Axe of the Blood God: An RPG Podcast

The '80s are alive and well in our souls -- and on Axe of the Blood God, too. This week, Nadia and Kat are joined by their good pal Jason Wilson as they continue the PC RPG Quest. It all started in the '70s, but PC RPGs got a major boost thanks to the rapid growth of the home computer market. It's a very important chapter of RPG history. After all, without Ultima, Wizardry, or SSI's Gold Box games, there'd be no Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy. What a sick, sad world that would be. Also in this episode: A new Nintendo Direct brings a deluge of RPG news, and Super Mario now shares his soul with Chris Pratt. Mama Mia! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's a new month, which means the Sharlayan Dropouts have huddled themselves in the smoke hole again. (They just keyed Fourchenault's Chocobo chariot; best they lay low for a while.) Nadia, Victor, and Mike talk about the very lengthy Final Fantasy XIV Live Letter, and what it all means for the upcoming Endwalker expansion. That gaping hole in the moon...it's not going to get any bigger, right? Right. Also in this episode: Dragoons are pole dancing again, the Twins are overdue for their Elezen growth spurt, and Nadia learns you can't just breed brother and sister Chocobos in twisted eugenics experiments like you can in FFVII.    Spoiler Level: Yellow. The front end of the episode is largely spoiler-free, but we loosen up in the back half. Here are some handy-dandy time stamps: Up to 16:36 - News about the FFXV event, and discussion what we've been doing in-game. Some talk about raids, etc, but no major discussion about story events connected to them. Up to to 43:40 - Talk about the Live Letter and changes to FFXIV's classes. Some very minor spoilers that involve how each class has evolved since ARR. From 43:40 onward - Free discussion about Endwalker and the story beats leading up to it.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Axe of the Blood God, Nadia and Kat get a little spoony and talk about one of the oldest and most controversial RPG classes: The Bard. Generous $50 Patron Drew Waranis requested we talk about these golden-throated music makers, and the Blood God is here to please. This episode dissects the history of the Bard, talks about the most famous bards in RPGs, and asks that one vital question: Do we need bards. Are they, like, cool, man? Also in this episode: Holy crap, Eastbound! Holy crap, Deltarune chapter 2! Holy crap, Tales of Arise already sold a million copies! What an exciting week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this special episode of Axe of the Blood God, we continue our celebration of Namco Bandai Tales series by ranking all of its biggest games -- from the lowly Tales of the Tempest to the much-loved Tales of Symphonia!   In Part 2, we jump into the classics -- the entries that pushed the series forward and retain a special place in our hearts. Joining us once again are two huge Tails fans: Game Informer's Kim Wallace and friend of the pod Victor Hunter! It's Axe of the Blood God's biggest Tales celebration to date, so join us as we conclude the definitive ranking!   And as always, thank you to our Patrons at the $5 level and above, who get to access this entry a week early and ad free! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tales of Arise has finally arrived, and it's bigger than ten Super Bowls. This week, Kat and Nadia are joined by USgamer alumni (and Normandy FM podcast host) Eric Van Allen as they dive deep into the latest entry in this beloved but oft-troubled RPG series. Is this the Tale that will save the world, and convert all the non-believers? Maybe. Just maybe. Anyway, it has a cute owl, so it's automatically GOTY. Also in this episode: Stardew Valley is finally finished (maybe), a Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake is in the works, and Yoko Taro is making a card-based game that will probably kill us all in our sleep, then instruct us to reflect on our words and deeds. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this special episode of Axe of the Blood God, we continue our celebration of Namco Bandai Tales series by ranking all of its biggest games -- from the lowly Tales of the Tempest to the much-loved Tales of Symphonia! In Part 1, we examine some of the hard luck entries in the series; the Tales games that didn't have much of a budget, featured strange systems, or are just plain forgettable (meaningful glance at Tales of Hearts). Joining us are two huge Tails fans: Game Informer's Kim Wallace and friend of the pod Victor Hunter! They walk us through some of the more esoteric bits of Tales history, explaining why Tales of the Tempest maybe shouldn't be dismissed so quickly, swapping stories about exploring the Tales store, and making errant comparisons to James Bond films. It's Axe of the Blood God's biggest Tales celebration to date, so join us as we embark on the definitive ranking! And as always, thank you to our Patrons at the $5 level and above, who can now access Part 2 right away on their feed! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Summer's going fast, nights are growing colder. It's nearly fall --and with fall comes the holiday games rush. This week, Kat and Nadia discuss some of the RPGs we can expect to see stuffed in the depths of Santa's sack. We have Tales of Arise and Eastward for a start, and as the season goes on, we can expect Super Robot Wars 30, Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker, Shin Megami Tensei V, and a heck of a lot more. It's going to be a bountiful season full of fun, surprises, and demons that can't wait to flay you with chains. Also in this episode: MMO maker Netease might be in talks to poach Yakuza creator Toshihiro Nagoshi, and Bravely Default II is bravely making its way to PC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Axe of the Blood God, Kat is absent and it takes Nadia a grand total of ten minutes to wreck the joint. With no Kat to enforce the rules, Nadia is free to jabber about Final Fantasy IV, which she does for two hours alongside Ash Paulsen from Good Vibes Gaming. "What's left to say about Final Fantasy IV?" you might ask. First of all: Shame on you. Second, Final Fantasy IV's 30th anniversary is behind us and the Pixel Remaster is just ahead of us. There's never a bad time to talk about one of the most important RPGs ever made. But to make things extra interesting, Ash and I rank Final Fantasy IV's cast. Who's most deserving of your love? And who deserves to be chucked out of the Enterprise at 3000 feet? Tune in to find out. Also in this episode: Moon is coming to Steam, Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster I through III received patches (no font fixes, lol), and Monsters Rule! Monster Rancher!! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We've been there, and now we're back again: The Summer of the Rings draws to its close with a mini Pantheon of the Blood God episode. Kat and Nadia go in-depth with EA's The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age for the PS2. Does it deserve to go into the Pantheon? Heck no -- we'll just spoil that for you up front -- but it's still worth talking about. From its bizarre final boss to an underspoken origin story that indirectly involves Hironobu Sakaguchi, the very existence of the Third Age was something of a marvel. Also in this episode: Nadia plays with witches who play with guns, Kat makes out with boyfriends who are also swords, and Pokemon fans are big mad for a change. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's finally time to start the PC RPG Quest, because without knowledge of our past, there can be no future. This week, Kat and Nadia look back at the primal roots of RPGs, especially games written and played on the giant university mainframes of the '70s. They're joined by author David L. Craddock, who knows a thing or two about ancient computer RPGs. Which RPG first used graphics? Which RPG had the first instance of a boss fight? We guarantee you'll come away from this episode feeling educated and entertained. Also in this episode: Nadia and Kat compare Tales of Arise impressions, and an Indie Direct brought us a lot of great RPG news. Buckle up Homestuck, because Nintendo's not done: A big Pokemon Direct is coming very soon, too! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices