Axe of the Blood God: An RPG Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Digimon Story: Time Stranger w/ Kenneth Shepard, Jesse Vitelli Oct 06, 2025

Show notes

Digi-see? Digi-hear? Digi-know it was coming?
Your digi-destiny starts today and Eric, Nadia, and special guests, Kenneth Shepard, and Jesse Vitelli are your digi-guides through it all. Time Stranger, the latest in the Digimon Story sub-series of RPGs is finally here and it might just be a perfect entry point into the digital world. Learn al about it on this prodigious episode of Axe of the Blood God!
And you better not suggest that Digimon don't have feelings or you're getting banned from bluesky.

Tune in to live recordings of the show every Saturday morning at https://www.twitch.tv/bloodgodpod, subscribe for bonus episodes and discord access at https://www.patreon.com/bloodgodpod and celebrate our 10th Anniversary with new merch at https://shop.bloodgodpod.com

Also in this episode:

Why doesn't Nadia care about Digimon?
Protomen Act III
Bad News For EA

Timestamps:

8:00 Main Topic - Digimon Story: Time Stranger

43:12 - Random Encounters

46:00 - The Tavern - The Protomen, EA Has Gone Private

1:04:16 - Ken Plays Fortnite for KPop Demon Hunters

1:20:40 - Nadia’s Nostalgia Nook, Sort of...

Music Used in this Episode:

Do Your Best - [Breath of Fire III]

Pub - [Lunar Knights]

A Curious Tale - [Secret of Mana]

Central Park - [Digimon World 3]

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Kat's Mailbag Sendoff Sep 29, 2025

Show notes

Cheerio! Kat is moving to the UK and we celebrate with a mail bag AMA centered on her experience serving the Blood God, and you know it wouldn’t be a Kat episode without delving into the worlds of soccer and Magic The Gathering.

- Plus, discussion of Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles

- The meaning of “mature” storylines

- Whether or not Mario is a superhero.

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Kat's Perfect RPG Library, Trails in the Sky, and BIG NEWS Sep 22, 2025

Show notes

As we prepare for our fearless leader's graduation, it's time to celebrate the RPGs that made her. From tactics to action, from sim to rogue-lite, Kat, Eric, and Victor discuss Kat's idea of the perfect RPG library. Plus, Eric's been playing Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter; is this the Trails games that will hook newcomers? Listen to this perfectly bitter-sweet episode of Axe of the Blood God to find out!

Also in this episode:

Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2
Baroque is back, baby!
How easy it is to play old games

Timestamps:

3:12 - Big News!

10:52 Main Topic - Kat's Perfect RPG Library

22:32 - Tactics

35:12 - Turn-Based

47:28 - Action

56:48 - Dungeon Crawler

1:05:36 - Simulation

1:13:52 - CRPG

1:20:16 - Rogue-lite

1:26:48 - Monster Collecting

1:27:18 - Wildcards

1:32:08 - Random Encounters

1:53:20 - The Tavern - Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter Remake

1:36:08 - Nadia’s Nostalgia Nook

Music Used in this Episode:

Do Your Best - [Breath of Fire III]

Pub - [Lunar Knights]

Cityscape - The Sun Rises for Ones Who Smile - [Etrian Odyssey V]

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Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave, Pokopia, and More Nintendo Direct News Sep 15, 2025

Show notes

Pick a god and pray; Fire Emblem is back along with a deluge of news from the latest Nintendo Direct. Slow-life Pokemon, collections of Mega Mans, and remakes of good Dragon Quests. Kat, Nadia, and Victor discuss all this and more on the this episode of Axe of the Blood God!

