Old and uninformed? Oh when you say so, i disagree.
Having archetyps presented in our reality? So they are copies. Imagine you copy a picture, there is one REAL one and one copy.
MB is a example for embracing realism? MB playing in a fictional environment - Calradia, inhabitated by characters which have super powers to swing heavy weapons indefinatly completly untouched by injuries (horses too) and can only fight swinging those weapons in four directions?
Following your logic you can say that Super Mario pretense realism too. He's a plumber, we have that in reality.
There is no realism in MB only a fictional copy aka. balance.
P.S. damn you, i had to look up several words you used (and used them again )
Consider Mario, I am less interested in his profession, more interested in the fact he is subject to a natural phenomenon of our world -
gravity. That is an mechanism of realism, ie, a rule which exists in our world which has been applied within a fictional context (you can scoff at this if you wish, it doesn't make it any less true). Rules like mass and gravity are particularly relevant when addressing which does more damage, a sword or an axe. The rules dictate an axe.
A fictional context may be fictional, but that does not presuppose it is devoid of reality (as the above example demonstrates). If there was no reality - no consistency with our world; what we would see would be alien to our eyes, like an entirely new colour. So while Caladria is fictional, many of its mechanisms are based in reality, and are constructed ingame within the limitations of technology and feasibility. When I say
based, I do not mean constructed of in their entirety. Axes and swords do not perform precisely as they do in reality, but they do perform
like them. Their performance is based in reality, and limited by desire or feasibility of design. While you would like to have unlimited attack directions, I don't think we will see that until Microsoft invents the Holo Deck.
Honestly, I don't see the problem. A Long Axe has the ability to destroy shields. A Flamberge has massively longer reach and a powerful penetrative attack. Their damage is equal. Whilst I think the Long Axe should be more damaging, as it stands, it is almost balanced.