General Zelda Do You Love to Hate Tingle, or Do You Just Hate Him?

[DeletedUser9]

It's common in the Zelda community to complain about Tingle. I however have always liked him, and I wrote a short article all about this a while back. A frequent commenter on the site named BlackRaven6695 -- I have no idea if he comes to the forums or not -- wrote something that, despite not mentioning it in the article, I actually agree with and think is pretty accurate overall:

I've always thought that there was a sort of running joke among the Zelda fanbase to make jokes about hating Tingle even if you don't actually hate him in truth. That's how I treat him as anyway, a being created solely to make jokes about.

I think that's true. I doubt most people complain about Tingle in earnest so much as enjoy the fact that he's disturbing. It's kind of like Zapp Brannigan from Futurama; Zapp is a perverted egomaniac with no redeeming qualities whatsoever, but you're meant to love to hate him because of the humor he helps engineer. I think Tingle's a lot like that.


But I was wondering how true that is of the forumgoers here. Do you hate Tingle in all seriousness, or do you just like to say so as a running joke? Or do both apply -- do you think he's disturbing and are serious when you say so, but still enjoy him for it anyway? And for what reasons, regardless of your answer?

 

[HyruleHistory10]

I guess i will answer this lol. Personally I never HATED him. I may have disliked the way that he charged you for some basic stuff (or completely ripped you off to decipher triforce charts). I think he is a running joke. There was an article on Zelda universe awhile back talking about this.

Poor Tingle. His maps are an invented necessity – before him overworld maps were a gimme. The added gameplay is neat, but why, oh why, give the job to someone who’s bound to alienate people? And really, why do we find Tingle so obnoxious?
He’s a fan, of course – more-so he’s a fanboy, the dirtiest word in gaming. He is what we all fear to be... Tingle is a subtle jab at some of the nuts that fell from the Great Deku Tree of fandom.

. http://www.zeldauniverse.net/articles/dinks-awakening/#more-127

Basically what this person is saying is that s/he thinks Nintendo made Tingle to poke fun of some of the fans that are really die-hard fans. This may have some weight (though I personnaly think Nintendo would not do this), but it is an interesting thing to think about.

Who are the people who are most offended by him... The Traditionalist who worship this game like crazy... some are scared of change (well most are). I mean Nintendo has poked fun at other people before so would this be anything different... no.

So in other words ya I think Tingle is a running joke meant to disturbe the people that he most resembles, and that is the glory of who he is.

 

[DarkestLink]

He was fine in Majora's Mask, but they ruined him in Wind Waker. I don't love to hate him. I wish he had never shown up outside of MM, so I could fondly enjoy his memory in peace.

 

[Sir Quaffler]

In MM I loved to poke fun at him. He's supposed to be the guy we all laugh at in public, he's the epitome of the extremist fanboy. But secretly I respect his complete honesty with himself, even if it makes him look like a weirdo.

WW added a new element to his personality, and not a good one IMO. He's a money-grabbing map decipher who'll ring you out of every Rupee you have and then some. Plus he's also a murderer!

So, in most games and MM in particular, I love to poke fun at him, but I honestly hate him in WW.

 

[Hypernova]

I think that he's weird and a little creepy, but I don't hate him.

 

[ihateghirahim]

Tingle is an interesting and fun character in MM. He is one my favorite characters from the game. He's kind of like that fun little thing they put in for comedic effect. His appearance, personality and speeches are the stuff of gaming legends.

Alternatively in WW, he's some sort of demented criminal mastermind. I don't know what happened there. It's a deliberate destruction of character. Why Miyamoto? Why?

Then I understand that there are spin-off games that were never released in America, so I can't really say what they are. At least they weren't big hits, nintendo has gotten better about releasing games in recent years.

 

[Burning Beast]

ABSOLUTELY HATE TINGLE!!! Freaking creeper in WW, he just oozes creepiness and idiocy. He does not amuse me in the slightest, he's uglier than heck and charges inhuman prices for his services in the triforce quest. Dislike him a lot. Thank goodness we haven't seen him in awhile.

 

[Sydney]

I love Tingle! How could anyone hate him? Just look at the guy:

He's ripped:

He's passionate:

He's brave:

AND

He gets all the ladies:

TINGLE FOR LIFE!

 

[Ventus]

I absolutely hate Tingle, but I do not have any any justification for said hatred. I don't bandwagon hate him; I hate him because he drives me insane for reasons I don't even know. I could go into the whys and hows as to why I do not know...but that's just rambling at tthis point.

 

[Sir Quaffler]

Atticus, where are all those pictures from? Because that is freaking hilarious!

 

[Justac00lguy]

In a strange way I actually like Tingle....

I think he is generally misunderstood, of course he seems to be a miniature, overweight, uglier version of Link but I think this actually works in his favor. First off I like the fact that he is completely delusional about being a fairy and whatnot in a way it made me ralate to someone who just wants to go out and be what he wants to be. He doesn't care that he is 35 years old and the fact that he doesn't have a proper job, he is just living his life as reincarnation of a fairy. In fact in Majoras Mask he helps Link get the maps and without them I would probably of rage quit so yeah thinks Tingle. Of course he was a bit of a pain in The Wind Waker taking all my moneyyyys but hey this poor man is just trying to make a few $. Plus he has survived over hundereds of years and the great flood not to mention without Tingle, Link technically wouldn't have gotten the Triforce of Courage....So I guess you could call Tingle a hero

 

[Spirit]

I really don't mind him, and ive known him for so long now that its always nice to see him in an old friend kind of way

 

[Shadsie]

For me, it's a love to hate. I'm pretty sure with other fans I've known, people in real life, that theirs is a genuine hate, but I honestly find it difficult to hate fictional characters in general (they live in fiction-land and are no immediate threat to me). Tingle comes across to me as what Nintendo may have intended as the "loveable loser" type. He's hopeless - a crazy manchild who will never grow up and has too much love for the rupees. I think he comes across as much creepier to the American audience than intended, but honestly, that's a part of the love to hate charm with him.

Whenever I play Smash Bros. Melee', I must pop Tingle's balloon. That's the feeling he inspires in me, the kind of "Ew! Must beat up for fun!" impulse. Much like the aforementioned Zap Brannigan of Futurama, his is a skeeviness that sort of works.

Then again, I might not be the best person to ask. I don't even hate Navi. I enjoy torturing her in fanfic and conversational fan conversations, and her shrill voice *does* genuinely annoy me, but ... I just can't hate her. It's too much fun to "hate" her. Tingle is like that. Definitely.