Axe of the Blood God: An RPG Podcast

Kat and Nadia welcome Polygon's Matt Leone discuss everything we learned from his mammoth oral history of Final Fantasy VII. Uematsu was jealous of Suikoden? Square almost killed off the entire cast? There are a lot of great revelations, and a ton of ground to cover in his outstanding piece of history, and we discuss it all here. Plus! Another Persona 4 Golden Report and the untimely death of Scal...

Kat and Nadia conduct another Persona 4 Golden Report, talk some Final Fantasy IV, then settle into a discussion of the most interesting RPGs of 2017. Persona 5! Mass Effect Andromeda! Horizon Zero Dawn! South Park! Torment: Tides of Numenera! It's going to be another great year for RPGs, so join us as we talk about the ones we're looking forward to the most! Learn more about your ad choices. Visi...

Kat and Nadia get together to recap all of the most interesting RPGs before picking the Blood God's Chosen RPG of 2016. Pokemon! Final Fantasy XV! Fire Emblem Fates! Dragon Quest VII! Deus Ex! Witcher 3! We hit them all and more as we relive the past year in RPGs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mike Williams joins Kat and Nadia to explain why he thinks Knights of the Old Republic is the best Star Wars game ever made. Then, Nadia shares a Persona 4 update before the pair talk Valkyria Revolution, SD Gundam, and the Switch's specs. All of the teraflops? All of the teraflops.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nadia returns to the show to share some opening thoughts on Persona 4 Golden, speculate on Ni No Kuni 2, and take a dice into SD Gundam Generation Genesis. Then it's back to Final Fantasy XV as the pair read your thoughts and discuss the Square Enix's decision to patch certain elements of the story.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Polygon's Phil Kollar and long-time JRPG enthusiastic Miguel Concepcion join Kat to go in-depth on Final Fantasy XV. Does the open-world world? Is that combat actually better than it seems? And what music did they listen to while cruising around in the Regalia? (Spoiler: Kat liked Final Fantasy IX). It's been a long-time coming, but it's time to finally dig in to the game we never thought would co...

Kat and Nadia recall their misspent youths playing RPGs over Thanksgiving, then delve into the Vita's secret strengths and rumors of Pokemon Stars for the Nintendo Switch, before finishing off with a discussion of which Pokemon is the best to start with. Grab a leftover turkey sandwich and settle in for another hour of RPG discussion over the holiday weekend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visi...

Kat and Nadia recount Conan O'Brien's Clueless Gamer segment on Final Fantasy XV and discuss the latest Persona 5 delay, then dive deep into Pokemon Sun and Moon. Is the story successful? How are the totem battles? Do we like the new monsters? And just how glad are we that HMs are finally dead? (Spoiler: We're really glad). Note: Spoilers begin at the 44:15 mark and end at the 1:04:10 mark of the...

Kat and Nadia put aside their post-election gallows humor to discuss the recent Mass Effect Andromeda info dump, the first hours of Tyranny, and what RPGs they would like to see from the villain's point of view. Plus, our Underrated RPG Pitches segment return with a pitch for Grandia 2! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nadia and Kat have a lot to rant about as they take on Skyrim Special Edition, Exist Archive, and what accessibility means for the RPG genre. Does Skyrim hold up? Does Exist Archive deserve to called a spiritual successor to Valkyrie Profile? All of this and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Legendary RPG designer Brian Fargo joins the pod to discuss Wasteland 3, his history with the series, the evolution of RPGs, and what it was like to make games back in the '80s. But first, Jeremy and Nadia go in-depth on Final Fantasy XV. Do the characters work? Is the battle system better than advertised? All of our impressions and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoi...

Kat and Nadia go in-depth on Nintendo's newest console. Is it the heir to the Japanese market? Can it go toe-to-toe with the Xbox One and PlayStation 4? And just how excited are we to play Skyrim on the road? All this and more as take a deep dive into the Nintendo Switch. Plus: We discuss the demos for World of Final Fantasy and Pokemon Sun and Moon! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megapho...

Nadia and Kat share some additional thoughts on Dragon Quest Builders, then Kat talks about her hands-on experience Pokemon Sun & Moon and how it's coming along. In the second segment, they puzzle over a potential teaser for Bravely Third before taking yet another underrated RPG pitch. Exciting! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kat and Nadia make their first foray into Dragon Quest Builders, examine Darkest Dungeon's foray onto console, and heap (deserved) praise on Steamworld Heist. Then Bob drops by to share his thoughts on Yo-Kai Watch and the possibility of VR RPGs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kat and Nadia share some more thoughts on Persona 5's import version, discuss the Wasteland 3 announcement, and revisit the merits of Dragon Quest on mobile. Then, at 31:15, Bryan Wiedey of pastapadre.com joins the pod to talk about the advent of story modes in sports sims and why they are putting a greater emphasis on roleplaying than ever. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adc...

Elliot Gay returns to share his thoughts on the first 40 (!) hours of Persona 5, then sticks around to offer his opinion on Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse and Super Robot Wars OG: The Moon Dwellers. It's a Japanese import extravaganza! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kat and Nadia get together to discuss a remake that's been a long time coming in North America: Dragon Quest VII. What's the story like? Does it improve on the flawed PSX version? And how long does it take to get to an actual battle? All that and more! Plus: Halcyon 6: Starbase Commander and Trails of Cold Steel 2 feedback! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kat and Nadia take a look at Trails of Cold Steel 2, then Kat takes an Underrated RPG pitch for her favorite RPG of all time: Valkyrie Profile. Afterward (38:38), Jaz and Mike drop by to discuss the pros and cons of the newly-released World of WarCraft: Legion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kat, Nadia, and Bob continue their ongoing "SNES in Perspective" series with the big one: Final Fantasy. How did the SNES change Final Fantasy and vice versa? What was it about the 16-bit era that seemed to find Hironobu Sakaguchi and company at their best? We discuss! Plus: We delve into Fallout 4's Nuka-World DLC and God Eater! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kat and Bob get together to discuss the little known SNES RPG Robotrek, then Kat welcomes Chris Avellone and Swen Vincke to discuss Divinity: Original Sin 2 - the sequel to 2014's breakout hit RPG. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kat and Nadia chat about some of the latest RPG news (and lament Ash's Pokemon League failures) before diving into the Super Nintendo's impact on the Seiken Densetsu series (20:15) and discussing another underrated RPG pitch (45:35). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kat and Bob get together to pay their respects to Manabu Daishima, talk about Dragon Quest X on the NX and how it's still alive (02:50), true tales of localization hell (12:15), how the move to the SNES affected Dragon Quest (26:07), and more pitches for underrated RPGs (49:10). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kat and Nadia mark the final days before the next storm of games hit by discussing Ys: Oath in Felghana; Kat's difficulty in engaging with Witcher 3 (12:40); why Dragon Age Inquisition is underrated (25:25); the Pokemon Go controversy's impact on the main series (37:20), and listener pitches for lesser-known RPGs (53:13). It's a summer RPG feast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.f...

JRPG nerds unite as Kotaku's Jason Schreier joins Kat and Nadia for this week's episode of the podcast. The trio begin by discussing Trails of Cold Steel before moving on to reviewing I Am Setuna (19:30) - the new RPG by Square Enix's Tokyo RPG Factory. Does it live up to expectations? Listen and find out! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's Kat-less episode, Bob, Mike, and Nadia dive into the many RPG releases of the next few months while lamenting their lack of free time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices