Axe of the Blood God: An RPG Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Brr. Can you feel the chill in the air? Maybe you can, maybe you can't. The weather's been really screwy this summer. This week, the Blood God crew wades hip-deep into 2024's fall RPG season to evaluate what's coming, and to take a guess at which games look likeliest to bogart all their attention through September and October. Will it be the mystical Metaphor ReFantazio? The utterly charming Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom? Or perhaps the beleaguered Dragon Age Veilguard will dominate the autumn season. Listen in and shout your own choices at your audio output device. Or tune into the show live next time at twitch.tv/bloodgodpod. We show up every Saturday at 9:30 PT /12:30 ET. Also in this episode: Nadia is back, but RIP to her luggage Visions of Mana early impressions Our "canon event" games This is Tenchiverse and that "cabbit" did indeed turn into a spaceship Timestamps 00:00 - Main topic: Fall RPG Preview 55:28 - Random Encounters 1:12:13 - The Tavern 1:30:27 - Nostalgia Nook Music used in this episode Do Your Best! [Breath of Fire 3] Patty's Pub [Dragon Quest IX] A Curious Tale [Secret of Mana] Scream [Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's episode Kat, Eric, and special guest Brian Shea discuss all the news out of Gamescom! Does Xbox still need a Mario? What is happening with Blizzard? All these questions and more will be answered in this week's episode of Axe of the Blood God! Tune in to live recordings of the show every Saturday morning at https://www.twitch.tv/bloodgodpod and subscribe for bonus episodes and discord access at https://www.patreon.com/bloodgodpod Also in this episode: Kat is invaded by turkeys Role-playing with sports games More Game Informer memories! Timestamps: 05:52 - Gamescom Announcements 52:48 - Random Encounters + Wukong 1:10:48 - The Tavern Music Used in this Episode: Do Your Best - [Breath of Fire III] A Curious Tale - [Secret of Mana] Mog Resort - [Final Fantasy XI: Seekers of Adoulin] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I hope you like your rings elden and your trees erd because this week Kat, Nadia, Eric, and special guest Mitchell Saltzman discuss the much-anticipated Elden Ring DLC. Plus, the latest Nintendo Direct, and Eric's experience with Final Fantasy VI so far. It's a jam-packed episode this week on Axe of the Blood God! Tune in to live recordings of the show every Saturday morning at https://www.twitch.tv/bloodgodpod and subscribe for bonus episodes and discord access at https://www.patreon.com/bloodgodpod Also in this episode: Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom MAAAHVEL BAYBEE Fantasian Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance Do we need leakers? Final Fantasy VI is really good Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 4:16 - Main Topic - Shadow of the Erdtree 38:04 - Random Encounters 41:28 - Nintendo Direct 1:00:40 - The Tavern 1:32:48 - Nadia's Nostalgia Nook Music Used in this Episode: Do Your Best - [Breath of Fire III] A Curious Tale - [Secret of Mana] Airship Stage - [Marvel Vs Capcom 2] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Axe of the Blood God, Digital Foundry's John Linneman joins Kat, Nadia, and Eric for a detailed discussion about Star Ocean: The Divine Force. It's been a Canis Major's age since Square Enix did anything with Star Ocean, and the Blood God crew is ashamedly not up-to-date on the series. That's why John is here. (Also, it's because he's cool). Is the new game everything Star Ocean fans have been waiting for? Find out. Also in this episode: Don't sleep on Harvestella, it's pretty dang good Mass Effect 5 exists Mazeltov to Ash Ketchum for becoming the Galar Region champion with the aid of a Pokemon that's too horrifying to exist Nadia made friends with some crows, then accidentally pissed them off with pistachios Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Axe of the Blood God, Kat, Nadia, and Eric lose themselves to chaos. The smash launch of Marvel Snap dang near caused something to snap in their brains, it seems. Or maybe they're just jumpy because Twitter—a major source of networking and promotion for countless writers and pocasters (ahem)—is now Satan's own toilet. It's a great show, regardless. Sometimes it's healthy to just sit back and see where the toboggan ride takes you. Also in this episode: Final Fantasy XVI has some…issues regarding racial diversity Harvestella is out, and by gosh, it's chill as heck Whispers on the wind speak of a new Deus Ex game in development Autumn of Avatar: No character voiced by Mark Hamill can possibly be evil Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Axe of the Blood God RPG podcast, Kat and Nadia have both gone out for cigarettes, which means that Eric is in charge. Our boy keeps his head on his shoulders and invites Mike Williams of Sharlayan Dropouts to talk about our next Class Conscious entry: Monks! You know, those fellows what pummel things with their fists and suplex trains. They're joined by martial artist Danielle Riendeau, who has good advice for all you baby monks who're just starting your training: The pavement always wins. Also in this episode: We say goodbye to esteemed RPG architect Rieko Kodama, who sadly passed away earlier this year Marvel Snap is currently the most popular thing in the universe Mike loves him some Mario Rabbids. (Or is that "rabid Mario?") The gang dives head-first into the Fire Nation on this week's Autumn of Avatar POST SHOW Eric, Mike, and the Stars of Destiny throw down in the chat over a brand-new tier list: The Top Halloween Candies of All Time. It gets hot, folks. Hotter than a tamale. But only Canadian kids know the pain of getting Molasses Kisses by the handful. Who even likes those? They keep coming back. Smells like witchcraft. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To honor the legacy of Rieko Kodama, who passed earlier this year, we are releasing this episode for free to all listeners.  For the August 2021 edition of Pantheon of the Blood God, Kat and Nadia are joined by Shane Bettenhausen for an exploration of one of Sega's seminal RPGs -- Phantasy Star! The trio discuss the rough early days of the Sega Master System, how the team with Sega greats Rieko Kodama and Yuji Naka came together, and how it differed from other RPGs in the 1980s. They also delve into its five best moments, from the lavish opening to the battle with Dark Falz. Then the verdict: Is Phantasy Star worthy of inclusion in the Pantheon of the Blood God? Listen and find out! As always, a sincere thanks to our $10 and above Patrons for your support! Every month we pick a new RPG for the Pantheon, which is voted on by the community. Join the Discord and jump into our Monthly Game Club conversation! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The weather is truly colorful and crisp — provided you live in the northern hemisphere and aren't currently in the grip of a climate change-fueled heatwave. Either way, it's a good time to stay indoors and play the piles of RPGs that are currently available, including DioField Chronicles, Mario + Rabbids, Valkyrie Elysium, Persona 5 Royal, Nier Automata, and Trails from Zero. You could also go outside, but you might, like, see a bug or something. Ew. This week, Kat, Nadia, and Eric are joined by a very special writer friend, Scott White. Scott helps fill in the gang on some of the more important RPGs that have recently landed, including the excellent Trails from Zero, and the reasons why it's a great entry point for the Trails series. Also in this episode: Kat loves the Steam Deck now, we all saw her in the closet, kissing the Steam Deck Final Fantasy XVI is looking pretty dope—and pretty inspired by Final Fantasy VI. How's the new Mario and Rabbids game? "It's-a great! Woo hoo!" This week on Autumn of Avatar: Book 2 comes to a close, and the kids are not all right. In the Post Show Blood God pal Scott White sticks around for this week's Axe of the Blood God post-show, which is piled with morsels of great RPG talk. For starters, can anyone out there think of a Christmas-themed RPG? Anyone? Bueller? Also, Eric talks Texas. Yee haw, and etcetera! Available exclusively to members on the Stars of Destiny tier! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Following the release of Action Button's new review of Boku no Natsuyasumi, we welcome Tim Rogers to talk about this PS1 classic, which has plenty of connections to modern RPGs like Persona 5. Naturally, the conversation spreads out to hit many different topics within the realm of RPGs, including: Tim's rising appreciation for Final Fantasy 7 Remake Taco Tico, rats, and impromptu Nostalgia Pit Pondering Yuji Horii's successor  This episode is currently available exclusively to our Patrons! You can find conversation timestamps below.  Timestamps 0:00: Intro 11:00: Boku no Natsuyasumi and Taco Tico 23:55: The connections between Boku no Natsuyasumi and Earthbound 28:30: Rats, racoons and possums 38:50: Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Kingdom Hearts, and old developers 1:00:00: The PS1 is the best console ever 1:10:00: Sony's quest to make its own Dragon Quest 1:17:00: Reminiscing about Japan and Saizeriya 1:25:25: Dragon Quest and Mad Catz   1:34:50: Cyberpunk and Mighty Ducks 1:39:10: Who is the successor to Yuji Horii? 148:55: LA Noire and why games should be structured like a TV show 1:59:00: Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

War is hell. Unless you're talking about Valkyria Chronicles, the much-celebrated tactics RPG by Sega. See, war is still hell in Valkyria Chronicles, but it's also very pretty and fun to play. This week, very special guest and valued Blood God Patreon contributor Vivicomplex joins Kat, Nadia, and Eric to talk about World War Anime. Protip: Just send your scouts to the front line. Ain't nbodoy getting through those rifle-toting maniacs. Also in this episode: Eric can't talk about what he's been playing because of embargos, but that's alright because hahaha Chainsaw Man goes brrrrrr. Nadia maxed out her island paradise hideaway in FFXIV. Nobody is invited to visit. Suckers. This week on Autumn of Avatar: There ain't no war in Ba Sing Se, and there never was. In the Post Show Vivi sticks around after a spirited episode of Axe of the Blood God (aren't they all) to talk a bit more about what made her fall in love with Valkyria Chronicles in the first place. The gang also talks about how their Pokemon Black and White Pantheon playthroughs are going, and there's even a bit of talk about the band PUP. Wooo oooo ooooo, ooo oooo! Available exclusively to subscribers in our Stars of Destiny tier! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices