What do The Bachelor, The Legend of Zelda and The Wizard of Oz have in common? Well, Tingle apparently. That's right girls and boys! This beautiful man in latex-green is up for grabs. We are going to discover a long forgotten Japanese masterpiece about Tingle and his journey to love.
I think I speak for us all when I say that we fantasize about Tingle sometimes. What many players often don't know is that this gorgeous man has gotten his own little line of games on the DS. You might already know Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland, since that game got released in English as well, but the game I will be focusing on is called Ripened Tingle's Balloon Trip of Love, and it's canon in the Zelda lore. Yup.
Tingle's Journey to Eternal Love
Ripened Tingle’s Balloon Trip of Love is a Japanese only game that was released August 2009. It’s about a very bored, very handsome Tingle finding himself trapped in a book on how to rizz ladies and find his dream wife.
It all begins with him rotting in his room without a job, which is very relatable, yearning for a girlfriend. When he inevitably gets sucked into a weird world that is very similar to The Wizard of Oz, a scarecrow called “Kakashi” comes to the rescue. During the game, you also get to know Buriki the tin woman and Rion the Lion.
The only way for Tingle to find a way out of this weird AliExpress version of the Land of Oz is by finding his future wife. He does have a few attempts at love but gets brutally rejected. Our hero then finds himself using the most efficient way into a woman's heart: bribery. You see, the right gift goes a long way.
Intense Gameplay Mechanics
The game is in a retro looking 2D art style. You get a point and click adventure on the DS which does have some parts where you need the stylus, but you almost never need the game pad. That might sound a bit boring at first, but don't you forget, this is a dating game! That's right, Tingle (and the player) learns how to talk to women in this game! (By buying them gifts) To help with this endeavor, Tingle keeps a Girl Diary to hand at all times. Other gameplay mechanics include Time Travelling (through the balloon, apparently THAT'S where the name comes from), small side quests, mini-games, and too many cursed NPCs to mention.
Sounds like just the thing for you? You can get the Japanese version of Ripened Tingle's Ballon Trip Of Love here , or you can play the fan-translated version on its website.
