FGO Mephistopheles is actually deeper than you give him credit. The clown costume is because Mephistopheles is often depicted as a clown, more specifically a jester. He spends some time as a court jester in part 2 of Goethe's Faust. He's fine as a clown but a theater style costume would fit better given theater is the medium that popularized his legend. They basically only went with circus because that's what usually comes to mind for clowns. His costume actually has some neat allusions like the fur cape and bug theming, which are also references to Goethe's version of Mephistopheles. The cape is from wearing Faust's fur cloak to pass himself off as a scholar and the bug thing is because he's also Beelzebub and can command insects. The fact that it's a costume rather than normal clothing also fits since this version of him isn't really the demon he's made out to be. You really need to read part 2 of Goethe's Faust to fully understand the references made with FGO Mephistopheles. He's actually a composite character that includes figures from that part of the story. The bombs might partly reference golden insects used by the boy charioteer (who's actually Apollo) and he's a homunculus because of the homunculus that helps Faust find Helen of Troy. Both of those characters and a few others are actually the spirit of poetry, who helps Faust on his journey where Mephistopheles hinders him. That's also where the purple in his design comes from, since it's a colour that features heavily in relation to the spirit of poetry and Faust's journey to self realization. He's basically an embodiment of Goethe's story as a whole, which I think is pretty interesting. In terms of his role in FGO, it's strongly implied that Faust was an abusive jerk that forced him to do horrible things and that most of the people who summon him are like that too. He's powerless to escape a life of servitude even in death and has been condemned as a demon for actions he had no choice in. That's what 'fruitless wrath' is likely referring to. They definitely didn't do a good job making that clear with how he only really shows up as a red herring you end up killing without really getting to kill his masters despite his reputation for doing so. If you pay attention, you'll notice all the people he enjoys killing are abusers and that he usually doesn't like what he's ordered to do. The two he mentions in the KnK event tortured and killed their lovers. Victor Frankenstein you need to know about Apocrypha to get but he's also an alchemist similar to Faust. I think the deal aspect of his character is meant to be represented by his role as a servant aiming to kill/ruin the lives of his masters. His role in both the original and Goethe's version of the story was one where he agreed to indentured servitude in exchange for claiming Faust's soul once the terms were fulfilled. That's pretty much the only deal he makes. I think there's merit to focusing on that dynamic and reinterpreting it in a way where Mephistopheles was an innocent and Faust was the one doing the truly terrible things. That actually fits with how Part 1 of Goethe's Faust ends with Mephistopheles forcing Faust to own up to his own actions and realize that Mephistopheles never actually made him do any of the things he regrets, merely enabled him to act on his worst desires. You'd really just need to tweak the writing to better use him as someone enacting other people's misdeeds and trying to punish them for it. I think he should've gotten some kind of ability that lets him get back at masters who misuse him or benefit from their deaths. Something that properly makes summoning him in itself a faustian bargain while still respecting the themes they seemed to be exploring with their interpretation of him. Basically, he should be able to take back as much as he gives and punish people for the evils they use him to commit. Surviving having him as a servant should come down to how you treat him and what you order him to do. Let him fight back instead of having to half ass his orders and get himself killed. I also think there's a lot of nasuverse magic he could in theory have access to that would really take advantage of his Caster class. Goethe's version of Mephistopheles is Beelzebub, Odin and an embodiment of entropy. He's a patron of witches, can shapeshift and is associated with darkness. His original version is a dragon, can take the form of fire, turn invisible and fly. There are also some other things he can get through additional allusions made by Goethe and the general folklore elements mixed into adaptations of his legend. His living self in FGO knew curses and should definitely know some alchemy. There's a lot of potential to explore with all of that. I noticed that one of his abilities is described as basically a form of reality warping that inflicts bad luck and is equivalent to a noble phantasm. I think that's an ability that no game mechanic will ever do justice to and would actually be pretty powerful if explored outside of those limitations. It's an ability he gets through his legend as a demon and seems to be tied to the way a lot of 'deal with the devil' stories have the devil claim souls by causing unfortunate accidents, much like the explosion that killed Faust. The lack of Avenger Mephistopheles is especially a missed opportunity. The class was made for characters like him.
Their original form was a dragon? That's awesome! Where can I read more about that? And the Beelzebub aspect intrigues me, too, where was that in the play?
@@cecildesist You can find the chapbook and various translations of Goethe's Faust on places with old books, like Internet Archive and Project Gutenberg. IIRC, they're mostly from the 1900s. Goethe's Faust was a closet play, so it wasn't actually meant to be performed on stage. That's why most of the adaptations are either their own thing like the operas or cut a lot to get a more reasonable length. The entirety of both parts is apparently around 21 hours with breaks. It's basically poetry in the shape of a play. The dragon thing is most obvious in the chapter where Faust asks about the true forms of demons and they throw a party at his house. He also initially appears as one when Faust first summons him. Marlowe's play seems to reference this as well, but the relevant lines apparently get edited out of most versions. It seems to be both a reference to dragons as a symbol of the devil and to feed Faust's ego about having a cool demon servant. He doesn't directly call himself Beelzebub, but he calls himself the lord of flies and commands insects, which is a reference to him. The references to Odin are similar. In terms of reading beyond the text itself, the best stuff seems to be what gets cited in the notes for the translations. Academic papers are often paywalled and the school oriented notes seem to either also be paywalled or only offer basic and sometimes incorrect interpretations. There's a lot of misinformation floating around too, so websites aren't as reliable as books and papers.
@@cecildesist That's understandable, since I have a hard time with prose. You could look for the stage performances for something visual if that's easier. There are also some paintings and images depicting some of the scenes and archived images of costumes. If you haven't heard of it already, I'd recommend checking out Blue Exorcist, which has a lot of references to Faust and a fun interpretation of Mephistopheles. Goethe's Faust is a strong thematic influence but it also has a few references to the chapbook worked in as well. The manga is the best way to experience the story, since the anime has had some issues. Half of the first 2 episodes and the latter half of season 1 is filler because they started it when the manga was only about 2 arcs into the plot. Season 3 was rushed because they had to cram 2 arcs into 12 episodes. Mephisto's scenes consistently suffer from the cuts and changes they make for time, so you miss out on the full context and depth of his character when only watching the anime. It might be in the next season, but they cut a fun chapter focusing on him.
"Blackbeard being a weeb/otaku is an insult". Well yes but actually no. You see you forgot, much like the actual devs of FGO that Blackbeard isn't a gag character. He was meant to fool people by making himself look harmless and then set his plans in motion. Blackbeard used to light his beard on fire(not really but it looked like it) to look like a demon and scare the enemy, such a tactic...... Wouldn't work on a servant so he plays the fool while being a genius. However the game devs forgot that and made him a gag character Guda Guda can only have nightmares of.
Was just about to say this myself. His height, tenacity and other traits and tactics that made him so terrifying to his foes IRL don't work so well when the opponents might be Divine like Heracles or Cu, powerful monarchs like Artoria or Caesar or even both al la Ozymandias or Gilgamesh. So he needs a different edge. Playing the fool. But whether he just got too into the act, is really that dedicated to the roll, or if the writers just f'ed up and truly weebafied him is difficult to judge. He does have moments of genuine competence but mostly has gag character moments.
Him not even having a moment of actually being scary is something I have a problem with. He's not the servant whose interpretation has upset me the most, but he's in the top 5 at least.
Yeah, honestly, I like black beard. Because when he's not playing up his character, he can be a really good guy. (Also, I think one of his CEs says that he has the potential to go Avenger he just doesn't want to.)
@@CrazyYurie Well he can't be scary as stated but it is in fact rather strange that he doesn't have a skill that induces "terror" but that might just be his kit being old.... But they should really upgrade a skill of his, like voyager of the sea A to demon of the seas EX(Fake) or something.
@@CrazyYurie tbf teach from what we know to actual historical teach he was a very intelligent man, but yeh him not being scary is intentional both in character and by the writer’s choice why? Simple between all this heroes and actual monsters he woudnt be intimidating and scary at all fuck sake we have Gorgon, hessian lobo and many other weird stuff and heroes would laugh him off, so what’s the best way to stand out yet at the same time make people fall in his trap? Simple try to look like an idiot and do stuff people would just irritate or disgust them, however as show in interludes that aren’t in na iirc, he actually is quite a deep thinker and constantly just thinks about stuff but naturally he seems to actually like some of the stuff he does but yeh mostly not all of them . Why I say this fits teach? Teach in real life apart from his persona of black beard and the terror was a smart man that would do anything to win or get in a positive position, aka the devs didn’t take black beard the image but the actual person behind the facade of black beard, and as someone that has read lots of Blackbeard’s shinadigans in fgo i actually like him cause sure he makes a fool of himself but it’s kinda hard to guess if he actually enjoys the silliness or it’s all fake. I can understand u hating it cause wanted serious black beard but let’s be honest if actual Edward teach would be in a situation like this he would go: yeh I am in way over head in this so it’s better if I make myself ignored kek
Even if they aren’t going to add the Faustian bargain to his lore he seems like a character that could embody a Faustian bargain. Look at him he’s a crazy bomb obsessed clown any master making a deal with him for the grail is playing with fire. And yet they never did anything with that
Since Jeanne was brought up: I really like Mephi's portrayal in her interludes. Wasn;t much but muchmuch better than what we got in stories. It was great to see someone in else's dream that is not Dantes
Fun fact, Marvel’s Mephistopheles made Peter Parker and Mary Jane form a contract with him to dissolve their marriage. I also think he’s also involved in the contract that creates Ghost Riders
You know? At the start of the game, i thought that Mephistopheles was just a clown type servant but some time later, i realized that the role he does is like the one Edmond Dantes does in Chaldea. Both of them appears only in moments that no other could and said stuff that was helpful at some point in the story. Aside from that, both of them speak in a way that it is really difficult to reach an understandment without being with Mad Enhancement. It would be nice to see more of those two in the future.
As for his Skills, I would say that, as Mephistopheles is known for making contracts, it would be good to take advantage of the Alignment that each Servant has to bring out the consequences/benefits of making a pact with the devil. - If the Servant is close to being Alignment centered on "Evil", Mephistopheles would give 2 buffs (up to 3 if the Servant is "Chaotic Evil") - If the Servant is close to being Alignment centered on "Good", Mephistopheles would give a single buff, but would give the Servant a debuff as well (up to 2 if the Servant is "Chaotic Good") In this way, we have the reference that the good guys can accept the contract, but they end up having consequences since the good guys always regret the bad actions they took in the past and try to fix it. On the other hand, the bad guys accept the contract without thinking about it, becoming more powerful (however, having the destiny of always being defeated or killed by the good guys) (Minute 5:29-5:35) I am sure that as long as Castoria exists, Jeanne will always be in the shadows of the magical Saberface since the latter does everything that Jeanne wanted to do, but better (and we are talking about a Ruler Servant of rarity 5 stars) Mephistopheles at least has the excuse of being a 3 star, but he has some enviable Skills that some 5 stars would like to have.
I feel like changing his whole kit would be too much and if anything, could really just stick with what he already has, but maybe update his first and 3rd skill to give the enemy a buff but also a huge demerit as well.
I really don't like this version of Mephistopheles, he has nothing to do with the original, much to the detriment of the character. The Mephisto of Goethe was a terrifying nihilist who hated God and did everything in his power to ruin his creation, only to realize in despair that no matter how hard he tried, good would ultimately triumph. Mephistopheles was scary because he was convincing, playing on Faust's desires and fears to ensure his damnation, a deranged clown has nothing to do with this, if anything, Mephistopheles should be one of the most likeable and trustworthy characters of the roster, slowly worming his way into Chaldea to ensure the ultimate victory of evil.
When you realize that Mai(d'Eon) is, in some ways, much more faithful to its historical representation than Lostbelt Vortigern and this kind of "The Joker at home" that FGO wanted to present (Mephistopheles) And Vortigern and Mephistopheles have more time on screen than d'Eon (or they know how to make good use of it compared to what happened with d'Eon)
I found very little info that wasn't brought up😢 so Faust was killed by meph in a ver so meph blowing him up is ok in my book also I heard that scissors were um well someone said "that is an embodiment/ representation of the “fates” scissors. A cutter and cultivator of souls" for heck or something like that but I never heard of a connection between the fates shears and daemons so um I would give him a bomb of somekind though as an np to reference historical Faust death idk how to do it maybe implanting them in items by touch but for servants or mages he needs consent or something like it, yes he should be support character. Maybe he should hp loss people he buff at start before the actual demerits because making fuast cut and burn himself
I am surprised you didn't bring up Mephy's role in Jeanne's interlude as its probably the closest to any sort of deal making he gets. In the Interlude, Jeanne and the Protagonist wake up on a rickty ship. Nearby is another boat with Pierre Cauchon and Jeanne's mother. Mephy appears and tells Jeanne and the player the other boat is sinking and their own can only safely hold one more person, fully expecting Jeanne to let Pierre die and save her mother. Jeanne, being a true saint, let's them both onto the safe ship with the player and boards the sinking ship herself, despite Pierre straight up telling her he will never thank her despite her saving his life. This of course upsets mephy, who reveals that both Pierre and her mother were just illusions he created and attacks.
There's a key story event where he appears that is missing in this video, and it's the Garden of Sinners collab. It might not improve his " accuracy" (because he's definitely not, for shady deals you have a single challenge quest during one of the "Nerofest-like" events) but It did sell me his character as he is. He's basically a main character in that event, which is a rarity that makes him shine.
I fear the lower rarity phantom servants (servants from fiction) are all destined for the (F)ires, but such is the fate of them and a couple first-year servants
I like the fact isn't a demon in fate since historically speaking all we know about faust even through speculation at the time is that a entered a sus deal and was blown up. so the explosive personality fits because is the explosive is the historical mephostopheles though I wish he used a deal Ps. Might be biased cause I'm a Christian
Is it me or does everyone else like Mephisto’s smt or Marvel, incarnation then his fate one because I do the reason why it’s because I think the SMT and Marvel incarnation have a lot more going on than the fate one in my opinion.
@@CrazyYurie SMT short for Shin Megami Tensei is a game franchise where it has these creatures called demons who are based on stuff from humanity like gods and monsters from mythology or famous people from history and the games have you recruit them by convincing them to be your party members and that’s it because i simply wanted to explain a little bit about the games just in case you want to play some of them for yourself and fun fact just like the fate franchise SMT started out as a novel called Digital Devil Story Megami Tensei I mean it wasn’t a visual novel but a novel nonetheless.
Hmmm in limbus company we have a mephi and a Faust but from the looks of it so far mephi is a living train/bus that eats people and is Faust's Magnum opus but they could be lieing or truthing but who knows
After a certain point i stopped bothering with taking anything history/lore related in FGO seriously because its all, frankly, flavor text. Often Contradictory to how they are shown in the gameplay of the main storyline/Interludes/Events.
@@CrazyYurie FGO servants suffer from what I like to call is the "Superman PowerscalERS Dilemma". The writers at FGO basically do what the average Superman Powerscalers do and mashup every source material they find for their character/servant and cherry pick the pieces they like while completely disregarding that which they don't and then they try to build a character out of it(by adding a basic anime character trait or two, alongside a couple of other things like breasts.... Usually just the breasts).
@@NotSoGoodDark Perhaps, but some servants still turn out quite good. The whole purpose of these videos is to sort of the good ones from the bad ones, as far as interpretation goes. :o
Dude you are pumping these out at an amazing pace They aren't low quality at all other than maybe your sound quality but that doesn't bother me at all I just wanted to say maybe pace yourself These are really good and I look forward to more but don't burn yourself out by pushing too hard Sorry not trying to be preachy just honest concern for a good creator
Thanks for your concern. So far I've been doing quite alright as far as burn-out goes, mainly because I am leaning into my own personal advantages when it comes to being a creator. But more than that? Seeing the positive response that these videos get actually energizes me: the quicker pace is a direct result of that. This is something that's just part of me as a person... one of the few advantages my condition has (ASD). As for the sound quality, I must admit I know very little about such things. To tell you the truth, when I started this channel in May/June, I knew absolutely nothing about video making. Recording, sound editing, editing, photoshop skills... nothing. All I had was extensive knowledge of history (It's what I did in Uni), a pretty solid ability to write, and a growing interest in seeing if I could make things work. I've had to learn everything else, and... I'm still very much an amateur. I'm very much learning as I go, and I know my videos are pretty rough around the edges visually... I try to make up for that with the content. At some point in the future, if possible, I'll have to see about improving what I have. I am making these videos with a headset mic, my 8 1/2 year old PC that sometimes freezes up during the editing process (I've even had a few BSOD's), and whatever others tools I can scrounge up. For now, it is what I have. I do appreciate your concern. Sorry for the longer reply, but... I figured sharing that might help alleviate that concern a bit. I'm doing just fine. :D
@@CrazyYurie good to hear it's a great thing to be that motived and I sincerely wish you the best I'm going to be a subscriber here for the long haul, you videos are great and they will only get better with time
Apologies for the sound issue at the end of the video. I... ended up being a little too loud, I think. XD
You're all good. It's just your madness enhancement
@@twonk2434 Wahahaha. If I did get summoned as a servant, I'd probably be either a Berserker or Avenger, tbh. A very weak one, of course!
FGO Mephistopheles is actually deeper than you give him credit. The clown costume is because Mephistopheles is often depicted as a clown, more specifically a jester. He spends some time as a court jester in part 2 of Goethe's Faust. He's fine as a clown but a theater style costume would fit better given theater is the medium that popularized his legend. They basically only went with circus because that's what usually comes to mind for clowns. His costume actually has some neat allusions like the fur cape and bug theming, which are also references to Goethe's version of Mephistopheles. The cape is from wearing Faust's fur cloak to pass himself off as a scholar and the bug thing is because he's also Beelzebub and can command insects. The fact that it's a costume rather than normal clothing also fits since this version of him isn't really the demon he's made out to be.
You really need to read part 2 of Goethe's Faust to fully understand the references made with FGO Mephistopheles. He's actually a composite character that includes figures from that part of the story. The bombs might partly reference golden insects used by the boy charioteer (who's actually Apollo) and he's a homunculus because of the homunculus that helps Faust find Helen of Troy. Both of those characters and a few others are actually the spirit of poetry, who helps Faust on his journey where Mephistopheles hinders him. That's also where the purple in his design comes from, since it's a colour that features heavily in relation to the spirit of poetry and Faust's journey to self realization. He's basically an embodiment of Goethe's story as a whole, which I think is pretty interesting.
In terms of his role in FGO, it's strongly implied that Faust was an abusive jerk that forced him to do horrible things and that most of the people who summon him are like that too. He's powerless to escape a life of servitude even in death and has been condemned as a demon for actions he had no choice in. That's what 'fruitless wrath' is likely referring to. They definitely didn't do a good job making that clear with how he only really shows up as a red herring you end up killing without really getting to kill his masters despite his reputation for doing so. If you pay attention, you'll notice all the people he enjoys killing are abusers and that he usually doesn't like what he's ordered to do. The two he mentions in the KnK event tortured and killed their lovers. Victor Frankenstein you need to know about Apocrypha to get but he's also an alchemist similar to Faust.
I think the deal aspect of his character is meant to be represented by his role as a servant aiming to kill/ruin the lives of his masters. His role in both the original and Goethe's version of the story was one where he agreed to indentured servitude in exchange for claiming Faust's soul once the terms were fulfilled. That's pretty much the only deal he makes. I think there's merit to focusing on that dynamic and reinterpreting it in a way where Mephistopheles was an innocent and Faust was the one doing the truly terrible things. That actually fits with how Part 1 of Goethe's Faust ends with Mephistopheles forcing Faust to own up to his own actions and realize that Mephistopheles never actually made him do any of the things he regrets, merely enabled him to act on his worst desires. You'd really just need to tweak the writing to better use him as someone enacting other people's misdeeds and trying to punish them for it.
I think he should've gotten some kind of ability that lets him get back at masters who misuse him or benefit from their deaths. Something that properly makes summoning him in itself a faustian bargain while still respecting the themes they seemed to be exploring with their interpretation of him. Basically, he should be able to take back as much as he gives and punish people for the evils they use him to commit. Surviving having him as a servant should come down to how you treat him and what you order him to do. Let him fight back instead of having to half ass his orders and get himself killed.
I also think there's a lot of nasuverse magic he could in theory have access to that would really take advantage of his Caster class. Goethe's version of Mephistopheles is Beelzebub, Odin and an embodiment of entropy. He's a patron of witches, can shapeshift and is associated with darkness. His original version is a dragon, can take the form of fire, turn invisible and fly. There are also some other things he can get through additional allusions made by Goethe and the general folklore elements mixed into adaptations of his legend. His living self in FGO knew curses and should definitely know some alchemy. There's a lot of potential to explore with all of that.
I noticed that one of his abilities is described as basically a form of reality warping that inflicts bad luck and is equivalent to a noble phantasm. I think that's an ability that no game mechanic will ever do justice to and would actually be pretty powerful if explored outside of those limitations. It's an ability he gets through his legend as a demon and seems to be tied to the way a lot of 'deal with the devil' stories have the devil claim souls by causing unfortunate accidents, much like the explosion that killed Faust.
The lack of Avenger Mephistopheles is especially a missed opportunity. The class was made for characters like him.
Their original form was a dragon? That's awesome! Where can I read more about that? And the Beelzebub aspect intrigues me, too, where was that in the play?
@@cecildesist You can find the chapbook and various translations of Goethe's Faust on places with old books, like Internet Archive and Project Gutenberg. IIRC, they're mostly from the 1900s.
Goethe's Faust was a closet play, so it wasn't actually meant to be performed on stage. That's why most of the adaptations are either their own thing like the operas or cut a lot to get a more reasonable length. The entirety of both parts is apparently around 21 hours with breaks. It's basically poetry in the shape of a play.
The dragon thing is most obvious in the chapter where Faust asks about the true forms of demons and they throw a party at his house. He also initially appears as one when Faust first summons him. Marlowe's play seems to reference this as well, but the relevant lines apparently get edited out of most versions. It seems to be both a reference to dragons as a symbol of the devil and to feed Faust's ego about having a cool demon servant.
He doesn't directly call himself Beelzebub, but he calls himself the lord of flies and commands insects, which is a reference to him. The references to Odin are similar.
In terms of reading beyond the text itself, the best stuff seems to be what gets cited in the notes for the translations. Academic papers are often paywalled and the school oriented notes seem to either also be paywalled or only offer basic and sometimes incorrect interpretations. There's a lot of misinformation floating around too, so websites aren't as reliable as books and papers.
@@taiga738 Thanks. My ADHD brain won’t let me read the play but Mephistopheles is my passion.
@@cecildesist That's understandable, since I have a hard time with prose. You could look for the stage performances for something visual if that's easier. There are also some paintings and images depicting some of the scenes and archived images of costumes.
If you haven't heard of it already, I'd recommend checking out Blue Exorcist, which has a lot of references to Faust and a fun interpretation of Mephistopheles. Goethe's Faust is a strong thematic influence but it also has a few references to the chapbook worked in as well.
The manga is the best way to experience the story, since the anime has had some issues. Half of the first 2 episodes and the latter half of season 1 is filler because they started it when the manga was only about 2 arcs into the plot. Season 3 was rushed because they had to cram 2 arcs into 12 episodes. Mephisto's scenes consistently suffer from the cuts and changes they make for time, so you miss out on the full context and depth of his character when only watching the anime. It might be in the next season, but they cut a fun chapter focusing on him.
"Blackbeard being a weeb/otaku is an insult".
Well yes but actually no. You see you forgot, much like the actual devs of FGO that Blackbeard isn't a gag character. He was meant to fool people by making himself look harmless and then set his plans in motion. Blackbeard used to light his beard on fire(not really but it looked like it) to look like a demon and scare the enemy, such a tactic...... Wouldn't work on a servant so he plays the fool while being a genius. However the game devs forgot that and made him a gag character Guda Guda can only have nightmares of.
Was just about to say this myself. His height, tenacity and other traits and tactics that made him so terrifying to his foes IRL don't work so well when the opponents might be Divine like Heracles or Cu, powerful monarchs like Artoria or Caesar or even both al la Ozymandias or Gilgamesh.
So he needs a different edge. Playing the fool. But whether he just got too into the act, is really that dedicated to the roll, or if the writers just f'ed up and truly weebafied him is difficult to judge.
He does have moments of genuine competence but mostly has gag character moments.
Him not even having a moment of actually being scary is something I have a problem with. He's not the servant whose interpretation has upset me the most, but he's in the top 5 at least.
Yeah, honestly, I like black beard. Because when he's not playing up his character, he can be a really good guy. (Also, I think one of his CEs says that he has the potential to go Avenger he just doesn't want to.)
@@CrazyYurie Well he can't be scary as stated but it is in fact rather strange that he doesn't have a skill that induces "terror" but that might just be his kit being old.... But they should really upgrade a skill of his, like voyager of the sea A to demon of the seas EX(Fake) or something.
@@CrazyYurie tbf teach from what we know to actual historical teach he was a very intelligent man, but yeh him not being scary is intentional both in character and by the writer’s choice why? Simple between all this heroes and actual monsters he woudnt be intimidating and scary at all fuck sake we have Gorgon, hessian lobo and many other weird stuff and heroes would laugh him off, so what’s the best way to stand out yet at the same time make people fall in his trap? Simple try to look like an idiot and do stuff people would just irritate or disgust them, however as show in interludes that aren’t in na iirc, he actually is quite a deep thinker and constantly just thinks about stuff but naturally he seems to actually like some of the stuff he does but yeh mostly not all of them . Why I say this fits teach? Teach in real life apart from his persona of black beard and the terror was a smart man that would do anything to win or get in a positive position, aka the devs didn’t take black beard the image but the actual person behind the facade of black beard, and as someone that has read lots of Blackbeard’s shinadigans in fgo i actually like him cause sure he makes a fool of himself but it’s kinda hard to guess if he actually enjoys the silliness or it’s all fake. I can understand u hating it cause wanted serious black beard but let’s be honest if actual Edward teach would be in a situation like this he would go: yeh I am in way over head in this so it’s better if I make myself ignored kek
Even if they aren’t going to add the Faustian bargain to his lore he seems like a character that could embody a Faustian bargain. Look at him he’s a crazy bomb obsessed clown any master making a deal with him for the grail is playing with fire. And yet they never did anything with that
Since Jeanne was brought up: I really like Mephi's portrayal in her interludes. Wasn;t much but muchmuch better than what we got in stories. It was great to see someone in else's dream that is not Dantes
That was probably him at his best, tbh.
With regards to Marvel's Mephisto, he doesn't usually fight but can if pushed into a corner
Fun fact, Marvel’s Mephistopheles made Peter Parker and Mary Jane form a contract with him to dissolve their marriage. I also think he’s also involved in the contract that creates Ghost Riders
You know? At the start of the game, i thought that Mephistopheles was just a clown type servant but some time later, i realized that the role he does is like the one Edmond Dantes does in Chaldea.
Both of them appears only in moments that no other could and said stuff that was helpful at some point in the story. Aside from that, both of them speak in a way that it is really difficult to reach an understandment without being with Mad Enhancement.
It would be nice to see more of those two in the future.
As for his Skills, I would say that, as Mephistopheles is known for making contracts, it would be good to take advantage of the Alignment that each Servant has to bring out the consequences/benefits of making a pact with the devil.
- If the Servant is close to being Alignment centered on "Evil", Mephistopheles would give 2 buffs (up to 3 if the Servant is "Chaotic Evil")
- If the Servant is close to being Alignment centered on "Good", Mephistopheles would give a single buff, but would give the Servant a debuff as well (up to 2 if the Servant is "Chaotic Good")
In this way, we have the reference that the good guys can accept the contract, but they end up having consequences since the good guys always regret the bad actions they took in the past and try to fix it. On the other hand, the bad guys accept the contract without thinking about it, becoming more powerful (however, having the destiny of always being defeated or killed by the good guys)
(Minute 5:29-5:35)
I am sure that as long as Castoria exists, Jeanne will always be in the shadows of the magical Saberface since the latter does everything that Jeanne wanted to do, but better (and we are talking about a Ruler Servant of rarity 5 stars)
Mephistopheles at least has the excuse of being a 3 star, but he has some enviable Skills that some 5 stars would like to have.
I feel like changing his whole kit would be too much and if anything, could really just stick with what he already has, but maybe update his first and 3rd skill to give the enemy a buff but also a huge demerit as well.
I really don't like this version of Mephistopheles, he has nothing to do with the original, much to the detriment of the character. The Mephisto of Goethe was a terrifying nihilist who hated God and did everything in his power to ruin his creation, only to realize in despair that no matter how hard he tried, good would ultimately triumph. Mephistopheles was scary because he was convincing, playing on Faust's desires and fears to ensure his damnation, a deranged clown has nothing to do with this, if anything, Mephistopheles should be one of the most likeable and trustworthy characters of the roster, slowly worming his way into Chaldea to ensure the ultimate victory of evil.
Sadly, not all characters are winners. :(
@@CrazyYurie what's infuriating is that they were given premium material and they've made... Suicide squad Joker with it
When you realize that Mai(d'Eon) is, in some ways, much more faithful to its historical representation than Lostbelt Vortigern and this kind of "The Joker at home" that FGO wanted to present (Mephistopheles)
And Vortigern and Mephistopheles have more time on screen than d'Eon (or they know how to make good use of it compared to what happened with d'Eon)
I found very little info that wasn't brought up😢 so Faust was killed by meph in a ver so meph blowing him up is ok in my book also I heard that scissors were um well someone said "that is an embodiment/ representation of the “fates” scissors. A cutter and cultivator of souls" for heck or something like that but I never heard of a connection between the fates shears and daemons so um
I would give him a bomb of somekind though as an np to reference historical Faust death idk how to do it maybe implanting them in items by touch but for servants or mages he needs consent or something like it, yes he should be support character. Maybe he should hp loss people he buff at start before the actual demerits because making fuast cut and burn himself
I am surprised you didn't bring up Mephy's role in Jeanne's interlude as its probably the closest to any sort of deal making he gets.
In the Interlude, Jeanne and the Protagonist wake up on a rickty ship. Nearby is another boat with Pierre Cauchon and Jeanne's mother. Mephy appears and tells Jeanne and the player the other boat is sinking and their own can only safely hold one more person, fully expecting Jeanne to let Pierre die and save her mother. Jeanne, being a true saint, let's them both onto the safe ship with the player and boards the sinking ship herself, despite Pierre straight up telling her he will never thank her despite her saving his life.
This of course upsets mephy, who reveals that both Pierre and her mother were just illusions he created and attacks.
There's a key story event where he appears that is missing in this video, and it's the Garden of Sinners collab. It might not improve his " accuracy" (because he's definitely not, for shady deals you have a single challenge quest during one of the "Nerofest-like" events) but It did sell me his character as he is. He's basically a main character in that event, which is a rarity that makes him shine.
He did do well in that event, but as you say... it suits his FGO characterization rather than his literary version.
I fear the lower rarity phantom servants (servants from fiction) are all destined for the (F)ires, but such is the fate of them and a couple first-year servants
Maybe. We will see?
