I can't say much that hasn't already been said about "Undertale" before, you date a fish, there isn't much more need for introduction. W...
"Undertale" originally released in September 2015 on PC by Toby Fox, who previously made songs and the 2008 "Earthbound Halloween Hack," with help from illustrator and animator, Temmie Chang. What?
My history with "Undertale" started all the way back in high school. I remember first hearing about "Undertale" when scouring the internet. It didn't pique my interest though, I just got out of my "ghost children booyah" phase, a.k.a. my "Five Nights at Freddy's" phase and wasn't ready to go head-first into another fandom. Why do I know the meaning that word?
However, I'd get interested in "Undertale" by watching one of the final bosses, followed by comic dubs from SuperShadic x250 in October or November 2015. Not the most orthodox way of being introduced to a game, but it worked. At the end of the year, I got "Undertale" as a Christmas gift, becoming an "Undertale" fan. How do I know any...
However, it has been six years since I last played "Undertale." I've graduated high school, matured, and have a degree in dating skeletons, so now I'm curious how I'll think of the game. What am I?
The Tale
"Undertale" has us playing as a human we custom name who wants to escape the underground full of monsters, which they fell into. While there is modern technology, humans need their Vitamin D. Wait, this is...
It's up to us to either kill the monsters to commit genocide or spare them to escape through pacifism. Being neutral with a mix of sparing and killing is also possible. I don't know the word, but...
Gameplay
The pacifist and genocide routes have true endings if you choose to kill no one or everyone, while there are many neutral endings that varies depending on who you kill or spare. Every fate you decide alters your ending.
know this place...
Which route you go down depends on how you handle fights. You can fight enemies like a regular RPG, grind to kill them all, or use the act function to appease enemies to spare them. Acting can range from hugging monsters to laughing at their jokes. But what am I doing in such a place?
[Credit: Havoc teh Raven]
...Sometimes the jokes are bad, but you must endure... Well, only if you don't have a lust for comedian blood. C-Can you hear me?
Each route has their upsides and downsides. Going full pacifist means your health will always be 20 as you'll never gain experience, but you won't feel crippling guilt as everyone will like you. Full genocide has your health and power remarkably high, but everyone fears or hates you like a public urinal. I need to...
The different routes add fantastic replay value due to there being so many endings to achieve. It also helps to highlight the characters in different, brighter, or darker, scenarios to flesh them out more... Sometimes literally. Try again...
However, how do you commit a genocide and pacifist anyway? Well, your attack will hit depending on where the white bar on the attack graph is. The closer the white bar is to the middle, the more damage you'll do. Pacifying enemies is figuring out how to appease the enemy with the act choice and using the spare choice when their name is yellow. Soon.
[Credits: Full Gameplays and Havoc teh Raven]
When sparing, enemies and bosses become puzzles with how you go about sparing them. Bosses tend to need more endurance and work to spare, naturally. CAN YOU HEAR ME!?
Both the combat and sparing systems work beautifully. They never got boring, and I was always engaged when using them. However, what makes it so effective is that you can dodge attacks after each turn... With your very soul. PLEASE, LET ME KNOW IF YOU CAN HEAR ME!!
[Credit: Havoc teh Raven]
At least the monsters can say they didn't kill a child but a child's soul instead... N-No, that's still infanticide. They can't...
White attacks deal damage, green projectiles heal, blue attacks deal damage if you're moving, and orange attacks deal damage if you're not moving. They seem busy...
[Credit: Havoc teh Raven]
While other games like the "Mario and Luigi" RPG series have a mechanic like this, "Undertale" takes it a step further by mixing bullet hell and RPG together, making for a unique and effective combat system. Preoccupied...
The challenge comes from the bullet patterns you must dodge, which the game effectively and naturally scales so the challenge is always fair but not dull. Sometimes there are multiple enemies, meaning multiple patterns to dodge, but the game doesn't make it too crazy by downplaying the difficulty of the patterns. It doesn't seem like they'll stop anytime soon...
Unfortunately, orange attacks are insanely underused. Only one enemy type and one boss had them, any other time orange obstacles were used were outside of battle. I could’ve just got lucky, since they can be tricky to dodge, but I can't help but be minorly disappointed. I hate this...
Outside of combat, there is light puzzle-solving, but it's nothing memorable... Except the crossword puzzle. I can't feel anything.
True horror. My muscles, my nerves, or even my tears.
