Tingle
Image: Nintendo Life

Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been chewing over. Today, Jim is manifesting a comeback for Zelda's most iconic NPC...

If you have made it past the headline, chances are you fall into one of the following camps. One: You believe that Tingle deserves another mainline Zelda appearance. Two: You hate Tingle and everything he stands for. Three: You think we must have made a typo because there's no way it's been 20 years since Tingle last appeared in a mainline game. Four: A strange combination of all the above. Well, buckle up buddy, because here comes the cold, hard facts.

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Yes, it has been 20 years since this weird little guy last appeared in an original mainline game (excluding remakes and remasters, obviously) and also yes, his comeback is long overdue. The Tinglenaissance is upon us...

Before we dive into things, let's go over the Tingle Timeline as we collectively take each other's virtual hands and work through the shock of 20 Tingle-less years (that one sounded better in my head).

Wind Waker Tingle
Image: Nintendo

Tingle is a recurring Zelda NPC who debuted in The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. He wears a green one-piece with a pair of red Y-fronts on top and is convinced that he is the reincarnation of a fairy. Plus, he was the subject of a 2004 IGN campaign titled "Die Tingle, Die!". That just about brings you up to speed, right?

Before fetch quests galore would turn this fairy aficionado into the series' public enemy no. 1, Tingle had an important role to play in the franchise. In Majora's Mask, he's your map man. In Oracle of Ages, he provides the essential Island Chart. In Wind Waker, he's your go-to source for helpful tips (and frustrating collection quests). His usefulness does drop off in later appearances — the less said about his Force Gem-grabbing antics in Four Swords Adventures, the better — though his ability to provide a running total of remaining Kinstone Fuses in Minish Cap is a godsend. However, no matter which way you look at it, from 2000 to 2004, he was a friendly face that you could bank on seeing.

he was a friendly face that you could bank on seeing.

And of course, we say "was a friendly face" because we haven't seen him in an original mainline entry since. That means it has been 20 years since The Minish Cap was released. Oh god...

Sure, there have been Easter eggs peppered throughout several games with Tingle's likeness from figurines and plushies in Spirit Tracks and Skyward Sword to the DLC armour set in Breath of the Wild, but otherwise, it has only been the odd remake/spin-off appearance to speak of.

In fairness, those appearances have come thick and fast. There was a trio of DS games in the mid-to-late 2000s (Rosy Rupeeland, Balloon Fight, and Balloon Trip of Love) none of which made it to North America and only the first reached Europe. Then we have the Majora's Mask and Wind Waker remake/remasters on Wii U. He's proved himself a capable warrior (or survivor) by making appearances in the Super Smash Bros series and as a playable fighter in Hyrule Warriors. There's even a Tingle costume in Super Mario Maker. And who can forget his appearance in the 'Mogitate Chinkuru' microgame in Japanese copies of WarioWare: D.I.Y. Showcase? Us. We can forget that.

And so we reach the present day, one where Tingle is still a recurring feature in many a Zelda conversation despite him not appearing in the series since a time when clamshells were all the rage. But why? The IGN campaign packed a fair amount of venom back in the day, longing for the death of Tingle at all costs as the series entered its darker, eyeliner-wearing adult phase of Twilight Princess. But the franchise's silly, goofy mood has returned with a vengeance. Link avoids Looney Tunes-style accidents as he blasts Koroks out of the stratosphere, our beloved Addison gawps in OTT surprise as we solve his physics-based puzzles — a side quest we're convinced would have been perfect for Tingle in another timeline — and Master Khoga is an all-out slapstick bad guy.

can we stop pretending that the series has "outgrown" Tingle and give the weird little fella a second chance?

As we approach our first Princess Zelda-led adventure, one where monsters and bedroom furniture alike can be summoned on a whim to solve puzzles, can we stop pretending that the series has "outgrown" Tingle and give the weird little fella a second chance? The answer, if you ask me, is yes, of course we can!

What we know about Echoes of Wisdom at the time of writing is barely enough to fill the back of a postage stamp, but I can already see ample room for some Tingle turn-ups. We know Princess Zelda will use a map in the game (it popped up in the bottom right corner in the reveal trailer) but did you see any kind of Sheikah Slate, Purah Pad or other tech-savvy stand-in for the real thing? I sure didn't. Who's Zelda getting these maps from then? How are they being designed if there are no obvious towers in the area? Perhaps somebody attached to a balloon??

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
Image: Nintendo

We also know Zelda has a new fairy friend, Tri, in tow. Looking a little more high-tech than Navi and Tatl's winged ball of light, this mysterious species is bound to attract some attention. Perhaps from someone with an overbearing passion for fairies?? It all adds up, once you get the red string out. Of course, there are some timeline shenanigans that I'm probably sidestepping (is Tingle even alive at this point?) but if Nintendo can turn a blind eye to such continuity, so can I.

We may have coped for 20 years without a mainline Tingle appearance, but we find the series in a different place today. What was once a quest for mature realism is starting to embrace the lighter side once again and come on, what's lighter than "Kooloo-Limpah"? Forget the blind hatred of the past, it's Tingle Time once again.

Do you think Tingle should return to the Zelda series or is he better off trapped in the past? Fill out the following poll and then take to the comments to share your thoughts.

Should Tingle return to mainline Zelda?
How did you feel learning it's been 20 years since The Minish Cap?