This Final Fantasy 14 bubble tea promotion is causing quite a stir

By Carli Velocci July 19, 2024

A Final Fantasy 14 character riding a pink Porxie King mount, which looks like a pig with dumbo ears. — Square Enix

If you like boba tea and Final Fantasy 14, we have good news. Square Enix is offering a deal where buying bubble tea will net you a flying pig for your in-game character. And it’s causing a bit of a frenzy.

The promotion was announced on Wednesday. If you live near a Gong Cha, a franchise known for its boba and milk tea, you have the chance to score either a cute bubble-tea-themed keychain, or an in-game Porxie King mount. That’s basically an adorable pig with Dumbo ears. The promotion started on July 17 and will last until August 28.

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All you have to do is buy three teas in one transaction, and you’ll get a code for the mount that you can apply to one character. Some purchases will also net you the keychain, but they’ll only be available at select stores. The Porxie King is a limited-time item, but Square mentions that it might become available in the future.

There are also commemorative Final Fantasy 14-inspired cups and drinks. There’s a Fat Cat Brown Sugar Milk Tea, a Fat Chocobo Mango Frozen Tea, and Cactuar Matcha Milk Tea.

Warriors of Light, get ready to embark on a refreshing new adventure!

From now until Aug. 28, participate in the #FFXIV x Gong cha collaboration campaign and redeem your Porxie King mount! 🐷

Details 👑 https://t.co/TrHSgy3ZXC
Full terms & conditions 🧋 https://t.co/PRrLueRewt pic.twitter.com/qYbq6YMQMy

— FINAL FANTASY XIV (@FF_XIV_EN) July 17, 2024

But like with any perfect limited-time video game promotion, there have been some reported problems. One Reddit user said they waited in line for 90 minutes, only to be told there were only 27 codes to give away. There are multiple threads in the Final Fantasy 14 subreddit about how different stores have different conditions; one user said a shop in Japan only gave them out with a mobile order. Another just decided to make their own keychain.

With these events also come the scalpers, who put in large orders and then sell the promotion rewards online. Just a quick glimpse at eBay showed one keychain going for $150, while another had all three and a mount code for $110.

Still, the promotion is very enticing. My friend group has been coordinating a weekend trip to Gong Cha all week to get some codes and keychains. Not all of us play Final Fantasy 14, so some just want to go and get some boba tea. It’s the most I’ve seen anybody in my bubble care about a promotion like this, so let’s hope we can get some rewards. Worst case scenario, we get some bubble tea.

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Contributor, Games

Carli is a technology, culture, and games editor and journalist. They were the Gaming Lead and Copy Chief at Windows Central…

Gaming

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth: all piano sheet music locations and rewards

Cloud playing the piano in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth.

While there's no shortage of ways to distract yourself while playing Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, one of the most unexpected minigames is the surprisingly deep piano system. In most of the major hub towns you encounter across the expansive world, Cloud can find a piano to sit down at and tickle the keys. You're free to play any song you want in free play, but you can turn this system into a full-on rhythm game, almost like Guitar Hero, by collecting sheet music of some of the game's most iconic tracks. There's even an NPC near each piano who will reward you if you get a high enough rank on each song. Cloud may not be the most expressive in his words, but he can sure play the piano with heart. Here is where you can find all the sheet music and what rewards await if you can master them.
Where to find all sheet music

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On Our Way
Our first piece of music can be picked up once you hit Chapter 4. During this section, go to the Crow's Nest town in the Junon region, which you can only enter by doing the "When Words Won't Do" side quest. Once you complete this quest and can freely enter the town, hit up the bar and grab this tune.
Tifa's Theme
After a rather exciting cruise to Costa del Sol in Chapter 6, you can add this piece to your collection by making a quick stop at the fancy Royal Crown Hotel.
Barret's Theme
Not much further into the game in Chapter 7 you will visit Barret's old hometown of Corel. The Rock Bottom Bar is waiting with his song.
Cinco de Chocobo
Chapter 9 takes you through the town of Gongaga. Even a town way out in the forest has a piano, which means yet another song to snag.
Two Legs? Nothin' to it
One chapter later, in Chapter 10, you need to do a little exploring in Cosmo Canyon to find your way to the piano, but the icon on your map won't lead you astray.
Aerith's Theme
Perhaps the most iconic song in the entire game, if not the franchise, is hidden behind a completely optional side quest. Once you reach Chapter 11, return to Nibelheim and do the "White-Haired Angel" side quest. It may seem totally irrelevant, but the quest ends with you playing and collecting this song.
Let the Battles Begin!
Once you prove your skills and get an A rank or better on all prior songs, you will get this new one as a reward from the NPC Dorian next to all pianos.
One-Winged Angel
We're not sure if fighting Sephiroth or getting this song is harder. If you want to play this terrifying arrangement, you need to donate all 88 Treasure Trove items to Johnny. This more or less requires you to 100% the entire game
All song rewards
For every song you A rank, Dorian will give you a prize when you talk to him. Here's everything you can get:

Gaming

Like the best RPGs, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth gets sidequests right

The mayor of Under Junon in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.

Among its many highlights, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth makes simple sidequests a lot more engaging than I had expected. Take an early-game sidequest called When Words Won’t Do. On a surface level, it’s a simple escort mission where players must get a dog from Under Junon to Crow’s Nest unscathed. I did not initially have high hopes for this sidequest due to the poor reputation of escort missions; thankfully, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth defied that fate. To make this optional content more worthwhile, Square Enix gave it a strong narrative backbone.

When Words Won’t Do is actually a story about parents struggling to let go of their kids. Under Junon’s mayor sends players on this quest to help her son and unborn grandchild, and Barrett wonders if he’ll ever be able to let Marlene go during the mission. That’s thematically fitting for an escort mission where you can’t keep something out of your sight.

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How long is Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth?

Cloud and his friends overlook a scenic field.

By expanding the Midgar section of Final Fantasy 7 into an entire game, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth finally takes us beyond the walls into the world beyond. This much larger swath of land to explore begs the question of just how big this game will be. Between all the open-world tasks, sidequests, and minigames awaiting in the Gold Saucer, could this game really be a 100-hour experience as was claimed? What if you just tried to focus on the main story to see what has or hasn't changed? We've played through the entirety of Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth and can give you a good idea of just how long it will take you to reach this chapter's conclusion.

Note: We will not be spoiling any story details, but will list how many chapters there are.
How long is Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth?