Crowdsource your search for the name of that thing.
Related Communities: https://lemmy.ml/c/helpmefind https://lemmy.ml/c/tipofmyjoystick
I've forgotten it's name and I also think it might be referenced in one of the super Mario odyssey levels as well iirc
Cactuar?
https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Cactuar_(creature)
Edit: Ah forgot about gyroids: https://animalcrossing.fandom.com/wiki/Gyroid_(species) Probably this as OP pic has no legs
edit: /u/[email protected] beat me to it
Yeah I think so too after seeing the image of the haniwa because it reminded me of the video explaining the similar looking figures amd what they referenced
Are you looking for the game you saw it in, or the actual cultural item? Gyroids are the Animal Crossing items based on the Japanese Haniwa.
Gyroid (Lloyd) in the front, Haniwa in the back:
They're kinda cool either way. I find it fascinating how often Japanese games take influence from esoteric stuff like alleged alien encounters, weird artifacts, etc. For an example, Sableye is based on the Hopkinsville Goblins, it's speculated that "They" from Majora's Mask are based on the Flatwoods Monster, and so on (I swear I saw a really cool article recently that had a long list of weird, esoteric things in Japanese games, but I can't find it :c).
I was looking for the haniwa
Could be a gyroid from animal crossing. Might also be thinking about haniwa, which gyroids are based on.