down, then when he lands, he does a dance for you. Or maybe you find Tingle in locations like Koroks, and you hear Tingle say "YA-HA-HA!"
Not having Tingle in the game is a missed opportunity for silliness.
So many people saying Tingle is creepy and unsettling. But that was the point! He first appeared in Majora's Mask and really helped define that you were no longer in Hyrule, you were in a strange, bizarre land.
So if you think he's creepy, fine. But to suggest he be taken out of all Zelda games? Please don't!
They gave it a night speed up because they're expecting you to run around at night in the Tingle costume kidnapping children.
That sounds great! I can tarnish Tingle's good name!
Let's go, boys!
@setezerocinco
Sadly, NO USA release for Tingle NDS games. Just Japan and Europe.
Tingle is hot.
I remember playing BOTW and being on discord with a bud and all of a sudden she goes "t-tingle island?... yeah it's right by tingle island." And I jumped and howled in excitement asking her where a million times is this tingle island. Come to find out she misread tingel as tingle. I've never been more disappointed in my life.
I for one like Tingle, he's a breath of fresh air from the typical fantasy characters in the series.
I like Tingle, Princess Daisy, and Slippy the Frog!!!
All in Super Mario Maker!
@Dr_Corndog
Exactly!
Never understood the love for Tingle. Liking something specifically because it's repulsive is the actual definition of perversity.
Yeah I like this outfit. It's very unique.
But did hope it have some other special effect tho.
I love Tingle. He brought my faith in good Zelda handheld games back, when Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks failed in that regard.
Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland is my number 1 Nintendo DS game. Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks don't even make the top 20.
The only problem I have with all the new BotW gear is that (apart from the Korok Mask) they have no new abilities, Night Speed Up, really? Does that even make sense? Is it true you can't upgrade the new gear?
This sums up how I feel about it. Still excited for the DLC though.
https://youtu.be/kpgfTM22bDA
@FiveDigitLP Don't thank me, thank Nintendo for occasionally tucking away creepy themes into their games, lol. I just call it as I see it.
Tingle doesn't interest me one way or the other.
@shaneoh "not into the pit it burns"-Ganon Of The Legend of Zelda Cdi games
"When I started thinking about it, I realized that sometimes hate can slowly turn into love. If you didn’t care about someone at all, you wouldn’t feel “love” or “hate” for him…"
Food for thought...
Tingle is my favorite zelda character.
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