Video video games that includes advertising and marketing tie-ins with meals and drinks is actually nothing new–especially in Japan, the place beloved game characters have been hawking things like ramen seasoning for many years. Nevertheless, this newest campaign–a tie-up between famed worldwide beverage-maker Asahi and Sq.-Enix’s Final Fantasy VII Rebirth–is deliciously unusual in all the proper methods.
Asahi launched a canned alcoholic chu-hai beverage in Japan known as Mirai no Lemon Bitter (Future Lemon Bitter) in 2024, with distribution spreading throughout Japan in 2025. Chu-hai’s been rising in reputation in recent times, and Asahi got down to differentiate itself from the competitors with a singular gimmick: an precise lemon slice miraculously crammed into each can. Pop the lid open, and the lemon slice floats as much as the floor to taste up your ingesting expertise. An odd gimmick, however one which appears to have been profitable out there.
So what does Final Fantasy and Sephiroth should do with any of this? Nicely, Sephiroth’s well-known ultra-long sword, the Masamune–you know, the one which’s killed Aerith and also skewered Mario that one time–would actually be helpful for chopping up these floating lemon slices in Mirai no Lemon Sours, proper? And that is precisely what our lovely boy does, hacking a lemon into skinny slices earlier than savoring his handiwork by taking a refreshing sip of his new favourite grownup beverage.
Moreover, Asahi could have a limited-time pop-up bar arrange in Tokyo’s famed Roppongi leisure district. Themed after Tifa’s Seventh Heaven bar, which acts as a secret HQ for Avalanche in-game, you’ll sit down, loosen up, and revel in any of the three forms of Mirai no Lemon Bitter.
This is not the primary time Final Fantasy has teamed up with canned drinks: Final Fantasy VII was featured in Pepsi promotions in the USA throughout its launch. In Japan, each Coca-Cola and the Japanese firm Suntory have produced Final Fantasy-branded drinks and merchandise. This, nevertheless, marks first time a Final Fantasy-branded drink has been alcoholic, maybe an acknowledgement of the age most individuals who performed the unique FF7 at the moment are.
Sadly, if you wish to attempt Sephiroth’s sliced lemons for your self, Mirai no Lemon Bitter is perhaps arduous to get outdoors of Japan. Your greatest guess can be to verify any native Japanese or Asian groceries–provided you are of authorized ingesting age, in fact.
And keep in mind: drink and have interaction in swordplay responsibly.