Welcome to our latest project at Axe of the Blood God: Sharlayan Dropouts! In this new monthly podcast, Nadia Oxford and a rotating selection of guests will talk about all things Final Fantasy XIV — a perfect companion for the upcoming Endwalker expansion! In our first episode, the land of Eorzea fell into fiery ruin when the enraged Primal Bahamut "hatched" from the moon of Dalamud and tore the realm asunder. Then it got better. There's still much work to be done, but Nadia, Mike Williams, and Victor Hunter are content to let Sharlayan's eggheads do the heavy lifting. They're fine with slumming around campus, smoking, and scratching uselessly for the deeper meaning of existence—like all accomplished dropouts. The newly-formed light party talks about the reasons they got into Final Fantasy XIV, and reminisce over the first races they chose. They also discuss their first Job choices, and wonder why the game doesn't have more hybrid races running around. Well, Nadia wonders, mostly. She wants her Viera/Miqo'te cub, and she wants it right now. [EPISODE 1 SPOILER ALERT LEVEL: GREEN. Low risk of spoilers. This episode talks about the game and its story in a generalized way. There is some discussion about NPCs that show up in Heavensward, Stormblood, and Shadowbringers, but there isn't much in-depth discussion about their roles. That said, the nature of spoilers is very subjective, so always listen at your own risk.] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My pet monster! Pet monster, I love you! This week's episode is all about Monster Hunter Stories 2, and how we love Nargacuga so very, very much. Kat and Nadia are joined by a special guest: IGN's Casey DeFreitas. Together, they gear up and evaluate everything that's good about this unusual RPG from Capcom (a Rathalos gets hugged) and everything that's not-so-good (frame rates that chug like slow freight trains). Also in this episode: Blizzard's latest World of Warcraft storyline deflates like a balloon, farting sound and all. The second season of Netflix's The Witcher is looking good, Baldur's Gate 3 lets you futz with Lady Luck, and the Nintendo Switch Pro is real! Ha ha, sike. You so thought. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2021 is half over. Scream and protest all you want; nothing will change. Instead of mulling over the inexorable march of time, why not think about RPGs instead? This week, Nadia and Kat do a mid-year checkup on the genre and talk about their favorites so far. Ys 9! Bravely Default 2! Monster Hunter Rise! And the rest! Also in this episode: Nadia previews Monster Hunter Stories 2, Kat turns around on Neo The World Ends With You, Elder Scrolls 6 is a long, long way off, and Bidoof, Bidoof, Bidoof. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Well, the RPG Console Quest is behind us. That can only mean one thing: It's time to make a list. This week, Kat and Nadia rank the consoles according to their contributions to the RPG genre. Which system(s) made it into the "S" tier? Which are condemned to the "LOL" tier? How many consoles did Nadia forget to add to the list until the very last second? (Hint: So many.) Also in this episode: Final Fantasy 9 is getting an animated series, D&D Dark Alliance is uhhhh, and Square Enix hit the Neo The World Ends With You demo button a smidge too early. What does a "World Ends With You" demo button look like, anyway…? We imagine it's a big, shiny, candy-red button. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It is the very end, my friends — the very end of Axe of the Blood God's RPG Console Quest! This week, Kat and Nadia talk about the healthy RPG library that's up for grabs on the Nintendo Switch. From unique exclusives like Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Monster Hunter Rise, and Bravely Default 2 to amazing ports like Dragon Quest XI S and the revised Final Fantasy line, the Switch is home to some of the best variety the genre has to offer. Even better, the Switch isn't done by a long shot. It's still going, and whispers of the Switch Pro means Nintendo will surely be around to serve up RPG greatness for a while to come. Also in this episode: E3 is finished (maybe in more ways than one; it depends on your outlook), Kat went hands-on with Tales of Arise, and Breath of the Wild 2's weapon degradation discourse will kill us all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oh no, it's E3 again. Kat and Nadia talk about the press conferences they've already seen (Square Enix, Microsoft) and speculate on the ones that haven't yet happened (Nintendo). Come for the discussion about Eiyuden Chronicles, Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster, and Eldin Ring. Stay for the Chaos, Chaos, Chaos. Also in this episode: Griftlands, Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, and did we mention some dude really has a hate-boner for another dude named Chaos? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kat is away this week, which means it's another golden opportunity for co-host Nadia Oxford to conduct studies on the cleansing properties of fire. Actually, everything goes very well thanks to a very cool guest appearance by music composer/remixer, Alex Moukala! Alex and Nadia talk about the history of Final Fantasy music and its composers, including series veteran Nobuo Uematsu and Final Fantasy XIV's own bard, Masayoshi Soken. Also in this episode: Nadia is joined by friend and Blood God FF XIV raid organizer, Victor Hunter, to talk about Shin Megami Tensei III, Square Enix's mysterious E3 plans, and...FFXIV. Finally, please pardon Nadia's rather dismal mic quality this week. Her Yeti's USB cord elected to slowly murder itself ahead of E3 2021's festivities. There but for the grace of God go any of us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Axe of the Blood God RPG podcast: Education! Sort of. Esteemed games journalist, writer, and reporter Jason Schreier joins Kat and Nadia to talk about his book, Press Reset: Ruin and Recovery in the Video Game Industry. The conversation veers towards the myriad problems with the games industry, particularly the creative process therein...but rest assured the discourse touches on good, hopeful things going on, too. Once the serious stuff is out of the way, the gang veers towards heavy conversation on--what else?--JRPGs, including the Saga series, Final Fantasy XIV, and Dragon Quest, Dragon Quest, Dragon Quest. Speaking of rocking the dragon, Kat and Nadia go over the Dragon Quest XII and Dragon Quest III 2D-HD trailers in excitable detail. Also in this episode: E3 is on the horizon, and Microsoft is getting ready to show off what Bethany Esda has been up to. (e.g. Starfield. Surely.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Console RPG Quest is nearing its end, and this week Kat and Nadia look back at a real winner: The Wii U! And in this instance, "winner" actually means "loser," and "loser" actually means "Oh God, why?" Despite its Gamepad-sized problems, the Wii U still had an RPG legacy worth talking about! After all, the world is still waiting on at least one refugee to make the jump to the Switch. (Cough, Xenoblade Chronicles X, cough.) Also in this episode: Kat wrote a very, very big feature about Blizzard, Starfield is Xbox-only much to the chagrin of PS5 fanboys, and shucks, maybe Ni No Kuni 2 ain't so bad after all. President Roland still sucks nuclear fallout, though. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Kat and Nadia go massive on Mass Effect! USgamer alumni and absolute Mass Effect sage Eric Van Allen joins the podcast to have a long, involved talk about Mass Effect Legendary Edition. He also lends a sympathetic ear to Nadia's lament over how Wrex is not a romance option. Once their Krogan thirst is slaked, the crew then moves on to talking about Nier Replicant and Pokemon Snap. You will be shocked, shocked to learn Nadia uploaded a PG-13 picture and promptly received a rebuke email from Nintendo. Also in this episode: Neo The World Ends With You is making post-hardcore cool again, Skyrim discourse veers into cannibalism and Cinnabon, and congratulations Australia, Hideo Kojima's content is no longer illegal in your fair country! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices