Retronauts Episode 672: Attack & Dethrone God, Book 1:1

What, me blasphemous?

We’ve all heard the meme, but surely you’ve noticed that a fair number of video games do let your character grow so powerful that they threaten to tackle divine beings—sometimes literally. Why is that, and why does it seem especially common in games from Japan where Western religions hold such a small presence?

Host Jeremy Parish and guests Shivam Bhatt, Chris Sims, and Benito Cereno (the latter two of the Apocrypals podcast) convene this week to examine the history of virtually ousting the Almighty. Expect a second podcast on this subject in the future once more ancient texts can be translated.

Description: What’s up with all those JRPGs making you kill God? Having weathered the ’80s Satanic Panic, Jeremy Parish, Chris Sims, Benito Cereno, and Shivam Bhatt seek the answers by tracing the history of Christianity’s spread into Japan—including JRPGs.

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Artwork for this episode by Nick Wanserski and editing thanks go to Greg Leahy.