Axe Of The Blood God: Usgamer's Official Rpg Podcast

This week on Axe of the Blood God, Kat, Nadia, and Eric have a (digital) devil of a time talking about Soul Hackers 2. They're joined by Fanbyte.com superstars Michael Higham and Diego Argüello, who both have plenty to say about this strange game. It appears Soul Hackers 2 strives to land somewhere between the dark, complex Shin Megami Tensei games, and the character-driven Persona titles. Does Soul Hackers 2 hit the mark? Or does it just hee-ho off into the sunset, destined to be forgotten? Also in this episode: The preliminary sales numbers for Xenoblade Chronicles 3 are looking pretty fine The Embracer Group acquires everything on planet earth, including Lord of the Rings Riku the Nopon refuses to die for your sins; you don't deserve redemption The gang talks about "'The Garden of Eden', by I. Ron Butterfly" In the Post Show Michael Higham and Diego Argüello sit in on this week's post show, and the whole thing derails in about six seconds. The conversation bounces from religion to literature to so

This week on Axe of the Blood God: It's letter tiiime, it's letter tiiime! Kat, Nadia, and Eric answer questions asked by YOU, our grand Blood God listeners! What is the gang's favorite class in Xenoblade Chronicles 3? What new regional forms should appear in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet? Is it really that bad for an RPG to clock in at 100+ hours? All these burning questions and tons more get answers this week. Also in this episode: Is it finally okay to love Xenoblade's Nopons, or is said love still forbidden and unholy? Nadia chilled at the Final Fantasy: A New World concert. Delays, delays, delays. Lots of games are being delayed. But that's not so bad, really. In the Post Show This week on Axe of the Blood God's always-tasteful post show, Kat reveals she's going to Japan next month, and solicits cool things to do while she's in Tokyo. Nadia recalls her time in Shinjuku, and encourages everyone to visit the Dragon Quest cafe and eat a meat dumpling shaped like a Slime. It's the only true path to worl

It's another busy week on Axe of the Blood God. Two hefty topics are packed into one convenient episode: New Pokemon Scarlet and Violet information, on top of the beginning of the Nihon Falcom Developer Quest. Listen in as Kat, Nadia, and Eric talk up the Pokemon of the Paldea region, and try to figure out the whole deal with Terastallized (i.e. rock candy) Pokemon. After that, the gang chats about the beginnings of Nihon Falcom, the studio responsible for a lot of excellent RPGs going way, way back, including the Ys series, the Trails games, and much more. Also in this episode: The entirety of planet earth is playing Xenoblade Chronicles 3 We have a new selection for the Pantheon Game Club! Hint: It's Falcom related Nadia was Scary Spice for a little while. Just long enough to flummox Toronto's bus system In the Post Show Kat is forced to bail(ey) early on this week's post-show, so Nadia and Eric have free run of da joint. This week's topic is food, food, food. Barbeque. Brisket. Hungarian goulash. B

This week on Axe of the Blood God, it's time to bask in the Monado's power! Special guest Autumn Wright talks to Kat, Nadia, and Eric about Xenoblade Chronicles 3. How does the third game in this sometimes-bumpy series hold up? How does it compare to the first two Xenoblade Chronicles games, and how do the three of them link up? Does it matter? Should it matter? There's gorgeous scenery, a banging soundtrack, and an intriguing battle system—that much is certain. What more can you ask for when living the Xeno lifestyle? Also in this episode: The Knights of the Old Republic remake is delayed—and then some Eric has officially Walked to the End Kat gets $100 million for her perfect Gundam RPG and spends about $10 of it. Is it illegal to sneak into someone's house to play their video game console? Asking for a friend. In the Post Show Autumn joins Kat, Nadia, and Eric for a sophisticated discussion about how fighting game mechanics spill over into other genres, namely RPGs. Also, Nadia's into Street Fight

This week on Axe of the Blood God, Nadia and Eric are joined by their special friend, Reb Valentine of IGN. Together, they Live A Live, Laugh A Laugh, and Love A Love. That's right: Reb reviewed the long-awaited 2DHD remake of the highly unusual Super Famicom RPG Live, and she's in love to say the least. In fact, Live A Live has seemingly charmed western RPG fans in a way that would have been deemed impossible back in 1995. Who says there's no longer hope for humankind? Make sure to check out Reb's full review! Also in this episode: Oh no Eric is playing Endwalker Nadia replays Xenoblade Chronicles to see if she still loves it. (Yes.) Yakuza 8 is real, it's coming, and Ichiban is everyone's friend. Axe of the Blood God is sponsored by NordVPN. Grab your EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal by going to https://nordvpn.com/bloodgod to get a Huge Discount off your NordVPN Plan + Free Threat Protection + 1 additional month for free! It’s completely risk free with Nord’s 30 day money-back guarantee! Learn more about you

  Today on a very special episode of Axe of the Blood God, Kat, Nadia, and Eric party down with friends of the show Ben Hanson  and John Carson. Nota bene: "Party down" in this instance means getting down to brass tacks and debating the best parties RPGs have to offer.  What's the secret glue that holds the cast of Chrono Trigger? Why does Final Fantasy 7 feel like it lacks that glue? Will a 13 Sentinels reference pop up? (Heck yes.) All these questions and more are on the table. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Axe of the Blood God charity stream is over, and somehow Kat, Nadia, and Eric came out the other side with their limbs and sanity intact. They also came out with $10,000+ raised for Trans Lifeline! That's worth a limb or three. This week's show has a brief post-mortem of the charity stream before the gang gets down to business: An informed conversation about the Gundam series' endless supply of inspiration for RPGs. What do RPGs, particularly Japanese RPGs owe to the classic anime? In short, just about everything—and not simply cool mech suits. Also in this episode: Nadia finished Omori and is left with feelings of warmth and cheeriness The new Genesis Mini is gonna rule!...if you live in Japan No, Nadia didn't drown a kid. He just got a little wet In the Post Show Summer of Gundam proceeds apace in this week's post show. The crew talks about the coolest Gundam models across the years, from the most battle-effective to the most edgelord-adjacent. (Hint: This is where Gundam Wing comes in.) Nadia's op

For the December 2021 edition of Pantheon of the Blood God, Kat and Nadia are joined by Fanbyte's Nerium Strom and Michael Higham for an exploration of Persona 5! During their lengthy discussion, the group discusses just some of the following: - Its outstanding soundtrack - Its attempt to challenge the status quo in Japanese society - Its remarkable sense of style - Being constantly told to go to bed by a cat ... And much more! Then the verdict: Is Persona 5 worthy of inclusion in the Pantheon of the Blood God? Listen and find out! This episode was unlocked for Axe of the Blood God listeners during the recent charity stream benefiting Trans Lifeline! New episodes are released each month for $10 Patrons and above.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After the (ahem) fallout of our #1 pick for the Top 25 RPGs of All Time, we got together with Khee Hoon Chan and Jay Castello to talk about whether it deserves to be the top-rated RPG of all time. How much does the setting, politics, and sidequests elevate it? And how much do the VATS System and bugs weigh it down? We discuss as part of part of our big 24 hour charity stream in which we were able to raise more than $10,000 for Trans Lifeline! Also in this episode: Valkyrie Elysium trail is here and it looks... good? It looks good! Kat has some thoughts on the Live a Live demo and Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak Eric extols the virtues of 08th MS Team in Summer of Gundam Nadia's Nostalgia Nook takes us back to Our Lady Peace Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Summer is a time for schmoozing with friends, which is why Axe of the Blood God invited veteran guest Len Hafer to talk about the best video game genre in the whole wide world. (Psst—that means RPGS.) Leana helps the Blood God wrap up the PC RPG Quest with a deep dive into the computer RPGs that shaped the '10s. And oh, what a decade it was. Kickstarter dreams and nightmares! Bioware's troubles! World of Warcraft! The rise of CD Projekt Red! Final Fantasy XIV's fall and resurrection! They don't make drama like this anymore. Also in this episode: The Live A Live demo is…live. And it's already something special. Mega Man Battle Network is getting a collection. Hey, it's RPG-adjacent. And the second game has a lot of swear words in it for some reason. Is it "Nicky-Nicky-Nine-Door" or "Ding-Dong-Ditch?" Come to our upcoming charity stream for Trans Lifeline, or else. In the Post Show Leana joins the gang for the usual hodge-podge of good stuff that the Blood God Crew wrings out of itself at the end of ev

This week on Axe of the Blood God, recent political going-ons have the gang physically, mentally, and spiritually taxed. Kat, Nadia, and Eric elect to take it easy and do a mid-year check-in of the RPGs. What are some of our favorite games this year? (Elden Ring might get a mention.) Which RPGs were surprise hits? Which seemed to slip under the radar? Opinions are shared. Also in this episode: Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is looking quite fine. Eric is trying to build a Gundam model, RIP All glory to the Disneyworld Dead Lizard Patrol In the Post Show On this week's post show, Kat and Eric descend down an End of Evangelion hole, and Nadia just kind of sits with her gob as wide as a boot because she has no idea what they're talking about. But then the gang answers an important listener question about how they'd build their ideal RPGs. Eric and Nadia have answers that are almost normal, but Kat unleashes a nightmare idea on the masses. For the love of God, don't let her anywhere near RPG Maker. Learn more abo

This week on Axe of the Blood God, Kat has an intense war flashback to spring 2020. If you don't recall, Final Fantasy 7 Remake absconded with a little bit of her soul, and she's never been quite the same since. Hence why she absolutely goes off on Final Fantasy 7 Remake all over again in this episode. But who can blame her? The ongoing summer of not-E3 continues to drop a whole lot of Final Fantasy 7 news, including an announcement for "Rebirth." It's enough to shatter anyone's mind—arguably the best kind of news worth digging through. This episode even contains a very special witness to Kat's breakdown: $100 Patron Vivicomplex! Vivi leads the discussion on RPG Maker, the long-lived game construction series that amateur programmers use to make adventures with minimal coding. RPG Maker's legacy and purpose is carried on today through programs like Game Maker Studio, which gave rise to Undertale and countless other RPGs. Also in this episode: The Summer of Gundam continues! What's the series' ideal viewing

This week on Axe of the Blood God, Kat and Eric are joined by not one, but two Alexes to break down the summer showcases! RPG Site's Alex Donaldson and freelancer Alex J. Kane are here to discuss the Xbox and Bethesda showcase, as well as the whole of Summer Game Fest. Also in this episode: Eric and Alex D. talk Three Hopes early impressions Alex K. talks KOTOR 2's solid Switch port Kat laments the meta-ness of it all Fortnite? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Axe of the Blood God, Kat rejoins Eric and Nadia after her adventure on the high seas. She's a little unsteady on her legs, not to mention lightly brined by sea salt, but that's not about to stop her from talking about everything that's going on this week in RPGs. And a loaded week it is, mateys. We've got impressions of the Final Fantasy XVI trailer, as well as opinions about Pokémon Scarlet and Violet's chonky pigs and small olives. Also in this episode: Eric's finally playing Suikoden 2 The upcoming Dragon Age game has a title. Progress! Nadia layeth the smackdown on Seymor in Final Fantasy X "I am Malenia, blade of–" [Vomits everywhere] On the Post Show On this week's post-show, Kat tells us about the joys of sailing the high seas–e.g. seasickness and other cool things that happen on the water. There's also a deep discussion about sports, Street Fighter 6, and how awesome Cody is. (So awesome.) The Post Show is available to the Stars of Destiny tier and above! Learn more about your a

This episode was not entirely Nadia's idea, we swear. Really, can anyone deny the sheer cool factor of the Final Fantasy series' take on dragon knights? If you're not, maybe this episode will make you a believer. Prima Games' Jesse Vitelli joins Nadia and Eric as they talk about Dragoons past and present, from progenitor Ricard Highwind to the dragon-hating nerd Estinien Wyrmblood. Pull on your overly-elaborate dragoon boots and join the fun. Also in this episode: Miyazaki (not that one) thinks Radahn is the best Elden Ring boss.  Give us more Dragon's Dogma, Capcom. (Please.) The Summer Game Fest creeps ever closer. What will we see? Sony is making bad decisions about its retro games again. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Axe of the Blood God, Kat has run off to do sailor junk on the high seas, so Nadia and Eric hold the rig together by themselves. Well, that's not entirely true. Kat joins them from SeaPhone™ to tackle this week's main topic: Why some games were picked for our updated Top 25 RPG list, while others were left to die in shallow puddles of rainwater. This discussion involves a lot of self-flagellation and even more furious denial, so look forward to drama and mayhem. Soap operas wish they had this explosive narrative impact.   Also in this episode:   June is going to be all decked out in Final Fantasy (XVI? VII Remake pt 2?) news. What is even going on with Summer Games Fest? Do we know? Do we care? (Kinda.) One time, Nadia had to ask a bookstore clerk for porn manga. It was for work. The Luca Goers suck. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's time at last to share our newly-revised list of the 25 best RPGs of all time! For much of 2022 we've been slowly collecting potential nominees for an update to the list that we made several years ago. Now it's time to share that list for all to see!  To make this list we took the list of nominees plus the original list and made our own Top 25s, with the games that were on all three lists going straight into the Top 25. From there we embraced debate with discussions including: Whether or not Mass Effect should be included a trilogy Eric calling Skyrim the "McDonald's hamburger of RPGs." Multiple RPGs being rescued from the dead  Whether it's time to anoint brand-new #1! For your convenience, we've shared time codes below. Time Codes 4:40: We share our personal Top 25 RPG lists 21:35 - The Initial Cutdown + Wild Card Picks + Listener Poll 36:35: Games That Made At Least Two Lists 140:25: Finalizing the List 2:23:00: Ranking the Games 2:50:20: The Top 25 RPGs Of All Time Thanks again for joi

This week on Axe of the Blood God, the gang takes a step into the fascinating and revolutionary (if jagged and polygonal) world of massive multiplayer online RPGs from the 2000's. Kat, Nadia, and Eric are joined by very special guest Amy Dunham, who worked on some of the most prominent '00s MMORPGs. (And more than a few other games, too!) Tune in as we talk about World of Warcraft, EverQuest, Eve Online, Elder Scrolls Online, and much more. Rest assured, Nadia reps Rangarok Online, too Also in this episode: Starfield is delayed, no Starfield for Kat Final Fantasy XIV players are being sent to video game jail for using mods Pokemon Home adds support for Brilliant Diamond, Shining Pearl, and Legends Arceus Eric lords his Steam Deck over the rest of us plebes On the Post Show:  This week's Axe of the Blood God post show is a godless mess as usual. Master Chief is no longer a virgin, so let's all gather around in a circle, clap, and tell him "Congratulations!"  Also, there is a lot of Final Fantasy X discussi

As a special thank you to our listeners for helping us reach $6000 two months in a row, we recently hosted a very special D&D 5e session with special guest DM Shivam Bhatt. Now it's available for everyone to listen! Tune in as our heroes embark on a quest for the Axe of the Blood God; bumble into some orcs; have a really hard time climbing a hill, and say hello to a very special badger named Orlando. Here are the characters: Kat plays Kara the Wanderer, a Paladin devoted to Selune the Moonmaiden. Nadia plays Kalfor, a Red Dragonborn Ranger with motivations of their own (and a cool hat, apparently). Eric plays Coronach, a Tiefling Warlock with a real Pixie problem. If you enjoyed the adventure, let us know! It would be fun to do more of these if listeners are interested. Until then, thank you as always for your support and the opportunity to do fun and unique adventures like this one! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tired of the same ol' RPGs? Why not try changing your perspective?  This week by Patron request, Nadia, Kat, and Eric talk about isometric RPGs with some help from Leana Hafer of Three Moves Ahead. Topics of isometric discussion include "How good is Tunic?" (Very good.) "Does Dragon Age: Origins count as an isometric RPG?" (Yes.) "Which isometric RPG should Nadia play?" (Disco Elysium, CUNO.) And "How is 2022 looking for the sub-genre?" (Pretty neat!) Other topics of discussion include: Kat's ensnared by a mobile gatcha RPG. SHAME. SHAME. Nadia hates Crumbling Farum Azula and everyone on it. The how, why, and "huh?" of Square Enix's IP fire sale. We pick our final four nominees for the rebuild of the Top 25 RPGs of all time list! Enjoy the show? Check out our Patreon at https://patreon.com/bloodgodpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices