Axe of the Blood God: An RPG Podcast

"It was the best of times and everyone was like, 'this rules'" or however the book goes.
This week, Eric, Nadia, Victor, and special guest Kevin Bunch are reflecting on what the best years for RPGs were, with the rules surrounding that discussion evolving in real time. Is it something in the late 90s for the sheer quantity of interesting, experimental RPGs, is the year Persona 5 single-handedly invented jazz and made JRPGs good again, or is it 1994 for being the year Final Fantasy VI came out. All this and so, so much more on this episode of Axe of the Blood God!

Subscribe for bonus episodes and discord access at ⁠https://www.patreon.com/bloodgodpod⁠ and get merch at ⁠https://shop.bloodgodpod.com⁠

Also in this episode:

Timestamps:

11:18 - Main Topic - Best Year For RPGs

1:11:44 - Random Encounters

1:20:36 - Tavern - Eric's GDQ Adventure,

1:41:36 - Nadia's Nostalgia Nook

Music Used in this Episode:

Axe of the Blood God Theme - [Lena Raine]

Do Your Best - [Breath of Fire III]

Pub - [Lunar Knights]

A Curious Tale - [Secret of Mana]

Hammerhead - [Final Fantasy XV]

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Sony has announced the death of the game disc. What does this mean for the future of second-hand games, game preservation, game sharing, game access, and a million other things that this is going to have an effect on? Well, Nadia, Eric, and Victor are joined by collector, historian, retailer, writer, and a million other things, Kelsey Lewin (@kelslewin.bsky.social) to discuss precisely that!

Apologies for the lower-than-usual quality of Kelsey's audio! It was an anomaly and we made do with the cruel hand fate dealt us!

Subscribe for bonus episodes and discord access at ⁠https://www.patreon.com/bloodgodpod⁠ and get merch at ⁠https://shop.bloodgodpod.com⁠

Also in this episode:

Deltarune Chapter 5

The Summer of Sakura Wars

Timestamps:

13:24 - Main Topic - The End of Playstation Discs

1:04:32 - Random Encounters

1:20:08 - Tavern - Deltarune Chapter 5, Paranormasight: The Mermaid's Curse, Rhythm Heaven Groove

1:41:36 - Nadia's Nostalgia Nook

Music Used in this Episode:

Axe of the Blood God Theme - [Lena Raine]

Do Your Best - [Breath of Fire III]

Pub - [Lunar Knights]

A Curious Tale - [Secret of Mana]

Theme of PARANORMASIGHT - [PARANORMASIGHT]

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Nadia has spent more time with Elliot and we're joined by Matt Sowinski to discuss once-and-for-all if Adventures of Elliot makes for a good video game. Victor has been diving into Dragon Quest X. All that and so much more on this increasingly Canadian episode of Axe of the Blood God!

Subscribe for bonus episodes and discord access at ⁠https://www.patreon.com/bloodgodpod⁠ and get merch at ⁠https://shop.bloodgodpod.com⁠
Note: Microsoft and the Xbox brand remain subjects of the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement for their complicity in the ongoing apartheid and genocide of Palestine. Visit https://www.bdsmovement.net/microsoft for more information.

Also in this episode:

Xenoblade's Nopon problem

McDonalds' secret menu

Victor discovers that no one actually knows the names of any Mana games

Timestamps:

12:30 - Main Topic - Adventures of Elliot Review

48:32 - Mana Series 35th Anniversary Celebration!

1:04:02 - Random Encounters

1:24:00 - Tavern - Xenoblade, Dragon Quest X

1:40:56 - Nadia's Nostalgia Nook

Music Used in this Episode:

Axe of the Blood God Theme - [Lena Raine]

Faerie Battle - [Final Fantasy IX]

Do Your Best - [Breath of Fire III]

A Curious Tale - [Secret of Mana]

Grasslands of Eternity - [Children of Mana]

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Drive your old man's convertible out to lover's leap with your crush because it's time for a steamy neck-fest; all the neckin' you can handle but nothing past first base!
And once you've driven your date home by curfew it's time for Steam Next Fest!
There are a ton of RPGs to sift through so Victor is saving you some of the hassle! Then once you've had enough of his questionable taste in games, Nadia is here to tell you all about The Adventures of Elliot: The Millenium Tales! A terrible name to be sure, but is the game much better? Listen to find out on this steamy episode of Axe of the Blood God! Also, I think I say Veritas Tales has 600 illustrations? It's actually 300+. Oops!

Subscribe for bonus episodes and discord access at ⁠https://www.patreon.com/bloodgodpod⁠ and get merch at ⁠https://shop.bloodgodpod.com⁠

Also in this episode:

R-Type Tactics is finally here

Final Fantasy Tactics gets a new patch

What is the role of a review? And is it rude to be mean?

Phantasy Star Online 2's AI chatbot survey: https://pso2.com/players/news/i_20260617_2/

Timestamps:

12:44 - Main Topic - Victor's Next Fest RPG Demo-palooza

17:32 - Veritas Tales: Witch of the Dark Castle

28:16 - Apathema

42:00 - Rizz Dungeon: Skeleton Key to My Heart

52:28 - Culdcept The First

53:28 - LarsGadiel

1:02:02 - Random Encounters

1:09:30 - Tavern - Nadia's Adventures of Elliot: The Millenium Tales Impressions

1:45:24 - Nadia's Nostalgia Nook

Music Used in this Episode:

Axe of the Blood God Theme - [Lena Raine]

Do Your Best - [Breath of Fire III]

A Curious Tale - [Secret of Mana]

Every Day Is Night - [VA-11 HALL-A]

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Nintendo's Summer Direct has come and gone, and with it a slew of announcements. Upgrades we expected, leaks we saw coming, and some exciting news that blindsided us all! Nadia, Eric, and Victor gather to discuss what we should be excited about and what has left us wanting. All that and more on this episode of Axe of the Blood God!

Subscribe for bonus episodes and discord access at ⁠https://www.patreon.com/bloodgodpod⁠ and get merch at ⁠https://shop.bloodgodpod.com⁠

Also in this episode:

Why Shadow the Hedgehog is a Good Game

Should we be worried about Kingdom Hearts?

Muramasa is baaaaack

Why on God's green Earth are we remaking Ocarina of Time?

Timestamps:

9:56 - Main Topic - Nintendo Direct

9:56 - Xenoblade Genesis

18:28 - Pokopis Expansion Pass

24:28 - Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave

31:08 - Final Fantasy Resonance

49:52 - Tales of Eternia Remastered

54:40 - Atelier Karia

58:40 - The Duskbloods

1:02:04 - Dragon Quest Monsters: The Withered World

1:07:20 - Kingdom Hearts

1:21:44 - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

1:35:20 - Random Encounters

1:45:24 - Nadia's Nostalgia Nook

Music Used in this Episode:

Axe of the Blood God Theme - [Lena Raine]

Do Your Best - [Breath of Fire III]

A Curious Tale - [Secret of Mana]

Duel! - [Final Fantasy Brave Exvius]

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ummer feels like it starts earlier and earlier every year. Is it climate change or because all the hottest games are arriving at Summer Games Fest?!
Nadia, Victor, and special guest Lucas White are here to drop all the spiciest takes on the biggest games and the dorkiest hosts in this pre-equinoctial episode of Axe of the Blood God!!

Subscribe for bonus episodes and discord access at ⁠https://www.patreon.com/bloodgodpod⁠ and get merch at ⁠https://shop.bloodgodpod.com⁠

Also in this episode:

Visit the Vancouver Game Garden June 13th and 14th! https://vangamegarden.com/

Dancing Mad with Kefka

Nadia sees The Amazing Digital Circus

Timestamps:

5:20 - Summer Games Fest Announcements

14:40 - Virtua Fighter

18:56 - Guild Wars 3

24:00 - Star Wars Zero Company

26:28 - Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascension

28:16 - Stellar Blade: Blood Rain

31:24 - Street Fighter VI

34:16 - Stranger Than Heaven

50:00 - Final Fantasy VII Revelation

1:28:08 - The Tavern - Mina, The Amazing Digital Circus, Starbites, Atelier Marie, Final Fantasy XIV's latest Ultimate Raid; Kefka's UMAD

1:57:04 - Nadia's Nostalgia Nook

Music Used in this Episode:

Axe of the Blood God Theme - [Lena Raine]

Pub - [Lunar Knights]

A Curious Tale - [Secret of Mana]

Brandished Blade - [Atelier Sophie 2]

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Summer Games Fest is nearly upon us and Eric will be in attendance. What do we expect to see and why does Keighley control so much of what we are expected to care about? Nadia's been playing Mina the Hollower, Victor has a one-two punch of Y2K a e s t h e t i c games, and every one has some level of experience with James Bond, junior or otherwise, all on this freshly-picked rosy episode of Axe of the Blood God!

Subscribe for bonus episodes and discord access at ⁠https://www.patreon.com/bloodgodpod⁠ and get merch at ⁠https://shop.bloodgodpod.com⁠

Also in this episode:

Visit the Vancouver Game Garden June 13th and 14th! https://vangamegarden.com/

Restoring an abandoned house in the Japanese countryside with https://www.youtube.com/@maigomika

A new Sakura Wars stage show has been announced!

The sacred Gen X IPs that turn our brains off immediately

Automaton Heart

Labyrinth.os

Dissida Duellum Update

Timestamps:

14:28 - Summer Games Fest Predictions

49:28 - Random Encounters?

57:08 - Random Encounters

1:10:24 - The Tavern - Mina the Hollower, Automaton Heart, Labyrinth.os, Dissidia Duellum, 007 First Light

1:42:56 - Nadia's Nostalgia Nook

Music Used in this Episode:

Axe of the Blood God Theme - [Lena Raine]

Faerie Battle - [Final Fantasy IX]

Pub - [Lunar Knights]

A Curious Tale - [Secret of Mana]

Alchemists on a Ship - [Atelier Shallie]

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Reunited at last and it feels so good.
Eric returns to complete the Hydra of the Blood God and before any of our heads can be lopped off we gotta talk about what we've been playing lately. Zero Parades: For Dead Spies, Pokopia, Tokimeki Memorial 2, Final Fantasy XI's anniversary, and so much more on this episode of Axe of the Blood God!

Subscribe for bonus episodes and discord access at ⁠https://www.patreon.com/bloodgodpod⁠ and get merch at ⁠https://shop.bloodgodpod.com⁠

Also in this episode:

Remembering ball pits

No kings, yes queens

Nadia's K-pit

Timestamps:

10:16 - Main Topic - Trails in the Sky

24:24 - Pokopia

35:24 - Tokimeki Memorial 2 EVS Append Discs

42:24 - Zero Parades: For Dead Spies

1:05:20 - Final Fantasy XI 24th Anniversary

1:12:16 - Random Encounters - Destiny 2

1:20:48 - Nadia's Nostalgia Nook

Music Used in this Episode:

Axe of the Blood God Theme - [Lena Raine]

Hometown Domina - Jazz Arrange- - [Legend of Mana]

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Something's coming, something good -- a podcast all about musicals, RPGs, musical RPGs, and RPG musicals. Featuring a uniquely qualified guest; director of People of Note, Jason Wishnov! He joins Victor and Nadia as they talk about the parallels of these two "love-it-or-hate-it" mediums and how to transpose the world of musical theatre into digital space. All that and more on this episode of Axe of the Blood God!

Subscribe for bonus episodes and discord access at ⁠https://www.patreon.com/bloodgodpod⁠ and get merch at ⁠https://shop.bloodgodpod.com⁠

Also in this episode:

The thing that holds up great music AND great RPGs: math!

What musicals would make great RPGs

What RPGs would make great musicals

Eternal Sonata, Rhapsody, Tokyo Mirage Sessions, Final Fantasy X-2, Final Fantasy XIV, and many others

Timestamps:

It's just all interview, man

Music Used in this Episode:

Axe of the Blood God Theme - [Lena Raine]

Whirls Generation - Big Giant Circles - [People of Note]

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We're going to the only place where people can agree on what an RPG is... SPACE!
Victor and Nadia, with a little help from the listeners, discuss their favourite RPGs set in space, RPGs that feature space stages, and RPGs that feature space travel regardless of how much of the game is played in the void of space. Three very important distinctions. All that and pretty much just that on this out-of-this-world episode of Axe of the Blood God. Except we don't discuss the game Out of This World because we all agree, not an RPG. Right?

Subscribe for bonus episodes and discord access at ⁠https://www.patreon.com/bloodgodpod⁠ and get merch at ⁠https://shop.bloodgodpod.com⁠

Also in this episode:

What does space mean to us?

The After Years Appreciation

When does a game NEED to be set in space?

Live-A-Live's perfect chapter

We love people from The Moon

Xenosaga, Bravely Second, Star Ocean, Phantasy Star, the most anyone has discussed Lunar Knights, and so many more games!

Timestamps:

8:48 - Main Topic - RPGs in space!

54:13 - Random Encounters

1:34:16 - Community Mailbag

1:40:20 - Nadia’s Nostalgia Nook

Music Used in this Episode:

Axe of the Blood God Theme - [Lena Raine]

A Curious Tale - [Secret of Mana]

Laplace [Lunar Knights]

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