If you’re a veteran Final Fantasy player, you know to fear the Tonberry. That fear is still well-founded in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, but unlike in previous games, they’re not too hard to deal with. They will still kill you with extreme prejudice, but if you know how to Pressure a Tonberry, you can make the fight a little more one-sided.
Quick disclaimer before we get started. If you’ve never played a Final Fantasy game before and have only recently fought your first Tonberry, know that they are probably the deadliest enemy in the game. One hit of their Chef’s Knife attack will KO a character, and the attack itself comes out almost as soon as the attack name appears above their heads. In other words, if you see the attack name and aren’t already trying to get away, that character will need a Phoenix Down.
How to Pressure Tonberries in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
Unfortunately for all of us, to Pressure a Tonberry, you have to dodge Chef’s Knife, then hit the Tonberry a few times to actually initiate the Pressure. Doing so will stun the Tonberry for a few seconds and make it much easier to fill their otherwise small Staggr meter. You only need to dodge on Chef’s Knife, thankfully, but to dodge it, you need to know it’s coming. And oh, is it coming. Again and again.
Knowing that instant death is just a moment away gives us a bit of power, however. That’s mainly because the Tonberry makes some distinct movements before using Chef’s Knife. In particular, it has to be directly facing you to attack, and once it is, it waits a little less than a second before trying to stab you.
Now, here’s the other unfortunate bit: to know how to dodge Chef’s Knife and Pressure a Tonberry, you will probably need to get hit by the knife a few times. And even when you know the timing, you’re still liable to get shanked for being even a few milliseconds off. On the flip side of the equation, once you do Pressure the Tonberry, it goes down like wheat beneath a scythe. Blessedly, Tonberries aren’t the sturdiest enemies in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, and one or two Pressures will let you Stagger and defeat them.
These strategies also apply to the Tonberry King fight, though he has three different knife attacks to deal with, all with different timings and ranges. I wish I could give you better news, but now you have everything you need to start learning how to Pressure any Tonberry you’re unfortunate enough to meet.
For more on Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, check out our guides hub for the game.
