Axe of the Blood God: An RPG Podcast

Brr. Can you feel the chill in the air? Maybe you can, maybe you can't. The weather's been really screwy this summer. This week, the Blood God crew wades hip-deep into 2024's fall RPG season to evaluate what's coming, and to take a guess at which games look likeliest to bogart all their attention through September and October. Will it be the mystical Metaphor ReFantazio? The utterly charming Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom? Or perhaps the beleaguered Dragon Age Veilguard will dominate the autumn season. Listen in and shout your own choices at your audio output device. Or tune into the show live next time at twitch.tv/bloodgodpod. We show up every Saturday at 9:30 PT /12:30 ET. Also in this episode: Nadia is back, but RIP to her luggage Visions of Mana early impressions Our "canon event" games This is Tenchiverse and that "cabbit" did indeed turn into a spaceship Timestamps 00:00 - Main topic: Fall RPG Preview 55:28 - Random Encounters 1:12:13 - The Tavern 1:30:27 - Nostalgia Nook Music used in this episode Do Your Best! [Breath of Fire 3] Patty's Pub [Dragon Quest IX] A Curious Tale [Secret of Mana] Scream [Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's episode Kat, Eric, and special guest Brian Shea discuss all the news out of Gamescom! Does Xbox still need a Mario? What is happening with Blizzard? All these questions and more will be answered in this week's episode of Axe of the Blood God! Tune in to live recordings of the show every Saturday morning at https://www.twitch.tv/bloodgodpod and subscribe for bonus episodes and discord access at https://www.patreon.com/bloodgodpod Also in this episode: Kat is invaded by turkeys Role-playing with sports games More Game Informer memories! Timestamps: 05:52 - Gamescom Announcements 52:48 - Random Encounters + Wukong 1:10:48 - The Tavern Music Used in this Episode: Do Your Best - [Breath of Fire III] A Curious Tale - [Secret of Mana] Mog Resort - [Final Fantasy XI: Seekers of Adoulin] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's episode Kat, Eric, Nadia and special guest Matt McMuscles discuss the history of beat'em ups, RPGs, and where the twain shall meet! What is the first RPG beat'em up crossover? What even IS Yakuza? How does George Kamitani tie it all together? All these questions and more will be answered in this week's very special Trans Lifeline Charity Livestream episode of Axe of the Blood God! Tune in to live recordings of the show every Saturday morning at https://www.twitch.tv/bloodgodpod and subscribe for bonus episodes and discord access at https://www.patreon.com/bloodgodpod Also in this episode: Tales of! The Bouncer! Legend of Mana! Shenmue! All of Victor's favs are here! Timestamps: 00:00 - Main Topic 50:28 - Random Encounters 52:16 - The Tavern 1:26:08 - Nadia's Nostalgia Pit Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's episode Kat, Eric, and special guest Alex Van Aken discuss the current landscape of soulsbornes, the future of soulsbornes, what makes a soulsborne a soulsborne, and please can we call it something else so I can stop saying soulsborne. And no one talks about Code Vein and Stranger of Paradise enough. Tune in to live recordings of the show every Saturday morning at https://www.twitch.tv/bloodgodpod and subscribe for bonus episodes and discord access at https://www.patreon.com/bloodgodpod Also in this episode: Black Myth: Wukong Kaiju No 8 D23 2XKO Timestamps: 14:23 - State of Soulsbornes 59:56 - Random Encounters 103:49 - The Tavern 1:36:38 - Alex's Game Informer Nostalgia Nook Music Used in this Episode: Do Your Best - [Breath of Fire III] A Curious Tale - [Secret of Mana] Pirates of Pravoka - [Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's episode Kat, Eric, and special guests Saniya Ahmed and Nicole Carpenter discuss recent layoffs in both journalism and development. How will Bungie's layoffs change the future of Destiny? Does Destiny HAVE a future? Should it? All these question and more will be answered in this week's Axe of the Blood God! Tune in to live recordings of the show every Saturday morning at https://www.twitch.tv/bloodgodpod and subscribe for bonus episodes and discord access at https://www.patreon.com/bloodgodpod Also in this episode: Kat has nice things to say about Final Fantasy XIV Fast AND Furious? In this economy? Gathering the Magic Arranger Timestamps: 05:04 - Game Informer Layoffs 20:00 - Bungie Layoffs 50:56 - Random Encounters 58:40 - The Tavern 1:19:28 - Eric's Nostalgia Pit Music Used in this Episode: Do Your Best - [Breath of Fire III] A Curious Tale - [Secret of Mana] rtown0 (Δ Server Aqua Capital Mac Anu) - [.hack//INFECTION] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's the Summer o' Summoners on Axe of the Blood God! We're celebrating summoners, extoling evokers, and commemorating callers! But first we have to decide who qualifies? Are Pokemon Trainers summoners? Is Ichiban a summoner? Is listening to a podcast not a kind