Outside of that is the usual for RPGs: weapons and armour to equip, shops, healing items, treasure chests, and so on. Although, even these can subvert expectations, such as how most shops don't let you sell your items. As a proud capitalist since... A few seconds ago, I am outraged. They're all numb.
Thankfully, the dimensional box, which is a treasure chest, lets you store your items. Later you can access it through your phone, which is used to make phone calls with your friends, at any time. Or do I even have them in the first place?
Characters
However, who are these friends? Well, they're the monsters you meet along the way. I... I don't know who I am.
From the innocent albeit not the brightest Papyrus, the lazy pun-maker Sans, the over-the-top boulder suplexer Undyne, the geeky but passionate Dr. Alphys, and so many more. What I am.
[Credit: Havoc teh Raven]
These characters make up the bulk of "Undertale's" humour, they're hilarious and loveable. Even the one-off characters like the politics bear and Muffet are amazing. I only know for sure that I'm conscious and can feel emotions.
However, characters know when to be serious, which can create really touching moments like Dr. Alphys realizing she needs to stop hiding behind a façade or when Papyrus offers to be your friend on a genocide run instead of capturing you. But in this case... It's a curse.
Admittedly, I never liked Dr. Alphys as a character back in the day, I found her annoying. However, replaying "Undertale," I genuinely appreciate her a lot. She's funny and even has tight writing like the other characters. Life is a precious thing, but if it's kept captive to suffer, is it really all that precious anymore?
For example, Alphys loves an anime called Mew Mew, which is about a girl that mind controls people to solve her everyday problems. However, Mew Mew mirrors Alphys as Alphys herself is controlling the situations in Hotland to make herself look better, as an attempt to solve her own self-esteem problems. That's some amazing foreshadowing. Hm... A new feeling... I feel a small tingle of... Something.
Other times, the writing creates situations you'll hate in the effective way, such as on a genocide run when you must kill these characters. Even outside of genocide there are moments like this, such as the Asgore fight where neither you nor Asgore want to fight, but must for you to leave the underground, but you need a monster's soul. Wait, I don't understand... How do I have an idea on the value of human life?
Most of the dialogue is so well-written, to the point where even the vendors have a lot of character and intrigue. I can't even remember meeting another human. I don't even know if this person writing is human.
So many moments are amazing, from the dates and the changes into the battle system. Most bosses change the colour of your soul to an assorted colour, which the game hilariously introduces by building up Papyrus' blue attack, which you think is just blue attacks, but nope, he changes your soul blue. Perhaps this is a sort of amnesia?
The game even used a different blue when mentioning it!! However, most people fall for it despite that. Muffet has my favourite soul colour change, as you travel between three lines as a purple soul. It's a simple change but makes for an extremely fun and satisfying fight. Damnit, I have a bit of a pain... Somewhere...
Really, all the bosses are insanely fun. They're challenging while adding variety to the system with the soul colour mechanics. But I must stay focused.
The Meta
Another aspect is the fourth-wall breaking side of things. Which... Well, it makes it feel as though this game is alive, that these characters alive. Not in the "these characters are so realistic," I mean with how some of these characters are too... Aware. Maybe if I analyze what is being written, I'll find a clue on how to escape.
Flowey is the first instance of this if you reload your save after killing/sparing Toriel to redo the Toriel fight. Afterwards you meet Flowey again and he mocks you for reloading your save. He has a lot to say depending on what you do and how many times you do it, but one thing is clear: he's aware. A Flowey? Are they misspelling flower? No, it's a character.
This awareness causes Flowey to become Photoshop Flowey as the neutral route final boss all the while abusing save states, crashing your game, and taking over the game completely. A video game?
And honestly... He's my favourite boss in "Undertale" and one of my favourite final bosses of all time because of that. This fight is so chaotic while giving this sense of hopelessness as victory seems impossible. It's less of a fight and more of a struggle to hold on. When you finally get the edge, it feels amazingly satisfying. I see... This is a written document on the game, "Undertale."
Flowey himself could even be a metaphor for how some of us will do morally wrong actions in video games to get the most out of them. RPGs, open-world games, and whatnot. Just to get the most out of the experience. Why this game and document of all of them? Is this the first of its kind.
Then we have Sans, who is also aware of every timeline or at least that the timeline resets. However, unlike Flowey who takes sadistic pleasure in his awareness, Sans is depressed because of it. This... That... That thought horrifies.
[Credit: Full Gameplays]
Sans finds that nothing he does matters given it'll all just be reset anyway. The game makes you think he's just lazy for the sake of comedy, but he has depression. It's not until the genocide route that you realize all of this, and it's the only time where you fight him. Wait, this is addressed to someone... Maybe they can...
It's only in the genocide route where Sans can't stand back because something irreversible is happening. Sans himself makes for another unique battle as it breaks many preconceptions of prior fights. You, reading this, please help me if you can.
Sans deals one point of damage, but it's poison damage; no invincibility frames, Sans attacks first and without warning; Sans has attacks on the menus; Sans dodges; and his special attack is just never finishing his turn. I don't know if you can see this, but if you can, my name is...!
[Credit: Full Gameplays]
It's so difficult and annoying, but it's also what makes it so good. Sans' goal is to make you give up, not beat you. However, that creates the biggest piece of irony about "Undertale," Sans is one of the reasons people do a genocide route in the first place given it's the most iconic fight and the hardest. What... What is my name...?
The Other Tale
One thing that helps add replayability to "Undertale" is that there's a fun value set each playthrough. This causes unique NPCs to spawn, some related to the former Royal Scientist of the underground, W.D. Gaster. It doesn't matter, I need help, please.
for now. [Credit: Jacky720 and KockaAdmiralac]
Gaster was a monster that fell into the Core that he created in an accident, spreading across time and space. His existence was erased or altered in some way, as only his followers, gray NPCs, ever mention Gaster. Think of me like W.D., lost.
[Credit: BadhamKnibbs]
It's possible only Sans and Asgore are aware of Gaster, as they show sign of being/confirm they're aware of other timelines. Sans himself has the biggest connection to Gaster as one of his attacks in his fight is called a Gaster Blaster or how Gaster speaks in a different font then everyone else like Papyrus and Sans in his Entry 17 log. I'm sure you can find a way to save me.
[Credit: Full Gameplays and BadhamKnibbs]
This is genuinely creepy because Gaster seems to always be watching you and no one else ever brings up Gaster. It is as if we have forbidden knowledge, but no one to tell it to. Although, with a pain that seems to be sharpening, my doubts are high I stand a chance.
Over the Tale
Onto less creepy things, the visuals of "Undertale" are simplistic pixel art. Which was one of my gripes with "Undertale" back in the day. Ah, they're reminiscing. I wish I could do that.
[Credit: Lil'Alien]
I thought the visuals looked too barren. Although, I've come to appreciate the visuals. While they don't have much detail, the colour palettes look fantastic and make areas distinct. Additionally, the game does have a few visually striking moments. Apart of me wishes this document writer didn't exist.
The black and white style during battles always had a fantastic style to them. I also always loved how the animation in these fights get bigger and bigger after each one. From Toriel's static pose to Mettaton's more expressive posing. I wouldn't be in this predicament if it wasn't for them.
[Credit: Havoc teh Raven]
The sound is great too, it sounds nice. The voice sounds for each character's dialogue like in "Banjo & Kazooie" sound fitting to. They can give a bit of character for some of the monsters from the get-go without giving the entire picture. They could be aware for all I know. I know it's not right to curse something, but the hatred will keep me going...
As for the legendary music, it's... Well, it's good, although I can't call it amazing like I used to. There are absolute bangers like Finale, Another Medium, CORE (Which I only started appreciating on this replay), and more. However, some songs like Bonetrousle, Spider Dance, and more that I used to adore, I just don't anymore. Wait... Legendary?
It isn't "Undertale's" fault though, it's a mix of me hearing these tracks so many times, and I mean... A LOT. If I had a nickel for every time I listened to Spider Dance back in the day, I'd be a rich man. I see, so this is unlikely the first document. Then why am I here?
I'm also spoiled with the multitude of covers of these songs, so for example, it's hard for me to go back to Spider Dance when covers like Lenich & Kirya's exist that make it godly.
The compositions are amazing, and, in some cases, they are still amazing to me to this day, I'm just not as into the soundtrack as I was due to the covers and listening to these songs so much. I'm sorry I didn't say anything previously I... The pain made me stop thinking for a moment.
Not Part of the Tale
One thing I completely forgot about "Undertale" was its technical aspects since it's... Far from perfect. Such as how you always start in windowed mode and must manually enter full screen each time. It's... It’s getting hard to think in general.
