Tingle is a recurring character in the Legend of Zelda franchise. He first appeared as the map-seller in
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. Due to Japan's love of him, he reappeared in minor roles in
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages,
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker,
The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures and
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap. His popularity in Japan led Nintendo to release
Freshly Picked: Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland, where Tingle was the protagonist.
Rosy Rupeeland was only released in Japan and Europe due to his lack of popularity in America. Another game,
Tingle's Balloon Fight DS, was released in Japan.
Tingle is 35 years old and has made no progress in life, but he is convinced that he is the reincarnation of a fairy. Thus, he always wears green fairy clothing, and he loves Link for wearing his green clothing and having pointed ears. He even has magic words: "Tingle! Tingle! Kooloo-Limpah!"
As such, as much as some hate to admit, Tingle is a very likely candidate for SSB4. Despite his lack of popularity in America, Tingle has massive popularity in Japan and he will continue to be a very important character.
$ Kooloo-Statistics! $
Attacking ~ 4
Defending ~ 8
KOing ~ 5
Movement Speed ~ 6
Traction ~ 2
Range ~ 9
Attack Speed ~ 4
Priority ~ 4
Fall Speed ~ 2
Recovery ~ 7
Size ~ 7
Weight ~ 3
So Tingle isn't the sharpest pencil in the box as far as statistics go. He has great range, and he plays very well defensively, but everything else is...meh. However, this doesn't account for Tingle's exceptional stage control. Tingle's tricks can make him difficult to approach, and he is wonderful at gimping. His tricks enable complex combos and strings. Tingle is difficult to harness, but not necessarily bad.
$ Kooloo-Animations! $
Symbol
A single Rupee represents the universe of Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland.
Wiimote Noise
"Tingle, Tingle, Kooloo-Limpah!" These are the magic words that Tingle created himself. Don't steal them!
Entrance
Tingle lowers to the stage leisurely on a balloon, but the balloon suddenly pops, and Tingle defies gravity for a moment before falling to the ground flat on his face.
Crowd Cheer
The voice of Pinkle, Tingle's assistant and love interest in
Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland, call's out Tingle's name in a feminine, seductive voice.
Basic Stance
Tingle stands on the stage, occasionally fidgeting or glancing innocently at the screen.
Idle Stance
Tingle does a pirouette and ends with a flourishing pose with one arm up and one leg stretched out.
Walk
Tingle gingerly treads forwards on the tips of his feet.
Run
Tingle, still treading on the tips of his feet, begins to run at a mediocre speed.
Dash
Tingle jumps onto a magic carpet, dramatically increasing speed from his run. This has above average speed for a dash.
First Jump
Tingle hops up a decent distance.
Midair Jump
Tingle twirls in midair, spreading flower petals as he does so. This covers a bad distance vertically but it could cover a good distance horizontally.
Crouch
Tingle turns his back to the screen and ducks his head to look between his legs. Surprising lowness to the ground considering his size, but he's still combo fodder in this state.
Shield
Tingle does a pirouette as he summons his shield, continuing it as long as the shielding button is held down.
Rolldodge
Tingle does an acrobatic flip to the side. Lasts a while and covers a good distance.
Spotdodge
Tingle miraculously moves into the background while still pirouetting, and moves back to the foreground. Good length, but a bit slow.
Airdodge
Tingle spreads a bunch of flower petals like in his second jump, but this time there are many more of them. You can't see how Tingle is dodging attacks which come his way. The flower petals stay out for a bit after using this dodge, obscuring Tingle's actions but also those of his opponents.
Dizzy
Tingle crosses his legs while standing up, bobbing to the sides as his eyes spin.
Asleep
Tingle somehow finds a four-poster bed to lie down on drooling as he rests.
$ Kooloo-Specials! $
Neutral Special ~ Tingle Bomb
A balloon blossoms on Tingle's back, and it hoists Tingle upwards the distance of two Stage Builder Blocks. A cel-shaded bomb appears in Tingle's hands as he travels up. The entire animation lasts about half a second. Once Tingle has lifted into the air, he is free to move in either horizontal direction, at the speed of his slow run, for three seconds, to cover about 2.5 Battlefield platforms. After three seconds pass- you cannot drop the bomb early- the bomb drops, exploding after reaching the ground or dropping more then two Stage Builder Blocks, and Tingle falls down to the ground for some ending lag as he composes himself from the fall. The explosion will deal
16% and good knockback. If he used it in midair, then he instantly throws the bomb down for only a mild vertical boost. Also, if used in midair, it can only be used once before reaching solid ground, though it does not induce a helpless state.
This may sound like the new Mach Tornado, but it has something holding it back. It deals damage to Tingle. The first time each stock it is used, it doesn't do anything harmful to Tingle, but for each subsequent use, it does
3% more- that is, second use does
3%, third use does
6%, et cetera- maxing out at
15%. In addition, for each
3% dealt by the blast, Tingle takes some small knockback, but this could seriously add up to a self-KO by 5 uses or so. There's a 5% chance that Tingle will be dealt ridiculous upwards knockback, like when Jigglypuff's shield is broken. Do not use this at high percentages.
Tingle Bombs are quite versatile tools. They are effective ways to pressure or approach, and they work as KO moves. They are powerful albeit hard to land edgegarders. Since Tingle rises into the air when he uses them, he is hard to hit while he uses this, so it can be used to play defensively. It can shut down approaches too. But there's a cost for such a versatile move. Tingle is safe the first time he uses it, but each time after he will steadily weaken himself. It's best to use it only 3 times a stock, and only if you need it, because you do not want a one-hit KO, even if it's only a 5% chance. Be very careful with how you dispense this powerful move.
Side Special ~ Bodyguard
Tingle could fight well enough for himself in
Rosy Rupeeland, but he could hire bodygurds for extra protection with his ample rupees. For the animation for this move, Tingle pulls out a burlap sack, holding its mouth ahead of himself for a second. For this second, any Rupees onstage summoned with Tingle's Neutral Attack will be drawn into the sack, even if they are all the way across the stage. This does nothing if Tingle has no Rupees.
Once a second passes, Tingle dumps all of his Rupees out, adding all of their values together and coming up with a total amount of Rupees. Then he obtains the most expensive bodyguard in the list below which he can afford, then pours out all of his extra Rupees. This part of the animation is negligibly short, as the bodyguard appears once Tingle dumps out the Rupees. If Tingle cannot afford any bodyguards then the move ends here, but it can still be a convenent way to get all of your Rupees in one place.
Bodyguards essentially act as weak Assist Trophies. Upon appearing, they all have a unique effect they use to attack. Also, it's worth noting that each time you use a bodyguard in a match, their prices rise by ten Rupees, stopping once the prices reach 100 Rupees. This could screw you over if you use a weak bodyguard too much, as their prices might make you pay more for a worse bodyguard!
Zuzu is the cheapest bodyguard money can buy, so he isn't *too* powerful. Upon appearing, after a half-second of startup lag, Zuzu rushes forward while flailing his arms. Zuzu will travel half the distance of Final Destination at the speed of Mario's dash. He stops and turns around, then completes the rest of his dash if he meets a ledge. Contact with him in this state does
12% and below average horizontal knockback. Obviously Zuzu is quite weak, but he works well as an approach, and it can counter pressure as well. Zuzu really isn't good for any one thing, but he's versatile enough to be moderately useful.
Victoria is a good defensive option. Upon appearing, she follows Tingle for ten seconds before disappearing. During this period, if any opponent of Tingle walks within a Stage Builder Block of Tingle, Victoria rushes up to them and performs a rapid sword slash, dealing
14% and average knockback. Obviously, no opponent will be stupid enough to walk up to Tingle while he has Victoria hired, so Tingle should bring Victoria to them. This makes Victoria good for pressure, whether it's Tingle or the foe pressuring.
Gixx is one of the most powerful bodygards, but he cannot move. Upon being summoned, Gixx stays on the stage for fifteen seconds in place before disappearing. If any opponent walks within 1.5 Stage Builder Blocks ahead of Gixx, he lunges forward with a powerful bite, doing
16% and very strong upwards knockback. It's very difficult to get fifty Rupees, so try as best as you can to knock opponents into Gixx for an easy KO.
Ronny is dramatically overpowered, but he is extremely difficult to get. The only way to get 100 Rupees is to somehow manage to get five Red Rupees, and that's unrealistic. Maybe by the end of the match you'll have amassed enough to hire Ronny, but it's really unlikely, especially since your opponents can knock your Rupees offstage.
Anyway, upon appearing, Ronny will begin to run towards the foe and jump to them if they are in midair, for fifteen seconds. If he reaches an opponent on the ground, he powerfully punches them with a bit of startup, doing
24% and unholy knockback. In the air, he uses a sexkick attack that does
18% and great knockback. If you somehow manage to get Ronny, it's a given that all opponents have lost a stock.
Up Special ~ Tingle Balloon
After a bit of startup lag, a balloon magically blossoms above Tingle, like in his Neutral B, but this time Tingle doesn't stop- he floats up, and up, and up. Tingle floats at the speed of Mario's dash, covering a vertical distance of Lucas's PK Thunder 2 before the balloon pops. Tingle does not go into helpless after using this move, but he will not be able to use it until he touches solid ground again. Opponents can attack the balloon to make the move end early. This coud be difficult, however, as Tingle can use any aerial out of this move. However, if Tingle uses an aerial, then the balloon pauses during the duration of the move, causing less distance to be gained. Generally this isn't a problem since Tingle's aerials are usually quick, but trigerring the long animation of his Forward Air could be a terrible mistake.
Down Special ~ Tingle Shield
Tingle begins to summon his shield with a normal animation, but something functions wrong: the shield starts out small and grows! Not to mention that there's some startup lag before the shield appears. The shield takes the same amount of time to grow to full size as a normal shield takes to fully shrink without being attacked, around three seconds. Tingle will begin to glow when the shield is at its full size.
Once this move is released, the shield appears, right there on the stage where Tingle initiated the move. The shield acts like any other natural shield, except not attached to any character. That means that if attacks hit it, they automatically stop, only shrinking the shield exactly as a normal shield would have shrunk. Tingle, by using this move on a shield he has already summoned, can expand the shield at his normal speed, though you should keep in mind that the shield can't get any bigger than a regular shield.
This has a few notable effects that are not in normal shields. It automatically reflects energy-based projectiles, making it an effective tool against Pit or ROB, especially since their range makes them some of Tingle's worst matchups.
$ Kooloo-Standards! $
Neutral Attack ~ Kooloo-Limpah!
In a half-second animation, Tingle sticks out his two arms, each after the other. After this second, Tingle can hold in the move for up to three seconds. After releasing the charge, Tingle quickly lets out his trademark "Kooloo-Limpah!", making various flowers and sound waves pour out of him wih a short animation. The entirety of this attack does no damage, but using it summons a small Rupee below Tingle. The Rupee acts as a weak throwing item.Rupees can stay on the stage infinitely, but they disappear once thrown. Tingle is the only one who can pick up Rupees, but other characters can knock them away with attacks. And remember how he could hold in the attack earlier? The longer he holds in the attack, the higher the grade of the Rupee, and the more powerful the Rupee is.
- Green Rupees appear with no charge. They can be thrown for 3% and slight flinching.
- Blue Rupees appear with a one second charge. They do 5%, with more knockback and hitstun the greens.
- Yellow Rupees appear with a two second charge. They do multiple hits for up to 9% with electric properties, but no knockback.
- Red Rupees appear with a three second charge. They do 12% with fire properties, and strong KOable knockback.
Notably, some of Tingle's attacks require a certain amount of the Rupees. Each Rupee has a total value that is used to calculate this. If you've played any Zelda you should know them already, but if not they are:
- Green Rupee- 1
- Blue Rupee- 5
- Yellow Rupee- 10
- Red Rupee- 20
Dash Attack ~ Fairy Dust
From his dash on the magic carpet, Tingle finds a small bag with some lag, and spreads the yellowish contents behind him as he still dashes. This forms a cloud of yellow dust, the height of Kirby but about 1.5X Kirby's length. If any opponent happens to walk into the cloud, they uncontrollably are lifted up the distance of three Stage Builder Blocks and put into a helpless state, as well as taking
6% damage. Projectiles will be deflected upwards by the cloud. Tingle can jump thrice the normal height with a grounded jump inside of the cloud. This is Tingle's best option to get foes into the air.
$ Kooloo-Tilts! $
Side Tilt ~ Olive Branch
Tingle, with a bit of startup lag, takes a short olive branch out of his suit and pokes it ahead of him, holding it out for a second. On contact it deals
6% and small set knockback, with little range and poor priority for a disjointed attack. The speed, and the ability to angle it slightly, make it decent for shield poking but useless for all else...
...or so you think. The olive branch is a symbol of peace, and so, if any opponent uses an jointed attack which connects with the olive branch, instead of performing the attack they shake Tingle's hand. Admirable, no? Well, no, because after a second of hand shaking Tingle unexpectedly pokes the stick out, doing
9% and stronger but still slightly weak horizontal knockback. This is ideal for pushing your opponent into a trap, or to counter comboes.
This is good to throw out occasionally, but using it too much makes it very predictable. The startup lag can be efficiently counterattacked, and during the short period when the olive branch is out Tingle can be grabbed. Overall, this is good to use once in a while, but Tingle becomes very vulnerable if he uses it too much.
Up Tilt ~ Torchlight Trouble
Tingle uses his trademark "Kooloo-Limpah!", in a moderately punishable animation which looks exactly the same as the Neutral A, without the option of charging. After the flowers clear from the stage, a Zelda series torch, as seen above. The torch is the height of Mario, but only the width of Squirtle. It disappears after twenty seconds, and only one can be on the stage at a time. It only has 15 stamina.
However, you'd be hard-pressed to take away stamina from it, as merely touching the flame deals
12% and strong, KOable upwards knockback with fire properties. Shorter characters like Kirby, however, can safely walk underneath the flame. As a rule, characters generally can avoid the flame, meaning that you should connect it in a combo to get it to land. Side Tilt can efficiently get opponents into the flame, as can many of Tingle's quirky throws and his Forward Air.
Torches are some of Tingle's most useful traps. Planting a torch in the right place can be a boon to Tingle's game. Perhaps you could put it in an area where it can knock people into other hazards, or higher parts of the stage to make star KOs easier. An evil tactic is to plant it by the ledge, making it harder to recover. Using ingenuity, torches can do very many things for Tingle's game.
Down Tilt ~ Kinstone
Tingle finds a small Kinstone, the size of a Pokeball, in the space of a half-second. Kinstones can be either red, blue, green or gold. The first three have a frequency of 30%, but the golden one is rare, having a frequency of only 10%. The Kinstone will then become a weak throwing item. The first three do
3% and very low knockback with poor range, and golden Kinstones do
5% and a bit more knockback and range. Obviously, this is near useless- the strength in Kinstones is in fusing them.
By using the Down Tilt over a Kinstone, or using the move with a Kinstone in Tingle's hands, the Kinstones will fuse together in an animation lasting a second. Doing this results in a new, unique Kinstone. Each combination of colors will result in a different Kinstone.
-
+
= Red Kinstone-A Kinstone with below average range, but 8% and decent knockback with fire properties.
-
+
= Purple Kinstone- A basic, versatile Kinstone which can be thrown to deal 7% and low knockback, with average range.
-
+
= Dark Green Kinstone- A Kinstone which has bad range and low knockback, but 9% and good hitstun on contact.
-
+
= Orange Kinstone- A Kinston which can be thrown for above average range and only 5%, but surprising knockback.
-
+
= Blue Kinstone- A Kinstone with only 5% and poor knockback, but exceptional range.
-
+
= Blue-Green Kinstone- A Kinstone with good range and 12%, but no knockback whatsoever.
-
+
= Pearl Kinstone- A Kinstone with good range, which slows the opponent like the effect of a Stopwatch for ten seconds.
-
+
= Green Kinstone- A Kinstone which can't be thrown far at all and has bad throwing speed, but does 12% with good knockback.
-
+
= Gold Dust Kinstone- A Kinstone which dissolves into dust in a Bowser size cloud, which remains for a second, doing multiple hits for up to 15% but no knockback within it.
-
+
= A Kinstone which can be thrown for great range, 14% and insane knockback. Cry broken if you want, but the odds of getting two golden Kinstone pieces are 1%.
Kinstones always are different and have random effects, but all are useful and can be used usefully. At a high enough skill level, you may even be able to make specific Kinstones, greatly boosting their effectiveness. Kinstones can be tricky to use but they are far worth it.
$ Kooloo-Smashes! $
Side Smash ~ Brawl
In
Rosy Rupeeland. Tingle could fight enemies and rise up clouds of dust, like in old cartoons. Tingle utilizes this technique in Smash for his Side Smash. For the charging animation, Tingle comically scrapes his feet on the ground. The animation is subtle, and the first time you use it in a match your opponent may not know what Tingle is doing.
Once the charge is released, Tingle, with small startup lag, lunges forward the distance of a Battlefield platform. If Tingle does not manage to connect with his opponent, he falls on the ground, causing punishable startup lag. If he does, however, then he enters a comic brawl with his opponent, kicking up dust to obscure vision. As they brawl for about two seconds, an invisible meter, visible only to the programming, is above Tingle's head. By mashing buttons, Tingle and his opponent can push the invisible counter on the meter into the green and the red, respectively. Since you can't see the meter, all you know to do is to mash buttons as much as you can. At the end of the two seconds, Tingle tosses the opponent upwards in a high-knockback KO move, doing
14%. If the opponent managed to push the invisible counter into the red,
they toss Tingle up for the same effect, which has a good chance of KOing the poor, lightweight Tingle.
Charging this move allows Tingle more headway on the meter when he begins to brawl. If he C-sticks the smash then the counter starts exactly in the center, but by charging the move, Tingle can get a good advantage on the counter, which can make it far easier to succeed unless you suck at button mashing.
This is a powerful finisher, and Tingle's best. In fact, it's probably the move Tingle will use to score the most KOs. What makes it very risky, however, is the possible effect of the opponent tossing you up. Try to practice button mashing in Training mode, or at least be sure to moderately charge this Smash. They won't know what hit them.
Up Smash ~ Scarecrow
As Tingle charges this trap, he does his Kooloo-Limpah from the Neutral A and the Up Tilt. Once the charge is released, a scarecrow is revealed as the flower petals clear. This move has small startup lag but a bit of ending lag. The scarecrow is the height of two Kirbys but only one Kirby of width. It has 10 to 25 stamina, depending on the charge. Only one scarecrow can be on the stage at a time.
The scarecrow itself does no damage, but while Tingle has a scarecrow out, using his Up Smash again will send him into an odd stance, with his legs crossed on the ground and his arms held outwards. It takes about a third of a second to enter this stance. By pressing any direction, Tingle can make the scarecrow attack in any direction. By tiliting the Control Stick to either side, the scarecrow will do a slowish punch to the side, with good range and
8% to
16% depending on charge, but below average knockback. Pressing the Control Stick down will make the scarecrow quickly slam its hands to the side, with bad range for each side but covering both sides, for
6% to
14% depending on charge. Finally, by pressing up, the scarecrow can do an uppercut, which has narrow horizontal range and has ending lag, but has good vertical range, does
9% to
18% depending on charge and knockback which could KO, though it would take a very high damage percentage. Pressing the B button makes Tingle exit the stance with some lag. He cannot exit it while the scarecrow is preforming an atack. Tingle can be punished during this animation.
The scarecrow's attacks are not as powerful as those used by Tingle, and they are usually a little slower. What makes this move worthwhile is the safety it grants. By planting a scarecrow in the right place, Tingle can effectively pressure and damage from a distance. It grants many other tricks for edgeguarding and attacking with dual strength. Scarecrows open up some very interesting options for Tingle; use them right.
Down Smash ~ Tingle Statue
For the charge of this move, Tingle begins to do his Kooloo-Limpah thing again. Once the charge is released, a small bust of Tingle is revealed. This has small startup lag but some ending lag. Only one bust can be onscreen at a time. The bust is a throwing item, doing
3% to
6% with very low knockback, disappearing after being thrown once. It has 15 to 5 stamina- wait, it
loses stamina as you charge it? How useless.
...or so you would think. If any opponent of Tingle destroys the bust while Tingle is not holding it- Tingle cannot damage his own busts, and even if Friendly Fire is on, his allies in team battles cannot either- then Tingle will go on a mad rage. He will begin smoking out of his nose, and his face turns red, as he dashes at his usual 6/10 speed (not on the magic carpet this time, like in his real dash) forwards the length of two Battlefield platforms. Tingle can turn around in this state, then complete the rest of his dash. Contact with the hitbox of Tingle's body will deal
18% and very strong diagonal knockback.
This is one of Tingle's hardest, if not the hardest, trap to use. Obviously your opponents will shy away from attacking the bust, and you can't carry it around to use as a counter, since it can't be damaged while Tingle is holding it. The only real way to get it destroyed is to throw it into an attack, which is far easier said then done. However, if you manage to do it, your opponent is almost certainly KOd. This move is certainly difficult to use, but by no means useless.
$ Kooloo-Aerials! $
Neutral Aerial ~ Compass
In the space of a second, Tingle curls into a ball and spins around in place. After the second of lag, a small compass appears wherever Tingle initiated the move. The compass is slightly larger then a Pokeball. After twenty seconds pass, the compass disappears. Only two compasses can be onscreen at a time.
If any character- opponent, ally or even Tingle himself- walks into an area of Bowser around the compass, it instanty activates. The compass will not activate the first time Tingle creates it, since he then would automatically hurt himself. If activated, the compass rapidly rockets towards the character who walked into the radius, doing
6% and slight set knockback as it does so. The compass has no priority at all; any attack can outprioritize it, although you could be hard-pressed to find an attack quick enough. The compass will disappear upon hitting a character. If it travels outside of the area it could activate in, it disappears.
Compasses are some of the weakest of Tingle's traps, and they are a bit laggy as well. They're near useless on the stage- where they shine is off the stage. Compasses are excellent gimpers. Since you won't have the time to plant a compass while your opponent is recovery, it would probably be best to plant two compasses offstage whenever you can so that they can work properly.
Forward Aerial ~ Dungeon Map
Tingle, with minimal lag, pulls out a dungeon map and holds it before him, as a bunch of balloons sprout on his back. For the next second, by moving the Control Stick, you can draw a line which extends out from Tingle, which can be curved and looped in any direction. In the second the line extends to the length of 1.5 Battlefield platforms. Once a second passes, or you press the A button early, Tingle floats on his balloons at the speed of Mario's dash, except in midair, on the exact path he drew. The range is of course less if you press A early. Contact with the high-priority hitbox of Tingle's entire body deals
12%, with surprisingly strong horizontal knockback.
The most obvious use of this move is recovery. Tingle Balloon, his Up Special, does not put him into helpless, and it could give a great horizontal boost. However, this is also extremely versatile for other uses. You can approach and edgeguard with it, and quickly making a path around Tingle out of a shorthop could clear out some space in a Free-For-All. What you use this for is all up to you; use it in any way and it's sure to help somehow.
Back Aerial ~ Boss Key
Tingle miraculously finds a boss key, as seen above, from the Zelda series, in the space of half a second. The key is as big as Tingle himself, defying logic. Upon pulling out the key, Tingle circles it in a delibrate fashion for a second. The key itself does no damage or knockback, but after the ridiculous second and a half of startup lag, a Zelda series boss door emerges behind Tingle. The door is slightly shorter than Ganondorf but slightly wider than him in midair. The boss door, like all of Tingle's traps, remains onscreen for twenty seconds, and only one can be onscreen at a time.
If any opponent of Tingle walks into the door, they are instantly "grabbed" by being sucked into the door. This part of the move, of course, counts as a grab; it can be escaped at lower percents by button mashing. After "grabbing" anyone, whatever is inside the door roars and throws the character back in the direction they walked into the door from, doing
10% and below average knockback with fire properties. The opponent has all of the one-second-long roar to escape by button mashing.
This is really one of Tingle's worst traps. It's moderately difficult to land, and unlike most of Tingle's other traps, it doesn't have a spectacular effect to make up for it... on the stage. This move shines as a gimper. Used in conjunction with Tingle's Neutral Aerial, this is a quite excellent counter to recoveries.
Up Aerial ~ Hookshot
This is one of Tingle's few direct attacking methods. For this attack, Tingle whips out the hookshot, a Zelda series item, to attack. With low lag, Tingle quickly whips it above himself, covering a range equal to Zero Suit Samus's Up Smash. The hookshot has poor priority despite being disjointed. Contact with any part along the chain of the hoiokshot only does
8% and weak vertical knockback, but the sweetspot directly at the end of the chain will deal
15%, with stronger vertical knockback, which can KO close to the top of the screen, but not very well, as the knockback is lower than the average KO move. This move is best used to occupy the opponent; the speed and range make it easy to hit with. It's exceptionally valuable because Tingle can attack directly with it.
Down Aerial ~ Fishing Rod
In The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, players, instead of defeating the difficult sword form of Ganondorf, found it easier to distract Ganondorf with the Fishing Rod. By casting the fishing line, Ganondorf would stupidly look at the barb, leaving him open to a flurry of sword strikes. Tingle uses the fishing rod to attack for the same principle here. For his Down Aerial, Tingle casts out a fishing rod the length of a Battlefield platform, being able to direct it in any direction with the Control Stick. This has low startup lag, but it has some ending lag. If the end of the fishing rod goes into an area of Bowser around an opponent, the character will stop whatever they are doing and turn around if they need to, then gaze at the end of the fishing rod for a stun slightly better than Falco's blaster. This is a good technique for distraction, and it helps to allow Tingle to force opponents into traps with his attacks, though this is difficult because the ending lag diminishes the effect of the stun. It's a very good edgeguarder as well, but in midair it can only turn foes around without a stun, which is good for confusing them.
$ Kooloo-Grabs! $
Grab ~ Treasure Chest
Tingle pulls out a small, Zelda series, cel-shaded treasure chest. He then opens the treasure chest to reveal the treasures inside. As it sounds, this has some startup lag. Any opponent of Tingle ahead of him in the range of a Battlefield platform will begin to inexorably walk the distance of half of a Battlefield platform, dazzled by the treasures. If the opponent walks into a close range around Tingle, they will instantly be grabbed. If they don't get in range, the ending lag and the fact that they're now very close to Tingle makes this a punishable grab. It's worth noting that any villians- Bowser, Wario, Ganondorf and Wolf (Dedede and Meta Knight are more of anti-heroes)- are so greedy that they will walk the distance of a full Battlefield platform. As an aesthetic note, Wario runs faster than anyone else when lured by the chest.
Pummel ~ Chest Mimic
Tingle opens the chest and reveals it to be a Chest Mimic, a false chest from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time which had a negative effect. For the duration of the grab, two explosions will occur over the grab-ee each second, dealing
2% for each hit and
4% per second. Tingle cannot preform any throws while this is going on, and he can't cancel it. The grab-ee can mash buttons, just like they are grabbed, to escape. This is a valuable damage dealer at higher damage percentages, but why would you be dealing damage when your opponent has a high damage percentage?
Forward Throw ~ Trap Transpire
Tingle tosses the grab-ee up vertically for low knockback and
7%. The throw ends right there unless there is one of Tingle's traps in an area of Bowser around the opponent at any point during the throw. If any is, the opponent is sucked into it for the normal effect, making this valuable for getting opponents into your traps.
Back Throw ~ Trap Mover
Tingle holds up his hand, as all traps in an area of three Bowsers around him are moved in the direction of Tingle the distance of a Battlefield platform. The traps cannot be moved an area of Bowser around the grab-ee. This is an alternative to the Forward Throw, valuable if you need to trap your opponent in a sea of traps, although maybe you should use the Down Throw if you have a scarecrow around for that purpose.
Up Throw ~ Rupee Curse
A single Green Rupee falls on the head of the grab-ee, doing
2%. For the next twelve seconds, every two seconds, a Green Rupee will fall on the opponent from a length of Squirtle above, each doing
2% but no knockback. This can deal a maximum of
14%, but seeing the possibility of outrunning the Rupees or spotdodging them, this is unlikely. For the full effect of the throw you'll want to pressure our opponent to make all of the Green Rupees fall on them. It's of note that the first five Rupees, or the amount of Rupees Tingle needs to reach five, remain on the ground, acting as normal Green Rupees from Tingle's Neutral A to hire bodyguards with.
Down Throw ~ S'Crow Funk
Tingle begins to...
dance with the opponent for two seconds. This just leaves Tingle and his opponent back to square one, being decent for stalling but useless for all else. If, however, a scarecrow is in an area of Bowser around Tingle, he throws the foe to dance with the scarecrow for two seconds. The opponent cannot take damage or knockback while dancing, but it gives Tingle two free seconds to grab items, or, more importantly, set up traps.
$ Kooloo-Situationals! $
Ledge Attack (Under 100%) ~ Distraction
A bunch of confetti appears in a large cloud, covering Tingle and the ledge. When the confetti clears after a second, Tingle is revealed on the ledge. This has no attack to it, but it's pretty unexpected, and the confetti obscures vision long enough for Tingle to clear the way with a weak attack.
Ledge Attack (Over 100%) ~ False Distraction
Exactly the same as Under 100%, but Tingle doesn't reappear. You're going to have to jump up, making this a bit slower. It can be useful for mindgames, but not very well since your opponent can check your damage percentage and react accordingly, and you can't decide whether you reappear or not.
Rising Attack ~ Tingle Splits
Tingle goes into painful splits. This has poor range, but good priority and it covers both sides. Contact with Tingle's feet deals
12%, with good knockback for a rising attack. However, if this misses, the ending lag of this move will be punished.
Tripped Attack ~ Great Sea
Tingle summons a small cloud around him, and two cel-shaded waves roll out from him, as tall as he is. The waves travel half a Battlefield platform, and have a Piplup effect, dragging foes with them and dealing up to
7% in multiple hits. A strong, quick, useful tripped attack; it's a shame you can only use it when you trip.
$ Kooloo-Final Smash! ~ Rupee Curse $
In
Rosy Rupeeland, Tingle's life energy was Rupees. He not only needed Rupees to buy items and hire bodyguards, but he needed them as health points, and losing all Rupees meant dying. When this Final Smash is activated, Tingle does a creepy and evil dance, as the symbol of a Rupee envelopes the stage. Once the rupee symbol clears, every opponent of Tingle in the match will turn into a Tingle.
Rosy Rupeeland established that Tingle is not a person but rather a state of being. So as a Tingle, characters will wear an outfit similar to Tingle's, but in their own color scheme.
Opponents will stay as a Tingle for twenty seconds. During this period, Rupees from Tingle's will steadily rain from the sky, around two per second. All characters will have a Rupee counter. Characters can pick up Rupees to increase a Rupee counter newly beneath their damage percentage. Tingle himself also has a Rupee counter now. Attacking an opponent will make their Rupees drain out from them, usually bouncing off the stage but sometimes staying on to be picked up by other characters.
So what's the point in this Final Smash? Every two seconds, if a character has less than 10 Rupees, they take
5% and slight knockback but good hitstun. Obviously Tingle himself will not lose damage if he does not have Rupees. At the end of the twenty seconds, all characters will take upwards knockback based on how many Rupees they have. At 10 Rupees and above characters will take no knockback, but for each Rupee below 10 the knockback increases by an increment, maxing out at obscene knockback as bad as the Ultimate Chimera in New Pork City.
This Final Smash is still useful in one versus ones, as Tingle can hoard all of the Rupees as best as he can with his laggy Side Special. However, where this Final Smash really shines is in Free For Alls. Characters will attack other characters and many of the Rupees will spill offstage, making them useless to defend against the Final Smash. It's human nature. They'd be better off sharing all of the Rupees, but of course they don't want to do that...
$ Kooloo-Playstyle! ~ Breaking the Bank $
Tingle is one of those characters who can play decently without practice but needs plenty to function correctly. Any fool can easily plant a few Neutral Airs, place a scarecrow and use an uppercut at a ridiculous damage percentage to finish it off. But without practice, Tingle's moves are just that...
moves. They don't really work together so well, and they're really just unconnected tools.
Connecting Tingle's moves is what you always want to accomplish with him. Many of Tingle's moves are hard-to-land traps, and they don't have spectacular effects either. Tingle needs this alleviated to work properly. How do you do that?
Combos. By stringing together the right moves, Tingle can have only minor problems starting to fight, and he can really have a strong effect. His moves, while hard to put together, only work right together. Learning how to do just this is the epitome of Tingle playing.
And how can you link moves together? I don't know. Figure it out for yourself! Tingle's moves are more coherent than they may seem, which is lucky, considering that they are so weak apart. However, a Tingle will have no time to put together his traps exactly the way he wants them to. Managing to combo them means that Tingle needs to think on the go. When in doubt, plant traps, and when in more doubt, plant more traps. They could work, and even if they don't, which may happen a lot, it's better to have trapped and lost than to never have trapped.
$ Taunts $
Side Taunt ~ Belly Dance
Yeah, this is a disturbing one. Tingle belly-dances, his belly rotating and swinging in and out and his hips making a large circle over the ground.
Up Taunt ~ Girlish Giggle
Tingle, as the move suggests, does a girlish giggle, with his hand over his smiling mouth and his face shaking with humor.
Down Taunt ~ Rupee Juggle
Tingle juggles a bunch of Rupees, hopping up and down and swinging his legs arond in an Irish jig as he does so.
$ Kooloo-Victory Screen Poses! $
Victory Pose #1 ~ Wardrobe Malfunction
Leave your imagination to this one, but suffice to say that Tingle's pants rip and everyone who lost, except for other Tingles, run away from the battle.
Victory Pose #2 ~ Juggler
Tingle juggles a bunch of red balls with stars on them until the announcer says that the winner is Tingle. Tingle looks at the screen, honored, and then each of the balls fall on his face in turn, making him fall over.
Victory Pose #3 ~ Tingle's Magic Words
Tingle does his trademark "Kooloo-Limpah!", but after he does, nothing happens. He angrily repeats it, and then he suddenly explodes and comes up covered in ashes. Tingle looks at the losers and says "Shh!"
Loss Pose ~ Clap
Tingle claps, occasionally giggling or doing a Kooloo-Limpah.
$ Kooloo-Costumes! $
Normal Tingle in a green suit.
Tingle in a red suit.
Tingle in a blue suit.
Tingle in a white suit
Tingle in a pink suit.
Tingle in grayscale.
$ Kooloo-Kirby Hat! $
Kirby wears a suit like Tingle's over his body, but only the head part of it. Kirby can use Tingle's Neutral Special for the same effect, though he should watch out, as Kirby is lightweight enough to be at risk of KOing himself.
$ Kooloo-Codec! $
-PRESS SELECT-
SNAKE|Colonel, how did this happen?
COLONEL|How did what happen?
SNAKE|How did Tingle get in?
COLONEL|Because he was popular in Japan, and America is the only place who doesn't really like him?
SNAKE|But he's a pedo!
COLONEL|What does that have to do with how deserving he is?
SNAKE|I don't know.
-END TRANSMISSION-
"Tingle, Tingle! Kooloo-Limpah!"
...These are the magic words that Tingle created himself. Don't steal them!"
