Tonic

Tonic
"Ever feel like things are a little slow around here? Ever feel like rolling around at the speed of sound?"
Dialogue:	Tonic/Dialogue
Unlock:	Rescued from a Cell.
Location:	Top right room of The Breach
Aliases:	Toinc (Internal)

Tonic the Sledge-dog is an NPC who appears in Enter the Gungeon. He can be found in the upper right sub-room of the Breach, in the same room as the Sorceress.

Function

Main Page: Turbo Mode

Speaking to Tonic in the Breach allows the player to toggle Turbo Mode on and off at no cost. While Turbo Mode is active the game speed will be dramatically increased.

If the player speaks to Tonic with 5000 or more, he will extort 90% of their from them and purchase himself a new yellow cosmetic appearance. This has no effect on gameplay other than being a lategame sink.

Notes

• Tonic the Sledge-dog's name, design, function, and personality are all in reference to the character Sonic the Hedgehog, from the franchise of the same name.
  • Tonic initially refers to himself as a chilly dog. This is a reference to Sonic the Hedgehogs affinity for Chilli Dogs, first mentioned in the 1993 television show Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog.
  • Tonics yellow skin is a reference to the Super Sonic transformation of Sonic the Hedgehog.
  • The dialogue line about "Old Robot Nick" is a reference to Dr. Robotnik, the main antagonise of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise.
• Tonic appears to be an anthropomorphic blue St. Bernard. This is further evidenced by him referring to himself as a sledge-dog and a chilly dog, as St. Bernards are most famous for being used as sled-pulling animals in cold weather conditions.
  • The barrel around Tonics neck which he shakes to activate Turbo Mode is in reference to the prevailing myth that St. Bernards, while used as rescue dogs to aid travelers trapped in harsh temperatures, would carry casks of brandy around their necks to help travelers stay warm and alert. Despite the wide spread of this legend, St. Bernards have never been used to carry brandy, and indeed brandy would have the opposite medical effects on the body to what is claimed, causing dilation of blood vessels in the skin and resulting in the body cooling down rather than warming up.
    • The actual origin of this legend is the 1820 painting Alpine Mastiffs Reanimating a Distressed Traveller by artist Edward Lanseer.
    • Given Tonics name and the fact that the cask is used to activate Turbo Mode, it is possible that Tonics version of the cask contains a tonic, rather than brandy.
• Tonics name is misspelled as Toinc in his sprite collection.
• Tonic has special lines of dialogue that only play if the players steam account matches one of a handful of YouTubers who have played Enter the Gungeon. He will usually refer to the player by name, and reference some aspect of their public playthrough.
• Tonic does not appear in Exit the Gungeon, however he is referenced by name by several NPCs.
  • The Drunkard comments that Tonic zoomed out of the Gungeon with his trademark incredible speed at the first sign of the end times.
  • The Diginomicon entry of the Meowitzer, as well as the Drunkards comments about the boss, suggest that it came to the Gungeon in an attempt to hunt Tonic down.
    • Meowitzers design is based on the Flying Egg hovercraft used by Dr. Robotnik throughout the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise.
    • Meowitzer may therefore be the "Old Robot Nick" referenced by Tonic in his Enter the Gungeon dialogue, however it may also simply be a parallel reference.
  • Snails is Tonics best friend, and makes frequent comments about him. Snails entered the Gungeon following Tonic, but took so long that by the time he made it down, Tonic had already left.
    • Snails has two shells, and is a reference to Tails the two-tailed fox, the best friend of Sonic in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise.

See also

• NPCs