History Heartwarming / Undertale

* Monster Kid himself is a very heartwarming character. During a bit of the Waterfall segment, they're always by your side, being friendly to you and helping you progress by boosting you up a ledge. As annoying as some players can find then to be, they are still an adorable character.

* Worth noting is that, the worse of a person you are to Monster Kid, the more heroic of a character Undyne is revealed to be. If you run off-screen when he falls from the bridge, you hear dialogue from the next room of Undyne saving Monster Kid, who insists that you were probably just running to get help. If you're able to muster the coldness to just stand and let Monster Kid fall, you get a rather awe-inspiring moment where Undyne stops in shock, then ''leaps down from the bridge to save him''. Not only does she manage get to him in time, she then continues onward to fight you anyways, despite being injured from the fall. If you are playing on a [[AxCrazy Genocide Route]], Undyne saves the Monster Kid by [[HeroicSacrifice leaping in front of him]] and [[TakingTheBullet using her own body to shield him]] from your lethal blow.
** On a Pacifist route after befriending Undyne, if you call her while at this location she'll reveal that, despite how dead set she was on killing you during the chase, at that moment, the only thing she was thinking of was how to save Monster Kid, and was worried you'd attack him while she was vulnerable.
** Inversely, if you're good person to Monster Kid, and rescue him when Undyne is right in front of you, Monster Kid will stand up against Undyne to protect you, causing her to back away and him decide to be your friend instead of enemy.
* Monster Kid himself is a very heartwarming character. During a bit of the Waterfall segment, he's always by your side, being friendly to you and he even helps you progress in the game by helping you get up a ledge. As annoying as some players can find him to be, he is still an adorable character.

--->''"Well, some humans are OK, I guess!" ''(Undyne)''\\
"No, that's not true! My friends like me! And I like you, too!" ''(Alphys)''\\
"NO! WAIT!! YOU'RE MY FRIEND! I COULD NEVER CAPTURE YOU!!" ''(Papyrus)''\\
"nah, i'm rootin for ya, kid." ''(Sans)''\\
"Your fate is up to you now!" ''(Toriel)''\\
"You are our future!" ''(Asgore)''

--->''"Well, some humans are OK, I guess!"\\
"No, that's not true! My friends like me! And I like you, too!"\\
"NO! WAIT!! YOU'RE MY FRIEND! I COULD NEVER CAPTURE YOU!!"\\
"nah, i'm rootin for ya, kid."\\
"Your fate is up to you now!"\\
"You are our future!"''

* On a Pacifist run, the part of the castle that looks like Toriel's home has a mirror. At the start of the game you can examine the mirror in Toriel's house to the response of "It's you", this mirror gives it a small CallBack, "Despite everything, it's still you", a touching confirmation that you refused to let the underground steal your kindness. And in the PlayableEpilogue, checking mirrors will result in the message "Still just you, Frisk."
** This is even more heartwarming if you consider the alternative. On a No Mercy run, examining the mirror instead results in, "It's me, (character name)." -- indicating how Frisk is being taken over by the Fallen Child. But if you reach New Home as a pacifist, then in spite of everything, you're still you.
** If you take into account the Narrator Chara theory, this could also be seen as them astonished at your DETERMINATION to do the right thing, even in the face of adversity. You refused to let the Underground change you, and in doing so, proved that it isn't kill or be killed.
** If this simple statement is heartwarming, then what about Sans' judgment on a Pacifist run? After explaining the true nature of LOVE (Levels of Violence), he says something similar to the above mirror quote, that you refused to hurt others to distance yourself from the pain you felt during your travels, that your kindness has instead earned you the friendship and love of the monsters. He outlines the SadisticChoice before you, with your life and the fate of the Underground depending on your decision, and basically admits he doesn't have an answer for it... but he fully trusts you to make the right choice. The ethereal music playing during this scene sells it; it's a completely different kind of triumph from what you feel after hacking your way through a standard RPG boss.
--->'''Sans:''' you never gained LOVE, but you gained ''love''.

* At the end of the last battle in the neutral path, when Flowey is about to kill you for good, the six human souls completely break free from Flowey's control and defeat him. Also counts as a moment of awesome.
** Even before that specific scene, the souls are helping you during the fight with Flowey. When he calls each of the souls out to attack you, you can approach the ACT button and call for help... and the attacks suddenly stop. A different soul appears at the top and all of the weapons turn into healing items. Even with the soul who had the Notebook, the words of malice and negativity turn into hopeful healing words after Act is approached.

* In several neutral endings, one of Sans's lines is as follows:
-->'''Sans''': so, uh, hey... if we're not giving up down here... don't give up where you are, ok?
** The best possible neutral ending, which contains the above line, is a BittersweetEnding, but it does have its moments. Monsters are demoralized by what happened, but still hold out hope of seeing the surface, without the lust for vengeance they have if the player killed some of them. If you befriended Undyne and didn't kill anyone, she doesn't blame you for Asgore's death.
** Hell, a lot of what Undyne says in the best neutral ending, from assuring you that what happened to Asgore wasn't your fault to this line:
--->'''Undyne:''' Hey, where-ever you are... I hope it's better than here. It took a lot of sacrifice for you to get there. So, where-ever you are... you have to try to be happy, okay!? For our sakes! We'll feel better knowing our trouble was worth it. We're all with you! Everyone is! Even the queen!

* It's very clear that one of Toby's primary goals with Undertale was to give commentary on and open up questions about human morality, with it being such a massive DeconstructorFleet on tropes like VideoGameCrueltyPotential and the way SaveScumming can be used like an OmniscientMoralityLicense. Now, bear that in mind, and look at the way the video game community has treated Undertale: go to practically any message board, comment section, blog post, etc., and you will find many, many, ''many'' people saying things like "After only an hour of playtime, I knew I could never do the Genocide route", "I felt bad for telling Sans his brother isn't cool - how could anyone even ''think'' of doing the Genocide run?", and "I can't even bring myself to kill one Froggit." You'll also find people who started a Genocide run but [[HeelFaceTurn soon found themselves regretting their choices so deeply]] they Reset to [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong fix their mistakes]], with the citing breaking point often being [[IfYoureSoEvilEatThisKitten having to fight an especially lovable character]] like [[MamaBear Toriel]] or [[AllLovingHero Papyrus]], as well as people who talk about completing the Genocide run with [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone sincere, genuine regret]], like it's [[MyGreatestFailure the biggest mistake they ever made as a gamer]]. Sure, there's plenty of people out there who claim to have played the Genocide run without batting an eye, but for every person doing so, there's at least a dozen others saying the opposite. Considering this is the gaming community we're talking about, with all the ugly stereotypes and negative reputations it's spawned over the years, a response like this goes beyond just being refreshing - if you take Undertale seriously, as more than "[[MST3KMantra just a video game]]", as the moral commentary it was meant to be, then being part of the fan community can do [[RousseauWasRight incredibly healthy things to your faith in humanity]].

*** Toriel recalls knowing ''someone'' that would fill their glass all the way to the brim, being "the most efficient way to fill it"; which Asriel would then mimic, and naturally spill about. When she woke up from the floor of the Ruins, she found a glass just like that. Passed out after she got too rowdy at the Christmas carol karaoke, she once again woke up to a glass filled to the brim with water. [[spoiler:[[AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther They're heavily hinted to be from Flowey]].]]

-->'''Undyne:''' The whole time I was chasing after you...I felt something...strange. The echoes of something warm, something...Something like "I miss being friends with you".

-->'''Temmie:''' WOA! thas ALOT o muns... can tem realy acepts... oks!!!! tem go to colleg and make u prouds!!!!

* Scattered throughout the Waterfall area are "Echo Flowers", which repeat back the last thing that was said near them. As you make your way through the area, you can listen in to snippets of a conversation between a brother and sister. The brother keeps pressing his sister to tell him her wish, which she's too embarrassed to say. Eventually after her brother promises not to laugh no matter how silly it is, she relents - her wish is to one day leave the underground, and stand on top of Mount Ebott looking up at the stars with her brother. The brother laughs, which initially makes the sister mad, but he admits he couldn't help it because that was his exact same wish.

'''Napstablook''': ''...oh.... hi... mettaton... i really liked watching your show... [[TheEeyore my life is pretty boring]]... but... seeing you on the screen... brought excitement to my life... vicariously. i can't tell but... i'm guessing this is the last episode..? i'll miss you... mettaton... oh... i didn't mean to talk so long... oh......''\\

--->'''Asgore:''' Nice day today, huh? Birds are singing, flowers are blooming. Perfect weather for a game of catch...
*** One of the stand-out examples of characters praising Asgore comes from Papyrus, after his battle on the Neutral and Pacifist routes. He specifically calls Asgore "a big, fuzzy pushover," and goes on to say that if the player simply ''asked'' Asgore to help them out of the Underground, he would ''immediately'' do it. The last bit in particular makes Asgore's fight even more depressing.

--->'''Sans:''' You never gained LOVE, but you gained ''love''.

--->''"Well, some humans are OK I guess!"\\

"NO WAIT!! YOU'RE MY FRIEND! I COULD NEVER CAPTURE YOU!!"\\

* Speaking of getting to SAVE your friends, the final option in the SAVE button that remains (after you've [=SAVEd=] everyone you've met along your journey) reads, "Someone Else." Selecting this will trigger a cutscene that shows the memory of Asriel meeting the Fallen Child. Only after the memory is brought up will you have the option to SAVE "Asriel Dreemurr." But neither Frisk nor the player have any memories they can use to SAVE Asriel, so who supplied that memory? That's right: Chara. Seems that "someone else" doesn't only apply to Asriel; you can SAVE Chara as well.

--> '''Sans''': so, uh, hey... if we're not giving up down here... don't give up where you are, ok?

--->'''Undyne:''' Hey, wherever you are... I hope it's better than here. It took a lot of sacrifice for you to get there. So, wherever you are... you HAVE to try and be happy, okay? For our sakes! We'll feel better knowing our trouble was worth it. We're all with you! Everyone is! Even the Queen!

'''Papyrus:''' (''if you try to call him a "loser" after battle'') HUH? WHY WOULD YOU... BERATE YOURSELF SO LOUDLY?\\

NO! YOU'RE GREAT! I'LL BE YOUR FRIEND!

--> '''Papyrus''': "WOWIE!! YOU DID IT!!! YOU DIDN'T DO A VIOLENCE!!! TO BE HONEST, I WAS A LITTLE AFRAID... BUT YOU'RE ALREADY BECOMING A GREAT PERSON! I'M SO PROUD I COULD CRY!!! ... WAIT, WASN'T I SUPPOSED TO CAPTURE YOU...? WELL, FORGET IT! I JUST WANT YOU TO BE THE BEST PERSON YOU CAN BE. SO LET'S LET BYBONES BE BYBONES." \\

--> * You pretend to swing at UNDYNE with all your might. \\
''(The attacking sound is heard, the screen [[FadeToWhite fades to white]], then goes back to normal and you hear the usual hit bang...but you [[ScratchDamage take off only 1 HP]].)'' \\

* The message and themes of ''Undertale'' are so profound and touching that [=MatPat=] of WebVideo/GameTheory gave '''UsefulNotes/ThePope''' a copy of ''Undertale'' as a customary "sample of my culture" gift, as he honestly believes it's an incredibly positive example of what games can do and that it could lead humanity into a golden age of understanding and tolerance. It's gestures like this that prove that ''Undertale'' has gone beyond being just a silly little one-off video game and into being an important and socially relevant work of art, the likes of which can end up ''changing the course of humanity''.
** Related to the message above, a comment found in "His Theme" managed to make this abundantly clear. ''Changing the course of humanity'' has already made its first step... Warning: very big, long and heart-warming comment coming up...
---> This song always breaks me into tears because it just reminds me of how much I feel. Growing up, everyone used to hide from me because I was annoying and awkward. My best friends left me behind and never had faith in me. My parents grew stressed and my mother started to have heart problems and my dad had leg problems. My brothers left me out lot which left me alone. Just when I though I had to lose hope, lightness had struck me. A friend. A strange girl my age with short brown hair and bangs (I know, coincidental, right?). We hung out and I started to get really close with her. Until, she passed away. She became sick and passed. At one point, I came to her grave and set golden sunflowers onto the dirt she was buried in. I couldn't help but think about her all the time. I started failing my grades, becoming a bully, and hurting the people I loved. And I didn't even realized it. Until, my friend's parents had another daughter. I met her when she was the age my friend passed. She looked a lot like her. She was a lot more quiet though. I bullied her at first because I hated the way she reminded me of my best friend. But then, when I was at my friend's grave she came to me and set one sunflower in her grave. I was shocked. The sister she didn't even meet somehow meant so much to her. But one part of me became angry and I pushed her. I started to hit her deliberately because of how much I hated her resemblance to her sister. I felt like a total jerk, until she got up. And hugged me. Yes, hugged me. My heart shattered. After all I've done to her, she hugged me. I found myself hugging her back and breaking into tears. Why did she still care so much? After that, we became friends and then, she showed me Undertale. When I saw the ending, I realized how similar my situation was to it. This song always made me cry for how much it reminded me of that day at the graveyard, where I did something I never thought I'd do. I changed. Thank you Toby Fox for making this beautiful game.

* The Narrator Chara theory has Chara as your, or rather ''Frisk's'', friend and partner in the Underground, an interpretation half the fanbase has taken and run with, turning Chara from being universally seen as a rather one-note EnfantTerrible sociopath to more fans seeing them as a complex but funny, well-meaning, and likable kid who jokes around with Frisk and tries to help them out. What's especially nice is that this interpretation brings Chara more in line with Undertale's messages and how it portrays its other characters as layered, lovable people. Fan works using the Narrator Chara idea also get a lot of mileage out of the implied OddFriendship between Frisk and their ghostly friend, with common themes being Frisk as the human who changes [[HumansAreBastards Chara's mind]] about humans, Chara as a trusted constant who experiences all of Frisk's adventures with them and is protective of their gentler friend, and the nature of their [[SharingABody symbiotic relationship]] giving Frisk and Chara a tight-knit bond with each other as close friends who can pull each other out of darker moments.
* How many WebAnimation/Hololive and VTubers from Japan kept calling [[MyBelovedSmother Toriel]] [[MamaBear "Mama"]].

*** Toriel recalls knowing ''someone'' that would fill their glass all the way to the brim, being "the most efficient way to fill it"; which Asriel would then mimic, and naturally spill about. When she woke up from the floor of the Ruins, she found a glass just like that. Passed out after she got too rowdy at the Christmas carol karaoke, she once again woke up to a glass filled to the brim with water. [[spoiler:[[AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther They're heavily hinted to be from Asgore]].]]

* And then there's the buildup for the PacifistRun ending - it initially plays out like the Neutral, until Toriel comes in to berate Asgore, followed closely by Undyne, then ''every other major character you've befriended along the way'', all of whom are trying to stop the fight. The look on Toriel's face as each person appears is especially heartwarming as she realizes the human has made so many friends, she joyfully asks each one if they are your friend.
* If you head all the way back to the Ruins to talk to Asriel in the playable epilogue, you'll find that he's in the very first area where you started your journey before telling you the story of the Fallen Child, who hated humanity. He then tells you that he's staying behind, as showing himself will just make the others unhappy. If you continue to speak to him after this, he gives you an [[IronicEcho ironic echo]].
-->'''Asriel:''' Frisk... Don't you have anything better to do?

* In the neutral ending where Papyrus is the only surviving boss, Sans is pretty much outright stated to be working his ass off keeping the country in line through paperwork and the like just so Papyrus can think he's a good king, and keep being his beloved self to the people of the Underground.

* When you encounter Asgore in a No Mercy run, he's saying to himself that he's never seen a plant cry before. When he turns to you, he says that you "must be the one that flower just warned me about". YMMV on why Flowey does this, and it probably does have a large part to do with his own fear of Chara at this point, but the fact that he even tries to warn his father at all, implying either he wants his father to escape or that, despite everything he's been through, he still runs to his father in his moment of need, is rather heartwarming. Additionally, when Flowey kills Asgore and then destroys his soul in that ending, it's easy to see it as him giving Asgore a quick painless death and then keeping you from claiming his soul.

* In the ending where Mettaton is put in charge of the Underground, Alphys has gone missing. Discussing this is the ''only'' time Mettaton's smug cheeriness wavers during this ending, and he reveals he was hoping she could help him rule, and admits he was a jerk towards her and just wanted to apologize. He's erected a statue of her in his {{Egopolis}}. Mettaton's a crappy king, a mixed bag as a friend, and a questionable person... but he ''does'' care.

* During the fight with Sans, he offers you a chance to stop the fighting. Accept his offer, and he...[[MoodWhiplash proceeds to kill you with an unavoidable attack]]. While this appears cruel at first glance, and rightfully so considering you [[KillEmAll killed just about everyone in the Underground]], there's more to it than that. A common interpretation is that he's appealing not to the player ''specifically'', but to Frisk, the character you control. [[IKnowYoureInThereSomewhereFight All he wants is to get through to his buddy and convince him to start all of this over again.]] And when he says "get dunked on" after killing you afterward? That's Sans going back to his usual jokey self, content that he got through to Frisk.
* While (pre-game) Chara's intentions are never precisely spelled out, a valid interpretation is that they poisoned themself in a sincere attempt to free the monsters from their imprisonment because the Dreemurrs showed them such kindness and love and they wanted to return that love by freeing everybody. Sure, Chara may not have been "the best person" and may have "hated humanity", but in many ways it's more heartwarming for someone who is so flawed to make a selfless sacrifice for their friends as it is someone who's flawlessly heroic.

* Flowey's VillainousFriendship with Chara in the Genocide Route stands out as weirdly kind of sweet compared to everything else in the route. Twisted as they've both become, we see a much different side of Flowey when he thinks he's been reunited with his old friend and looks forward to executing their plan and living together on the Surface. Creepy face notwithstanding, it's hinted that Chara has some lingering affection for him as well, even causing the bloodthirsty demon they'd become at the end of Genocide to actually hesitate to kill him when he'd [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness outlived his usefulness]] and [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder just given them more reason than ever to want revenge on him]].

it fills [[Creator/TobyFox me]] with determination."''

*** Toriel recalls knowing ''someone'' that would fill their glass all the way to the brim, being "the most efficient way to fill it", which Asriel would then mimic (and spill about). When she woke up from the floor of the Ruins, she found a glass just like that. Passed out after she got too rowdy at the Christmas carol karaoke, she once again woke up to a glass filled to the brim with water.

** Asgore further recounts his friend Rudy, following him from his youth to college and his twilight years, before he eventually "fell down." His favorite memories would include how they reenacted Santa and his reindeer, giving gifts to others in Snowdin. He laments that he was unable to show him the sun when the barrier was finally broken, but is glad to see that his daughters will get to grow up in their now hopeful world.

** This is even more heartwarming if you consider the alternative. On a No Mercy run, examining the mirror instead results in, "It's me, (character name)." - indicating how Frisk is being taken over by the Fallen Child. But if you reach New Home as a pacifist, then in spite of everything, you're still you.

-->'''Sans:''' You never gained LOVE, but you gained ''love''.

** The reason why Undyne was so hell-bent on killing Frisk and taking their soul counts too. Undyne truly cares about all her friends along with all of monster kind, so of course she would be DETERMINED to capture the piece needed for everyone to finally break free from the underground.

*** Once you know the deal with Alphys and Mettaton (that they're working together to make Alphys look better), it's actually really sweet to see the lengths Mettaton goes to to keep the show going -- even if part of it was to play to his ego, he was willing to play the bad guy so Alphys could be the hero. On another note, Alphys's genuine distress when she sees Mettaton all beaten up, and her relief at seeing he's still alive, can give fuzzy feelings to anyone's heart. Though their relationship may be strained, it's touching to see how much Alphys values Mettaton's friendship. In the face of her other experiments, it is important to note that Mettaton is an experiment of hers that actually ended well and what this must mean to her.

* Worth noting is that, the worse of a person you are to Monster Kid, the more heroic of a character Undyne is revealed to be. If you run off-screen when they fall from the bridge, you hear dialogue from the next room of Undyne saving Monster Kid, who insists that you were probably just running to get help. If you're able to muster the coldness to just stand and let Monster Kid fall, you get a rather awe-inspiring moment where Undyne stops in shock, then ''leaps down from the bridge to save them''. Not only does she manage get to them in time, she then continues onward to fight you anyways, despite being injured from the fall. If you are playing on a [[AxCrazy Genocide Route]], Undyne saves the Monster Kid by [[HeroicSacrifice leaping in front of him]] and [[TakingTheBullet using her own body to shield him]] from your lethal blow.
** On a Pacifist route after befriending Undyne, if you call her while at this location she'll reveal that, despite how dead set she was on killing you during the chase, at that moment, the only thing she was thinking of was how to save Monster Kid, and was worried you'd attack them while she was vulnerable.
** Inversely, if you're good person to Monster Kid, and rescue them when Undyne is right in front of you, Monster Kid will stand up against Undyne to protect you, causing her to back away and they decide to be your friend instead of enemy.
* Monster Kid themselves is a very heartwarming character. During a bit of the Waterfall segment, they're always by your side, being friendly to you and they even helps you progress in the game by helping you get up a ledge. As annoying as some players can find them to be, they are still an adorable character.

Hey, just because it's a quirky and badass RPG game doesn't mean it can't have some sweet moments.