I would like to see a van gogh or jacques de molay video some point
Of course! :D
Just saying the name of the Marvel character Mephisto causes a sense of rage in Spider-Man fans everywhere
they should leave Mephistopheles to urobuchi, he definitely would have a blast with this guy
Well, he did write Kyubey...
Fruitless in "fruitless wrath" is another way of saying pointless wrath
I'm still not sure how that applies to his character. A weird translation by the NA team?
It's painfully dissapointing what they did to my poor boy. I liked his design personally but the whole making him a homunculus thing is just- AAAAAAA
I like the fact isn't a demon in fate since historically speaking all we know about faust even through speculation at the time is that a entered a sus deal and was blown up. so the explosive personality fits because is the explosive is the historical mephostopheles though I wish he used a deal
Ps. Might be biased cause I'm a Christian
Another great vid! Always looking forward to your videos man they're incredibly interesting.
Thank you! I hope you continue to watch the upcoming ones as well! :D
Is it me or does everyone else like Mephisto’s smt or Marvel, incarnation then his fate one because I do the reason why it’s because I think the SMT and Marvel incarnation have a lot more going on than the fate one in my opinion.
SMT?
@@CrazyYurie SMT short for Shin Megami Tensei is a game franchise where it has these creatures called demons who are based on stuff from humanity like gods and monsters from mythology or famous people from history and the games have you recruit them by convincing them to be your party members and that’s it because i simply wanted to explain a little bit about the games just in case you want to play some of them for yourself and fun fact just like the fate franchise SMT started out as a novel called Digital Devil Story Megami Tensei I mean it wasn’t a visual novel but a novel nonetheless.
Hmmm in limbus company we have a mephi and a Faust but from the looks of it so far mephi is a living train/bus that eats people and is Faust's Magnum opus but they could be lieing or truthing but who knows
I actually did pair Meph with Chen gong before watching this! Hehehehehe
Oh my!
After a certain point i stopped bothering with taking anything history/lore related in FGO seriously because its all, frankly, flavor text. Often Contradictory to how they are shown in the gameplay of the main storyline/Interludes/Events.
They do screw up a good amount, but I still have lots of fun seeing how they interpret various characters. :D
@@CrazyYurie FGO servants suffer from what I like to call is the "Superman PowerscalERS Dilemma". The writers at FGO basically do what the average Superman Powerscalers do and mashup every source material they find for their character/servant and cherry pick the pieces they like while completely disregarding that which they don't and then they try to build a character out of it(by adding a basic anime character trait or two, alongside a couple of other things like breasts.... Usually just the breasts).
@@NotSoGoodDark Perhaps, but some servants still turn out quite good. The whole purpose of these videos is to sort of the good ones from the bad ones, as far as interpretation goes. :o
Dude you are pumping these out at an amazing pace
They aren't low quality at all other than maybe your sound quality but that doesn't bother me at all
I just wanted to say maybe pace yourself
These are really good and I look forward to more but don't burn yourself out by pushing too hard
Sorry not trying to be preachy just honest concern for a good creator
Thanks for your concern. So far I've been doing quite alright as far as burn-out goes, mainly because I am leaning into my own personal advantages when it comes to being a creator. But more than that? Seeing the positive response that these videos get actually energizes me: the quicker pace is a direct result of that. This is something that's just part of me as a person... one of the few advantages my condition has (ASD).
As for the sound quality, I must admit I know very little about such things. To tell you the truth, when I started this channel in May/June, I knew absolutely nothing about video making. Recording, sound editing, editing, photoshop skills... nothing. All I had was extensive knowledge of history (It's what I did in Uni), a pretty solid ability to write, and a growing interest in seeing if I could make things work. I've had to learn everything else, and... I'm still very much an amateur. I'm very much learning as I go, and I know my videos are pretty rough around the edges visually... I try to make up for that with the content.
At some point in the future, if possible, I'll have to see about improving what I have. I am making these videos with a headset mic, my 8 1/2 year old PC that sometimes freezes up during the editing process (I've even had a few BSOD's), and whatever others tools I can scrounge up. For now, it is what I have.
I do appreciate your concern. Sorry for the longer reply, but... I figured sharing that might help alleviate that concern a bit. I'm doing just fine. :D
@@CrazyYurie good to hear it's a great thing to be that motived and I sincerely wish you the best
I'm going to be a subscriber here for the long haul, you videos are great and they will only get better with time
@@Fronswath I plan to try my best! :D
Demon should be as powerful as gods but mephisto is weak as hell.
Which is unfortunate. :(
mephyy
I was afforded the opportunity to meet Mephistopheles during the KnK event instead of the actual yame story.
Still don't like him. Great voice tho