Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland/Hometown Prairie

Like in the The Legend of Zelda-games, you start with picking a name. You'll probably notice that you can't pick "Tingle", "TINGLE" or any such variations. This will be explained soon enough, so just pick any name you'd like (which will become the save file name). Select it and watch the intro.

You, a 35-year old, single man just minding his own business (or lack thereof), are one day summoned to the pool just west of his house by a mysterious voice. Leave the house and head west. Going east or north will cause the voice to stop you, stating he clearly said "west". Once at the pool, touch the surface of the water to find out the mysterious voice belongs to an elderly man with a Rupee-shaped head. He introduces himself as Uncle Rupee and asks whether you'd like to go to Rupeeland. Uncle Rupee then describes Rupeeland as a Cockaigne-like paradise. Answer "Yes" when he is finished. He'll then transform you into Tingle, which subsequently will be your new name.

From this point on, Rupees are everything. Rupees are your health. Run out of them and you die. The game doesn't allow you to willingly kill yourself, so when paying for something, you can never spend everything you have. You'll always keep one Rupee. The only way to run out of Rupees is by losing them in battle or because of a trap. Rupees also are your way to progress through the game. You can't reach a new island if the Tower doesn't become taller, which it only does if it is fed Rupees. The Tower can even shrink if it isn't fed Rupees for a long while. Luckily, it doesn't require a lot of money to keep it at its current height and you'll receive a warning shortly before it is about to shrink. If that happens, immediately return home and feed about 100 Rupees or more to the Tower.

Before leaving on your quest to gain as much Rupees as possible, you are first given 100 Rupees to start. However, you are also required to donate a bit of it in order to leave. 1 Rupee will do, and since you can use all the Rupees you can get your hands on right now, this is recommended. When you've left the pool, you'll be contacted on what seems to be a Tingle Tuner by Pinkle. She introduces herself as your assistant for the rest of the game. She'll ask you to go to your home and save the game. Return home and notice the glittering box just right of you. Open it to receive a Bottle and 50 Rupees. Then head to the terminal in the upper right corner and save the game. A new option will become available: "Talk". Here, Pinkle will explain the basics of the game as well as have a nice chat once in a while if you choose so. Close the terminal and you will get the Tingle Fireworks-recipe. There currently isn't much of interest in your house. The Cooking Pot in the lower left corner is used for cooking, but since you currently have only one recipe and no ingredients, it can be ignored for now. The machine in the upper left corner is where you stash anything created by cooking. You'll need Bottles to actually take the stuff you created with you. The attic is where the Rupee Goods will be stashed.

Leave your house and head east then north. You'll encounter a young girl named Aba who offers (for free) to train you in the arts of battle. Accept her offer to learn the game's battle mechanics. After that, go north and a little west to meet the Town Map-Seller. She's an old lady that tries to make maps, but because of her lack of drawing skills, can't. Talk with her and you'll be given the Hometown Prairie map and asked to draw the grave between the two trees. Drawing a landmark on a map is nothing more than just drawing a circle where the landmark is located. If successful, a drawing of the landmark will appear. The Town map-Seller will compliment you on your drawing skills and ask you to help her making maps in the future. She'll then head back to town. Proceed a little further to the west and you'll encounter another landmark, Fish Rock. Normally, landmarks hold items that are given (once!) upon touching them. In this case, the landmark holds something else: a Fairy Doll. Get it and draw Fish Rock on the map.

Now head back to the field. You'll notice various enemies wandering about. Every enemy in the game holds specific items that have to be obtained by killing them. The more enemies you fight at once, the better and more the items and Rupees they drop will be. However, fighting yourself also causes you to lose an amount of Rupees depending on how long the fight lasts, how tough the enemies you fight are and with how many they are. These enemies won't be much of a problem though. Kill two rats at once to get three Bones. Return to your house again and try to make Tingle Fireworks in the Cooking Pot. Cooking is done by making all ingredients disappear by touching them before the time runs out. Fill your Bottle with the Tingle Fireworks and leave your house. Now head all the way east and enter Port Town. To enter, you'll have to pay the Guard (5 Rupees).

You'll notice most of the town is empty right now. It will get more crowded when you progress through the game. For now, keep walking and ignore the fountain. On the second screen, pay the Chef 10 Rupees and the Armourer 15 Rupees. Sell the Armourer the Tingle Fireworks to be able to buy a new Bottle for 50 Rupees. Keep walking to meet the Town Map-Seller again. Show the map to her to receive 150 Rupees (50 Rupees for drawing Fish Rock and 100 Rupees for completing the map). You can buy the map back for 125 Rupees (this is recommendable eventually, but can be ignored for now). Keep walking to reach a third screen. You'll notice a little girl, Chiko, crying because she lost her "Fairy". Give her the Fairy Doll.