This week on Axe of the Blood God, Nadia and Kat talk all about ROMs. (To clarify, they have a discussion about modified game files. Rom the Space Knight does not enter into the picture.) Hacked ROMs have played, and continue to play, a major role in RPG accessibility and expression. Hacked ROMs are what gave us valuable fan translations of RPGs that were otherwise untouchable in the West, including Final Fantasy V, Bahamut Lagoon, and Mother 3. Hacked ROMs let us re-balance our favorite RPGs and fix nasty bugs. Hacked ROMs are also the basis of sprawling fan-made RPGs, much to game publishers' chagrin. It's a meaty topic that travels from the '90s all the way up to present day. A special thanks to $50 Patron Drew Waranis for both this great idea and their generous support! Also in this episode: Nadia has officially PS5, Yakuza is turn-based forever, and Final Fantasy 7 Remake is taking us to Fort Condor so we can play war games with Big Bird. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Another Patron-requested topic approaches! This week, Kat and Nadia take on a very special request to talk about the semi-lost "in between" era of CD JRPGs. If you're an old person, you'll know all about said era: It was an awkward but interesting time when some 16-bit consoles received CD player add-ons. A host of one-of-a-kind RPGs followed from series like Lunar, Ys, and more. It was a time when 16-color anime cutscenes were king, and localization company Working Designs made sure not to skimp on the Bill Clinton jokes. Get your slap bracelets ready. Special thanks to $50 Patron Visa-Valtteri Pimiä for both their generous support and the great idea!   Also in this episode: Monster Hunter Rise gets a Rathalos-sized update, Pokemon Snap seems lovely, Returnal is perfectly spooky, and Shin Megami Tensei 3's Matador seems really wild about Hanukkah. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today on a very special episode of Axe of the Blood God, we host our very first Patreon-sponsored guest! Giuseppe Spinella joins Kat and Nadia for a very thoughtful conversation about the women of the Final Fantasy series. They delve into how said women have contributed to the series' narrative with their strengths, their flaws, and in Garnet's case, their very, very yellow attire. Please enjoy this spirited exchange, and thanks as always to our Patrons for your invaluable support! Also in this episode: Nier Replicant's positive reception demonstrates how much the games industry has opened up in the past decade, and Nadia touches all of Loki's stuff and makes him mad in Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Vita means Life — if your definition of “Life” is “Deader than vulture-stripped roadkill.” Yes, Axe of the Blood God pays its dues to the PlayStation Vita this week in the latest RPG Console Quest. Kat and Nadia mourn the powerful handheld’s all-too-early death and its subsequent abandonment by Sony. How did everything go so very wrong? More importantly, which RPGs were left orphaned on the system? Why do retro JRPG fans love the Vita so very, very much? Also in this episode: Kat and Nadia launch an entirely new segment, Nadia falls on her face while trying to understand SaGa Frontier Remastered, and Square Enix probably isn’t for sale, so put away your piggybank. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A new week, a new milestone! This time Kat and Nadia get to answer a question sent in by a generous Patron: How do we get into new RPGs without becoming so intimidated that we run in the opposite direction and back into the arms of the comforting RPGs we already know and love? It’s a great query that yields some deep discussion about overcoming personal discomforts to enrich our experience with the genre. Oh, and there are also tips galore about how to get into new RPGs. In the ‘80s and ‘90s, you had to send your parents’ phone bill through the roof to get this kind of primo game-playing advice. Also in this episode: Early Fantasian impressions, E3 will be E-Free (and online), Square Enix gets a bit of Outriders-brand salve to soothe its Avengers boo-boos, and we crown our RPG March Madness champion at last! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are there monsters under your bed? There are a whole bunch under ours, and we couldn’t be happier about it. Monster Hunter Rise is on the Nintendo Switch, and it’s a monster-whacking gem. Kat and Nadia review the game in-depth with the help of GamesBeat’s review editor, Mike Minotti, and Nerium Strom of Fanbyte. Also in this episode: CD Projekt Red is hard at work trying to salvage Cyberpunk 2077, Final Fantasy alumni revealed a new game called Astria Ascending, and the Bravely Default soundtracks are now on Spotify, so dunk your head in that musical goodness and drink deep. Finally, a wee bit of news that flew by us as soon as we finished recording: Hironobu Sakaguchi’s new RPG, Fantasian, is out on Apple Arcade! We’ll have more about that next week, so please look forward to it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's time for another Pantheon of the Blood God, and this month we're joined by former CGW Editor in Chief Jeff Green to explore System Shock 2! Join us for a special preview as we explore its history and talk about why this classic horror RPG is so significant. To hear the rest of the show as well as the rest of our exclusive content, head over to our Patreon and sign up at the $10 of the show! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

By the Dragonlord's pantaloons! Axe of the Blood God has hit episode 300, and we couldn't be prouder to bring it to you! Kat and Nadia hosted a live show, but if you missed out, here's the neat 'n clean audio for you. You can also watch a re-run at Kat's Twitch channel. This week, Nadia and Kat have a long leisurely talk with the Blood God audience about RPG "firsts." Which game gets the credit as the progenitor of the genre we love so much? Did Dragon Quest III introduce classes, or did Final Fantasy III beat the dragon to the punch? And did you know modern RPGs owe a heck of a lot to Hydlide, that primitive "bump-and-stab" action RPG that has the worst overworld music in gaming history? Life is full of surprises, and we love reminding you all of that fact. Also in this episode: Monster Hunter Rise is monstrously good, SMT 3 featuring Dante from Devil May Cry is coming to Switch in May, and Square Enix cancels a Final Fantasy XI remake that we had no idea was in the works. Thanks for your support! Here's to 300 more episodes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wowzers! Kat and Nadia are one episode away from the big 3-0-0! Despite being on the cusp of a momentous occasion, they decide to chill out this week and talk about action RPGs. What makes a good action RPG? How has the genre evolved from its earliest and most popular titles? Why are some RPG fans (Kat) a little salty about action RPGs’ very existence? The answers to these mysteries and more lie within. Also in this episode: There’s a whole lot of news about the state of Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Nier: Automata is finally getting fixed on the PC, and the March Madness match-ups are getting real spicy in a real hurry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Remember when corporations really tried to make 3D media a permanent thing? Axe of the Blood God remembers. In fact, this week our RPG Console Quest takes us back to the Nintendo 3DS, a handheld that projected images in 3D without the need for goofy glasses. The glasses-free 3D gimmick wore out its welcome pretty quickly. In fact, the Nintendo 3DS had an infamously rocky start that led to a massive price cut. Things were looking pretty hairy for a little while, but in the end, the Nintendo 3DS was a strong, quiet triumph that gave us a lot of great RPGs. Also in this episode: Bethesda has officially merged with Microsoft (resistance is futile), Fantasian might be composer Nobuo Uematsu’s swan song, and Kat has Final Fantasy 14 mount envy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices