You’ve zipped across lines and assisted Johnny, and now you need the crown of a Tonberry King to carry on. Well, the good news is that you can get one; the bad news is, you’re going to have steal it from the head of said Tonberry King.
The Tonberry King is the Classified Intel monster fight for the Corel region, and much like other regions, this fight ties into local on-goings. Namely, you need to beat this monster and get its crown to finish refurbishing Johnny’s Seaside Inn.
You might get a request to fight the Tonberry King before you’ve advanced the story far enough to fight it, though. To be clear, you won’t be able to challenge the king until you’ve advanced the story into the southern part of Corel, below the Gold Saucer. If you’ve yet to head to the Saucer or do anything past it, keep advancing the story.
How to get to the Tonberry King fight location
Actually getting to the location will require you to find all of the Expedition Intel for the Corel region. Once you’ve followed every bird to its crystal, Chadley will chime in and let you know that he’s determined the location of the Tonberry King.
It’s important to note that many of these areas are not accessible until after you’ve spent a few chapters in the Corel region. Easy rule of thumb is that once you’ve got a new mode of transport and the story is pushing you towards the next region, Gongaga, you should be free to fully explore Corel and find this fight.
Before you head to the Tonberry King battle, make sure your party is set. Make sure you’ve got some nimble characters, as you’ll need to dodge a lot. Crucially, have at least one character hold a Steal Materia. You’ll need it to get a perfect clear on both the fight and the related side quest.
How to beat the Tonberry King
The King brings a few move to the fight that are pretty scary. First off, there are several attacks that can instantly kill whoever they hit. In general, try to dodge everything, rather than tanking or parrying; dodging is the safest bet here. To wit, I brought a fairly mobile party of Cloud, Yuffie, and Aerith for the fight.
The King will also occasionally call for allies, or other Tonberries. When you see him use this ability, start moving immediately. The Tonberries can spawn out of the air and will try to immediately chef-knife you, which is an instant KO.
In general, stay mobile and lay on the hurt. Aerith’s Radiant Ward is a great way to build Stagger, and Cloud can clear the Tonberry adds fast with moves like Braver. Keep a lot of Phoenix Downs and Drafts in reserve, along with an Item Economizer Materia to free up your ATB. When you stagger the king, lay into him with big attacks like Yuffie’s Supreme Art of War and Limit attacks.
How to get a pristine crown from the Tonberry King
An additional mechanic to this fight is the king’s crown itself. If you just beat up the Tonberry King, you’ll get a marred crown, and the party will comment on it being all scuffed up.
To get the best outcome when you bring the crown back to Johnny, you’ll need a pristine crown from the Tonberry King. To get this, you’ll need to stagger the Tonberry King and use Steal Materia on the crown when it falls off his head. Your party members should audibly note when the crown has fallen off, so just hold onto some ATB to insta-steal it when it drops.
You’ll know you’ve got the right crown when you finish the fight and have a “pristine crown” in your inventory. Head back to Johnny and choose to turn that in, instead of a marred crown, for the best quest rewards.
