Feeling a little Tingly

Aside from Link's Awakening, I've been playing Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland of late. This is a DS game that's technically part of the Zelda franchise, though, up to the end of the second dungeon I've yet to meet any direct cameos from more mainstream Zelda games.

But, Nick, I hear you say, Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland was never released in North America.

Well. You're right.

But the European edition of the game works just as well. You can find it through a quick eBay search.

Now, anyone (and everyone whom I've told I'm playing this game) is rightfully wonders what you even do in Tingle's very own game.

As the title suggests, it's very rupee-centric. You play as a young man who wants to escape from the daily grind. He's approached by the mysterious Uncle Rupee who promises a land of ease, women, and relaxation for the paltry sum of many many rupees. For you see, this game's central mechanic is that almost every interaction (with the exception of fights, for now) requires you to guess at how much someone wants for information, an item, or the time of day, or at how much you deserve for bringing someone an item or rendering them a service.

This completely capitalist mechanic is far less terrible than it sounds, since rupees can be found just about anywhere, and it's possible to make valuable items from item drops. Back in your house you've got what you need to mix ingredients and to create more valuable items. Of course, showing its connections to the Zelda franchise, you need bottles to move these potions and these bottles aren't easy to come by at first.

The reason I've gotten as far as I have in the game is that I find it fun. Some items found in certain locales grow back or return, and coming back to harvest them reminds me more of Harvest Moon than of some game where you tediously toil away for an unknown reward.

Though, having seen Uncle Rupee go from pauper to fop makes me feel pretty confident about where this game's going.