A collaboration between the always popular “Final Fantasy” video game franchise and the soda brand famously loved by gamers, Mountain Dew, brings forth a new giant bird for you to ride as your mount with a green-colored version of the Zu mount: Mountain Zu. The giant bird will be featured in the “Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail” expansion.
It’s a limited-time-only experience that gamers can nab if they participate in the U.S.-only opportunity, which would mean they’d have to drink the carbonated bird mount beverage in real life. Mountain Zu gets unlocked in the game once a player redeems the codes needed from the drinks they purchase in stores. Participants can use the codes printed on the inside of beverage caps to get other prizes as well, both in the game and in real life.
“Introducing a special collaboration mount between Final Fantasy XIV and MTN Dew, the Mountain Zu! This subspecies of the monstrous zu is known to inhabit the mountain regions of the Near East. Seeking to tame the ill-temepered bird, Hannish alchemists fed it a specially concocted brew, which had the desired effect while causing the creature to give off a refreshing citrus aroma,” Mountain Dew Gaming writes in a description of the partnership on its website.
Aside from Mountain Zu, some of the prizes you can win include a Mountain Dew Pop gaming pad, a one-month Xbox game pass membership, a TimTheTatman mug, a “Final Fantasy XIV” online starter edition of the game and more.
Initially, “Final Fantasy XIV” director and producer Naoki Yoshida thought the agreement between the two brands was a “dad joke.”
“When I saw the proposal from the team in America, and I saw the name Mountain Zu, I was thinking, ‘Wow, this sounds like a dad joke.’ You would hear that in Japan too.” The collab kicked off on Thursday and the partnership ends on July 14. “Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail” comes out on July 2.
Watch Yoshida’s full Final Fantasy producer letter below:
