How Localization May Have Changed One Final Fantasy XVI Monster's Name

mmorpg.com:

Early in Final Fantasy XVI ’s epic adventure, a young Clive Rosfield is tasked with clearing out a tribe of goblins that’s infested a nearby swamp in the Grand Duchy of Rosaria, but what he finds there is far more monstrous … and smelly: A 20-foot-tall tentacled, plantlike gaping maw of razor-sharp teeth and writhing tendrils swallows a goblin whole. “A Marlboro!” I shouted at the screen. Clive’s companion Sir Tyler, however, screamed “A Morbol!?” 

I can’t be the only one a little confused here.

Aside from yellow Chocobo mounts and pink Moogles, the Malboro is one of the most instantly recognizable creatures in the series, popping up in almost every entry to barf its “Bad Breath” attack on players and inflict all sorts of status ailments. For years, many gamers — this author included — misread the name as “Marlboro” like the cigarette brand. It gives you bad breath. It makes you sick. It can negatively impact your status. It all checks out.

The Malboro first debuted in Final Fantasy II , and even Final Fantasy XVI ’s latest design echoes the original concept art drawn by series artist Yoshitaka Amano in the late 1980s. A tree trunk sort of base with thick, root-like legs gives way to a central mass of tentacles with dozens of knife-sized teeth. Supposedly real-life scallops inspired the design, as their shells have many “teeth” that look dangerous but are actually gills used to filter plankton out of the surrounding water. The Malboro imagines a world where scallops are giant and dangerous. But how did they get such a name?

In the pre-internet era when Final Fantasy II was made, localization and translations were done by a small team with minimal access to developers to clarify the intended meaning of various