Takaya Imamura, an artist at Nintendo and the creator of the iconic character Tingle from The Legend of Zelda, has retired. Imamura joined the company in 1989 as an artist, designing in-game items, manuals, and more for some of Nintendo's most well-known franchises. He designed the cars and pilot racers from the original F-Zero, then went on to design characters for Star Fox. Rising quickly through the ranks, Imamura eventually became the art director for both Star Fox 64 and F-Zero X.
Some of Imamura's most well-known work can be seen in The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, for which he was also the art director. He helped design many of the game's characters, including a diminutive map salesman known as Tingle. An extremely strange-looking character--even by Nintendo standards--Tingle captured the hearts of many fans with his tight elf suit, obsession with fairies, and the large balloon he uses to travel across Hyrule and make maps. Majora's Mask is not the only game Tingle appears in: he's made an entrance in several Legend of Zelda games after Majora's Mask, including The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap. There's no doubt that Tingle is one of Nintendo's oddest characters.
Today, after 32 years with Nintendo, Imamura announced his retirement from the company on Facebook and Twitter. Kotaku translated the original Japanese post, which reads, "This is my last day going to work. I took a selfie with the empty office. I guess I won't be coming in here anymore. As you'd expect, I'll miss it." Imamura then gave his thanks for his time with Nintendo, which spans over three decades. Fans immediately took to the comments to thank Imamura for his art and design, filling the section with screenshots and gifs of their favorite Imamura-designed characters, including plenty of Tingle images.
Tingle has inspired a significant amount of art, cosplay, fanfiction, and other fanworks since his first appearance in Majora's Mask. Imamura's characters and design have appeared across a myriad of other franchises, from Super Smash Bros. to Steel Diver, but Tingle in particular holds a special place in the hearts of fans around the world. Something about the character has held the attention of generations of players, despite the fact that Nintendo never significantly fleshed out the character's backstory. Tingle even got his own game, Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland, which was released in Japan and Europe but not in North America; Imamura received "special thanks" in the game's credits.
Though Imamura is leaving Nintendo, his prolific design legacy and the love fans hold for his characters mean that his creations will likely live on in other forms. Fans have been begging for more Star Fox and F-Zero content for years; creating something new with Imamura's characters would be a great way for Nintendo to honor his legacy and work. A Majora's Mask sequel, while ideal, is unlikely, so fans will have to find another way to keep Tingle's memory alive - maybe he'll even be seen in future Legend of Zelda titles. Here's hoping Imamura has a comfortable retirement.
Source: Takaya Imamura/Kotaku
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January 21, 2021 at 05:24AM
