Doink!
TONBERRY. NOW.
Background
Small green bipedal lizard with glowing yellow eyes and a dolphin tail. It wears a brown hooded robe and carries a lantern and a chef’s knife at all times. Its attack method is this: It slowly approaches you, counterattacking anything you dish out at it, and once it closes the distance it attacks you with a singularly devastating knife stab (accompanied by the “Doink!” sound effect) which murders the crap out of you. One of the most infamous enemies in the series due to its unthreatening appearance combined with its frightening fatality. Other things it can do include Karma, which deals damage according to how many enemies the player has slain.
Its special moves utilize its infamous and unique spells in Final Fantasy games. They increase pressure and fill in some gaps caused by Tonberry’s normals and make Tonberry what it is supposed to be: really freaking scary.
Stats
Size: Mario-height. A little wider.
Speed (Run, Walk, and Air): 3/10 (moves like a heavyweight despite size)
Power: 8/10 (hits like a heavyweight despite size)
Weight: 7/10 (takes hits pretty well despite size)
Fall Speed: 5/10
Jumping: 3/10 (Tonberry doesn’t got hops. He has aerial maneuverability comparable to
Zelda)
Traction: 5/10
Range: 6/10 (Knife/Lantern and stubby arms balance out)
Grab: 8/10 (not quite DK/D3 good, but still awesome)
Shield: 8/10 (large shield + small body = win)
Roll: 7/10 (once he closes the distance he can get around)
Dodge: 7/10
Ground
Neutral Combo: Single quick knife stab with a short range deals unreasonable knockback and stun for a jab.
(7%)
Dash Attack: Tonberry hops forward holding his lantern forward which burns fiercely, causing single hit fire damage with moderate vertical knockback. Slightly longer than average lag afterwards.
(8%)
Ftilt: Sideways swipe of the lantern. A little slow, with a fire effect and some killing potential. Can be angled.
(13%)
Utilt: quick stab upwards with knife. Can juggle a little, but bad range. Good priority due to knife. Little lag and can be done quickly in succession. Will chain due to low knockback and small lag.
(8%)
Dtilt: Crouching low knife stab that can be done incredibly quickly. Rather negligible knockback.
(3%)
Fsmash: Tonberry does a flurry of thrusts forward (about 5) with the Knife, causing multiple hits and then a final hitbox on the last stab with powerful knockback that rivals some heavyweight smashes. The startup lag is noticeable, but Tonberry’s startup animation is simply him drawing the knife back. End lag is killer though.
(up to 18%)
Usmash: Raises lantern above its head which spews out a short-ranged, widespread flame. The attack causes Tonberry’s hood to slip off its head, prompting it to pull the hood back on quickly (Tonberry is shy) adding to the lag afterward. The lag is offset by the wide range and disjointed hitbox, although the knockback is more GTFO! than lethal.
(14%)
Dsmash: Tonberry hops off the ground and smashes its lantern into the ground causing flames to run along the ground on both sides of it. If A is pressed again, it will do another ground smash causing an explosion as it lands (Like Link can do either one or two hits with his Fsmash, but with a Dsmash). The fire does multiple hits while the explosion does powerful knockback. Good coverage, but lots of lag afterwards expecially if the second explosion is done. Charging this move causes the flames to last longer and the explosion to be bigger. Fire does multiple weak hits while explosion does good knockback, mostly vertical.
(Fire does multiple hits, up to 12%, and explosion does another 10%)
Aerials
Nair: Spins a bit lethargically with both the knife and the lantern out. Knife causes slashing effect and horizontal knockback, and lantern causes burning effect and hits opponents up. Not the best killing move but little landing lag allowing for follow-ups.
(10% for either hitbox)
Fair: Tonberry reverses his grip on the knife so he holds it slasher style, raises the knife and stabs forward and downward in an arc. This is a powerful spike with a slow startup due to Tonberry lifting up his knife, but it comes down quickly. Range isn’t too good because Tonberry holds the knife downward.
(13%)
Bair: Tonberry flicks his adorable dolphin-like tail at the opponent behind him, swiping up and then down. The down part pseudo spikes weakly. Bad damage (unless both hits are landed) and knockback but his best aerial approach.
(5% for 1st, 6% for 2nd hitbox)
Uair: Waves his lantern over his head in an arc unhurriedly. Good priority, fair range, fire damage and good knockback. Due to his crap aerial mobility however, this isn’t an attack you can use too often unless you’re on a stage with a high platform for Tonberry to use, except in conjunction with a Karmic bounce. More on that below.
(13%)
Dair: Tonberry positions himself parallel with the ground and swings his lantern downward in a backhand strike. Powerful spike with beginning of attack, lots of lag afterwards.
(15%)
Throws
Grab: Tonberry raises his lantern which creates a glowing aura in front which will grab. Enemy is held in front with energy from the lantern holding him/her.
Pummel: Tonberry headbutt!
Fthrow: rapid stab with a knife like a mini version of his Fsmash launching the enemy forward and up moderately.
(11%)
Bthrow: Tosses enemy up and swings lantern behind without looking knocking the opponent back and up. Stronger than Fthrow but still not much killing potential.
(12%)
Uthrow: Decks enemy upwards with a Lantern uppercut! Has SOME killing potential.
(9%)
Dthrow: Hamstrings enemy with knife making them fall over, then bashes them with the lantern causing a small explosion. The victim’s trajectory is vertical and knockback is quite high.
(13%)
Specials
Neutral B: Slow: Tonberry casts the spell from his lantern which looks like a greenish or orangish cloudy ball thing. If it hits, the character is slowed down in every aspect. This move is risky to use but one could use it in combination with a Smash attack or possibly Karma.
Uncharged, this move has potential to disrupt approaches as well, if used at close range it will slow them just long enough to make them vulnerable to a grab or quick attack.
Charge determines distance, size, and duration of Slow effect. The projectile spreads as its distance increases, to about 1.5x Tonberry’s height, and moves rather sluggishly for a projectile (no surprise there). No damage or knockback.
Down B: Karma: Holding B causes Tonberry’s lantern to glow more, and limits Tonberry’s movement to a VERY slow walk and air speed. The glow increases every step Tonberry takes. When B is released a large purplish/greenish cloud/flame is released out of the lantern. It hits all around but mostly forward.
The area of effect is determined by how many steps taken. This has ridiculous damage and killing potential, although while charging B Tonberry is extra slow, cannot block or dodge in any way. If Tonberry jumps, his movement will be floaty, and as soon as he lands the blast occurs automatically, although he can release it before he lands, in which case he will be “bounced” up and in the direction he was jumping, the height of the bounce depending on how much the attack is charged. Also, this attack absorbs energy projectiles (anything that can be absorbed by a PSI Magnet), negating damage and knockback and adding to the charge based on how powerful it is.
For example, an absorbed Falco blaster shot adds one step’s worth of charge, while a fully charged energy shot from Samus will add five steps (Fox’s blaster is absorbed but adds no charge). This attack at maximum has a hitbox with forward horizontal range reaching to 1/3 of Final Destination while providing adequate coverage for behind, above, and below. The cloud/flame can be angled upon release if done quickly. Damage/knockback/range are dependant on how many steps Tonberry takes while you hold Down B.
The damage/knockback/range ratio is lessened according to the damage Tonberry has, which increases the enhancement of the attack for each step. Uncharged, this move has a hitbox not much greater than Tonberry’s Ftilt, 5% damage, and has little knockback but an appreciable amount of stun.
(I have no idea about the damage range, but it’s variable and HUGE. Same applies to knockback)
Forward B: Chef’s Knife: Tonberry lunges forward a little with its knife out. Startup is quick, cooldown is bad although the hitbox stays out unusually long.. This move has plenty of super armor frames, and if Tonberry is hit by a Normal attack it will deal that same amount of damage plus the 12% normally caused by this attack to whatever it hits.
“Absorbing” Normal attacks in this manner also causes a paralyzing effect to the recipient of the attack. If Tonberry “absorbs” a non-energy special move, Tonberry’s lunge will take on properties of the “absorbed” special to some extent, such as trajectory, speed, and distance alterations as well as damage and knockback.
This move can punish spammable non-energy projectiles although Tonberry takes the damage. Also, this move causes tons of shield stun and damage. On a side note, if Tonberry is hit by an attack with a special effect, that effect transfers to Tonberry’s attack i.e. being hit with Falcon’s knee will cause an electricity effect from the stab. (Variable damage, 12% by itself)
Up B: Voodoo: Tonberry throws a voodoo doll shaped like a random GF in an upward and forward arc which can be controlled. The voodoo doll does not travel very fast in the air, and Tonberry will go into helpless if done in the air and the startup is pretty slow. If Tonberry does this in midair and the doll lands on the stage, Tonberry will be pulled towards it with a strong vacuum effect. Other players are also vacuumed but not as powerfully, before an explosion of purplish cloudy flame occurs doing up to 13 damage and good knockback (although not very lethal) to everyone who isn’t Tonberry, who puts the doll back in its robe.
If the doll hits an enemy, it sticks onto the enemy. If Tonberry uses a special move, runs, jumps, dodges, rolls, or gets hit, the doll falls off and breaks. If Tonberry uses his normal attacks or walks, the doll stays latched onto the enemy. When the doll is latched onto the enemy, any attack Tonberry uses will have a second invisible hitbox projected from the doll, meaning that if a character has the doll attached and Tonberry does a smash attack from the other side of the stage, the character takes the damage and half the knockback. However, only normal attacks keep the doll from breaking, so they can be used for multiple hits until the enemy attacks Tonberry. Tonberry can only throw one at a time of course, and it can sweetspot the ledge.
If it does, Tonberry immediately teleports to the ledge, making it a mix between a tether and teleport-style recovery if used on the ledge, and if it lands on the stage Tonberry will be drawn towards the stage fairly quickly but it can still attack and stuff. Pressing Up B again when the Doll is latched onto an enemy will causes Tonberry and the victim to switch places with a Warp/Teleport effect, allowing Tonberry to recover even if the doll hits an enemy instead of the ledge or stage while having potential to do some interesting gimp kills. This also occurs naturally if an opponent is already hanging on the ledge and not invincible.
(up to 13% from Stage Explosion depending on proximity of explosion, no damage from teleport-switch, variable damage from Voodoo cling)
Final Smash: Everybody’s Grudge/Tonberry King
Tonberry becomes Tonberry King who is a giant version (less than Giga Bowser of course) with a Star spinning drunkenly above its head. He has Super Armor for the duration of this move. Right when he transforms there will be a blast of Karmic energy covering the entire stage (can be dodged like Tabuu’s Off Waves) which will cause 30% damage to each opponent for every kill they got that round so far and doing moderate vertical knockback. The wave will also instantly break shields.
Afterwards, you can control him for about 6 seconds. Pressing B will cause Tonberry’s Lantern to open up and spew fully charged Karmic blasts, while pressing A causes him to do a lagless version of his Fsmash, regardless if on ground, air, or dashing. Both of these attacks have huge range and KO potential. He walks around as slowly as if you were charging his Down B move as well.
Taunts
Up Taunt: Tonberry’s lantern goes out! Oh no! He raises it up to eye level and stares at it sullenly until the lantern is either scared or sympathetic enough to light itself back up.
Side Taunt: Karmic flames overlap Tonberry and it points forward with its Knife in a menancing manner while holding its lantern above its head. It hisses something in its own language.
Down Taunt: Tonberry puts down its knife and lantern. Then it takes the Voodoo doll out of its robes and squeezes it a couple of times playfully ^_^. Tonberry puts the doll away and picks up his equipment afterwards.
Victory Poses:
1) Tonberry holds his lantern up and it glows ominously, and then some flames spew out causing the hem of his robe to catch fire and he stomps it out in a panicked fashion
2) Tonberry juggles his knife, lantern, and voodoo doll a bit before messing up, dropping his knife and lantern. The doll falls on his head.
3) Tonberry starts with his back facing the screen, then turns around and walks forward very slowly towards the screen. If the victory screen stays on, he will reach the screen and take a stab at it causing a red flash.
(666% damage)
Pros:
+ Heavy damage and weight
+ Small size
+ Disjointed hitboxes from weapons
+ Great grabs
+ Has a pressure game without the use of projectiles
+ Some built-in anti-spam/anti-keepaway moves
+ Lots of edgeguarding options
Cons:
- Slow. Really slow.
- Range not so good
- Bad approach
- No spammable moves
- Steep learning curve
- Camping can be incredibly effective if Tonberry is not used correctly
- Complicated edgeguarding
Strategery:
Tonberry’s main concern is approach. He doesn’t have a lot of all-purpose attacks you can just throw out to keep your opponent in check, and his projectile is useless as a conventional projectile. Tonberry’s main strength is in mindgames. At any moment in close range, Tonberry can use Chef’s Knife which will work even if you instinctively try to attack and will function basically as a Counter although it damages him. At far range, Tonberry can charge his Karma which is really intimidating. Spamming energy projectiles will only help him, while spamming nonenergy projectiles can get you stabbed by Chef’s Knife.
Tonberry’s Chef’s Knife, when absorbing nonenergy projectiles, causes him to adopt to an extent the trajectory, speed, and distance of that projectile. So for example you are Link and you shoot an Arrow at him. Tonberry uses Chef’s Knife, taking damage without flinching due to Super Armor, and his lunge increases in distance and speed (a fraction, maybe half of the “absorbed” projectile) and makes him arc a little bit up then down like the arrow, which at a certain range will hit you, doing 12% damage plus however the heck much damage the arrow does, and adds to knockback.
Releasing Karma during your jump will cause Tonberry to bounce a bit from the blast, providing him with a second jump if charged enough. He can use this to pursue Meteor Smashes giving him superior range if Karma is charged long enough (otherwise, using regular jumps, Tonberry can’t get many Meteor Smash opportunities) although the learning curve for this maneuver is steep. It can also be used to get vertical KOs from a high enemy.
With Karma and his spikes, Tonberry has a serious advantage while edgeguarding, as he can charge up Karma while the opponent is recovering for any number of things, and has multiple ways of spiking as well.
The Voodoo attack has so many options but it’s hard to actually attach it to an enemy due to the poor speed of the doll. You can simply do normal attacks to add on to damage, or if the enemy is recovering it could gimp them. You can do a surprise position switch with them which can be a nasty surprise. You can deliberately miss the enemy with the doll and let the explosion do the work. Lots of applications, but very situation-based.
Overall, Tonberry’s approach relies almost entirely on intimidation. On such a character, spamming should work, but Tonberry has a couple of moves that, if tactically applied, will net him an advantage. However, Tonberry doesn’t stand up well to constant pressure, because even if his rolls and general up-close game are good, if he doesn’t have a hold on the stage and on the mind of the opponent, his options are limited to very short-ranged, vicious defense.
|End Moveset|
Alright, first thing I need to know is if the layout is okay, because now that I finished Tonberry I'm going to edit the crap out of my last two entries.
Second of all, I stated how I want Tonberry to be played more or less. I'd like to know if it all would work in theory.
I don't mind if you consider Tonberry to be overcomplicated. That's the basic idea. He doesn't have much flexibility, and he's fairly predictable. You predict that he is going to stab you and you are right.
And if things like the Karmic Bounce or Chef's Knife aren't explained properly, let me know.
Now for all that Japanese oral exam I should be doing...