The State of Soulsbornes w/ Alex Van Aken

No, you see these are uh... Pocket Buddies! And we don't catch'em. We seal'em! In uh, Pocket Orbs! Kat, Nadia, and Eric discuss Nintendo's suit against the creators of Palworld and what this means for patents and Pokemon-esque projects going forward. Plus, the crew has been playing some Dragon Age Veilguard! Tune in to live recordings of the show every Saturday morning at https://www.twitch.tv/bloodgodpod and subscribe for bonus episodes and discord access at https://www.patreon.com/bloodgodpod Also in this episode: The appeal of fine Pokemon china You'll never guess where these Pirate Yakuza are! UFO50 Final Fantasy VII Orchestra Timestamps: 03:12 - Main Topic 36:36 - Random Encounters 44:18 - The Tavern - Dragon Age 1:31:07 - Nadia's Nostalgia Nook Music Used in this Episode: Do Your Best - [Breath of Fire III] A Curious Tale - [Secret of Mana] Virbank City - [Pokemon Black and White 2] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

And it doesn't even have a new Ridge Racer. Kat, Nadia, and Eric discuss the PS5 Pro, it's fascinating price point, Astrobot, Sony's future, and more on this week's episode of Axe of the Blood God! Tune in to live recordings of the show every Saturday morning at https://www.twitch.tv/bloodgodpod and subscribe for bonus episodes and discord access at https://www.patreon.com/bloodgodpod Also in this episode: Emio: The Smiling Man Where are there squirrels? Praise Bahamut! A Baldur's Gate III Co-op update! When did YOUR eyesight start going, listener? Timestamps: 04:56 - Main Topic - PS5 Pro 40:32 - Random Encounters 44:32 - The Tavern 1:17:04 - Nadia's Nostalgia Nook Music Used in this Episode: Do Your Best - [Breath of Fire III] A Curious Tale - [Secret of Mana] Jungle - [PlayOnline Viewer] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the first time since 2006's Dawn of Mana (a totally fun game, don't let anyone tell you otherwise) we have a new mainline entry in the storied Seiken Densetsu series. Does Visions of Mana prove that the mana tree still has plenty of good years left in'er, or is the vision getting blurry? Kat, Nadia, and Eric discuss this colourful action RPG and more on this episode of Axe of the Blood God! Tune in to live recordings of the show every Saturday morning at https://www.twitch.tv/bloodgodpod and subscribe for bonus episodes and discord access at https://www.patreon.com/bloodgodpod Also in this episode: Witch Hat Atelier Bring back Slayers! More Final Fantasy VI discussion Everyone definitely agrees Legend of Mana is the best Timestamps: 03:12 - Main Topic - Visions of Mana 39:08 - Random Encounters 43:12 - The Tavern 1:16:32 - Nadia's Nostalgia Nook - CONTENT WARNING 1:22:24 - End of Content Warning Music Used in this Episode: Do Your Best - [Breath of Fire III] A Curious Tale - [Secret of Mana] Cliff Town Gato - [Legend of Mana] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brr. Can you feel the chill in the air? Maybe you can, maybe you can't. The weather's been really screwy this summer. This week, the Blood God crew wades hip-deep into 2024's fall RPG season to evaluate what's coming, and to take a guess at which games look likeliest to bogart all their attention through September and October. Will it be the mystical Metaphor ReFantazio? The utterly charming Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom? Or perhaps the beleaguered Dragon Age Veilguard will dominate the autumn season. Listen in and shout your own choices at your audio output device. Or tune into the show live next time at twitch.tv/bloodgodpod. We show up every Saturday at 9:30 PT /12:30 ET. Also in this episode: Nadia is back, but RIP to her luggage Visions of Mana early impressions Our "canon event" games This is Tenchiverse and that "cabbit" did indeed turn into a spaceship Timestamps 00:00 - Main topic: Fall RPG Preview 55:28 - Random Encounters 1:12:13 - The Tavern 1:30:27 - Nostalgia Nook Music used in this episode Do Your Best! [Breath of Fire 3] Patty's Pub [Dragon Quest IX] A Curious Tale [Secret of Mana] Scream [Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's episode Kat, Eric, and special guest Brian Shea discuss all the news out of Gamescom! Does Xbox still need a Mario? What is happening with Blizzard? All these questions and more will be answered in this week's episode of Axe of the Blood God! Tune in to live recordings of the show every Saturday morning at https://www.twitch.tv/bloodgodpod and subscribe for bonus episodes and discord access at https://www.patreon.com/bloodgodpod Also in this episode: Kat is invaded by turkeys Role-playing with sports games More Game Informer memories! Timestamps: 05:52 - Gamescom Announcements 52:48 - Random Encounters + Wukong 1:10:48 - The Tavern Music Used in this Episode: Do Your Best - [Breath of Fire III] A Curious Tale - [Secret of Mana] Mog Resort - [Final Fantasy XI: Seekers of Adoulin] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's episode Kat, Eric, Nadia and special guest Matt McMuscles discuss the history of beat'em ups, RPGs, and where the twain shall meet! What is the first RPG beat'em up crossover? What even IS Yakuza? How does George Kamitani tie it all together? All these questions and more will be answered in this week's very special Trans Lifeline Charity Livestream episode of Axe of the Blood God! Tune in to live recordings of the show every Saturday morning at https://www.twitch.tv/bloodgodpod and subscribe for bonus episodes and discord access at https://www.patreon.com/bloodgodpod Also in this episode: Tales of! The Bouncer! Legend of Mana! Shenmue! All of Victor's favs are here! Timestamps: 00:00 - Main Topic 50:28 - Random Encounters 52:16 - The Tavern 1:26:08 - Nadia's Nostalgia Pit Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's episode Kat, Eric, and special guest Alex Van Aken discuss the current landscape of soulsbornes, the future of soulsbornes, what makes a soulsborne a soulsborne, and please can we call it something else so I can stop saying soulsborne. And no one talks about Code Vein and Stranger of Paradise enough. Tune in to live recordings of the show every Saturday morning at https://www.twitch.tv/bloodgodpod and subscribe for bonus episodes and discord access at https://www.patreon.com/bloodgodpod Also in this episode: Black Myth: Wukong Kaiju No 8 D23 2XKO Timestamps: 14:23 - State of Soulsbornes 59:56 - Random Encounters 103:49 - The Tavern 1:36:38 - Alex's Game Informer Nostalgia Nook Music Used in this Episode: Do Your Best - [Breath of Fire III] A Curious Tale - [Secret of Mana] Pirates of Pravoka - [Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's episode Kat, Eric, and special guests Saniya Ahmed and Nicole Carpenter discuss recent layoffs in both journalism and development. How will Bungie's layoffs change the future of Destiny? Does Destiny HAVE a future? Should it? All these question and more will be answered in this week's Axe of the Blood God! Tune in to live recordings of the show every Saturday morning at https://www.twitch.tv/bloodgodpod and subscribe for bonus episodes and discord access at https://www.patreon.com/bloodgodpod Also in this episode: Kat has nice things to say about Final Fantasy XIV Fast AND Furious? In this economy? Gathering the Magic Arranger Timestamps: 05:04 - Game Informer Layoffs 20:00 - Bungie Layoffs 50:56 - Random Encounters 58:40 - The Tavern 1:19:28 - Eric's Nostalgia Pit Music Used in this Episode: Do Your Best - [Breath of Fire III] A Curious Tale - [Secret of Mana] rtown0 (Δ Server Aqua Capital Mac Anu) - [.hack//INFECTION] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's the Summer o' Summoners on Axe of the Blood God! We're celebrating summoners, extoling evokers, and commemorating callers! But first we have to decide who qualifies? Are Pokemon Trainers summoners? Is Ichiban a summoner? Is listening to a podcast not a kind of summoning? That's right, as far as I'm concerned YOU'RE my favourite summoner, dear listener. All this and more on this week's Axe of the Blood God! Tune in to live recordings of the show every Saturday morning at https://www.twitch.tv/bloodgodpod and subscribe for bonus episodes and discord access at https://www.patreon.com/bloodgodpod Also in this episode: Unionization and strikes! Courage the Cowardly Dog Eric watches terrible TV Twisters! Timestamps: 13:20 - Main Topic - Our RPG Backlogs 53:52 - Random Encounters 56:32 - The Tavern 1:19:28 - Nadia's Nostalgia Nook Music Used in this Episode: Do Your Best - [Breath of Fire III] A Curious Tale - [Secret of Mana] Keepers of the Void - [Final Fantasy Brave Exvius] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

By popular demand, it's a long-overdue look at the colossal Trails series! Kat, Nadia, and Eric are joined by Trails expert James Galizio to discuss the latest entry to celebrate the series' 20th anniversary; Trails Through Daybreak. How do you get into a series with a dozen entries in the same narrative? Is Daybreak a good place to jump in? What's the best game in the series? Tune in to live recordings of the show every Saturday morning at https://www.twitch.tv/bloodgodpod and subscribe for bonus episodes and discord access at https://www.patreon.com/bloodgodpod Also in this episode: MAHVEL Trading military secrets Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition Visual novels and ADV games are different things! Tsukihime is, in fact, a visual novel. Hijinks! Timestamps: 13:20 - Main Topic - Our RPG Backlogs 40:06 - Random Encounters 49:54 - The Tavern 1:21:02 - Nadia's BIRTHDAY Nook?! Music Used in this Episode: Do Your Best - [Breath of Fire III] Birthday - [Monster Rancher 2] Daily Life - [Trails Through Daybreak] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices