The Amazing Gamers podcast was an all-star edition today, with Nintendo Force staff writer Maggie Jones Lutey (Avenger Mags on social) and my original D&D buddy, Ed Hopkins, joining the chat.

Topics included:

• how we discovered RPGs
• our most infamous adventures
• when role playing gets a bit out of pocket
• that priceless moment I realizing just how off-the-mark our many expeditions to save Durin’s belt from Moria really were…

I also discussed the art of making counter-offers to a demanding four-year-old, loving Ravenloft, and how Ed’s fighter characters reminded me of Dunk, from the Dunk and Egg stories.

We also touched on Xenoblade Chronicles X, loving Borderlands, Talisman, FF7 Rebirth, and Trails from Zero.

The Amazing Gamers podcast welcomed an old friend into the chat this week, with longtime media pro and comic book expert Dana Forsythe. The discussion included:

• Transformers then and now
• Getting into the convention scene—when we met Frank Quitely
• Why fandom—and your local fandom scene-- matters
• Managing your fandom
• Great recommendations on where to buy comics in the Boston area
• Best of the Devil May Cry series
• Sharing what you loved with your kids—sometimes not exactly as you remembered it!

Random Nathan Stories:

• Voice actors we’ve met and follow/ my favorite bit of Frank Welker trivia
• Rankin Bass Hobbit > Peter Jackson Hobbit
• Sonic Comics real?
• Loving the Wii and Retro gaming

This was a great discussion. Looking forward to chatting with Dana again soon!

For this episode of Amazing Gamers we assembled a crack team of Final Fantasy 7 experts to discuss the sprawling lore of that world, how that impacts the Remake trilogy so far, and why it matters so much to us.

Nathan discusses his strange journey with FF7 and meeting Gwent Champ through a goofy engagement post.

FACTS/@damn-the-writer.bsky.social digs into the interesting development history of FF7 and challenges of translation,

Sakura/ @wandererssong.bsky.social talks about loving Sephiroth and the great women characters of the game.

Alex/ @gwentchamp.bsky.social submits that Tifa is the emotional heart of FF7 and shares why he's a huge Zack fan.

I also drop references to Romance of the Three Kingdoms, how Episode Ignus completely changed my view of that character, and I forgot to mention that I bought Rebirth on release day but still played Tokyo Mirage Sessions first.

All this and more in a special round table episode of Amazing Gamers!

The Amazing Gamers podcast welcomes a true master builder of good takes: Sophie (@Jxnkis on Bluesky).

We compared notes on how we discovered the Persona series, and touched on my Moments of Truth series that takes deep dives into the social links of Persona 4. We also discussed how Persona games never really become obsolete (they’re all worth playing, even if it means digging out the PS3).

Sophie reveals the series that got her into gaming, which led to discussion of the Kingdom Hearts to Final Fantasy to Persona pipeline, and I made a pitch for the Trails series to join that procession at some point.

PS- Both of my kids were in the house while we were taping this; that’s what we were talking about when the audio started rolling…

Adam from What Could Be Gaming joins the Amazing Gamers podcast to discuss Xenoblade Chronicles X, and Nathan discusses writing from the heart and impactful connections.

Nathan marks two years of writing about video games-- and how it all started with being completely destroyed by the ending of Persona 3 (thank you Atlus!).

That first essay submits that Persona 3 is focused on death, yet completely life affirming and wonderful. The word "catharsis" might have come up.

Adam was one of the first to read that essay and reached out on social media to share his thoughts. Nathan shares how that one decision set in motion many new and good things in his life (thanks again Adam!).

We also discuss Xenoblade Chronicles X (not what I was expecting!) and swap favorite philosophers.

Nathan finally meets longtime social friend Aly AKA HighlyGinger IRL! We discuss which Persona 4 characters we identify with, why we enjoyed Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth much more than Remake, recent wins in our life, and the evolutionary roots of friendship.

Nintendo Force Staff Writer Maggie Jones Lutey (AKA AvengerMags) joins host Nathan Lamb for the debut episode of the Amazing Gamers.

We look ahead to Pax East and plan awesome cospays. Maggie discusses what it's like to go next level with the con scene through volunteering and more.

We also share our recent wins: Nathan bonding with his son over Octopath Traveler 2, and Maggie learning more about her colleagues through a film project. Trails from Zero, Metaphor and Persona 5 are also discussed.