Torneko Taloon

Torneko Taloon
Dragon Quest IV, Torneko series

Sprite(s)
Japanese name	トルネコ
Romaji	Toruneko
Old localization	Taloon
Title	Arms Merchant
Class	Merchant
Race	Human
Age	40s
Voice actor	Tesshō Genda (CD Theater) Chafurin (Heroes II, Japanese) Francis McGee (Heroes II, English) Kazumasa Koura (Live Spectacle Tour, Japanese)

"Fer the love o' - what are y'at, stickin' that in me face!? 'Tis about as useful as a chocolate teapot. Now get up the yard with it!"

—Torneko, when he appraises horse manure.

Torneko Taloon is a character in the Dragon Quest series that appears as a playable party member in Dragon Quest IV and main character in Torneko: The Last Hope, Torneko no Daibōken: Fushigi no Dungeon, and Dragon Quest Characters: Torneko no Daibōken 3.

A merchant from Lakanaba on a quest to acquire a legendary weapon, he first appears in Chapter 3.

Appearance and personality[edit]

Torneko wears a blue and white djellaba with a short red chechia covering his head. He hefts a giant backpack of sorts at all times, which he uses to hold his wares, personal belongings and, presumably, some of the party's items. He has a mustache and huge belly, both of which help to bring out his general jolliness. He has blue hair and a blue mustache.

Torneko is a family man, happily married to Tessie and raising his son Tipper while he works as an employee to another merchant. Torneko wants better things for his family, and his desire to be an excellent provider is one of the main reasons he enters into venture capitalism to open his own shop. Wanderlust runs strong in Torneko's veins, and even far-fetched rumors of treasure will light a fire in his heart. He is very grateful to his wife for being understanding and keeping an eye on their son as he sets off an adventure.

Even though much of his time and effort goes toward accruing gold coins, he doesn't do this out of greed, but to make his wife happy and for altruistic endeavors. Overall, he is a very kind person. On multiple occasions Torneko goes out of his way to help others in need, regardless of whether it will benefit him for doing so or not (examples including delivering Prince Regan's love letter to Veronica, and smuggling a Chimaera wing to Finn so he can escape jail).

While not necessarily greedy, Torneko has the typical mindset of a merchant, always looking for opportunities to set up shop and make a profit, even at rather inopportune times and locations. While Torneko appears to be loyal to the Hero to the end, he jokes about leaving the party after having collected the Zenithian Equipment since that was his original goal to begin with. He does seem to have a rather cowardly side. As seen in the Party Chat, Torneko would sometimes volunteer to remain behind in the wagon right before facing a formidable adversary, only to claim he was kidding right afterwards. Torneko is often noted by his boss to be lazy. This is further seen when he meets the Hero, Meena and Maya at Pharos Beacon. Since he considered the monsters too tough for him to handle himself, he sticks the task of restoring light to the flames to the others before heading back to Porthtrunnel (although this action could be somewhat justified by the fact that Torneko had a bounty on his head for rebuilding the Trans-Montane Tunnel).

Although he can equip almost any weapon he likes, Torneko is pictured holding the Astraea's abacus in the official character art for Dragon Quest Heroes II: Twin Kings and the Prophecy's End.

Appearances[edit]

Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen[edit]

Warning: Spoilers!
Click expand to view content

Torneko wakes up in Chapter 3 in his house in Lakanaba to work his job at the local weapons shop while supporting his wife Tessie and his son Tipper. However, he feels that this life is not good enough for him, so he sets on a journey to fulfill his dream, which is to own a shop. He then hears about the Steel Strongbox that allows him to travel anywhere without worrying about dying, because it keeps all of the gold coins when he dies, instead of taking half of it.

Torneko ends up getting the strongbox in a cave up north and heads south to Ballymoral, where he comes across Old Man Finnegan's son Finn who is in prison and asks him for a Chimaera wing to return home to Lakanaba, which Torneko does. While at the castle, he learns of Archie O'Tect, who was supposed to repair the bridge between Ballymoral and Endor, and that he hasn't arrived. He manages to find the architect in the north in what appeared to be a town called Reginhart. Hearing of some foxes in the area, however, Torneko returns to Lakanaba to request the use of Finn's dog Fido to seek out a fox, which proves to be successful. As a result, Archie resumes his duty to repair the bridge. Thus, Torneko heads to Endor, but not before receiving a letter from Prince Regan to give to Princess Veronica in the other castle.

Torneko made it to the castle and meets an old man who wants to sell his shop to someone with permission from King Norman. The King states that he will consider the merchant's request. While in the throne room, he reads the letter to The Princess detailing that King Shamus of Ballymoral is seeking to conquer Endor, prompting Endor's King to give him the Royal Scroll (which is a request for the children of both castles to marry, and thus avoiding the need to go to war). Torneko delivers the Scroll to King Shamus, who agrees to dismiss his plans. Soon after, King Norman allows the merchant to open a shop, which he does and calls his family over to their new home.

Afterwards, Torneko's attention is turned toward an old man who wanted to continue developing the Trans-Montane Tunnel which will lead from Endor to the country of Casabranca. He needed 60,000 gold coins to achieve this, which Torneko helped out with (through making money at his shop, as well as providing a set of Steel broadswords and Iron armours to Endor's warriors). Once the tunnel is completed, Torneko traveled through on behalf of the old man and accepts the task of carrying on his dream by traveling the world by ship and gathering many legendary treasures.

He managed to cross the desert at Last Chance Saloon through the aid of a caravan,^[1] and passed through Bath^[2]. Torneko made it to Porthtrunnel and paid to have a ship made, while hearing of an old man in Mintos who has a treasure map. He left upon hearing of monsters who corrupted the lighthouse fire at Pharos Beacon to restore peace to the oceans. Upon finding the monsters to be too strong, he made a plea to the Hero and company to find the Holy embers and to defeat the ones causing the problems at the lighthouse. They agree to do so, and are joined by Torneko shortly after, who provides use of his ship for travels.

Upon defeating Psaro the Manslayer (Aamon in the remakes), the party returns to their lives, with Torneko returning to his family in Endor and later showing up with the group in Hidden Valley to see the Hero.

Abilities[edit]

"Look at it spar-kle!"

Torneko has elements of both a Merchant and a Gadabout. As a merchant, he can use his appraise ability to give basic information and loss/return estimates on items in the party's possession. However, he also has the gadabout tendency to not follow orders in battle, bellowing loudly, staring blankly into space, or telling naff gags when ordered to attack. He can equip most weapons and armour, and has respectable HP and level growth, and is otherwise a decent fighter; however, his defence leaves something to be desired. He also learns a few exploration skills, allowing the party to avoid encounters in dungeons and sniff out the remaining treasures in an area.

Dragon Quest IV (PSX/DS)
Spell	Level Learned
Padfoot	4
Eye for Distance	7
Nose for Treasure	9
Whistle	12

Base stats[edit]

Attribute	Starting Stats	Maximum Stats
Level	1	99
HP	20	734
MP	0	0
Strength	4	196
Agility	5	94
Resilience	10	196
Wisdom	5	105
Luck	3	88
Initial gear	Plain clothes

PSX Version

Equipment[edit]

Dragon Quest IV (All)
Weapon	Modifier(s)
Oaken club	Attack +7
Copper sword	Attack +12
Divine dagger	Attack +14
Chain sickle	Attack +16
Hunter's bow	Attack +18
Iron lance	Attack +28
Astraea's abacus	Attack +35
Holy lance	Attack +33
Cautery sword	Attack +45
Miracle sword	Attack +100
Flail of destruction	Attack +115
Massacre sword	Attack +120
Liquid metal sword	Attack +130

Dragon Quest IV (All)
Helmet	Modifier(s)
Leather hat	Defense +2
Hardwood headwear	Defense +6
Iron helmet	Defense +16
Liquid metal helm	Defense +50
Death mask	Defense +200

Dragon Quest IV (All)
Armor	Modifier(s)
Plain clothes	Defense+4
Wayfarer's clothes	Defense+8
Boxer shorts	Defense+10
Leather armour	Defense+12
Chain mail	Defense+18
Fur coat	Defense+22
Bronze armor	Defense+25
Iron apron	Defense+32
Robe of serenity	Defense+33
Spiked armour	Defense+50
Liquid metal armor	Defense+95

Dragon Quest IV (All)
Shields	Modifier(s)
Leather shield	Defense+4
Scale shield	Defense+7
Iron shield	Defense+12
Power shield	Defense+40

Dragon Quest IV (Remakes)
Accessories	Modifier(s)
Strength ring	Strength+8
Mighty armlet	Strength+25
Mercury's bandana	Agility+15
Meteorite bracer	Agilityx2
Prayer ring	Defence+5
Gold bracer	Defence+5
Kamikazee bracer	Defence+15
Kerplunk bracer	Defence+15
Recovery ring	Defence+15
Ruby of protection	Defence+15
Lucida shard	Luck+5
Bunny tail	Luck+8
Gospel ring	Luck+50
Elevating shoes	Luck+50

Random antics[edit]

As mentioned previously, Torneko will not always follow the order of the player, instead opting to try something else.

NES Version

Action	Effect
Trips	Critical hit on random foe
Lullaby	Puts all foes to sleep
Weird Dance	Lowers one foe's MP
Throw sand	Dazzles all foes
Yell	Poof on all foes
Leg sweep	Trips enemy for one turn
Twirls fingers	Fuddles one foe
Tell a naff gag/Shout	Tries to make all foes lose turn
Focuses strength	Double damage next turn
Take damage for an ally	Target is totally random and not dependent on ally's current HP
Steal	Swipes an item from one foe
Summon a Merchant army	Attacks three times, base on Torneko's Attack stat. If Miracle sword is equipped, each strike heals
Cover an enemy's mouth	Prevent foe from casting that turn. This action DOES NOT cost Torneko a turn (works in monster fights at the casino!)
Stare and do nothing	Wastes turn

In the PSX, DS, and Cell phone versions Torneko will goof off a little less often and some actions are removed. However, this increases the probability that he will steal from an enemy when slacking around now.