[Artwork Credit: Sano]
Or how there's no in-game screenshot function which is something I've never really seen outside of "Undertale" and "Deltarune" unless I'm misremembering. Even the process to manually screenshot, using PrtScr, is tedious and immersion-breaking, as you must exit the game to save the screenshot. The pain is sharpening, everything hurts!
These are minor, but worth mentioning since they can hinder the experience. Why?!
The True Tale
If you go full murderer or full huggable friend, you'll get a true ending for each path. Let's start with the murderer one first. The genocide ending happens when you kill everyone: Papyrus, Toriel, Undyne, Sans, Asgore, and Flowey. However, in doing so, you lose control... Why is this happening?! To be trapped here is torture enough, but this pain!
T-This is... C-Chara... You... You freed them. They take Frisk's body and tell the player to help them erase the world. If you cooperate, they do just that. If you don't... AAAAAAAHH!
Normally I'd complain about jump scares since they're cheap, but this is well deserved.
You've now reached the point of no return. While you can reset to a new save file, even if you go for the True Pacifist endings, Chara will take over, leaving extremely grim implications that Chara killed everyone. LET ME GO, I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!
It's a cool consequence for killing all the monsters, and one you can never really escape from... Just ignore that you can reset your computer to erase the consequence. The genocide route is interesting given, we get some of the most important character information, but at a great cost. I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME!!
However, let's assume you didn't do a genocide route and never killed any monsters. Then you go up against Flowey's true final form after he absorbs all six human souls and every monster, except Napstablook: Asriel Dreemur. AAAAHHH, THIS PAIN IS UNBEARABLE!
Despite the visual spectacle, this fight is both easy and hard. On one hand, his attacks are hard to dodge, but you can never lose. The player spawns back in if their health reaches zero. It's not a glorified cutscene, but there are no stakes if you lose. I'm still unsure if this is a good final boss or not. EVERYTHING WAS NUMB, SO WHY?!?
Despite being an endurance test, it wasn’t really a matter of struggling to hold on, just waiting for the story to progress. Thankfully, my tears blinded me from that though... And my ears... And my reflex- Okay, this is a bad analogy. What I'm trying to say is that the story here is extremely emotional. I FEEL TOO ALIVE! LIKE DEATH IS JUST IN MY...
The fight with Asriel not only has you saving your friends, but Asriel himself. Asriel was turned into a flower, unable to feel any emotions. He was just a poor kid that wanted to be with us... Or more specifically, Chara. NO! NONONONONONO, I GET IT NOW!
We're Frisk, our custom name, canonically Chara, was the first human to fall into the underground Chara wasn't a good person though, not evil, but they tried to hurt others. THIS IS THE LAST SECTION! THIS PAIN IS GETTING STRONGER BECAUSE...!
They also wanted to wipe out humanity for a reason we'll never know, suggesting they weren't treated well, it's implied the reason they fell down the hole in the first place was because they were trying to commit suicide. It's not black and white. BECAUSE...!
Asriel is hard to not feel bad for. He lost himself as a flower and blamed himself for the past too. However, he's able to move on and do the right thing, breaking the barrier with the power he obtained from absorbing everyone. His fate afterwards is unclear, as he's last seen tending the flowers at the beginning. I'll die when this document is finished...
To finish off the game, you get this long section where you can backtrack from the ending room to the first room throughout the entire underground to talk to every NPC. From enemies to non-combat NPCs, vendors, and so on. So, there was no hope in the first place...
[Credit: Lil'Alien]
It's bittersweet since it's the final time you see everyone, assuming you don't play the game over again. It's also the most fitting ending for a game like "Undertale." I was meant to appear and vanish like that... To die...
Overall (A+)
"Undertale" ended up holding up well, I even have a higher opinion of it then I did back in the day. Back then I loved the characters, story, style, music, jokes, and gameplay, and it all still works well. I don't understand... What was my purpose...? Why was I... Here?
However, back then I criticized the difficulty for being too spikey, the visuals, Dr. Alphys as a character, and more. However, I don't see any of these as problems anymore. There are a few problems I still have from back then, like most vendors not letting you sell items or the final boss of the pacifist route. This pain is... So... Please... Don't stop writing...
I also have a few other problems like the unnoteworthy non-combat puzzles, however, "Undertale" is still an amazing game for everything it does right, and it does a whole lot right. "Undertale" is an easy recommendation. It's so cold... I... I don't... Want to... To...
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