of summoning? That's right, as far as I'm concerned YOU'RE my favourite summoner, dear listener. All this and more on this week's Axe of the Blood God! Tune in to live recordings of the show every Saturday morning at https://www.twitch.tv/bloodgodpod and subscribe for bonus episodes and discord access at https://www.patreon.com/bloodgodpod Also in this episode: Unionization and strikes! Courage the Cowardly Dog Eric watches terrible TV Twisters! Timestamps: 13:20 - Main Topic - Our RPG Backlogs 53:52 - Random Encounters 56:32 - The Tavern 1:19:28 - Nadia's Nostalgia Nook Music Used in this Episode: Do Your Best - [Breath of Fire III] A Curious Tale - [Secret of Mana] Keepers of the Void - [Final Fantasy Brave Exvius] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

By popular demand, it's a long-overdue look at the colossal Trails series! Kat, Nadia, and Eric are joined by Trails expert James Galizio to discuss the latest entry to celebrate the series' 20th anniversary; Trails Through Daybreak. How do you get into a series with a dozen entries in the same narrative? Is Daybreak a good place to jump in? What's the best game in the series? Tune in to live recordings of the show every Saturday morning at https://www.twitch.tv/bloodgodpod and subscribe for bonus episodes and discord access at https://www.patreon.com/bloodgodpod Also in this episode: MAHVEL Trading military secrets Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition Visual novels and ADV games are different things! Tsukihime is, in fact, a visual novel. Hijinks! Timestamps: 13:20 - Main Topic - Our RPG Backlogs 40:06 - Random Encounters 49:54 - The Tavern 1:21:02 - Nadia's BIRTHDAY Nook?! Music Used in this Episode: Do Your Best - [Breath of Fire III] Birthday - [Monster Rancher 2] Daily Life - [Trails Through Daybreak] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We've all got one. Some are bigger than others but we can all agree that we can't get enough of'em. No, not opinions. I'm talking backlogs! Whether it's a real life shelf with a copy of Shadow Hearts you borrowed from your friend 7 years ago and can't quite bring yourself to play but also don't want to give back, or your digital shelf full of game titles you've never even heard of, we've all got games we swear we'll get around to someday. Kat, Nadia, and Victor discuss some of their biggest blind spots and more on this episode of Axe of the Blood God! Tune in to live recordings of the show every Saturday morning at https://www.twitch.tv/bloodgodpod and subscribe for bonus episodes and discord access at https://www.patreon.com/bloodgodpod Also in this episode: Kat is still working on Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth Megami Tensei novels in English for the first time Nadia has finished Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail Please go play Curse Crackers Timestamps: 13:20 - Main Topic - Our RPG Backlogs 57:20 - Random Encounters 1:07:40 - The Tavern 1:29:42 - Nadia's Nostalgia Nook Music Used in this Episode: Do Your Best - [Breath of Fire III] A Curious Tale - [Secret of Mana] Carnival Subarea - [Curse Crackers: For Whom the Belle Toils] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sometimes it's not just about the power of friendship. Even the most friend-shaped RPGs can pull the rug out from under you with a moment that makes your skin crawl. Sometimes they beat you over the head with that rug with moments that make you go "aww jeez, come on, don't do that!" On this week's Axe of the Blood God Nadia and Victor discuss their favourite(?) moments in games that embrace the creepy, the macabre, or the truly depraved. It's not the first episode where we talk about marrying cousins and it won't be the last! Tune in to live recordings of the show every Saturday morning at https://www.twitch.tv/bloodgodpod and subscribe for bonus episodes and discord access at https://www.patreon.com/bloodgodpod Also in this episode: We're playing Dawntrail obvs The lost Shin Megami Tensei games you can play right now! More saved feature phone games including Final Fantasy D-d-d-dimensions! Remembering Mutsumi Inoumata Timestamps: 6:40 - Main Topic - Darkest Moments in RPGs 57:52 - Random Encounters 1:20:16 - The Tavern 1:32:40 - Nadia's Nostalgia Nook Music Used in this Episode: Do Your Best - [Breath of Fire III] A Curious Tale - [Secret of Mana] Pirate Island - [Boktai 3] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So long dads and grads; Summer is here and that means pina coladas on the beaches of Tural. And as we soak up that vitamin D we might as well reflect on the year so far. What RPGs have blown our minds, which ones not so much, and what are we looking forward to in the latter half of Anno Domini 2024? Kat, Nadia, and Eric discuss all this, plus Shadow of the Erdtree, Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail, and more on this week's Axe of the Blood God! Tune in to live recordings of the show every Saturday morning at https://www.twitch.tv/bloodgodpod and subscribe for bonus episodes and discord access at https://www.patreon.com/bloodgodpod Also in this episode: 1000xRESIST Hades 2 Dragon's Dogma 2 Demonschool Tsukihime Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 57:20 - Random Encounters 1:02:00 - The Tavern 1:32:40 - Nadia's Nostalgia Nook Music Used in this Episode: Do Your Best - [Breath of Fire III] A Curious Tale - [Secret of Mana] Tuliyollal (Day) - [Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I hope you like your rings elden and your trees erd because this week Kat, Nadia, Eric, and special guest Mitchell Saltzman discuss the much-anticipated Elden Ring DLC. Plus, the latest Nintendo Direct, and Eric's experience with Final Fantasy VI so far. It's a jam-packed episode this week on Axe of the Blood God! Tune in to live recordings of the show every Saturday morning at https://www.twitch.tv/bloodgodpod and subscribe for bonus episodes and discord access at https://www.patreon.com/bloodgodpod Also in this episode: Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom MAAAHVEL BAYBEE Fantasian Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance Do we need leakers? Final Fantasy VI is really good Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 4:16 - Main Topic - Shadow of the Erdtree 38:04 - Random Encounters 41:28 - Nintendo Direct 1:00:40 - The Tavern 1:32:48 - Nadia's Nostalgia Nook Music Used in this Episode: Do Your Best - [Breath of Fire III] A Curious Tale - [Secret of Mana] Airship Stage - [Marvel Vs Capcom 2] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More like Summer Games FEAST. The deluge of news simply doesn't stop. This time Kat, Nadia, Eric, and special guest Brenden Groom focus on Dragon Age: The Veilguard plus a bazillion other games that were announced over the past week. Tune in to live recordings of the show every Saturday morning at https://www.twitch.tv/bloodgodpod and subscribe for bonus episodes and discord access at https://www.patreon.com/bloodgodpod Also in this episode: Train Station Fist Fights! Is Super Monkey Ball and RPG? Hyper Light Breaker Monster Hunter Wilds More Metaphor Blumhouse and Sam Barlow Demonschool Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 15:36 - Kat and Eric's Dragon Age Impressions 1:00:00 - More SGF 1:48:08 - Random Encounters 1:51:20 - The Tavern 2:02:02 - Nadia's Nostalgia Nook Music Used in this Episode: Do Your Best - [Breath of Fire III] A Curious Tale - [Secret of Mana] Jouin High School - [Shin Megami Tensei V] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're at the SGF. We're at the Day of the Devs. We're at the Xbox Showcase. We're at the combination SGF, Day of the Devs, Xbox Showcase. Kat and Eric are joined by Michael Higham and Moises Tavares to discuss an absolute deluge of game reveals, announcements, trailers, and news. Tune in to live recordings of the show every Saturday morning at https://www.twitch.tv/bloodgodpod and subscribe for bonus episodes and discord access at https://www.patreon.com/bloodgodpod Also in this episode: Can Metaphor: ReFantazio bring back fantasy? Dragon Age: The Veilguard is here to fill your quip quota Starfield: Shattered Space Expedition 33 Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 00:00 - Main Topic - It's ALL Main Topic, Baby! Good luck! Music Used in this Episode: Tuliyollal Theme - Day - [Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The season of big summer announcements has begun! Kat, Nadia, and Eric discuss the RPG offerings Sony has revealed in the latest State of Play. What do PlayStation-playing RPG-lovers have to look forward to in the near future? Find out on this episode of Axe of the Blood God! Tune in to live recordings of the show every Saturday morning at https://www.twitch.tv/bloodgodpod and subscribe for bonus episodes and discord access at https://www.patreon.com/bloodgodpod Also in this episode: Monster Hunter Wilds Dragon Quest HD-2D is back! 13 Sentinels Pantheon Prologue Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 08:51 - Main Topic - Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door 53:51 - Random Encounters 59:23 - The Tavern 1:25:58 - Nadia's Nostalgia Nook Music Used in this Episode: Do Your Best - [Breath of Fire III] A Curious Tale - [Secret of Mana] Retem City - Day View - [Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Mario RPG remakes continue with a Gamecube classic and Kat, Nadia, and special guest Logan Plant are here to talk about it. Does the brilliant script hold up? Is the combat and progression still as fantastic as it's always been? And who is the best companion? That's easy, we all know who it is. Go on. You get one guess. And if it's wrong you need to leave. Tune in to live recordings of the show every Saturday morning at https://www.twitch.tv/bloodgodpod and subscribe for bonus episodes and discord access at https://www.patreon.com/bloodgodpod Also in this episode: Put Waffle House in Tekken This Week in Gekkoukan Continues A Doctor Who Primer Jenny Nicholson's doing good work Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 03:04 - Main Topic - Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door 39:38 - Random Encounters 44:00 - The Tavern 1:17:28 - Nadia's Nostalgia Nook Music Used in this Episode: Do Your Best - [Breath of Fire III] A Curious Tale - [Secret of Mana] Rogueport - [Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's letter tiiime, it's letter tiiime!~ Axe of the Blood God's May mailbag is here, and it is loaded with some excellent questions from our listeners. The topics of discussion are, but not limited to: What stops so many of us from finishing RPGs? PS5 RPG ports we want to see on Switch 2 Do Dragon Quest Slimes taste sweet or savoury? Where's Axe of the Blood God's "Best RPG Soundtrack" segment? Huh? Huh?? Also in this episode: Sony has a new CEO, Rest in Pizza Jim Ryan. Nier's devs are working on a project that might be Nier, but we don't have Nier-ly enough information yet. Jabroni Chocobos Childhood cats, bitten and non. Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 04:48 - Letter Time 1:07:01 - Random Encounters 1:12:09 - The Tavern 1:25:57 - Nostalgia Nook Music used in this episode: Do Your Best! - [Breath of Fire III] Patty's Pub - [Dragon Quest IX] A Curious Tale - [Secret of Mana] Lab 16 Ruins - [Chrono Trigger] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Capitalism continues to function as intended with the closure of several studios by Microsoft. What's the future of Game Pass? What will RPGs on Microsoft platforms look like going forward? And how many lives need to be ruined by rich people before we bring back the thing that rhymes with "creatine'? Kat, Nadia, and Eric discuss this and so much more on this episode of Axe of the Blood God! Tune in to live recordings of the show every Saturday morning at https://www.twitch.tv/bloodgodpod Also in this episode: Animal Well Hades 2 Kat holds her FFXIV playthrough for a $20,000 ransom Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 03:52 - Main Topic - Microsoft 47:28 - Random Encounters 1:0:0 - The Tavern, More or Less 1:32:32 - Nadia's Nostalgia Nook Music Used in this Episode: Do Your Best - [Breath of Fire III] A Curious Tale - [Secret of Mana] Human - [The Killers] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A slew of un-announced titles from Square Enix have just been skewered by the masamune in a grand restructuring. In the wake of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's sales, where does our beloved JRPG machine go from here? The odds of getting a Various Daylife 2 seem slimmer than ever. Kat, Nadia, and Eric discuss the future of the house that Final Fantasy built and more on this week's episode! Listen AD-FREE and get hundreds of hours of bonus episodes by subscribing at patreon.com/bloodgodpod Also in this Episode: Starfield Update! 9S' Therapist Knock-knock it's Knuckles! This Week in Gekkoukan continues! Stay off the Jibanyan couch Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 04:16 - Main Topic 55:52 - Random Encounters 1:02:56 - The Tavern 1:32:48 - Nadia's Nostalgia Nook Music Used in this Episode: Do Your Best! - [Breath of Fire III] A Curious Tale - [Secret of Mana] Wait for Truth - [Live-A-Live] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Let's re-litigate like it 2015! Does Fallout 4 deserve the hate that it gets in certain circles? With the current-gen update and the TV series bringing Fore-out back to the Fall-front it's time for Kat and Eric to go head-to-head and determine if Fallout 4 is one of the greats of the genre or deserves to be cast into the Pandaemonium pit. Also in this episode: Eiyuden Chronicles' bumpy patches Metaphor ReFantazio Kat rides a rollercoaster and finishes Unicorn Overlord in that order This Week in Gekkoukan Reload continues! Hades 2 tech test impressions Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 08:16 - Main Topic - Fallout 4 42:04 - Random Encounters 1:02:24 - The Tavern 1:26:24 - Nadia's Nostalgia Nook Music Used in this Episode: Do Your Best - [Breath of Fire III] A Curious Tale - [Secret of Mana] Crawl Out Through the Fallout - [Sheldon Allman] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When you consider inflation that's really only gonna get you as far as seventy-ish heroes. Either way the spiritual successor of Suikoden has arrived! Is it worth the wait? Did they manage to fit all them heroes into the Switch version? Eric, Nadia, and special guest Lucas White discuss this much-anticipated crowd-funded torch-bearer of the late Yoshitaka Murayama's legacy. Also in this episode: Class of Heroes Nier: AutoNadia Hades 2 Turtle Power Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 05:52 - Main Topic 56:32 - Random Encounters 57:36 - The Tavern 1:26:24 - Nadia's Nostalgia Nook Music Used in this Episode: Do Your Best - [Breath of Fire III] A Curious Tale - [Secret of Mana] MEGALOMANIA (RF Remix) - [RF] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices