The Chimaera

Chimaera??? You mean that terrifying beastly cross between an eagle, a lion and a snake? Well, not according to Toriyama, who saw fit to drop the mammal element altogether and swap the predatory bird for a carrion bird, at least visually. The adorably silly Dragon Quest Chimaera is just a comical cartoon vulture with a snake's body, except the body is only barely longer than a regular bird's anyhow, more tsuchinoko than full blown serpent, so the functional effect is ultimately just that of a big bird without any legs.

It feels like it defeats every purpose of what the monster is "supposed" to be, but that's all the more charming in my book.

In Dragon Quest VI, we would also be introduced to the "Dreamara," called that initially because it only appeared within a dream realm. In the Japanese, Chimaera is written "Kimera," but Dreamara is "Kimeira," just a different spelling of the same word, which I think is cute. Kimeira is not only larger and tougher than the regular Chimaera, but its wings are larger by proportion, and its head now sweeps back like that of a pterosaur. It also has rooster-like wattles, and its snake portion is a little longer. A LITTLE longer. Just a bit. It's still just a bird that has a presumably more difficult time perching on anything. Good. I'm glad this is what Chimaeras are.