I just...hm...I think Lostbelt 2 had its flaws, for sure, but I donāt think all the criticisms being hurled at it are entirely fair. First, people saying the āgirls need to have kids by 15ā³ thing is a...
what celtic-pyro saidĀ below
I justā¦hmā¦I think Lostbelt 2 had its flaws, for sure, but I donāt think all the criticisms being hurled at it are entirely fair.
First, people saying the āgirls need to have kids by 15ā³ thing is a gross kink thing: I disagree. Itās fully intended to be disgusting, disturbing and unsettling. A clear sign of how dystopian this world is for humans that everyone who isnāt Gerda only reacts to with horror and shock. Gerda herself merely states it as a fact of life in the human settlements and thereās no moment where anyone is pressuring her to have children by 15 (beyond the implicit societal pressure at least). What bothered me about Agartha a lot was the way the female-on-male abuse was framed in an almost fetishistic context and jokes were made about it, like Astolfo joking about how heād look cute in chains (bonus points for character derailment there). We donāt get that in LB2. I donāt mind ādarkā themes within a work as long as theyāre handled in a way that doesnāt glorify or fetishize them and LB2 definitely did neither of those things.
Second, certain comments made by characters that caused many to cry āRomaniās lawā over. Caenisās remarks about Ophelia in particular wereā¦interesting, at least in the context of his/her relation to Wodime. Their name escapes me but I saw a REALLY good analysis on him/her that put many of Caenisās early dialogue in LB1 and LB2 into perspective (Iām so sorry my brainās kind of fried so I forget what your name is!). Iād like to say overall that Fate is a franchise dealing with characters from history, so unsurprisingly theyāll sometimes say something politically incorrect (looking at you, Napoleon!). Plus, given the society she lived in and her own personal traumas, Caenis making that ācracked jar of oilā comment about Ophelia seemed fairly in-character, because it may have been how she saw herself when That happened.
Third, Napoleonās one-sided crush on Ophelia. While he started off pretty immature about it, he recognizes that pursuing her may not be what she wants, and furthermore, could end up jeopardizing the mission. This is why he forms a temporary contract with you. I was fully expecting him to go off the rails obsessing over her (as one other FGO player had claimed he did) but I actually like how he ended his role in the Lostbelt chapter. Selflessly using his final moments to reach Ophelia so she could free herself of Surtrās control and get to safety. It reminded me a little of Cu Chulainnās (equally one-sided) crush on Rin, and how he similarly ends up saving her at the cost of his own life. (Alright itās no secret Napoleon was my far my favorite thing about Lostbelt 2, he was just fantastic all around and added a lot of flair to cutscenes on top of being a top-tier free anti-Divine unit with great gameplay)
Fourth, Scathach=Skadi. Iām still less than happy that the devs went and made her a ScathachFace, and the in-universe explanation didnāt really do much in the way of telling us why Scathach, specifically, was chosen to be merged with Skadi, beyond a clever nod to a very niche, New Age conspiracy of the two being one and the same person. Having said that, this chapter warmed me up just a tiiiiiiiny bit to Skadi as a character. I really wish sheād simply been her own character separate from Scathach, just one with similar themes in her backstory, but I digress. I ended up not hating Skadi, only that she effectively body-snatched my wife the Godslayer.
Fifth, the dialogue apparently being repetitive. I didnāt really notice it too much? I guess the overarching themes were repeated a lot (love, hate, killing and sparing, ice and fire etc) but it didnāt seem that overbearing. Maybe itās just me but I wasnāt noticing it getting to be a bore.
EDIT: One more criticism I donāt agree with, that Napoleon had no place in the Lostbelt chapter and shouldāve been in Lostbelt 1. Yes, getting to shine in Anastasia wouldāve let him finally take revenge on his Grand Armeeās defeat against the Russian Winter, and he also fittingly represents revolution and enlightenment. But otherwise he doesnāt really tie into the overall plot of the Russian Lostbelt, nor would he be much good against the Yaga or Ivan. Gotterdammerung, meanwhile, is full of Divine enemies where Napoleonās anti-Divine Noble Phantasm was a huge boost.
Plus (and I made another post about this) heās a literary foil of sorts to Salieri. A similarly fictionalized identity of a person who really existed in history, who offers something to that Lostbelt that both its people and its Crypter either didnāt have or were missing. Russia didnāt have music, and while the Yaga had no need for it, it was something Kadoc missed and something that helped us defeat Ivan. The children of Gotterdammerung had no heroes, nor wishes or dreams, but it was something Ophelia desperately needed, and it was through the things Napoleon represented that Surtr was defeated and Ophelia saved.
Now one criticism I think IS fair: Ophelia definitely deserved better. Without question. Iād have liked to have learned more about her or seen her have a subplot of having to choose between her friendship with Mash and her love for Wodime, or of being able to live without her Mystic Eye laying out every possibility for her and having to make those choices of her own accord. Or being able to fangirl over having Sigurd without Surtrās influence, or getting to meet Napoleon a second time. There were SO many things the story couldāve done with her character arc, and Iām mad weāll never get to see any of it in canon.