Action	Effect
Trips	May now trip himself in process. Also, the tripped enemy is more vulnerable to being crticial'd by other characters when down now, raising the base rate from ¹⁄₆₄ to ¹⁄₁₆. Alena's critical hit frequency stacks with this change.
Lullaby	Puts all enemies to sleep
Weird Dance	Lower's one foe's MP
Leg Sweep	Stuns a foe for one turn
Focus strength	Double damage next attack
Twirls fingers	Fuddles one foe
Tells a naff gag/Shout	Tries to stun all enemies for one turn
Yell	Poof on all enemies
Steal	Swipe a treasure chest from an enemy
Stare into space	Wastes turn

Selected quotes[edit]

Main article: Dragon Quest IV Transcript

Quote

"I never remember me dreams, so I don't. Maybe it's 'cause I'm fast asleep..."

Torneko, in Strathbaile (Cell phone)

Quote

"If I'm honest, I'm not sure what good my Tessie ever saw in me.
She's a looker, alright, and she's a mind on her as sharp as a divine dagger. Sure, she's wasted on the likes o' me...
Sorry, got a bit carried away there, so I did. I'm lucky to have Tessie is all I'll say."

Torneko, in Lakanaba (Cell phone)

Quote

"Me goal was always to collect all the Zenithian equipment, so it was.
But now that we're after doin' just that, I think I'll be takin' me leave and headin' back to the wagon... Yerra! Calm down! I'm only havin' a bit o' gas with ye!"

Torneko, after collecting all of the Zenithian Equipment (Cell phone)

Quote

"A balloon trip to the Great World Tree? That's a grand plan altogether, so it is!
Y'know, it's puttin' me in the mood to start me own little travel agency... "Torneko Tours"... Sure, 'tis a winner!"

Torneko, in El Forado (Cell phone)

Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation[edit]

Torneko appears at the inn of Reaper's Peak in the near-future version of the town and is surprised by there being a town within the Fungeon. He is impressed by the fact that The Hero explored it, and gives a hint to the location of the hidden treasure in Aridea. Torneko also appeared the monster oriented variant of the town as shown in the Super Famicom version of the game.

Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King[edit]

In ''Dragon Quest VIII, in the Monster Arena Rank S series of fights, the first fight is fought against a character that is named, and bares a striking resemblance to Torneko Taloon. The announcer reinforces this by saying the character is from Lakanaba. He uses treasure based monsters; two Goodybag monsters and a Mimic king.

Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies[edit]

On December 10, 2010, Torneko began appearing as a special guest at the Quester's Rest in Stornway. This could be downloaded through the DQVC using Nintendo's Wi-Fi channel when it was still available. When spoken to, he will give the hero different pieces of his outfit is certain conditions are fulfilled.

Torneko's clothes - Recieved when talking to him.
Torneko's cap - Recieved when it is the player's birthday.
Torneko's trousers - Recieved when the Hero is a Ranger.
Torneko's sandals - Recieved after the inn is fully expanded.

A special Accolade is earned if the Hero wears all of the parts of Torneko's costume.

Dragon Quest X[edit]

Torneko is one of the special characters who might appear in the Magic Maze if the player is lucky. The other three are Meena from Dragon Quest IV, Robbin' 'Ood from III and Terry from VI. He allows the player to purchase rare items and cosmetic accessories, but only one per encounter.

Upon the first meeting with the player, the merchant gifts the traveler with a copy of his beloved abacus. Torneko also offers a small quest, which ends with him rewarding the player with a feathered cap.

Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Special[edit]

Along with Ragnar McRyan, Kiryl, and Alena, Torneko appears in Itadaki Street Special. Unlike the other characters, he is not playable, but makes a cameo as an NPC who sticks around a short while.

Mystery Dungeon series[edit]

Torneko has appeared as the main character in three of the Mystery Dungeon games, usually with his wife and son as secondary characters: Torneko no Daibōken: Fushigi no Dungeon, Torneko: The Last Hope, and Dragon Quest Characters: Torneko no Daibōken 3. He also appeared in Dragon Quest: Young Yangus and the Mysterious Dungeon, although in a supporting role.

Etymology[edit]

Torneko and Taloon are not actual names used in the real world, being nomenclature invented by the original development staff and Enix America Corporation. For the characters cameo appearance in Dragon Quest VIII, the localization team headed by Richard Honeywood opted to make Taloon his surname instead of abandoning it outright.