Part 15: Character Profile: Torneko Taloon

As usual, now that we're done with him for the minute it's time to talk about everyone's favorite merchant.



His name varies from game to game, but Torneko is a fan favorite who's even been lucky enough to get a couple of spin off games of his very own. Most people seem to love his chapter, but his worth on a team... well, it's questionable. Before that, however, let's have a look at some manual art:



While they get some points for showing the iron safe, that's just horrible. Even that, however, is nothing compared to what Nintendo Power did to him in their coverage:



I.. I don't even know what to say about that. It's grotesque, and makes him look like some kind of troll. We'll move on from here.

Why is Taloon Good?

It might be fairer to title this "Why Taloon isn't bad" but that's not entirely fair. Taloon is a good character, it's just that there are several better characters. Most of his stats are middle of the road, but he is a huge mountain of HP. In addition, Taloon gains levels faster than any other character in the game bar none. With equivalent amounts of experience he'll usually end up 2-3 levels ahead of the rest of the party. He's got an ability to appraise items and determine who can use them and what they're worth, and he comes with the handy Iron Safe so that you don't lose half your gold when you die.

Why is Taloon Bad?

First off, he's got 0 MP and no spells, meaning that the only thing he's good for his hitting things. If that were all he did he'd be a mediocre character, but possibly useable in some situations. The fact that he's not an outstanding hard hitter and not terribly fast only strengthens his approach. Oh, his best exclusive armor is also the Iron Apron he's already wearing. Chew on that for a minute.. now, I mentioned that he doesn't just hit things, so.. about that..

Why is Taloon Weird?

In battle, Taloon will occasionally do some kind of strange action that can affect the enemies. This can include things like tripping them, telling bad jokes, summoning a merchant army, yelling to paralyze the enemy in fear, throwing sand in their eyes, or even talking them out of fighting altogether. Since his actions are random he could do any of these things or none of them, and sometimes he'll just stare into space. A lot of people don't like these things, although it's important to bear in mind that for the most part his random actions are actually quite useful.

Best Possible Equipment

Sword of Decimation, Iron Apron(Metal Babble Armor), Shield of Strength, Iron Helmet.