Axe of the Blood God: An RPG Podcast

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

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