Tingle is a middle-aged man obsessed with fairies.[8] He wears a green bodysuit, reminiscent of Link's tunic. He made his first appearance in Majora's Mask, where he was found floating around on a balloon selling maps.

He subsequently appeared in Wind Waker, first in a jail room in located on Windfall Island, and then in a tall wooden tower, where again he acted as a map maker. He has also appeared in Oracle of Ages, Four Swords Adventures and The Minish Cap.

He cameos in Phantom Hourglass as a poster, in Spirit Tracks, an almost shop figurine, and in Skyward Sword as a doll in Zelda's room at the Knight Academy.

Tingle has gained some notoriety, being ranked first in IGN's list of weird Zelda characters and seventh, one place ahead of Navi, in Cracked's list of annoying video game characters. He has gone on the feature in his own games, including Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland.