Final Fantasy Elixirs

Characters pictured, L to R: Serrah Farron,
Obera Yun Fang, Lightning.

Pictured at right: Three cans of what might be the most sought-after beverage among RPG* video gamers - Final Fantasy XIII Elixir. Randomly-selected cans sell online and at cons for as much as ten bucks each (though they can also be found on Amazon for as "little" as five dollars a can.)  They were a birthday gift to Lynnafred from her awesome friend Andy, who made her promise that they'd get reviewed here.

Lynnafred and her friend Ashley were delighted with the cans and the exceptional quality of the litho artwork, which are essentially cropped-to-fit versions of Square Enix's official hi-res character publicity images. An interesting touch was the irridescent pigment used for the apparently-white backgrounds on the cans - tipping the can against the light revealed a rainbow of colors (quite a cool effect for a beverage can.)  Just for the sake of the artwork alone, the cans have become prized by gamers and can collectors.

We weren't sure of what to expect when we opened the can. Amazon puts FF13 Elixir in their "energy drinks" category, which is kind of funny in a geeky "OMG IT'S ELIXIR SO IT'S MAGIC" kind of way. We wondered what color it would be ("I hope it's a cool glowing blue," Lynnafred said) and what it would taste like. It's bottled in Japan by Suntory, and Japanese soft drinks are often flavored in unusual and interesting ways.

So, after oohing and ahhing over the can design, and much speculation over what might be inside, we popped a can open and poured it out into cups for tasting.

It was colorless, and tasted like...Suntory lemon-lime soda. Quite anticlimactic.

* - That's Role Playing Game, not Rocket-Propelled Grenades.