Last month, Square Enix announced a collaboration with the Japanese convenience store chain Lawson to create a limited edition Final Fantasy XIV version of the company’s popular Karaage-kun brand of fried chicken.
Since here at Twinfinite we’re all about serious investigative journalism, we flew all the way to Tokyo to taste this marvelous creation with our own taste buds.
Each Final Fantasy XIV Karaage-kun Limit Break Flavor pack includes five nuggets of fried chicken, or Karaage as it’s named in Japan. One nugget in 700 also comes with a special Meteor logo branded on its golden surface, but we weren’t so lucky.
The full description of the flavor is “burnt garlic oil” which is commonly named Mayu in Japan, and it’s often used in ramen to give it that garlicky flavor which many know and love.
Each pack costs 216 yen taxes included, which translates into less than $2. As you can see in the video below, every time you purchase one, you’re greeted with Final Fantasy XIV’s victory fanfare straight from the cash register.
According to Square Enix, the flavor’s creation was supervised by the Final Fantasy XIV development and marketing team, and they did a pretty good job.
The little golden nuggets come with a garlicky undertone, and if you’re weak to spicy food, they’re likely to actually break the limit. They’re pretty hot, which isn’t too surprising considering that the typical golden color of karaage is tinted with red.
It’s certainly a nice treat for the winter, and Japanese players can eat nine packages (or combine a few with Wilkinson and Wonda drinks) to win a Black Fat Chocobo mount.
Below you can check out my totally serious video review, and a couple of images of the packaging.
If you want to know more about Final Fantasy XIV, you can check out the latest trailer for update 4.5 which has recently been released. If you’re interested in another thing that Japanese fans get and we don’t, you can read about the themed weddings that will be available soon at a wedding hall in Kobe.
Final Fantasy XIV is currently available for PS4 and PC.