Exmachina becomes more and more important as the game continues, but it's crazy how well Montblanc plans her trap while forgetting to thank or acknowledge the important part Exmachina played. The cat's mainly here to play the pathetic but still deadly peon role for Zahar's guard, as well as parody Corvette from the prequel. This character's still more interesting than she seems given how often she succeeds at some level, most notably in forcing Ragna down onto Ilvard to begin with (which, in retrospect, was the first and biggest mistake to befall her). Dyguld, meanwhile, is the broken record with how much he sticks to espousing his brave philosophy while laying the smackdown on Ragna. Odessa's reveal and her connection with Dyguld makes things more interesting, but rarely as funny as it gets with Montblanc. Her trying to impersonate Alwen while sucking in combat was rich, as was how Ragna incapacitated her.
Now, I think all the antagonists have fitting and expressive VA, but Montblanc hams it up better than all of them—I just wish that made up for her getting both of the worst boss fights. The Gloomgeld fight's simply dull, with 3 phases of a plant whipping and flailing you in a predictable but dangerous way (when it's not abusing a forward bite attack with a shitty hitbox!). But her Fundead Jamboree briefly sucked the fun out of Zwei: II: you face poor visual indicators for attacks (recycling at least one animation to signal multiple attacks!), attacks which move too fast and stop you from jumping to move faster if the zeds hop on top of your position, and there's no distinct second phase so much as acceleration of the same unfun, tedious crap. It's a good thing both Dyguld and Thermidor have better-designed fights to suit their presence and part of Moonbria, even if they're still on the simple side vs. great stuff like Fafnir or Ephemeroga.
Speaking of Thermidor, I figured was fishy right from the start but surprised me with how much of a Kefka takeover he pulls off. Falcom doesn't mess around with making him both the most ridiculous and frighteningly powerful of the villains, more than even Zahar, because he simply wants to break Ragna into a broken doll just the same as Exmachina. And if Thermidor has to become the greatest traitor among the antagonists to succeed, so be it. I figured Zahar would implode after trying to absorb the Gilded Demon Lord's essence despite his incompatibility, but Thermidor killing him in cold blood is just perfect. I feel Falcom's biggest success here is developing the story of Ragna and his stolen sister as well as they did, but then subverting hopes (so far) for him and Alwen to save Mia. Imagine if the villain premise from Ys: Oath in Felghana met the set-up from Xanadu Next, at least with certain tropes.
Zwei: II pulls this off while remaining funny as can be, and every moment, minor or climactic, is earned. Ragna mentoring Subaru and getting pulled into Starfall Hamlet also works out well without getting creepy or feeling like a total hot spring episode. The NPCs' reactions to plot events and how Ilvard seems to have changed for the worse are great, and I can't tire of the weird 4th-wall-leaning characters from G-Colosseum who are too wrapped up in their dumb rituals to care. (Wade's reveal as the Roalta village spirit fascinates me, probably because of how accidentally Federica points this out in a genuinely foolish way.) And kudos to Falcom for not making any villains or traitors out of anyone wearing glasses. Maurice's only the gag duel at G-Colosseum, and fighting Fiona and Claude seemed unlikely to me even during the event...and sure enough, there came an interruption.
The few twists in the plot, together with a great world and lack of self-seriousness, makes for quite the adventure. Some things also just come out of nowhere in the best way possible, like herding the zombified Roalta villagers over to Alwen so she can exorcise them (sort of).