Daily Debate: Who is the Most Sinister Non-Villain Character in Zelda?

The Zelda series is full of countless lovable, cooky, weird, and downright unsettling characters. In fact, there are some who seem quite sinister not only because of their appearance, but because of their suggestive dialogue or questionable actions. One of the first characters that come to mind that fit under the sinister umbrella for me is the Poe Collector from Ocarina of Time, who makes some suggestive comments when talking about how handsome Link is, stating that he could “run a different kind of business” if he had a handsome face like his. This guy is creepy! We know he worships the “great Ganondorf” as he calls him, and it’s implied he used to be the bored castle guard in the Guard House, which makes him even more disturbing. Another example is Sakon the thief who prances around Termina in Majora’s Mask. He seems innocent enough, but causes so much discord through stealing regularly from the townsfolk. Or there’s Hino, an NPC who hangs around the Dueling Peaks Stable in Breath of the Wild and seems to worship the Blood Moon like a lunatic.

These could all be top contenders for the most sinister character in the Zelda series — however, for me, the most unsettling character is Tingle from The Wind Waker.

It seems silly, but this incarnation of Tingle is absolutely unnerving. He seems to be one of those “wolf in sheep’s clothing” types — seeming quirky and harmless at first glance. But there is more to him than meets the eye the more you encounter him. For one, Link first meets him when he breaks him out of jail on Windfall Island. It’s not completely clear why he’s in jail, although some fans speculate that he stole the Picto Box from the Windfall photographer, but nonetheless, jail time is jail time. Later on, when Link has to use Tingle’s map-reading abilities to decipher the Triforce Charts, we visit his island, which only consists of a mailbox and a large, spinning totem pole. When you climb the pole up to where Tingle is, there are two other men dressed in identical outfits to Tingle’s, but in different colors. These men are seemingly being forced into physical labor, having to push the mechanism that keeps Tingle’s totem pole spinning. One of these men is named David Jr. and if approached, he explains that somehow he ended up on Tingle Island after being shipwrecked, and has been stuck there ever since. Ankle, Tingle’s brother in the pink Tingle suit, is also soft-spoken and just continues to keep spinning the totem pole. Both he and Ankle seem somewhat afraid of Tingle, who is obviously forcing them to do all the work on his island without offering any reward or payment in return.

This incarnation of Tingle seems to be the most sinister character to me in the series, precisely because he doesn’t look the part, but if you look past his appearance and consider his actions and behavior, he definitely fits the bill.

What non-villain NPCs do you think are the most sinister in the Zelda series? Do you agree that The Wind Waker’s iteration of Tingle is disturbing? Let me know in the comments!

Chakell Herbert

Chakell (pronounced shuh-kell) is an associate editor for Zelda Dungeon! She has loved The Legend of Zelda series since she was a little girl because of its equal mix of princesses, besting bad guys, and heartfelt stories. Chakell lives in the overall tame state of Utah, but holds onto her childhood hopes to find an adventure in her backyard one day. She has a degree in English and is a full-time editor for a magazine. You can usually find her gaming (obviously), laughing with her husband, taking a long time to tell stories because she keeps getting distracted; getting sucked into books and podcasts; or snuggling her cute Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.