Tonberry

The Tonberry was created by Tetsuya Nomura, who made monsters like it in order to popularize Final Fantasy monsters in the same way that Dragon Quest monsters were.^[9] It is a green salamander-like creature that wears a robe and carries a knife and a lantern. It approaches slowly, and once close enough, will do extreme damage to a character, often killing them. They have other variables involved in their attack, including an attack that damages more depending on the number of monsters the character killed or the number of steps taken.^[1] According to its Final Fantasy VII concept art, Tonberry do not appear in battle with other monster types. It was initially intended to have multiple variants in Final Fantasy VII, such as different colors, though most were cut by the time of the game's release.^[10] A variant exists in Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings that has a fish tail.^[1] Takeo Kujiraoka, director of Final Fantasy XVI's downloadable content, stated that the content would feature a redesign of Tonberry that was a "little creepier than previous iterations".He also stated that they would be designed to match the game's faster-paced real-time gameplay.^[11] One of these versions is taller and more "serious" according to Automaton Media writer Amber V.^[12] It has been given multiple different names in English releases, including Pug and Dingleberry, before they used Tonberry from Final Fantasy VII on.^[1]

IGN writer Dave Smith considered the Tonberry among the best Final Fantasy characters, stating that among Final Fantasy creatures, it was the "weirdest" and "most endearing." He stated that it was such a cute character that it made him forget dangerous, and that many series fans have learned to fear it.^[13] Futaman writer Amami remarked how they believed that every Final Fantasy player first encountering Tonberry in Final Fantasy V likely underestimated it, only for their characters to be killed. They felt that this moment helped condition players to fear the Tonberry in future games.^[14] Following the appearance of the Tonberry in Final Fantasy XVI, their butt and thighs got a lot of attention on social media.^[12] Eurogamer writer Ed Nightingale stated that the Tonberry being a particularly frightening foe was something any Final Fantasy fan knows, believing that the Final Fantasy XVI incarnation was a particularly frightening version, particularly the Tonberry King, citing how much more realistic they are.^[15] Kotaku writer Heather Alexander considered it one of the most iconic enemies in the Final Fantasy series as well as "the funniest fucking thing on the planet." She felt that the combination of the threat they pose as well as the "Goomba-esque design" was what made it so funny.^[16]

Writer Drew Mackie analyzed the origins of the Tonberry, both its design and name origin, presenting multiple examples of possible origins. One of these theories was that the name may have come from Glastonbury, noting that the modern-day Japanese name for it was グラストンベリ and adding that the last four characters are identical to Tonberry's Japanese name. He supported this possible connection by stating that Tonberry's robes resembled monk robes, potentially connecting it to Glastonbury Abbey, and that the Japanese Wikipedia article for Glastonbury has a strong focus on the legendary aspects of the town. He also stated that the Tonberry incarnation from Final Fantasy XII; Revenant Wings could have been a reference to the sea monk due to its fish tail, Another explanation he cited was that its name comes from Dom Pérignon, the name of a monk and of a champagne, the latter which is often shortened to donperi (ドンペリ), arguing that this is similar to Tonberry's Japanese name. He believed this was extra plausible due to the presence of a character in the video game Trials of Mana called Donperi, also made by Square Enix. Despite finding credence in these theories, he did not identify either as definitive.^[1]