📜 Today’s Side Quest ❗Welcome to 🎙️Side Quests & Save Points💾 - the podcast where nostalgia, bad chocobo mini-games, and hidden gems all share the same save file.

This week, I’m joined by Genesis VII - content creator, retro RPG expert, and a man who knows the pain of FFVII’s Guard Scorpion better than most. We dive deep into the golden age of JRPGs, celebrate underappreciated titles, and ask the most important question: is Donald Duck secretly a top-tier black mage?

From Ni no Kuni and Shadow Madness to Final Fantasy IX Remake speculation, platinum trophy grinds, and RPG systems that need a comeback, this episode is a tour through the highs, lows, and weird design choices that make the genre what it is.

So grab your memory card, save at the nearest moogle, and join us at the Tavern for another long rest.

🎮 Episode Content Overview🎯 First encounters with Final Fantasy (and rage quitting FFVII)
🦆 Donald Duck: top 3 black mage in Final Fantasy?!
📀 Underrated RPGs – Ni no Kuni and Shadow Madness
⚔️ Innovative RPG systems we miss (Golden Sun, FFXII Gambits)
🗺️ World maps, exploration, and the beauty of RPG freedom
🎮 RPG definitions – what makes a JRPG, really?
💡 Platinum trophies, hidden gems, and RPG recommendations
🔥 Hopes for Final Fantasy IX Remake and the Switch 2

🔗 My Links🍻 Join 🍻The Tavern Discord🍺: https://discord.gg/73KfecTgEW🎮 Twitch: https://twitch.tv/chefmonkeygaming🐦 X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/ChefMonkeyGames📷 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chefmonkeygaming🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@chefmonkeygaming🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@chefmonkeygaming🌤️ BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/chefmonkeygaming.bsky.social

🎙️ Follow Side Quests & Save Points Podcast🐦 X (Twitter): https://x.com/sqsppodcast🌤️ BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/sqsppodcast.bsky.social

🎙️ Guest Links – Genesis VII🎮 Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/genesissvii🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GenesisVII🐦 X (Twitter): https://x.com/GenesissVII🧵 Threads: https://www.threads.com/@genesissvii

🧵 Threads of Fate#SideQuestsAndSavePoints#GenesisVII
#FinalFantasyIX#JRPGPodcast#NiNoKuni#ShadowMadness#GoldenSun#RetroGaming#RPGCommunity#GamingPodcast

📜 Today’s Side Quest ❗
Welcome to 🎙️Side Quests & Save Points💾 – the podcast where ignoring the main quest is half the fun and even the dialogue options go off-script.

This time, I’m back with Annie VanderMeer – narrative designer, writer, and world-builder whose resume runs from Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir to Guild Wars 2, Destiny, Unpacking and beyond.

We dive deep into the wild world of publishers vs. developers, behind-the-scenes chaos of canceled projects, lore drops that never made it into the final cut, and why old-school RPG mechanics still haunt our save files.

🎮 Episode Content Overview
📚 From Castlevania and childhood gaming memories to writing sequels for cult classics
🕹️ The unmade Taxi Driver game and how Hollywood IPs nearly broke the dev cycle
⚔️ Obsidian years: Neverwinter Nights 2, Alpha Protocol, and the canceled Aliens RPG
🐉 Building Guild Wars 2’s “personal story” and making choice matter in an MMO
💀 Lore drops that never saw daylight (Lyra the goddess of illusion lives… maybe)
🚪 Side quests that spiraled into chaos (Monkey Island insults, frog puns, and more)
🎲 What it’s really like working with publishers and IP holders behind the curtain
🌌 Dream RPG settings Annie would love to write for: Fallout and Star Wars

🔗 My Links
🍻 Join 🍻The Tavern Discord🍺: https://discord.gg/73KfecTgEW
🎮 Twitch: https://twitch.tv/chefmonkeygaming
🐦 X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/ChefMonkeyGames
📷 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chefmonkeygaming
🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@chefmonkeygaming
🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@chefmonkeygaming
🌤️ BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/chefmonkeygaming.bsky.social

🎙️ Follow Side Quests & Save Points Podcast
🐦 X (Twitter): https://x.com/sqsppodcast
🌤️ BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/sqsppodcast.bsky.social
📺 Full Episodes: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL59mESx4aCcWhq2l2P4YcYh9KLMfCDv6N

🎙️ Guest Links – Annie VanderMeer
🎧 Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@frienda_podcast🌐 Website: https://www.annievandermeer.com/

🧵 Threads of Fate#SideQuestsAndSavePoints
#GameWriting
#RPGPodcast#NarrativeDesign
#NeverwinterNights2
#GuildWars2
#DestinyGame
#UnpackingGame
#Fallout
#StarWarsGames

📜 Today’s Side Quest ❗
Welcome to 🎙️Side Quests & Save Points💾 – the podcast where ignoring the main quest is half the fun and every great adventure starts with a side quest!
This time, I'm joined by the ever-chaotic Grimsabr – content creator, manga hoarder, professional Pokémon degenerate, and a man whose love for RPGs is only rivalled by his inability to stay on topic.

We cover anime. We cover JRPGs. We (barely) define what even counts as an RPG. It’s a wild ride across multiple media and genres – so grab a drink, double-check your Pokédex, and settle in for a conversation that derails harder than a chocobo on espresso.

🎮 Episode Content Overview
In this full-length tavern ramble, we unpack:

• Whether Pokémon is actually a JRPG (and yes, we have opinions)

• The crossover between anime, manga, and RPGs – and why it's basically inevitable

• Our shared childhood trauma over canceled anime MMOs and bad video game movies

• What makes a JRPG feel like a JRPG, and why instant gratification might be killing nuance

• What games deserve anime adaptations, and which animes deserve proper games (Monster Hunter fans, we’re talking to you)

• Party Make-Up picks, cursed NPC date nights, and the dream of one day fishing up Lovecraftian horrors in Dredge: The Anime

Plus: Zinogre mount fights, Monster Hunter addictions, VR fantasies, and a very firm stance on the sacred status of Gengar.

🔗 My Links
🍻 Join The Tavern Discord: https://discord.gg/TCnSdcq3w4
🎮 Twitch: https://twitch.tv/chefmonkeygaming
🐦 X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/ChefMonkeyGames
📷 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chefmonkeygaming
🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@chefmonkeygaming
🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@chefmonkeygaming
🌤️ BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/chefmonkeygaming.bsky.social
🎙️ Follow Side Quests & Save Points Podcast:
🐦 X (Twitter): https://x.com/sqsppodcast
🌤️ BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/sqsppodcast.bsky.social

🎙️ Guest Links – Grimsabr
🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@grimsabr
🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@grimsabr
📷 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/grimsabr
🐦 X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/grimsabr

🧵 Threads of Fate
#SideQuestsAndSavePoints #JRPGPodcast #PokemonDebate #AnimeRPG #MonsterHunterAddict #GengarBestBoi #GamingNostalgia #PodcastWithTooManyTangents #TavernTalk