Also in this episode:

You can just play old games. Nothing is stopping you.
Super Robot Wars brings us together

Timestamps:

3:30 - Main Topic - Nintendo Direct Reactions - Fire Emblem

18:52 - Dragon Quest VII

29:28 - Pokemon Pokopia

35:34 - Virtual Boy

44:02 - Hades 2

45:08 Persona 3 Reload

46:44 - Danganronpa

48:20 - Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment

52:00 - Mega Man: Star Force

1:05:12 - Random Encounters

1:10:24 - Remembering the PlayStation on its 30th Birthday

1:36:08 - Nadia’s Nostalgia Nook - 40 Years of Super Mario Brothers

Music Used in this Episode:

Do Your Best - [Breath of Fire III]

Pub - [Lunar Knights]

A Curious Tale - [Secret of Mana]

Shooting Star - [Mega Man Star Force]

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Ivalice Chronicles is Correcting History w/ Tom James and BowlofLentils Sep 08, 2025

Show notes

The Final Fantasy Tactics you played back on the PS1 is not the real Final Fantasy Tactics. In fact, if you played it in the West you missed out on entire games-within-games that not only flesh out the world of Ivalice, but hold clues to the future of Square Enix. And these secrets are all tucked away in... Sound Novels!
That's right, this week Victor and Nadia are joined by experts in the history of Japanese adventure games, Tom James and BowlofLentils, to discuss how The Ivalice Chronicles is steering us back onto the path of understanding the lineage of this misunderstood genre. Visual novels, sound novels, adventures games, point-and-clicks, text adventures, dating sims, oteme games, galge? What do they have in common and what makes them completely different? Find out on this expository episode of Axe of the Blood God! Sorry if you thought this was going to be about like, the nature of remakes or adaptations and the Ship of Theseus or whatever, but we've got sound novels to talk about!

Also in this episode:

Eternal Sonata
Vanillaware's alternate Princess Maker timeline
Doshin the Giant
Why Inspector Gadget owes his life to Lupin III
We mention Hollow Knight: Silksong purely for SEO purposes
428 Shibuya Scramble
Famicom Detective Club

FURTHER READING:

BowlofLentils Youtube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/@bowloflentils

Tom James' Blog:
https://dateemups.com/

Sharlayan Dropouts - The Veil of Wiyu:
https://bloodgodpod.com/sharlayan-dropouts-lore-veil-of-wiyu/

Timestamps:

7:20 Main Topic - Ivalice Chronicles Resurrecting the Lost Sound Novels

1:32:08 - Random Encounters

1:36:08 - Nadia’s Nostalgia Nook

Music Used in this Episode:

Do Your Best - [Breath of Fire III]

A Curious Tale - [Secret of Mana]

Contact - [YU-NO: a girl who chants love at the bound of this world]

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The Best RPG Weddings? Sep 01, 2025

Show notes

Kat, Nadia, Eric, and Victor discuss their favorite weddings in RPGs, whether they serve the plot or they just think they’re neat! If you get married in FFXIV you get a sick Chocobo mount (the good kind of sick). Does marrying Shane in Stardew Valley fix him? No, girl, run!

Also in this episode:

A tier list of Final Fantasy XIII characters.

Final Fantasy XIV third party mods controversy.

Turning your wedding table into a sovereign nation.

Timestamps:

9:41 Main Topic - Weddings in RPGS

1:03:32 - Random Encounters

1:27:08 - The Tavern

1:57:30 - Nadia’s Nostalgia Nook

Music Used in this Episode:

Do Your Best - [Breath of Fire III]

Pub - [Lunar Knights]

A Curious Tale - [Secret of Mana]

Stand By Me - [Final Fantasy XV]

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Gamescom Announcements, PlayStation Price Hikes Aug 25, 2025

Show notes

They grow Geoff Keighleys in Europe too?!
A bevy of announcements have poured in from Gamescom so Kat, Nadia, and Eric are here to sift through it all and give you the straight dope.
Tune in to live recordings of the show every Saturday morning at https://www.twitch.tv/bloodgodpod, subscribe for bonus episodes and discord access at https://www.patreon.com/bloodgodpod and celebrate our 10th Anniversary with new 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. In the interest of journalism we've chosen to cover Microsoft but encourage you to visit https://www.bdsmovement.net/microsoft for more information.

Also in this episode:

BSG but it's FTL!
Monster Hunter Wilds x Final Fantasy XIV
Performance on Switch 2: Elden Ring, Cyberpunk, and more
Bottles of Brownie Batter
Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines 2's development hell
Pokemon TCG Pocket Updates
Zero Parades
Magic: The Gathering Update
Lads and Bros playing Footy
Bizarre Print Ads

Timestamps:

3:28 - Main Topic
56:40 - Random Encounters
1:02:28 - The Tavern - Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter, PlayStation Price Increase
1:39:28 - Bonus Mailbag!

Music Used in this Episode:

Do Your Best - [Breath of Fire III]
Pub - [Lunar Knights]
A Curious Tale - [Secret of Mana]
eScape - [Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood]

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Game Key Cards and the Importance of Physical RPGs Aug 18, 2025

Show notes

More like Lame Key Cards. Kat, Nadia, Eric, and Victor discuss the pros and cons of physical vs digital and what it means specifically to the history and culture of RPGs. Could it be that sometimes BOTH approaches are appropriate and that instead of pitting them against each other we should be addressing the underlying corporate systems that prevent us from experiencing art as anything other than consumers? Probably!
Tune in to live recordings of the show every Saturday morning at https://www.twitch.tv/bloodgodpod, subscribe for bonus episodes and discord access at https://www.patreon.com/bloodgodpod and celebrate our 10th Anniversary with new 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. In the interest of journalism we've chosen to cover Microsoft but encourage you to visit https://www.bdsmovement.net/microsoft for more information.

Also in this episode:

The joy of getting a map with a game
The frustration of downloading mandatory patches
EA really is the worst
What Tales game needs a remaster
Hernias and Ronald McDonald

Timestamps:

6:30 - Main Topic - Game Key Cards and the Importance of Physical Game Releases
1:05:14 - Random Encounters
1:11:04-ish - The Tavern - Dragon Age and Mass Effect Remasters, Tales of Xillia Remaster
1:34:00 - Nadia's Nostalgia Nook

Music Used in this Episode:

Do Your Best - [Breath of Fire III]
Pub - [Lunar Knights]
A Curious Tale - [Secret of Mana]
The Hollow City - [Tales of Xillia 2]

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The Adventures of Elliot and The Future of HD-2D Aug 11, 2025

Show notes

To HD-2D, or not to HD-2D? That is the question Eric, Nadia, and special guest Timothy Monbleau are asking on this week's episode.
From retro revivals like Live-A-Live and Dragon Quest to brand-new throwbacks like Octopath Traveler and The Adventures of Elliot, Square sure loves its depth-of-field-and-bloom-filled pixel-art dioramas! But should EVERY mid-budget RPG be adopting this style or is there a time and place for this look? All that and more on a very anachronistically aliased episode of Axe of the Blood God!
Tune in to live recordings of the show every Saturday morning at https://www.twitch.tv/bloodgodpod, subscribe for bonus episodes and discord access at https://www.patreon.com/bloodgodpod and celebrate our 10th Anniversary with new merch at https://shop.bloodgodpod.com

Also in this episode:

Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound
Super Smash Bros Beach Volleyball
He Is Coming
Eric's in his Movie Era
Nadia hates Casablanca

Timestamps:

8:48 - Main Topic - Adventures of Elliot and the Future of HD-2D
57:36 - Mailbag
1:03:20 - Random Encounters
1:04:28 - The Tavern
1:28:10 - Nadia's Nostalgia Nook

Music Used in this Episode:

Do Your Best - [Breath of Fire III]
Pub - [Lunar Knights]
A Curious Tale - [Secret of Mana]
One With Hope I - [OCTOPATH TRAVELER: Champions of the Continent]

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Switch 2 Partner Direct Reax Aug 04, 2025

Show notes

Elliot is killing the adventurer industry.
Big Switch 2 RPG news as we react to the announcements coming out of the latest Nintendo Direct! Kat, Nadia, and Eric discuss the pros and cons of digital storefronts, the impact tariffs are having on video games, and more Magic: The Gathering talk!
Tune in to live recordings of the show every Saturday morning at https://www.twitch.tv/bloodgodpod, subscribe for bonus episodes and discord access at https://www.patreon.com/bloodgodpod and celebrate our 10th Anniversary with new merch at https://shop.bloodgodpod.com

Also in this episode: