As an RPG, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth has no shortage of side quests and tough bosses. A combo of the two in Rebirth tasks you with taking out one of Final Fantasy’s iconic creatures: Tonberries! This time, however, you’ll need to not only take down the Tonberry King as one of the steps of the “Saga of the Seaside Inn” side quest, but steal their crown and give it to Johnny (of all people), too.
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The key to snagging that crown is a materia you may have been neglecting: Steal materia. This orb lets you use the Steal ATB command, which can net you some items if you steal from the right creature. In the case of the Tonberry King, it’s what’s needed to grab their crown, netting you a Pristine crown instead of the messed-up one you’ll get otherwise. Coming out victorious isn’t enough for this quest: You need to steal the crown.
Finding and fighting the Tonberry King
Scanning four Lifespring crystals in the Corel Region will mark the Tonberry King’s location on your map. The region’s strongest Fiend Intel challenge, you’ll gain an icon on your map near the coast titled “Classified Intel: Heavy Lies the Crown.” Head on over to this area to challenge the Tonberry King.
A legendary foe across the Final Fantasy series, Tonberries are slow to move, but quick to kill. Literally, they will knife your character unconscious with one hit, and the Tonberry King in Rebirth can even render a character unrevivable if you’re not careful.
Be sure to have revive materia or reviving items like Phoenix Downs on hand, because you very well may need them.
I prefer to go after the Tonberry King with a good amount of ranged options, but be warned: Tonberry King will use “Call for Friends” to summon smaller tonberries which can also kill you in one hit. If they’re on the field, take ‘em out fast. They can and will sneak up on you while you’re too focused on the big guy.
Melee fighters should get up close to the King, deal damage, and then back off when the King is about to strike—and that’s the key to Staggering them. Ranged fighters might have more breathing room, but you’ll need to dodge the King’s “Doom and Gloom” attack, which can swiftly knock out a character.
Steal the crown, step one: Pressure the Tonberry King
Start the fight, as you should with all fights in Rebirth, by Assessing the King. You’ll quickly see there are no clear vulnerabilities here. Pressuring the King requires you to deal large amounts of damage after dodging an attack of theirs. If you need a refresher on how Pressure and Staggering work, see our combat tips guide for a breakdown.
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Pressuring the Tonberry King is all about timing. You’ll need to dodge, then strike with a powerful attack (ATB attacks work well, as does Cloud’s Punisher Mode). I recommend filling up your character’s ATB gauges and hanging on to them for this moment. The L1 + face button combo is especially useful here as it’ll save you a menu dive (though going into the menu slows down time, so if you’re more tactical in your fighting style, you’ll be fine).
Use Synergy Skill attacks (R1 + either triangle or square depending on who you have in your party and which Synergy Skills you’ve unlocked) to rapidly fill your gauges. Then, once the King makes an attack, dodge away and hit ‘em with as much strength as you have, across as many characters as you can. But be sure to leave at least one ATB gauge charged for the character who has Steal materia equipped.
Once Pressured, the King will drop its crown, but you’ll need to act fast to grab it.
Steal the crown, step two: Use Steal on the dropped crown
Once dropped, the King’s crown will appear as a target in battle. Even if you have Steal mapped to an L1 shortcut, jump into the menu for this command. Slowing down time is pretty important for snagging the crown before the King picks it up, and selecting it in the menu will guarantee that you target the crown with Steal, not the King.
Target the crown with Steal and you’ll snag it. One step remains.
Steal the crown, step three: Kill the Tonberry dead
Great, you’ve Pressured the King and stolen the crown. Now it’s time to come out of the battle alive. Be sure to keep your distance when necessary to avoid the King’s lethal attacks and be prepared to dodge “Doom and Gloom” when it’s cast. The King is immune to Stone and Proportional Damage, but other debuffs are fair game: Slow, Deprotect, Deshell, etc.
Pressure, Stagger, go nuts until victory.
After snagging that crown, visit the Johnny doppelganger who gave you the assignment to hand it over. Now bask in the pride of knowing that you’ve helped make Johnny’s dreams of owning the perfect resort come true. Thanks, bro!
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