We're in the throes of winter, but Pokemon discourse is hotter than ever. This week, Kat, Nadia, and Eric talk about the opening hours of Pokemon Legends Arceus, Game Freak's attempt to take the Pokemon franchise sort-of open world. Does it succeed? Does it fall flat on its face? We have things to say: We are chatty little Chatots.

Also in this episode:

- Bloodborne is still great.

- It's time to vote for a new Blood God Pantheon game! Here's why Valkyria Chronicles deserves the vote.

- Since voting for list stuff never goes out of style, we also have new picks for the Top 25 RPGs of All Time Integrade list!

- Eric nearly drove a teacher to insanity with a metronome.

- Nadia got hauled away by the Shakespeare Police.

We're going back to the '90s again here on Axe of the Blood God, but here's a twist: We're going back to '90s Japan. Yes, it's another PC Console Quest, and we've invited our good friend PC98 Audi back to the show for the occasion. We discuss the PC-98's legacy, and how it affected '90s RPG development. Why did the platform have so many visual novels? What's the deal with, ahem, all those hentai games? We have much wisdom contained here, so stay a while and listen.

Also in this episode:

• Oh God, Activision Blizzard and Microsoft. Oh God.
• We have new picks for the Top 25 RPG Remake 2022 Intergrade.
• Nadia plays Bloodborne like a dimwit.
• Space Jam DVD.

We may be in the dead of winter, but Axe of the Blood God is hotter than ever. So sayeth the show's fans, anyway. It's true! No word of a lie! Ahem. This week, Kat, Nadia, and Eric talk about a hodgepodge of lively topics, including:

• Some interesting new nominees for our new Best 25 RPGs of All Time list. Emphasis on "new"
• Final Fantasy XIV's producer tells the fanbase "Be good. For the love of God, please be good."
• RPGs – and games in general – are too long [INITIATING HUMOUR PROTOCOL: "That is what she said"]
• Square One, Mathman, and the trauma that accompanied them

Weekly episodes are available to both free and premium listeners on Mondays. For lots more bonus content, check out our Patreon: https://patreon.com/bloodgodpod

New year, new Axe of the Blood God! Our new Stars of Destiny tier has kicked off in earnest, and we had our first live taping of the podcast, followed by a special post-show discussion.

That's right, for 25 smackeroos you can listen to us flub our lines and then get into a fight about Super Mario World vs Super Mario Bros. 3. Very rated R stuff. See, the R stands for "rad."

This week's main show covers a bunch of stuff, including:

- The great indie RPG 2022 preview! Some gorgeous retro-style fare is coming up, like Sea of Stars, SacriFire, and Eiyuden Chronicles Rising.

- We're revisiting the Top 25 RPGs of All Time, and we want you to help us update our selection!

- Square Enix is having NFT FOMO, and the world must suffer for it.

- Eric is now a Final Fantasy XIV sicko. Ha ha…yes! Yessss!

If you weren't able to pop to the post-show, we've got that for you, too. We talk about Sony's drive to produce only "prestige" games, and how that new philosophy will affect RPGs. Then everything breaks down into Super Mario chaos. Mama mia.

We're already three days into 2022! No refunds on the year, suckers. Don't worry, the Axe of the Blood God will be around to pick you up whenever you need it…and going by recent trends, everyone is going to be due for a pick-me-up somewhere between the first three and six months.

Let's start the year strong with some spicy 2022 RPG predictions! Will we see anything to do with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 this year? Will we enjoy Elden Ring? Will Final Fantasy 16 make it out before year's end? (Funny you should ask…)

Also in this episode:

• Nadia remembers quality Nintendo literature
• Yuji Naka is still plying his trade in the corner, like an exiled shoe-elf who hopes to return to his cobbler kingdom someday
• We read your RPG 202 feelings

Here's to '22!