Tingle, an Enigma Forever
Written by BlademasterRPG
Tingle, a man of great enigma. Who is this fellow in the green tights? He is both loved and hated by many fans all over the world. His words and actions have been quoted and mimicked a thousand fold since their sighting. What is it about this ill-formed set of pixels/polygons that intrigues so many of us? The answer, dear friends, lies in review, speculation, and a wee bit of acid.
Tingle first appeared before us as the 35 year old mapmaker in Majora’s Mask. Often seen riding his bright red balloon, his presence often signaled both a reprieve of danger and of tension. Everyone was either staring at the screen or laughing their behinds off when they first caught glimpse of the wannabe fairy. His story was a noble one: All his life, he had sought out a fairy. Throughout his 35 years of age, he had wanted to fly with the fairies, talk to the pixies, and become in tune with all things magical. To show his loyalty to his dream, he continuously dons a skintight green outfit that wraps around him from head to toe, only showing his face and ears. The snug fit revealed to all viewers, to their chagrin, a glimpse of what being a washed-up, pathetic middle aged man could look like. Two words: Man boobs. Big ones, at that. In addition, Tingle wore underwear, as bright as the fiery red core of the Earth, outside of his spandex attire. He was indeed a sight to behold.
What was his relevance to the story? Why, he sold maps to Link, of course! Link, our beloved hero, used Tingle to get used to the mysterious world of Termina. Tingle saw in Link a persona he had dreamed of meeting for most of his lifetime, and was more than happy to lend a hand. Touching, ain’t it? But, in spite of all we know and have determined, what else can we say about Tingle?
There has been past speculation that Tingle is Link’s alter ego in Termina. Since Termina features many similar characters to Hyrule, both physically (partially because they ripped off a few sprites here and there) alike yet emotionally opposites. It has been theorized before that Termina may, in fact, be the expression of the hopes and dreams of Hylians. If this is the case, then what of Link’s alter ego? Why, it may lie in Tingle himself. Perhaps it is a symbol of blissful merriment that Link desires to have in his heart. Maybe it is a grim glimpse of Link’s future. At any rate, it is all speculation. And thus, this ends our study of Tingle in the Majora’s Mask era.
The Tingle persona evolved when he appeared once more in The Wind Waker. He was first seen as a prisoner in a town, and upon release, he became a cartographer in a different sense of the word. He would decipher ancient maps for Link at a price. Why Tingle? What did his presence mean? What changed?
Like in Majora's Mask, Tingle donned his spandex outfit, in addition to rosier cheeks added for cel-shading effect. An interesting thing to note about the Wind Waker Tingle’s appearance is the symbol on his back: a fearsome, golden snake. What does it mean? Could our lovable, naïve character have some dark, questionable side to him through symbolism? Or, was this simply an artistic ploy on Nintendo’s part? Either way, it remains shrouded in speculation.
In addition, the Tingle persona brought in a slew of brethren to accompany the fairy wannabe in his island. David Jr., Ankle, and Knuckle were all a part of the island, each donning a different colored set of spandex similar to Tingle’s. David Jr. had white spandex, Ankle had pink, and Knuckle had blue. Mysteriously enough, only Tingle’s clothes wield the snake on the back. But, if anything, they all had the same man boobs. This quartet made up all of Tingle’s known family (although, technically, David Jr. was not related to the other three in any way, but rather, was forced into joining them due to certain circumstances).
Tingle’s second appearance brought even more questions than before. Because he appeared in The Wind Waker, Tingle existed outside of Termina! Questions were everywhere. So, what can we speculate?
In one theory, it is said that Tingle might be the descendant of the Link from Majora's Mask. Following the idea that Majora's Mask’s Tingle was a glimpse into Link’s future, people thought it possible that eventually, Link’s far off distant great great grandchildren could be TWW’s Tingle. There were many, many skeptics to this idea. Most people regarded Tingle as merely a variable of comic relief, while others attempted to connect the two Tingles in any way possible. There was no solid answer.
It was around this time that Tingle gained the association with Michael Jackson. By now, enough people loathed the grotesque little man that they had begun to demonize him through such analogies. Tingle being “the Michael Jackson” of the Zelda series, “molesting David Jr.” at night. Those who resented such accusations snapped back with accusing the somewhat creepy sculptor Carlov of being the Michael Jackson of the series, due to the fact that he had commented on a certain boy’s “silky smooth skin”. In the end, it was simply a battle of ego. In truth, no real questions were being answered. All that was known was that Tingle was quickly becoming recognized by many as either an interesting persona, or a disturbed one.
Tingle made yet another reappearance in the two latest Zelda games, Four Swords Adventures and The Minish Cap. In FSA, Tingle was breaking the ice of conformity, playing the role of a mini-game host. In TMC, The Tingle quartet returned, all serving a completely different purpose: kinstone fusion. The subquest of fusing kinstones was made a deeper task to complete by the addition of Tingle and friends.
The stenches of Capcom’s taint lingered in the air, as the Tingle quartet were not nearly as intriguing as before. A little less dimension were put into their personas and actions. Their roles were much more restricting than before. While they were still clothed in their spandex attire, there were no man boobs to be found. Very little progress, if any, on their characters were made.
Because of this lack of innovation, the Tingle quartet of TMC and Tingle of FSA were more accepted among gamers. There were fewer complaints about the subject, and therefore less quarrels. They added very little to the main storyline, and thus there were very few timeline topics involving Tingle. On a side note, Carlov also lost his pedophile attributes in TMC, causing rumors of him to quiet down as well.
At this point, all that is known about Tingle and the gang has been discussed. What is left to question? Why, there are many inquiries on the subject still lingering, primarily on the Tingle-fan interaction. Why is there such a wide difference of opinion about this character?
Perhaps the hatred of Tingle stems from some offshoot of homophobia. Universal taboos dictate what is to be accepted in society, and Tingle is one of those creatures that simply broke all the rules. If you were to ask an ignorant person, they would say that a person of Tingle’s stature would most likely be homosexual. And, if one ignorant person were to project that message to other ignorant people, that negative image would spread like wildfire. With time came a mellowing of sorts, as the hatred of Tingle became more of a thing that we “love to hate”. Ignorance eventually cooled into satire.
Those who liked the humor that Tingle brought were often faced with the challenge of standing up to many Tingle-haters. The difference between the two groups is that one group went from shock to ignorance and then to humor. The other group eliminated the middleman.
The feuds over Tingle continue on to this day. Is there a clear answer awaiting our realization? If there is, we have yet to be enlightened. What is the link between Tingle and Link? What is the connection between Tingle and the story? What isthe relationship between the Tingles of the different games? Is there more to this odd little mystery than what meets the eye? Until the day comes that we can say these things for sure, we must rely on Nintendo to continue featuring the lovable middle aged man in the green tights. Oh, and don’t forget the man boobs.
