USgamer's RPG Podcast Revisits Super Mario RPG and the Big Split Between Square and Nintendo
AXE OF THE BLOOD GOD: Plus we discuss the Yo-Kai Watch 2 announcement, the appearance of footage from Oblivion PSP, and more.
This article first appeared on USgamer, a partner publication of VG247. Some content, such as this article, has been migrated to VG247 for posterity after USgamer's closure - but it has not been edited or further vetted by the VG247 team.
Axe of the Blood God is our weekly RPG podcast hosted by Kat Bailey. You can find the show notes for previous episodes here.
In this week's episode of Axe of the Blood God (download link here), Bob and Nadia join me to revisit Super Mario RPG; and by extension, a very particular moment in gaming history.
Mario RPG is a good game in its own right, but it's also remembered as being the last game Square developed for a Nintendo console before jumping ship for Sony. Square would finally return in 2003; but by then, both were very different companies. In the meantime, Mario RPG was an attempt by Nintendo to get RPGs into people's homes the only way they knew how - by shoehorning their most popular character into a mismatched genre. And it worked! Nadia, Bob, and I all explore these topics in this episode. For additional reading, please check out Bob's Mario RPG retrospective from last week.
On a sidenote, I apologize for not getting a podcast posted last week. I had an interview all set to go, but it ended up being lost, and the podcast went with it. Hopefully we haven't squandered too much of the momentum we've built up of late. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this episode, and we'll be back next week as usual.
Next week: The Dragon Quest 30th Anniversary Podcast
Where to find us (Subscribe, rate, and review!)
Show Description
Kat, Nadia, and Bob talk about the latest RPG news, including the announcement of Yo-Kai Watch 2 and the appearance of Oblivion PSP footage, then take a trip back to 1996 to revisit Mario RPG and Square Enix's subsequent break with Nintendo.
Music from Axe of the Blood God is courtesy of Lena Chappelle, who has also contributed the themes to Active Time Babble and Roleplayers' Realm. I also use music from the RPG Music Pack over at rpgmaker.net. Check it out!