Axe of the Blood God: An RPG Podcast

For the December 2021 edition of Pantheon of the Blood God, Kat and Nadia are joined by Fanbyte's Nerium Strom and Michael Higham for an exploration of Persona 5! During their lengthy discussion, the group discusses just some of the following: - Its outstanding soundtrack - Its attempt to challenge the status quo in Japanese society - Its remarkable sense of style - Being constantly told to go to bed by a cat ... And much more! Then the verdict: Is Persona 5 worthy of inclusion in the Pantheon of the Blood God? Listen and find out! This episode was unlocked for Axe of the Blood God listeners during the recent charity stream benefiting Trans Lifeline! New episodes are released each month for $10 Patrons and above.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After the (ahem) fallout of our #1 pick for the Top 25 RPGs of All Time, we got together with Khee Hoon Chan and Jay Castello to talk about whether it deserves to be the top-rated RPG of all time. How much does the setting, politics, and sidequests elevate it? And how much do the VATS System and bugs weigh it down? We discuss as part of part of our big 24 hour charity stream in which we were able to raise more than $10,000 for Trans Lifeline! Also in this episode: Valkyrie Elysium trail is here and it looks... good? It looks good! Kat has some thoughts on the Live a Live demo and Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak Eric extols the virtues of 08th MS Team in Summer of Gundam Nadia's Nostalgia Nook takes us back to Our Lady Peace Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Summer is a time for schmoozing with friends, which is why Axe of the Blood God invited veteran guest Len Hafer to talk about the best video game genre in the whole wide world. (Psst—that means RPGS.) Leana helps the Blood God wrap up the PC RPG Quest with a deep dive into the computer RPGs that shaped the '10s. And oh, what a decade it was. Kickstarter dreams and nightmares! Bioware's troubles! World of Warcraft! The rise of CD Projekt Red! Final Fantasy XIV's fall and resurrection! They don't make drama like this anymore. Also in this episode: The Live A Live demo is…live. And it's already something special. Mega Man Battle Network is getting a collection. Hey, it's RPG-adjacent. And the second game has a lot of swear words in it for some reason. Is it "Nicky-Nicky-Nine-Door" or "Ding-Dong-Ditch?" Come to our upcoming charity stream for Trans Lifeline, or else. In the Post Show Leana joins the gang for the usual hodge-podge of good stuff that the Blood God Crew wrings out of itself at the end of every show. This week, the discussion turns to live-action and/or animated adaptations of video games that we'd like to see. Plus, lots of Summer Games Done Quick discussion… and hey! Nadia got a gaming computer that's worth half a damn! This episode is available exclusively to our Patrons in the Stars of Destiny tier and above! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Axe of the Blood God, recent political going-ons have the gang physically, mentally, and spiritually taxed. Kat, Nadia, and Eric elect to take it easy and do a mid-year check-in of the RPGs. What are some of our favorite games this year? (Elden Ring might get a mention.) Which RPGs were surprise hits? Which seemed to slip under the radar? Opinions are shared. Also in this episode: Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is looking quite fine. Eric is trying to build a Gundam model, RIP All glory to the Disneyworld Dead Lizard Patrol In the Post Show On this week's post show, Kat and Eric descend down an End of Evangelion hole, and Nadia just kind of sits with her gob as wide as a boot because she has no idea what they're talking about. But then the gang answers an important listener question about how they'd build their ideal RPGs. Eric and Nadia have answers that are almost normal, but Kat unleashes a nightmare idea on the masses. For the love of God, don't let her anywhere near RPG Maker. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Axe of the Blood God, Kat has an intense war flashback to spring 2020. If you don't recall, Final Fantasy 7 Remake absconded with a little bit of her soul, and she's never been quite the same since. Hence why she absolutely goes off on Final Fantasy 7 Remake all over again in this episode. But who can blame her? The ongoing summer of not-E3 continues to drop a whole lot of Final Fantasy 7 news, including an announcement for "Rebirth." It's enough to shatter anyone's mind—arguably the best kind of news worth digging through. This episode even contains a very special witness to Kat's breakdown: $100 Patron Vivicomplex! Vivi leads the discussion on RPG Maker, the long-lived game construction series that amateur programmers use to make adventures with minimal coding. RPG Maker's legacy and purpose is carried on today through programs like Game Maker Studio, which gave rise to Undertale and countless other RPGs. Also in this episode: The Summer of Gundam continues! What's the series' ideal viewing order? Kat educates us. So, so much Final Fantasy 7 news. Crisis Core remake! Crisis Core remake!! Janus brought down the gmod apocalypse, praise be. In the Post Show Weekly Post Show One show is not enough to contain all the Final Fantasy news — nor is it enough to contain Kat's continued FF7 Remake rant-a-rooney. Vivicomplex joins the gang again as they talk more about what's going on with this brand-new take on the controversial "Compilation of Final Fantasy 7." Also, Nadia's still making her way through FFX, so expect some complaining about Seymour. The Weekly Post Show is available exclusively to our supporters in the Stars of Destiny tier! Thanks so much for your support! And as always, you can catch us when we record live on Friday at 5pm PT. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Axe of the Blood God, Kat and Eric are joined by not one, but two Alexes to break down the summer showcases! RPG Site's Alex Donaldson and freelancer Alex J. Kane are here to discuss the Xbox and Bethesda showcase, as well as the whole of Summer Game Fest. Also in this episode: Eric and Alex D. talk Three Hopes early impressions Alex K. talks KOTOR 2's solid Switch port Kat laments the meta-ness of it all Fortnite? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Axe of the Blood God, Kat rejoins Eric and Nadia after her adventure on the high seas. She's a little unsteady on her legs, not to mention lightly brined by sea salt, but that's not about to stop her from talking about everything that's going on this week in RPGs. And a loaded week it is, mateys. We've got impressions of the Final Fantasy XVI trailer, as well as opinions about Pokémon Scarlet and Violet's chonky pigs and small olives. Also in this episode: Eric's finally playing Suikoden 2 The upcoming Dragon Age game has a title. Progress! Nadia layeth the smackdown on Seymor in Final Fantasy X "I am Malenia, blade of–" [Vomits everywhere] On the Post Show On this week's post-show, Kat tells us about the joys of sailing the high seas–e.g. seasickness and other cool things that happen on the water. There's also a deep discussion about sports, Street Fighter 6, and how awesome Cody is. (So awesome.) The Post Show is available to the Stars of Destiny tier and above! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode was not entirely Nadia's idea, we swear. Really, can anyone deny the sheer cool factor of the Final Fantasy series' take on dragon knights? If you're not, maybe this episode will make you a believer. Prima Games' Jesse Vitelli joins Nadia and Eric as they talk about Dragoons past and present, from progenitor Ricard Highwind to the dragon-hating nerd Estinien Wyrmblood. Pull on your overly-elaborate dragoon boots and join the fun. Also in this episode: Miyazaki (not that one) thinks Radahn is the best Elden Ring boss.  Give us more Dragon's Dogma, Capcom. (Please.) The Summer Game Fest creeps ever closer. What will we see? Sony is making bad decisions about its retro games again. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Axe of the Blood God, Kat has run off to do sailor junk on the high seas, so Nadia and Eric hold the rig together by themselves. Well, that's not entirely true. Kat joins them from SeaPhone™ to tackle this week's main topic: Why some games were picked for our updated Top 25 RPG list, while others were left to die in shallow puddles of rainwater. This discussion involves a lot of self-flagellation and even more furious denial, so look forward to drama and mayhem. Soap operas wish they had this explosive narrative impact.   Also in this episode:   June is going to be all decked out in Final Fantasy (XVI? VII Remake pt 2?) news. What is even going on with Summer Games Fest? Do we know? Do we care? (Kinda.) One time, Nadia had to ask a bookstore clerk for porn manga. It was for work. The Luca Goers suck. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's time at last to share our newly-revised list of the 25 best RPGs of all time! For much of 2022 we've been slowly collecting potential nominees for an update to the list that we made several years ago. Now it's time to share that list for all to see!  To make this list we took the list of nominees plus the original list and made our own Top 25s, with the games that were on all three lists going straight into the Top 25. From there we embraced debate with discussions including: Whether or not Mass Effect should be included a trilogy Eric calling Skyrim the "McDonald's hamburger of RPGs." Multiple RPGs being rescued from the dead  Whether it's time to anoint brand-new #1! For your convenience, we've shared time codes below. Time Codes 4:40: We share our personal Top 25 RPG lists 21:35 - The Initial Cutdown + Wild Card Picks + Listener Poll 36:35: Games That Made At Least Two Lists 140:25: Finalizing the List 2:23:00: Ranking the Games 2:50:20: The Top 25 RPGs Of All Time Thanks again for joining us in this very fun project! We'll probably be circling back and rebuilding given that there always amazing new RPGs being released. But in the meantime, we're excited to hear your thoughts! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices