| 1 | %% Spoilering trope names, putting trope names on double bullets (**), zero content examples, and completely spoilering examples go against wiki administrivia policies. See: Administrivia/HowToWriteAnExample and Administrivia/HandlingSpoilers |
| 2 | %% |
| 3 | %% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them. |
| 4 | %% |
| 5 | %% Note: The route for the worst ending, aka the "No Mercy" route, aka the "Genocide" Route, does NOT have an official name. Therefore, call it whatever you want. To avoid edit wars, please don't make edits that do nothing but change one term to the other. The wiki isn't the official source of information for the game. |
| 6 | |
| 7 | [[WMG:[[center:''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' '''[[Characters/{{Undertale}} Main Character Index]]'''\ |
| 8 | [[Characters/UndertaleMainCharacters Major]] ([[Characters/UndertaleTheHumanChild The Human Child]], [[Characters/UndertaleFlowey Flowey]], [[Characters/UndertaleSans Sans]], [[Characters/UndertalePapyrus Papyrus]], [[Characters/UndertaleUndyne Undyne]], [[Characters/UndertaleMettaton Mettaton]], [[Characters/UndertaleAsgoreDreemurr Asgore Dreemurr]])\ |
| 9 | [[Characters/UndertaleOtherCharacters Others]] | [[Characters/UndertaleMonsterEncounters Monsters]] | '''Spoilers''' ([[Characters/UndertaleTheFallenHuman The Fallen Human]])]]]] |
| 10 | |
| 11 | As the name indicates, ''everyone'' on this page is a WalkingSpoiler, even more than the already spoilery main characters. Even their very existence is a major plot twist. Thus this page contains '''''[[Administrivia/SpoilersOff no spoiler-marking at all]]'''''. Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned. '''[[AC:You wouldn't want a bad time, would you?]]''' |
| 12 | |
| 13 | !!Administrivia/CharacterSpecificPages |
| 14 | * '''[[Characters/UndertaleFlowey Asriel Dreemurr]]'''[[note]]As a subpage of his present identity[[/note]] |
| 15 | * '''[[Characters/UndertaleTheFallenHuman The Fallen Human]]''' |
| 16 | |
| 17 | ---- |
| 18 | |
| 19 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 20 | |
| 21 | [[folder:General]] |
| 22 | * WalkingSpoiler: All of them are this, as it's very difficult to talk about them without spoiling key details of the game. |
| 23 | ** The six human souls play a crucial role in beating a major boss. Problem is, that boss is built around trying to make you feel hopeless, so if you know how to beat him going in, the effect is ruined. |
| 24 | ** Asriel, and in particular his existence as Flowey, spoils the pacifist and genocide endings. |
| 25 | ** The Amalgamates spoil much of the pacifist ending since they are only found in the secret area known as the True Lab, where Flowey was created. |
| 26 | ** Chara/The Fallen Child spoils the Genocide ending, and to a lesser extent the Pacifist and Neutral endings as well. Turns out the child from the opening movie isn't the character you're playing as, and in a Genocide run, that first Fallen Child destroys the world. |
| 27 | ** ''You'', as in, being a separate entity from the actual player character, spoils the fourth wall breaking aspects of the Pacifist and Genocide endings. |
| 28 | ** W.D. Gaster and his followers are characters hidden in the game's code with an unclear identity. Some content related to him resides within (or is related to) late-game content in both routes. Granted, [[InvertedTrope you aren't really expected to find him yourself anyway.]] |
| 29 | [[/folder]] |
| 30 | |
| 31 | [[folder:Human [=SOULs=]]] |
| 32 | !!Human [=SOULs=] |
| 33 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tumblr_nvrnlyew2u1rfnjtto1_1444080455_cover.png]] |
| 34 | [[caption-width-right:350:''"Seven. Seven human souls, and King ASGORE will become a god.''\ |
| 35 | ''Six. That's how many we have collected thus far."'']] |
| 36 | |
| 37 | The six humans who fell down into the underground before the PlayerCharacter did. Their [=SOULs=] were harvested for the sake of breaking the barrier imprisoning the monsters and exterminating the human race. You can find their old weapons and armour scattered throughout the world. |
| 38 | ---- |
| 39 | !!General tropes |
| 40 | * AndIMustScream: They're seemingly unable to do anything while they're trapped in the [=SOUL=] jars. |
| 41 | * AmbiguousGender: Like Frisk and Chara, their genders are never revealed. |
| 42 | * AmbiguouslyEvil: One of them (the blue SOUL) likely killed at least one monster, possibly more, but we have no idea why or how. |
| 43 | * AssholeVictim: Maybe some of them. It's implied that at least a couple of them managed to rack up a lot of EXP and some LOVE before they were killed, most prominently the blue soul (whose items are described as "dangerous" and covered in dust[[note]]what monsters turn into when they die[[/note]]) and the yellow soul (who had a real gun). It's left ambiguous, however, if they did this for actually malicious reasons, or if they did it out of (legitimate, since unlike the player character, they only have one life) self-defense, or a desperation to avoid being killed and forcibly used as a weapon to destroy everyone they love. |
| 44 | * BarredFromTheAfterlife: Forced to stay rooted in the mortal world after death through unexplained technology. In the Neutral and Pacifist endings, they're all finally set free. |
| 45 | * BigDamnHeroes: After calling out to them enough, they resonate with Frisk and begin turning the fight against Flowey. And when he uses his save state powers to undo his defeat, they unite to utterly destroy him in one shot, saving Frisk from a truly unwinnable situation. |
| 46 | * ColourCodedForYourConvenience: Separately from your red SOUL and white monster [=SOULs=]; they come in orange, yellow, green, cyan, purple, and blue. Notably, the colors correspond to the various colors that bosses can turn your SOUL, as well as the three different attack colors. In addition, the colors are indicative of the humans' greatest virtue before they died: Cyan - Patience, Orange - Bravery, Blue - Integrity, Purple - Perseverance, Green - Kindness, and Yellow - Justice. |
| 47 | * {{Determinator}}: The purple SOUL's special trait was perseverance. Though obviously they weren't as determined as Flowey or Frisk. In fact, all of the SOUL traits are implied to be their own source of DETERMINATION. |
| 48 | * EmpathicWeapon: Even after death, they can still feel emotion and respond to your fight against Flowey. |
| 49 | * EveryoneHasStandards: |
| 50 | ** Despite their rather unclear morality, all of them aid you during the battle against Flowey and eventually rebel against his control to save you. |
| 51 | ** Also, one of the rare things that's ''sure'' about them is that they all met [[MamaBear Toriel]] in the Ruins. Since she's still there at the beginning of the game, none of them harmed her. Therefore, even the more morally ambiguous of them never thought of harming her, let alone doing a Genocide Run. |
| 52 | * FatalFlaw: Can be inferred, judging by the location and effects of their equipment and/or their SOUL modes. First of all, it's implied that none of them had enough Determination to LOAD or SAVE, meaning they only had one life to live. Once they died, that was it. |
| 53 | ** Cyan: Cyan attacks in the game are dodged by standing still, implying that a cyan-colored SOUL won't move or dodge attacks. Cyan's journey was the shortest, and their equipment is found in the Ruins, the earliest part of the game. That, or they were ''too patient''. They waited in place absolutely sure that they'll be saved and starved to death. |
| 54 | ** Orange: Orange attacks are dodged by moving through them. An orange SOUL would be constantly moving around and unable to dodge cyan attacks, which are used by the guard dogs in Snowdin. Additionally, the Ball Game mentions them [[LeeroyJenkins "rush[ing] fists-first through all obstacles",]] implying that they were reckless and got in over their head, leading to their death. |
| 55 | ** Blue: A blue SOUL is affected by gravity and can only make short jumps before falling to the bottom of the bullet box. Many enemies in Waterfall, where Blue's equipment is found, have attacks that are difficult to dodge at the bottom of the box (Aaron's CHECK text even says as much). |
| 56 | ** Purple: Their equipment increases invincibility after taking damage, requiring them to get hit in order to make the best use of their weapons. They likely allowed themself to get hit too many times and died. |
| 57 | ** Green: The green SOUL mode makes the player's soul immobile and allows them to block attacks from a single direction. Their equipment is found in Hotland, where there are multiple enemies (Pyrope, the Royal Guards) whose bullets come from ''all'' directions. Even then, their equipment's perks also suggest that they were over-reliant on healing items mid-battle and likely ran out of supplies at the worst possible time. |
| 58 | ** Yellow: They had a gun for a weapon and possibly made it the farthest (along with Green), but it's empty when the player gets it, implying that they lost their last line of defense when they ran out of bullets. Whoops. |
| 59 | * HeroOfAnotherStory: Or VillainOfAnotherStory, [[AmbiguouslyEvil depending on whether or not they (or some of them) actually were evil.]] They fell into a predicament similar to Frisk's and, just like them, they went on a quest to try to go back in their world. However, they are already dead when the game begins, leaving behind them a few items and very few clues on what their stories were. |
| 60 | * HumanSacrifice: They were killed to make someone powerful enough to break the barrier. |
| 61 | * ImprobableWeaponUser: Including ballerina shoes, a notebook, and a frying pan. |
| 62 | * KilledOffForReal: They fell in various points during the Underground, it's implied the farthest any of the other souls made it was Hotland (the green and possibly the yellow one, depending on where Catty and Bratty got the yellow SOUL's equipment from). |
| 63 | * {{Leitmotif}}: Within the song "Your Best Nightmare," a different remix of "Your Best Friend" for each of them plays when they are fought during the confrontation with Photoshop Flowey. Cyan's and Orange's versions are higher-pitched than the original, Purple's and Yellow's versions are lower-pitched, Blue's uses a whistle instead of chiptune, and Green's uses a piano. |
| 64 | * LivingMacGuffin: All of them were this at one point, because the monsters need seven human [=SOULs=] to break the barrier. Played with by the time the game starts because while their bodies have perished, their souls are still around and carefully contained. |
| 65 | * MysteriousPast: All that is known of them are the weapons and armor they left behind and what can be inferred from the color of their SOULS. How and why they ended up in the Underground, how they died, and even if they were children like Frisk and Chara are completely unknown. |
| 66 | * OurSoulsAreDifferent: Humans in life, [[TheFairFolk unlike monsters]], are mostly physical matter, making them generally much stronger than an equivalent monster. Their colored [=SOULs=] linger after death whereas monster white [=SOULs=] vanish instantly (apart from those of 'boss monsters' like Toriel and Asgore). This asymmetry on their natures means it's ''almost impossible'' for a human to absorb a monster's SOUL but a monster can easily consume a lingering human SOUL, and use them [[SoulPower as an immense power source]]. Absorbing just seven [=SOULs=] (of which are obviously plentiful in supply) (possibly) negates any AssimilationBackfire and would make that monster [[PhysicalGod become God-like]]. When Monster-Human relationships deteriorated in the prologue, and a war happened, monsters lost. After the war eventually culminated in the banishment of monsters into the underworld, the despairing monsters can only hope their king one day acquires enough [=SOULs=] to shatter the barrier. |
| 67 | * PlotCoupon: They're six differently colored (but otherwise identical) objects that are being collected in order to accomplish a goal, which clearly resembles a common type of plot coupon in [=RPGs=]. The difference with these? You're not collecting them; the monsters are, and the player character happens to be the last one they need. |
| 68 | * PosthumousCharacter: All of them died and their souls were taken by Asgore before the game began; the exact circumstances of their deaths, either at the hands of Asgore himself or someone else, isn't stated. |
| 69 | * RainbowMotif: Together with Frisk's red heart. This also pops up in with 7 coffins with the same color hearts (with the red one being closed), and with Photoshop Flowey cycling through the entire spectrum in his demise. |
| 70 | * RiddleForTheAges: Why did they climb the mountain and fall into the Underground, what were their personalities like, and how did they die? |
| 71 | * RippleEffectProofMemory: Them having this is the only saving grace in the Photoshop Flowey fight. Even if you die and Flowey reloads, they remember that you've called to them, and they still want to help you. This contributes to them rebelling after you "defeat" Flowey and he reminds you that he can just reload back to full health. |
| 72 | * ShoutOut: Much like Frisk's Stick, their weapons, with the exception of the Torn Notebook, belong to classes of ''Mother'' weapons: |
| 73 | ** Toy Knife: Teddy from the first game had knives as his first two weapons, though these would be outshone by a Sword and Katana. |
| 74 | ** Tough Glove: Kumatora from the third game used gloves. |
| 75 | ** Ballet Shoes: Duster from the third game would kick with his shoes, though none of them were ballet shoes. |
| 76 | ** Burnt Pan: Ana and Paula from the first two games fought with frying pans. |
| 77 | ** Empty Gun: Lloyd and Jeff, also from the first two games, wielded guns. |
| 78 | * SentientPhlebotinum: As they're the souls of humans who double as a source of immense power they naturally qualify. This saves you against Omega Flowey when you get them to help you. |
| 79 | * TakeUpMySword: All of the Gear in the game, with exception to the Temmie Armor and the items in New Home were gear used by them before they died. In the battle against Flowey, it is even shown in attack phases [[http://undertale.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_Human_Souls which colored soul used which weapon]]: |
| 80 | ** Cyan = Toy Knife and Faded Ribbon |
| 81 | ** Orange = Tough Glove and Manly Bandanna |
| 82 | ** Blue = Ballet Shoes and Old Tutu |
| 83 | ** Purple = Torn Notebook and Cloudy Glasses |
| 84 | ** Green = Burnt Pan and Stained Apron |
| 85 | ** Yellow = Empty Gun and Cowboy Hat |
| 86 | * TriumphantReprise: After reaching all of their hearts by calling for help, "Your Best Nightmare" changes from a terrifying to a joyous remix of "Your Best Friend" during the Photoshop Flowey battle's final phase. |
| 87 | * UnknownCharacter: Despite their importance in the story and the Neutral and True Pacifist Endings, almost all information on them is either implied or completely left for interpretation. Even their names are unknown, as in the room with their coffins, only Chara's can be read[[note]]each coffin is as long as the room's width; Chara's is "blocking" the other six[[/note]]. |
| 88 | * WhatHappenedToTheMouse: |
| 89 | ** They're mentioned as missing in the Neutral and True endings, but what happened otherwise is unexplained. Simple Logic would state that in a Neutral ending, the only person there is Frisk, and Humans cannot absorb Human souls, nor can Monsters absorb Monster souls. In the True Pacifist ending, Asriel says that he can't bear to keep the souls imprisoned within him, and lets them all go, the six human souls included. |
| 90 | ** If you return to the room with the coffins at the end of the True Pacifist route, you find that they're all now open. Make of this what you will. |
| 91 | ** In the Genocide ending, Undyne states that Asgore will absorb them to crush the VillainProtagonist, but he never actually does so, and Flowey doesn't take them either. [[TheGhost They never do actually make an appearance.]] |
| 92 | |
| 93 | !!Cyan SOUL |
| 94 | [[quoteright:136:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cyansoul.png]] |
| 95 | [[caption-width-right:136:Patience is a virtue.]] |
| 96 | * DeliberatelyCuteChild: The Faded Ribbon adds +5 defense and has the flavor text, "If you're cuter, monsters won't hit you as hard." |
| 97 | * HeartSymbol: The bandage-shaped healing bullets they send you have hearts on them. |
| 98 | * HopeSpot: Possibly implied -- there is a message in the CORE that implies the cyan SOUL may have made it farther then some think. The message reads, "(I cannot fight. I cannot think.) (But with patience, I will make my way through.)" |
| 99 | * MyLittlePanzer: The Toy Knife, a knife made of plastic, which is said to be "a rarity nowadays." |
| 100 | * PsychoKnifeNut: Their weapon was a plastic toy knife, and Photoshop Flowey uses them to throw knives at you. |
| 101 | |
| 102 | !!Orange SOUL |
| 103 | [[quoteright:136:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/orangesoul.png]] |
| 104 | [[caption-width-right:136:Take risks and be brave.]] |
| 105 | * BodyMotifs: Hands. Their weapon is the Tough Glove, their standard attack animation uses fists, the Ball Game describes them rushing "''fists''-first through all obstacles," their attacks during the Photoshop Flowey fight consist of multiple hands, and their healing bullets are shaped like hands making the thumbs-up gesture. |
| 106 | * FearlessFool: A reckless child who ran straight into adventure and danger, and unfortunately did not make it very far. |
| 107 | * HeartSymbol: The hand-shaped healing bullets they send you have hearts on them. |
| 108 | * HotBlooded: Their associated trait is Bravery, and the flavor text in the Ball Game says, "You are the kind of person who rushes fists-first through all obstacles." |
| 109 | * LeeroyJenkins: The Ball Game's flavor text implies them to have been reckless, and they only made it as far as Snowdin before dying. |
| 110 | * PowerFist: The Tough Glove, "a worn pink leather glove for five-fingered folk." |
| 111 | |
| 112 | !!Blue SOUL |
| 113 | [[quoteright:138:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bluesoul.png]] |
| 114 | [[caption-width-right:138:Integrity is choosing courage over comfort.]] |
| 115 | * ActionGirl: They're implied to have been a ballerina based on their clothing, and they certainly were a fighter. |
| 116 | * AmbiguouslyEvil: The Old Tutu is described as being covered in dust (which is what monsters turn into when they die) and the Ballet Shoes make the player feel "incredibly dangerous" after putting them on. Thus, it's implied that their owner used them to kill at least one monster, possibly more. However, it's not known if they did this out of maliciousness or simply self-preservation, since the monsters were also trying to kill ''them''. It's also possible the dust did not originate from any monster, instead it gathered naturally from being abandoned over the passage of time. |
| 117 | * DanceBattler: Implied to be one, based on their armor being a tutu and their weapons being ballet shoes. |
| 118 | * GiantFootOfStomping: During their attack phase in Photoshop Flowey's battle, the player has to dodge a horizontal row of ballet shoes stomping on them, toe-first. |
| 119 | * MusicIsEighthNotes: During the Photoshop Flowey fight, they heal you with a row of green eighth notes. |
| 120 | |
| 121 | !!Purple SOUL |
| 122 | [[quoteright:136:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/purplesoul.png]] |
| 123 | [[caption-width-right:136:Take notes and keep on persevering.]] |
| 124 | * AwesomenessByAnalysis: Their strategy for surviving in the Underground was to take notes on all the monsters they battled. |
| 125 | -->'''Ball Game, purple text''': Even when you felt trapped, you took notes and achieved the end of "Ball." |
| 126 | * EyeMotifs: They wore a pair of glasses and their notebooks during the Photoshop Flowey fight have open eyes on them. |
| 127 | * TheIllegible: Their handwriting was apparently terrible, if the Torn Notebook's description is anything to go by. |
| 128 | * LethalJokeItem: The Torn Notebook, which "contains illegible scrawls." |
| 129 | * LogicalWeakness: Their items increase MercyInvincibility for a longer period of time, which means you have to deliberately take damage in order to make the best use of them...which will not be easy on a True Pacifist playthrough, since you'll never be able to get above 20 HP. |
| 130 | * MercyInvincibility: Both the Torn Notebook and Cloudy Glasses increase the INV stat, which determines the number of frames that an attack can't hurt the protagonist after they receive damage. In-game, the only other item that can do this is the Temmie Armor. |
| 131 | * NerdGlasses: Their armor was the Cloudy Glasses, and they seemed like a nerdy, bookish type of person. |
| 132 | * WordsCanBreakMyBones: During Photoshop Flowey's fight, they initially attack you with negative words like "HATRED," "RUIN," "MURDERER," "DESPAIR," "TERROR," and "DESTROY." Calling for help changes them into positive words like "LOVE," "FREEDOM," "RELIEF," "MERCY," and "CREATE." Their final healing bullet is the word "HOPE." |
| 133 | |
| 134 | !!Green SOUL |
| 135 | [[quoteright:137:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/greensoul.png]] |
| 136 | [[caption-width-right:137:Kindness makes the world go round.]] |
| 137 | * ChefOfIron: Their weapon was a frying pan and their armor was an apron. |
| 138 | * FryingPanOfDoom: The Burnt Pan, whose "damage is rather consistent" adds +10 AT and heals 4 more HP every time a consumable item is used. |
| 139 | * HeartSymbol: The Stained Apron's overworld sprite shows it to be decorated with a heart. |
| 140 | * LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe: The green SOUL mode allows the player to block bullets coming from four directions, thereby implying that the green SOUL used their frying pan as a shield. |
| 141 | * NiceGuy: Their associated trait is Kindness. |
| 142 | * PlayingWithFire: Getting past them during Photoshop Flowey's fight requires dodging waves of flames tossed from three frying pans. |
| 143 | * PowerUpFood: When turned to Frisk's side, they send out healing bullets shaped like fried eggs. |
| 144 | |
| 145 | !!Yellow SOUL |
| 146 | [[quoteright:137:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yellowsoul.png]] |
| 147 | [[caption-width-right:137:For truth, justice and the human way.]] |
| 148 | * {{Cowboy}}: Implied to have been one based on the Cowboy Hat and gun that resembles a standard six-shooter. |
| 149 | * FlowerMotifs: Their healing bullets are shaped like four-leaf clovers. Maybe they're wishing you good luck against Flowey. |
| 150 | * ForGreatJustice: Their associated trait is Justice. |
| 151 | * TheGunslinger: The only one of the humans to use a conventional weapon -- in their case, a real gun. |
| 152 | * HopeSpot: They made it the farthest of all the humans who came through the Underground...but in the end, they still died, just like those who came before them[[note]]That being said, Bratty and Catty, the people who sell you the Yellow Soul’s equipment, mention they found it in the Waterfall dump, implying either they didn’t get as far as Hotland or their gear was disposed of after dying to Asgore or someone else near the CORE[[/note]]. |
| 153 | [[/folder]] |
| 154 | |
| 155 | [[folder:The Amalgamates]] |
| 156 | !!The Amalgamates |
| 157 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/amalgamates.png]] |
| 158 | [[caption-width-right:350:''[[RapidFireNo no No NO NO NO NO NO]]''[[note]]from left to right: Endogeny, Lemon Bread, Reaper Bird, Crystaldrake, and the Memoryheads[[/note]]]] |
| 159 | |
| 160 | Alphys, in a bid to test a potential way to escape the underground, decided to inject dying monsters with Determination and see if it would be able to save them. While it seemed like a failure at first, eventually the monsters woke up like nothing happened… until they began to melt. Monster bodies are unable to properly handle Determination, and as such their bodies broke down to the extent that they began to fuse together into horrifying abominations unable to die. Now they live in the True Lab, hidden by Alphys out of guilt and shame, unable to return to their families and acting as a permanent reminder of Alphys's failure. |
| 161 | |
| 162 | ---- |
| 163 | * AlienGeometries: Assuming its sprite is meant to be taken literally, Endogeny appears to somehow have a series of dog faces and bodies in the negative space between its legs. |
| 164 | * AndIMustScream: All of them (especially Lemon Bread) are at least slightly aware of their plight, but they can't do anything about it due to Alphys keeping them a secret, and they can't die by normal means. |
| 165 | -->'''Lemon Bread:''' Welcome to my special hell. |
| 166 | * AssistCharacter: The Reaper Bird doesn't attack directly; it instead has the help of "Everyman", a bird-like humanoid that attacks in bizarre ways. |
| 167 | * BigFriendlyDog: If you coax Endogeny over, you can pet it like the other dogs. It's described as being very affectionate in some of the quotes. |
| 168 | * BlackSpeech: Although [[LovecraftLite they become less unintelligible]] later into their battles. |
| 169 | ** The Memoryheads will display glitchy and rapidly-moving black boxes in their speech bubbles to the sound of dial-up internet. This stops when you begin using your cellphone, causing them to speak normally. |
| 170 | ** Reaper Bird speaks with three speech bubbles stacked on top of each other, creating an almost-unreadable mess. After using the [=ACTs=] according to the component monsters, the speech bubbles separate and can be read normally. |
| 171 | * BlobMonster: Endogeny is described as being amorphous, and is a vaguely dog-shaped blob that can disperse itself into floating particles. Much of the other Amalgamates tend to be more Downplayed cases, having a sort of "melting" effect from the experiments and having the ability to shapeshift. However, Lemon Bread is a straighter example as one of their components is Moldbygg, a type of slime. |
| 172 | * BodyHorror: Several "normal" monsters combined into one, rearranging each other's typical features in unnatural ways (such as Lemon Bread using two copies of Aaron's tailfins as eyes and Reaper Bird stretching a Final Froggit's body into wings). |
| 173 | * CallBack: By the time you face them, you'll likely have faced all of their "components" earlier in the game. The method of Sparing them tends to be similar. Special mention goes to Endogeny, whose Spare method is exactly the same as that of Greater Dog. Once it's pacified, the background music changes to "Dogsong", which played in the fight against Greater Dog. |
| 174 | * CameBackWrong: The result of Alphys' experiments with injecting monster souls with Determination. |
| 175 | * CreepyGood: They're terrifying to look at, the reason behind their existence is horrifying, and the sequence in which you meet them is probably the closest the game ever comes to being a straight-up horror game… but none of them seem to sincerely ''want'' to hurt you (outside of ''maybe'' Lemon Bread, and even then that's more you being the first target for… [[PronounTrouble their]]… frustrations in years), they all back off once Alphys tells them to, and at the end of the pacifist route, their happy ending is simply being with their families again. They're creepy, sure, but not truly malevolent, or are only truly dangerous [[CentralTheme should you panic and not attempt to understand them]]. |
| 176 | * DarkReprise: Unlike the other Amalgamates, which use the DrumAndBass track "Amalgam" as their battle theme, Endogeny and Crystaldrake are respectively fought to heavily distorted versions of the goofy "Dogsong" and the tranquil "Snowy". |
| 177 | * DetachmentCombat: The Reaper Bird's Everyman can send its head flying at your SOUL. Actually, make that about a dozen heads at once. |
| 178 | * TheDividual: Memoryheads appear in-battle as three different enemies, but you can simply spare them by interacting with one, with the rest following. They also identify as a collective, asking you to join them. |
| 179 | * DualBoss: The Memoryheads are a ''triple'' boss, but in practice it's just one enemy, as you can't kill them and they're all Spared at the same time. |
| 180 | * {{Expy}}: |
| 181 | ** Lemon Bread has a similar name and design to Melon Bread, a boss from the Genesis game ''VideoGame/GunstarHeroes''. One of Lemon Bread's attacks even mimics Melon Bread's appearance. |
| 182 | ** The Memoryheads resemble [[VideoGame/EarthBound1994 Giygas]]. |
| 183 | ** As a whole, they are [[strike:amalgamates of]] references to the chimeras from ''VideoGame/Mother3''. |
| 184 | * EyeScream: Crystaldrake has ''Vegetoid faces'' in the place where her eyes would be. Similarly, Reaper Bird's eye is also Astigmatism's mouth. |
| 185 | * FacialHorror: Their faces are just horrendous to look at simply because of how distorted they are. |
| 186 | * FeatheredFiend: The [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast aptly-named Reaper Bird]] Amalgamate is just one of the many who attack you in the True Lab. Ironically, it has no bird monster as a component whatsoever (not like there are many of those in the Underground to begin with).[[note]]It's made of [[AmphibianAssault Final Froggit]], [[MothMenace Whimsalot]], and [[{{Cyclops}} Astigmatism.]][[/note]] |
| 187 | ** Painfully subverted with Snowdrake's mother; she also attacks you in the True Lab, but her attacks are so ineffective some of them don't even go into the board. |
| 188 | * FinalExamBoss: Hopefully you remember how to spare the monsters in the previous areas; you'll need to if you want to get past these guys. |
| 189 | * FrankensteinsMonster: Are quite similar, such as being the result of an experiment to cheat death, being composed of multiple corpses, and their creator being horrified of what she created. Unlike the original one, however, they ultimately get a happy ending. |
| 190 | * GeneticAbomination: Although ultimately LovecraftLite, their powers are definitely more on the EldritchAbomination end of the fence. Their encounters play out like video game glitches, with bizarre names and strange dialogue. The Memoryheads' ACT options are your menu buttons until you use the "CALL" command. The Reaper Bird's flavor text and dialogue is multiple overlapping lines of text, and is initially only called ",". [[NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer Yes, just that one punctuation mark.]] Lemon Bread's dialogue comes from 12 separate speech bubbles covering the top of the screen. If you try to ignore Endogeny, the flavor text says he appears everywhere you look, and trying to talk to Crystaldrake will often result in the dialog box describing you as doing things much more extreme than the command suggested. |
| 191 | * GoneHorriblyWrong: They originated as an experiment by Alphys to infuse comatose, nearly-dead monsters with Determination. To say it didn't go as planned is a ''gigantic'' understatement. |
| 192 | * GoneHorriblyRight: Part of the purpose of said experiment was to save said monsters' lives, which ''did'' happen… but at a terrible cost. |
| 193 | * TheGrotesque: Despite their horrific appearances, they turn out to be no more violent or evil than any other enemy you've faced throughout the game. Alphys eventually decides to quit keeping them a secret and lets them join the other monsters in the Underground, where they seem to get along peacefully enough. |
| 194 | * IAmLegion: While the Amalgamates are all combinations of different monsters combines into a collective consciousness, the Memoryheads are the most significant case in that they refer to themselves as "us" every time they offer a chance to "join" them. |
| 195 | * InterfaceScrew: |
| 196 | ** Trying to attack any of them leads to a mess of red words popping up over them instead of damage numbers. In the Memoryheads' case, it causes their health bar to ''extend'' past the box when checked again. |
| 197 | ** Reaper Bird extends itself past the battle screen and over the dialogue box. |
| 198 | * KnightOfCerebus: Their appearance marks one of the darkest and scariest segments of the game and its backstory. Fortunately, none of them are truly evil. |
| 199 | * LovecraftLite: While they are quite horrific to look at and possess bizarre glitch-like abilities, they won't drive you insane when you look at them and are further disqualified from full Lovecraftian status by, well, being rather nice once you get to know them. The Memoryheads especially tell you to "[[AssimilationPlot Come join the fun]]", but when you refuse they just say "Oh well" and "It's a real get together" and leave you in peace. Heck, if you decide to sleep in one of the lab's beds, an amalgamate (not pictured) will ''tuck you in and pat you on the head''. |
| 200 | * ManBitesMan: Lemon Bread's primary method of attacking you is by distorting the bullet board into their fanged mouth and using it bite down on the soul. |
| 201 | * MeaningfulName: Lemon Bread is named after a type of pudding, and one of its constituent parts is Moldbygg, a gelatin monster. Also, they smell like lemons for some reason... |
| 202 | * MergingMistake: Essentially, the determination that revived these monsters was too much for their magical bodies and it caused them to melt. And when they tried to help each other, all they did was accidentally stick to each other. Fortunately, they all seem to be mostly comfortable with their new state of being. |
| 203 | * MindScrew: The Amalgamates are capable of messing with the battle interface, replace their damage numbers with a collection of fast-moving words, and can somehow shapeshift into in-game mechanics, such as Lemon Bread disguising as a SAVE point and Reaper Bird appearing in your "!" speech bubble. |
| 204 | * MissingMom: It turns out Snowdrake's mother ended up as one of the Amalgamates after she fell down. Thankfully, she's reunited and accepted by both Snowdrake and his dad by the time you reach the true ending. |
| 205 | * MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily: Lemon Bread, whose teeth are actually made up of pieces of a Moldbygg. Their face consists of two angry eyes (which are Aaron tails) and a huge mass of gelatinous teeth. Their attack also consists of lots of teeth trying to crush your SOUL. |
| 206 | * MythologyGag: In ''VideoGame/TheHalloweenHack'', another one of Toby Fox's games, a trio of minibosses replacing the Krakens called the "Amalgamates" shows up in the late-game, and has the same base idea as the Amalgamates in this game (several monster parts combined to create one new monster). However, the Amalgamates in ''Undertale'' are important to the story, rather than generic baddies, though both are the last set of minibosses before the FinalBoss. |
| 207 | * NamedByTheAdaptation: ''VideoGame/{{Deltarune}}'' gives the names of several of the Amalgamates' components before they became what they are. Snowdrake's Mother is named Crystal, one of the dogs in Endogeny was named Muttler, and Shyren's sister in Lemon Bread was named Shyra. |
| 208 | * NoBiologicalSex: Ambiguously either played straight or [[InvertedTrope Inverted]]. Many of them are composed of both men and women, such as Lemon Bread, who is [[MindScrew both Shyren's sister and Aaron's brother]]. The game never elaborates on how (or whether) this works out. |
| 209 | * NoSell: They're completely unable to die[[note]]by normal means at least[[/note]]: trying to attack any of them just causes red text to quickly flash by, bragging about the attack being ineffective, instead of damage numbers, and the HP bar of the one you attacked extends beyond the dialog box afterwards. Fortunately, this means you can't ruin your Pacifist run by accidentally killing one. While Snowdrake's Mother ''does'' take damage from attacks normally, she's still effectively unkillable as her health regenerates at the start of each turn.[[note]]She ''can'' be killed if you hack your ATK to the maximum value, but she's worth no EXP, as this clearly wasn't intended to be a possible outcome of the fight.[[/note]] |
| 210 | * OneLetterName: In-battle, Reaper Bird's name is rendered as a single comma. |
| 211 | * OurZombiesAreDifferent: They are essentially undead monsters. Well, not in the same way as the skeleton brothers and ghost cousins, but you get the idea. |
| 212 | * {{Permafusion}}: They're the end result of a botched experiment involving multiple monsters and DETERMINATION, with the latter causing the former to basically ''melt'' into each other, creating each individual Amalgamate. |
| 213 | * PoisonMushroom: The Memoryheads can give you a Bad Memory if you perform the Item ACT on them. It damages you for 1 HP if used, but it's a full heal at critical HP. |
| 214 | * PunnyName: En'''dog'''eny. It's comprised of the parents of the Royal Guard dogs. And then some... |
| 215 | * RecurringExtra: Reaper Bird's Everyman, named "strangeman" in the game's files, has a few suspicious appearances in ''Deltarune'' — as a cameo in two boss fights (the {{Superboss}}' carousel attack in Chapter 1 and Queen's social media attack in Chapter 2), one regular enemy fight (a pop-up window in one of Poppup's attacks), and as graffiti in the Light World. Toby Fox referred to him both on Twitter and the artbook as [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial "Just a good guy that shows up on occasion"]], as if suggesting some ''kind'' of importance… |
| 216 | * SayMyName: Snowdrake's mom is constantly calling out for "Sn… o… wy…" |
| 217 | * TreacherousCheckpoint: Lemon Bread is disguised as a SavePoint until you interact with it. A hint that it's not a real save point is that it's blocking the way, which the genuine ones never do. |
| 218 | * TheUnintelligible: The Reaper Bird begins speaking with multiple dialogues overlapping over each other. It eventually separates into the individual components if you comfort them. The Memoryheads can also speak in a [[BlackSpeech horrible distorted screech that resembles a dial-up modem]], but comes in fine through the cell phone. |
| 219 | * VoiceOfTheLegion: |
| 220 | ** Lemon Bread's dialogue consists of twelve different speech bubbles covering the screen with the same dialogue. |
| 221 | ** Reaper Bird speaks three different speech bubbles at once, layered over themselves, and they separate when close to sparing. |
| 222 | * VoluntaryShapeshifting: They disguise themselves in a variety of ways, such as being water in a sink (Memoryheads), a refrigerator (Snowdrake's Mother), floating particles (Endogeny), a save point (Lemon Bread), and even your "!" balloon (Reaper Bird). Save for Endogeny, the forms they take in their overworld sprites are also nothing like the ones they use in-battle. |
| 223 | * WasOnceAMan: All of them used to be ''multiple'' monsters. Monster bodies don't have the same physicality as human bodies, so their transplanted Determination caused their bodies to melt and fuse together instead of simply allowing their souls to persist after death. |
| 224 | * WeaksauceWeakness: Endogeny is a dog, so the Stick will instantly pacify it as it does with all other dogs. If you already used your Stick, then the Hush Puppy you can get at the hotel has the same effect. |
| 225 | * WhatHappenedToTheMouse: The Memoryheads and Reaper Bird completely disappear from the story after you deal with them in the True Lab. This is because neither of them are shown to have any family in the Underground, unlike the other three Amalgamates. |
| 226 | * YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm: Definitely gives off these vibes, especially since their battle music [[VideoGame/EarthBound1994 takes a sample from the]] TropeNamer. For example, before reaching Spare conditions, Reaper Bird's name is given as a single comma, and the Memoryheads are completely incomprehensible unless communicated to through your ''cell phone''. |
| 227 | * ZeroEffortBoss: Snowdrake's Mother ''tries'' to attack, but she's so messed up that she can only fire slow projectiles that deal low damage and usually don't make it anywhere near the SOUL. Sometimes, they don't even make it to the Bullet Board. She's also one of the easier Amalgamates to Spare, with the player only needing to tell her a joke three times. |
| 228 | [[/folder]] |
| 229 | |
| 230 | [[folder:The Anomaly]] |
| 231 | !!The Anomaly |
| 232 | ->''"[[NoFourthWall It's literally you]]."'' |
| 233 | |
| 234 | Thought you were just the PlayerCharacter here? Nope! Frisk and the player are implied to be separate entities in ''Undertale''; the latter simply dictates the actions of the former. But remember that ''Undertale'' isn't a typical RPG; all of ''your'' choices will affect the game world... for better or for worse. |
| 235 | |
| 236 | Depending on the interpretation, you either play as the Fallen Child (see their page) or ''[[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou yourself]].'' Either way, this page describes the role of the Anomaly. |
| 237 | ---- |
| 238 | * AboveGoodAndEvil: Since the world of ''Undertale'' is fictional and you're not, you are essentially this. However, the game will attempt to tell you that you aren't, especially in the No Mercy route. |
| 239 | * AbstractApotheosis: As noted in SentientCosmicForce, you're a being only visible in consequences that happen in the timelines, you are the driving force in the world, it's your choices and determination that replaces Frisk's. Thus (if perhaps only in the "purity of action" sense of the trope or perhaps something more literal), you are not just a {{determinator}}, you are DETERMINATION itself. |
| 240 | * AchievementsInIgnorance: Simply by ''starting a fresh new game'', you essentially ''take away'' Flowey/Chara's ability to SAVE and LOAD. |
| 241 | * AllForNothing: If you wait long enough in a post-Genocide Run game until Chara/The Fallen offers you to get a second chance in exchange for your soul. Accept the deal, and you can try to get a Pacifist Run properly... until the last scene, in which Chara/The Fallen will take control away from you and ''kill everyone themselves'', rendering all your effort moot. |
| 242 | * AllLovingHero: It's very easy for a pacifist player to take this route. |
| 243 | * AmbiguouslyEvil: One of the game's primary artistic purposes is opening up questions about human morality regarding how they treat circumstances where actions have supposedly no consequences. Stereotypes aside, odds are you're not actually an evil person; [[ForScience you just wanted to see what would happen if you killed everybody or only killed certain people]]. The question here is whether or not these actions actually have any true moral significance — not to the point where it's worthy of real-life reprimanding, obviously, but still enough to make the player introspect and question themself and their actions. |
| 244 | * AmbitionIsEvil: [[AmbiguouslyEvil Maybe]]. The Anomaly's morality is called into question by Sans, but one of the theories he proposes is that you're doing the Genocide Run in order to satiate your constant need for stimulation. |
| 245 | * TheAntichrist: In the Genocide run. You fit the archetype regardless if you're playing as Chara or not. A figure of unending destruction who helps bring about TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. |
| 246 | * AtLeastIAdmitIt: Post-Genocide, should you try to play the game again, Chara will claim that you actually believe you're above consequences. There's nothing stopping you from outright admitting that's the case, and indeed, the only way to keep playing without permanently tainting the GoldenEnding is to modify the save files in order to subvert the very consequences the game had in place for you. |
| 247 | * AsLongAsThereIsEvil: The fact that you exist and can reset the game at any time — erasing all the progress and memories made — theoretically makes you the single most potentially evil — and unstoppable — entity in the story. |
| 248 | * AxCrazy: In the genocide run and the darker neutral runs, you are one of the biggest examples in videogame history; after all, name one character who tediously hunts down an entire country and kills them one by one, and if you choose to erase, destroys the entire gameworld. Emphasis more on the ax than the crazy, [[SubvertedTrope as in real life you're likely much more sane and kind]], hopefully. |
| 249 | * BenevolentAbomination: You are this by default, especially in the Pacifist run. Sure, you are still an EldritchAbomination that exists beyond the realm of the monsters and can warp their very lives without any of them knowing, but this time, you are doing so for their benefit. Trying to find a way to give everyone the best lives they can live while simultaneously trying to release them from the underground. |
| 250 | * BeyondRedemption: Did you go through an entire Genocide route and think that you can make things right again by doing another Pacifist run? Sorry, the game remembers that you did the deal with Chara and they will remind you of that once you finish that run as well. |
| 251 | * BigBad: During a Genocide run. If you are playing as yourself and not the Fallen Child, they will take control by the end of the Genocide route, forming a BigBadDuumvirate with you, though only for the Fallen to pull an EvilerThanThou. |
| 252 | * BigBadWannabe: You become this if you ''complete'' a Genocide Run. Across the entire run, you basically walk around, forcing Frisk to kill everything that walks until you find your way to Asgore and one shot him. Who awaits you at the end of this long journey? The Fallen Child, who wastes ''no time'' putting you in your place and letting you realize just how wide the gap between them and you really is. |
| 253 | * BigGood: In the Pacifist route, you help everyone solve their personal problems and reach the surface. |
| 254 | * BloodKnight: Many a player has been convinced to do a Genocide run for the sole purpose of doing battle with [[SNKBoss Undyne the Undying and Sans]], seeking a new, harder challenge. |
| 255 | * BlueAndOrangeMorality: There's a creature in the game's canon that exists outside the universe. This creature can't manifest into the world by itself, but [[DemonicPossession it can take control of a host and puppet them around]]. Whether it [[GoldenEnding befriends everyone]] or commits systematic genocide, this creature does it [[ForScience just to see what will happen]]. [[RippleEffectProofMemory It remembers everything that's been done to it, in all timelines]], even when [[ResurrectiveImmortality their host body has been destroyed numerous times]]. What is this creature? It's you. |
| 256 | * CombatSadomasochist: On Genocide route, Sans will accuse you of being this if you defeat him, reload, then fight and defeat him ''again'', then reload and fight him ''again''. Considering you [[SNKBoss went through hell]] and did it one more time just to see his reaction… |
| 257 | -->''"... you're really kind of a freak, huh?"'' |
| 258 | * TheCorrupter: |
| 259 | ** Frisk's LV (or/and the ''The Fallen's'' LV) is a measure of their KillingIntent, and the player is technically responsible if it's above the lowest level. |
| 260 | ** If you believe you're playing as the Fallen, you can exploit Frisk's determination to increase your own power, eventually getting them to sell their soul so you can use them to destroy timeline after timeline. |
| 261 | ** If you believe you're playing as yourself, you corrupt the Fallen by using Frisk to kill others. [[GoneHorriblyRight Eventually, they become corrupt enough]] [[HoistByHisOwnPetard to take control of Frisk from you completely,]] [[HeelFaceDoorSlam even in future playthroughs.]] |
| 262 | * CosmicChessGame: You're a player for once instead of a pawn; your opponent is Flowey, the only other character to use determination and who flat-out calls it a game, and also possibly Chara, though they will normally remain submissive to you. |
| 263 | * CosmicHorrorStory: You can easily turn the entire game into this if you so choose. There is no character within the game, not even Flowey or the Fallen Child, who can match the sheer cruelty you can inflict upon the world. Arguably, the game is this merely by virtue of the player's relationship to it, regardless of how they actually ''use'' their power. |
| 264 | * CosmicPlaything: You become this if you sell your soul to Chara. You're allowed to start over, do Pacifist, Neutral, or Genocide… all under the fallen human's constant supervision. Though you can, of course, completely avert this at your own discretion if you decide to modify the saving files. |
| 265 | * CuriosityIsACrapshoot: On the Genocide route, Sans will acknowledge that you probably aren't murdering everybody because you're a sadist — you just want to see what would happen, and as far you would be able to tell at that point, [[OmniscientMoralityLicense you could easily reverse it any time you want]]. The problem is that, by completing the Genocide route, you ''can't'' reverse it and will doom everyone in the game forever. |
| 266 | * TheDarkSide: You '''can be''' the Dark Side, feeding Chara power and corrupting them into evil and being the Antichrist to your SatanicArchetype at the same time. (Only in the genocide run or when you kill somebody, really.) |
| 267 | * {{Determinator}}: You have to be to get one of the true endings, or even make it to the end after all the deaths you'll get; determination and the resolve to achieve what you want is one of the game's main themes, and it's heavily encouraged in players to match Frisk and the Fallen Child. |
| 268 | * DetrimentalDetermination: The gist of the Genocide Run, especially after a True Pacifist Route. You become so determined to see ''everything'' the game has to offer, that you go from forming deep bonds with the many monster living underground to ''butchering them'' in cold blood, becoming absolutely hated and feared for it as a result, until you reach the end where Chara/The Fallen decides to ''destroy the world'' to demonstrate the difference in your power. |
| 269 | * DragonInChief: Depending on how you see Chara and their relationship with you, either you are this to them or they are this to you, or [[BigBadDuumvirate you're on equal terms]]. |
| 270 | ** It's the Fallen Child's LOVE and stats Frisk (and you) are using. |
| 271 | ** It's ''you'' who actually does all the work, dodges the attacks, etc., with Chara simply providing the muscle and information. |
| 272 | * DragonWithAnAgenda: Whether you're the dragon to their Flowey or Chara/The Fallen, it's more than likely you'll have your own reasons for following along the Genocide Run, whether it's to satiate your own boredom or something else. |
| 273 | * DramaticallyMissingThePoint: Plenty of players have gloated about how they've outsmarted Chara by, after completing a Genocide Run, editing the game files in order to give themselves their GoldenEnding back, thus proving that they don't ''"think"'' they are above consequences, they ''are'' above consequences… all while completely overlooking the fact that them doing this proves that they acted in '''exactly''' the way Chara has predicted them to: refusing to accept any kind of lasting negative consequences for what their own actions did to the game. In fact, [[AtLeastIAdmitIt answering Chara's accusation that you believe you're above consequences]] with a BluntYes simply has them agreeing with you. |
| 274 | * TheDreaded: It's perfectly possible to be this even though everyone will think you're Frisk, but well, basically the entire underground will fear you. |
| 275 | * EldritchAbomination: [[YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm A being beyond comprehension]], the same species as the creator of the world, [[KarmaHoudini utterly beyond punishment]] and capable of [[RealityWarping altering reality with ease]]. Powers include [[DemonicPossession possessing Frisk]], [[RetCon returning lost beings back into existence]], [[AlternateTimeline resetting the world]], and, yes, [[ScrewDestiny even undoing what cannot be undone]]. [[BlueAndOrangeMorality Sans can only speculate why such a being would do what it does.]] |
| 276 | * EmpoweredBadassNormal: A normal human, armed solely with your [[ArcWords determination]] and your skills as a player and possibly a hacker, given a computer, an ''Undertale'' program, and TimeMaster and DemonicPossession powers over Frisk and the game world. That's all you need to fight and defeat/conquer even the greatest opponents and challenges the game has to offer, such as Sans and Undyne the Undying. |
| 277 | * EvilerThanThou: When it comes to Flowey and Chara in a Genocide route: |
| 278 | ** By the end of the route, both you and Chara turn on Flowey and by the end chop him to pieces. A short conversation later, Chara pulls this trope on you. |
| 279 | ** Invoking this is about the only way you can get a semblance of victory over [[TheUnfought the Fallen Child,]] baffling them with your sheer depravity. |
| 280 | ** Have you done a Genocide Run but don't want to sell your SOUL? Don't even bother to open the game again after Chara crashes it. Just straight up uninstall it right then and there (and if you ever want to play it again, you may reinstall it). If you do that, you can pull this trope on ''them''. |
| 281 | * EvilIsNotAToy: |
| 282 | ** The fallen human will tell you this and punish you for your misdeeds at the end of a Genocide route. |
| 283 | ** You can invert the above example [[GuileHero by simply uninstalling the game after Chara crashes it without going back to listen and take their deal]]. |
| 284 | ** Invoked at the end of the Pacifist Route, when Flowey reminds you of the responsibility you have of guarding the reset button. |
| 285 | * ExpendableAlternateUniverse: Want to keep playing the game, even after getting the GoldenEnding, and Flowey asks you nicely not to? Just copy your save files! [[EsotericHappyEnding Everyone gets to keep their happy ending, while you still get to have fun…]] |
| 286 | * FaceHeelTurn: Any player who gets the True Pacifist ending, then resets and starts a Genocide run pulls one. For a while, you still have a chance [[HeelFaceTurn to turn back]].[[note]]It is usually considered that beating Sans and resetting is not too late, but entering the throne room and initiating the ending is. From a technical standpoint, you're safe as long as you don't make the game's final choice. It should be noted, however, that by that point, you've lost the ability to QUIT. The only way to reset once you're that far is to forcibly shut the game off.[[/note]] |
| 287 | * FightingAShadow: The main reason why no one can hurt ''you'', no matter how badly they want to. You're in Real Life, a literal higher plane of existence, using Frisk as your avatar in the game world; how are they supposed to reach you, much less do you harm? |
| 288 | * FromNobodyToNightmare: If you choose to take the No Mercy run, you go from attacking common monsters to mutilating bosses in one hit to ''destroying the world'' with help from the fallen human. |
| 289 | * GainingTheWillToKill: Depends on the player, but given how much of a grind the actual Genocide Run can become, you'll need to develop at least ''some'' KillingIntent in order to move forward. This is especially true should it come ''after'' a True Reset, as you'll have to go from forming bonds with the many denizens of the Underground you've come to grow attached to, to killing them without remorse as you become more and more powerful, and distant, as a result. |
| 290 | * AGodAmI: Invoked. Flowey will call you out on your attempts to shape destiny. |
| 291 | * GoodIsNotSoft: While it is encouraged to be spare as many monsters as you can, however, [[LoopholeAbuse there is nothing from stopping you from]] [[PayEvilUntoEvil beating up the ones that want or deserve to be beaten up,]] and [[SaveTheVillain you can then spare them once their HP is low enough.]] |
| 292 | * GreaterScopeParagon: In a meta sense. Since Frisk is the main character and Sans and Toriel are both technically the BigGood, that technically makes you the greater scope paragon of the entire game, since you're technically responsible for most of what Frisk does in the story… assuming that you aren't going for a genocide run, of course. That being said, on the flipside… |
| 293 | * GreaterScopeVillain: ...Also in a meta sense. With the Narrator Chara theory gaining more and more supporters, the ''Undertale'' fandom in general has come to the consensus that it's not Chara's fault — [[WhatTheHellPlayer it's yours]] for making Frisk do the genocide route and causing the world's destruction. These days, you'll find much more Website/YouTube comments along the lines of "Chara is evil in a Genocide Run, ''[[YouBastard but so are you and/or you made Chara that way!]]''" than the latter. Heck, there's even [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDLKqxNE59E a YouTube video out there]] with the song [[Music/{{Voltaire}} "When You're Evil"]] regarding ''the player'', not Chara. Given that there's no WordOfGod on the issue currently though, it's all open to interpretation, much like many other aspects of ''Undertale''. This trope only applies if you're going for a No Mercy/Genocide run. |
| 294 | * TheHedonist: Sans in a No Mercy run accuses the Anomaly of never being happy, always wanting more. |
| 295 | * HeelFaceDoorSlam: Interestingly enough, this only ever happens to you, the player, in the aftermath of a Genocide playthrough. Once you've done this, and [[DealWithTheDevil sold your soul]] to recreate the world, you will never have a true GoldenEnding again without cheating. For everyone else, though, this trope is averted and characters who have done terrible things will be forgiven, since, well, that's what the game is about. Alphys, who's responsible for innocent monsters being turned into the molten-together and horribly disfigured Amalgamates, gets fired from her job when she tells the truth, but since monsterkind is about to leave the underground anyway, this won't actually be a bother — and her friends continue to be by her side anyway. Asgore, who has the blood of six human children on his hands, is still a respected leader. And in most cases, ''you're'' the one to show mercy, like with Undyne or Flowey. |
| 296 | * HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: A player who goes through several runs choosing a different route each time is essentially this. |
| 297 | * HeelFaceTurn: |
| 298 | ** The game allows a player on the Genocide path to step off it up until the Mettaton NEO fight. When Papyrus, for example, offers to Spare you, it's a genuine offer with no strings attached, and will revert your game to a Neutral one. Sans' offering, on the other hand, is ''not''. |
| 299 | *** It's possible for the trope to still be played straight after the player accepts Sans' false offer of mercy, ''if'' the player takes the skeleton's words to heart and RESETS after getting dunked on. Of course, this depends entirely on you. |
| 300 | * HeWhoFightsMonsters: It's pointed out by Sans that the more you kill, the more emotionally distant you grow, in an ItGetsEasier manner. Considering that all monsters display FantasticRacism with a few rare exceptions and most of them are actively try to kill you, it's not too weird to start killing in self defense and then just keep doing it. |
| 301 | * HijackingCthulhu: From the moment you start ''Undertale'', you've unwittingly seized the power to SAVE and RESET away from Flowey/Asriel, and he really doesn't take kindly to this. |
| 302 | * HorrifyingTheHorror: If you finish at least two No Mercy runs, even Chara won't be able to understand your actions. |
| 303 | * HumansAreCthulhu: Everything in the game world is up for your own amusement. There's absolutely nothing the entities within can do to harm you. Even when Chara pulls an EvilerThanThou to screw you over beyond the fourth wall after a No Mercy run, you can screw them over beyond even that by actively editing the game's codes. "But [=TVTropes=]," you say, "surely that's out of universe, not a real part of the actual game!" …Except the intentional [[EasterEgg Easter Eggs]] accessible by altering the game's files suggest that it ''is'' a valid mechanic. Sufficiently informed, you can manipulate ''anything'' in the game. |
| 304 | * HumansAreTheRealMonsters: Should you decide to go full Genocide or kill almost everyone in a more neutral route. |
| 305 | * HumanoidAbomination: In ''Undertale'', the line between Chara, Frisk, and the player gets extremely blurry, so their "inhuman" descriptions in the Genocide Route should probably be taken to include '''you'''. If that is not eldritch enough, see the EldritchAbomination entry, so yeah, you fit straight here, especially in No Mercy; has it occurred to you that maybe, just maybe, Chara is able to take your (or Frisk's) SOUL despite humans not being able to hold the souls of other humans, [[AmbiguouslyHuman because you're no longer human and not Chara]]? |
| 306 | * IncorruptiblePurePureness: The player who chooses to go full pacifist, ensuring the happiest of endings, and never play the game ever again (or watch anyone else play the worst endings), achieves this trope. |
| 307 | * InvincibleHero: If you're truly Determined to give as many characters as possible their happy ending, or to slaughter the entire Underground, then there's nothing anyone can do to stop you; Flowey will become just a minor irritation, as will all your possible deaths. In a greater sense, you yourself are literally invincible, as you exist in a different dimension than the characters. |
| 308 | * InvincibleVillain: There is also nothing the characters can do to stop you from doing a Genocide run, aside from trying to talk you out of it or hoping you'll get bored and give up. With your Determination, every defeat is just a setback. Even the Fallen Child after you've sold your soul to them can be beaten by editing the games files. |
| 309 | * ItAmusedMe: During the final battle of the Genocide route, Sans will start speculating on your motivation for all the evil things you've committed. At first he considers that you might simply [[BloodKnight enjoy killing things]], but then brushes the idea off as ridiculous, saying that "[[PlayerPunch you're the kind of person who won't EVER be happy]]". He then goes on to accuse of you of this trope, saying that you're not even motivated by good or evil anymore, you're just doing this because you can. And because you have that ability, [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall and are seemingly above consequences because of your ability to SAVE, you just can't help yourself]]. [[OneHundredPercentCompletion It's a gamer's natural desire to seek out and accomplish everything in a game, after all.]] |
| 310 | * IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: If you listen to Flowey and choose to abstain from a True Reset after getting the GoldenEnding, letting the characters you've grown to know and love happily live out the rest of their lives without you. Believe it or not, quite a few fans will admit to having done this. |
| 311 | * KarmaHoudini: No matter what bad thing you will do, the in-game characters will be the ones punished. Nothing bad happens to you. Not even the OmegaEnding is a lasting punishment since you can just erase all save files from the game and start over with a fresh file. |
| 312 | * KarmaHoudiniWarranty: DoubleSubversion. If you reach the end of the Genocide Run, you'll have essentially used Frisk to wipe out the entirety of the Underground, only to meet The Fallen/Chara, who proceeds to kill you alongside ''the entire world'' with one swing. If you wait long enough in the post-Genocide Run game window, Chara will give you a choice to start anew in exchange for your soul, which ''seems'' like a subversion at first. Get to the end of the True Pacifist route here, however, and Chara/The Fallen will take control of Frisk and kill everyone anyway, ensuring you ''can't'' get the happy ending you worked so hard to get. Triple subverted if you manage to erase the game's save files and start fresh. |
| 313 | * KnightOfCerebus: In any kind of run that's not Pacifist (a.k.a. did not kill everyone). Not only is there a good chance you have a huge body count behind you, but the Underground changes hands, and always for the worse — it can devolve from tyranny to anarchy to becoming an {{Egopolis}} and everything in-between. And you are the one who started it. And that's not even getting to the Genocide/No Mercy run, where you basically destroy reality. |
| 314 | * LackOfEmpathy: While you aren't forced to sympathize with the cast even in the Pacifist route, not getting attached to the characters is pretty much a requirement in the Genocide route as you have to kill all of them, oftenly in horrible ways, while most of them are standing before you as paragons of virtue. |
| 315 | * LovecraftLite: Despite all those horrifying things that you can do in the game to this world and its people, nothing can make you do them. It's possible to achieve the GoldenEnding without killing anyone… and even if you want to replay the game, you can always abstain from the No Mercy route and achieve the GoldenEnding again. |
| 316 | * MistakenIdentity: |
| 317 | ** If you believe you are playing as yourself and not the Fallen Child, then any time Flowey addresses you as the Fallen will count as this. |
| 318 | ** A subtle example in Sans. He seems to be the only character (aside from possibly the Fallen) who confirmably knows that you even ''exist'' — but while he correctly identifies you on a Genocide run as the cause of the latest resets, he doesn't seem to realize that you haven't ''always'' been the one resetting the timeline. Flowey's speech a few rooms earlier gives the impression that his reign as resetter was a TimeAbyss; most likely, he was responsible for far more loops than the player ever could be. Sans never seems to realize this. However, it's not clear whether the "anomaly" in question is Frisk or the player since it's unclear who's truly in control of all resets. |
| 319 | * MyGodWhatHaveIDone: The game tries very, ''very'' hard to evoke this feeling out of you the entire time you play the Genocide route, and during worse Neutral endings, in the hopes you'll Reset. |
| 320 | * NoChallengeEqualsNoSatisfaction: It's the aspect about you [[TheDreaded that Sans fears most]]. You're neither doing anything good because it's the ''right'' thing to do, nor anything evil [[ForTheEvulz for sick pleasure]] — but simply because it's a challenge. And because you can achieve it, you may feel required to. |
| 321 | * NoKillLikeOverkill: Your damage becomes ''ridiculously'' excessive in the Genocide route. |
| 322 | * NominalHero: You don't actually have to feel sympathy for the inhabitants of the underground, but can still go through with the Pacifist ending because you find it to be an obligation. (Which it is, if you want the final ending.) |
| 323 | * NominalVillain: Similar to the above trope, you don't have to be genuinely malicious while going through a Genocide route, but still go through one because you find it an obligation to see ''everything'' the game has to offer. |
| 324 | * OmnicidalManiac: In a Genocide run, the Anomaly decides to kill every single living creature it can, despite the fact that none of its victims can even begin to hurt the Anomaly. |
| 325 | * OmniscientMoralityLicense: Since you have the ability to go back and fix things whenever you want, just like any other video game, you essentially have omniscient control over the game's universe and may be tempted to succumb to this. If you do, you'll be faced with [[DeconstructedTrope quite a bit of harsh deconstruction]]. |
| 326 | -->'''Sans:''' sometimes... you act like you know what's gonna happen. [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall like you've already experienced it all before]]. this is an odd thing to say, but... if you have some sort of [[ComesGreatResponsibility special power]]... [[ArmorPiercingQuestion isn't it your responsibility to do the right thing]]?\ |
| 327 | '''[[LittleNo No]]'''\ |
| 328 | '''Sans''': heh. well, that's your viewpoint. i won't judge you for it. ... [[TranquilFury Y o u d i r t y b r o t h e r k i l l e r.]] |
| 329 | ** Also, going all the way with a Genocide run punishes you with a HeelFaceDoorSlam. |
| 330 | * OutsideContextProblem: |
| 331 | ** You're a being from outside the universe that none of the characters could have ever predicted would have shown up and whose nature is inherently different from all of them. They can do nothing to stop you no matter what you do, as you operate on completely different rules than they do. In a temporal sense, you simply ''shouldn't exist''. How can you when Flowey has already reset the timeline repeatedly and you were never there before? You are, as Sans dubs you, a literally inexplicable anomaly in time. |
| 332 | ** Your ability to SAVE and RESET are '''extremely''' rare abilities in the game's setting, but certain characters can use them. Your ability to alter the game's data, however, is something none of them could ever replicate. |
| 333 | * PayEvilUntoEvil: You can take the game's story and characters 100% seriously and still choose to kill some of the more aggressive monsters if you think they deserve it. |
| 334 | * ThePerfectionist: If you're trying to do a specific playthrough, yet reset or [[SaveScumming save scum]] after every screw-up. Flowey may even call you out on it depending on the circumstances. |
| 335 | * PersonOfMassDestruction: As Sans describes it, a Genocide path will not bring you any kind of satisfaction, you'll just keep consuming timeline after timeline. |
| 336 | * PlayerAndProtagonistIntegration: You start controlling Frisk as a HeroicMime, and in most playthroughs, that is all that you are. By the end of each route, it's implied you're separate entities: either you are playing as the Fallen controlling Frisk, or as yourself. |
| 337 | * PureIsNotGood: You ''will'' need a single-minded [[ArcWords determination]] if you want to get the GoldenEnding or to complete the [[OmnicidalManiac Genocide Run]]. Sans says this evil purity is the most dangerous part of you. |
| 338 | * RedemptionEqualsDeath: If you take Sans up on his offer of friendship at the end of the No Mercy run, he'll kill you and tell you that if you were sincere about being friends, you'll never come back. Though this is an interesting twist on the trope because Sans is well aware that [[strike:you're unkillable]] [[ResurrectiveImmortality you can't be]] KilledOffForReal because you can control time, so his saying that doesn't mean "stay dead", he's telling you "reset and be a better person". |
| 339 | * SatanicArchetype: [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential Genocide]] [[CruelPlayerCharacterGod Anomaly]] is the best example. A pure evil EldritchAbomination (the same species as TheMaker) who rebels against [[{{God}} the creator of the game's]] desire to free monsterkind out of {{Pride}} and [[ItsAllAboutMe your own selfishness]], abandoning all notions of goodness and consigning yourself to the most evil route by becoming the Angel of Death (which is one of Satan's many monikers) and creating an [[TheAntiChrist Antichrist]] (who you serve as TheCorrupter to) to serve as your Earthly envoy and agent of destruction. Players who did a Pacifist Run first also fit the FallenAngel and FallenHero tropes, and even invoke a bit of DemonicPossession during their control of Frisk. Out of all the characters, ''you'' are the closest thing to Satan. |
| 340 | * ScrewTheRulesIHaveSupernaturalPowers: You have the power to SAVE, and reset, ''time itself'', if you so choose. However, you're not the only character who can handle that raw kind of power; Asriel and Chara will try to wrestle it back from you, and with the latter it's for keeps. Though the fact that you can go a step beyond and edit the files of the game means that your powers will (in a meta sense, anyway) always outclass Chara's. |
| 341 | * SentientCosmicForce: An interpretation, as you're a being only visible in consequences that happen in the timeline; you are the driving force in the world. It could be said that you are Frisk/Chara's DETERMINATION. |
| 342 | * SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong: Should you ever have a change of heart during the Genocide route, undoing your mistakes via a Reset is always an option. Once the route has been brought to completion and the entire world has been erased, however, [[HeelFaceDoorSlam you'll have no choice but to live with your wrongdoing]]. A complete inverse of this is the player who decides to do a [[MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight Genocide run after fulfilling True Pacifist.]] |
| 343 | * SuperPoweredEvilSide: For Frisk, especially when you start killing literally everyone against Frisk's will; remember, Frisk is just a little kid who most likely would not want to hunt down and kill every single monster, and even if they did, being just a child they probably wouldn't have been able even if they tried. You're the one fighting, the one dodging, and the one killing. In pacifist, you're a much more benevolent SuperPoweredAlterEgo. In a very confusing double whammy, should you interpret Chara's speech as literal, Chara by the Genocide ending could be interpreted to be yours, an embodiment of everything destructive you've ever done in videogames [[EnemyWithout given life by your own hands]]. |
| 344 | * SpaceTimeEater: A [[EldritchAbomination sentient time-space anomaly]] that can consume as many timelines as it wants. |
| 345 | * SpannerInTheWorks: The player character can be this, most obviously in a PacifistRun. Regardless of the run, you undermine each boss' plans to either keep you as a guest or prisoner, kill you, and take your soul to the king or for selfish purposes, or stop you from destroying the world. In fact, once you become friends with everyone, you then undermine Asriel's plan to remake the world and start afresh because you remember each of your friends' likes and dislikes while they are trapped inside Asriel. |
| 346 | * StupidEvil: Although there are some interesting things to be found within, like character development, very few people consider the Genocide Route even remotely as enjoyable as the Pacifist route, for a myriad of reasons. It's significantly harder, for example, to the point where the final boss is very clearly designed to be as unfairly frustrating as possible, and the humor and charm is all but nonexistent. As such, many would consider it an unnecessarily exhausting, unsatisfying, and emotionally draining journey to partake in, and Sans, the only character who's aware of your existence, clearly agrees. When analyzing you psychologically at the end of his boss fight, he comes to the conclusion that the only reason you're still here is because you can be. |
| 347 | -->'''Sans:''' and because you "can"... ...you "have to". |
| 348 | * SymbioticPossession: The player controls most of Frisk's actions, but a more benevolent player acts closely to Frisk's desires anyway. As Frisk is a child, they arguably couldn't complete their quest without you, even if they could use determination on their own. |
| 349 | * TimeMaster: In this game, resetting and reloading are real, in-universe things, which you gain complete control of just by starting a new game. |
| 350 | * TalkToTheFist: On the Genocide path, you often walk up to the major characters and one-hit-kill them without a word. |
| 351 | * TechnicalPacifist: Possible if your main method of Sparing is to beat the opponent until they have low health, though the fact that monsters take more damage the lower their health is makes this impractical. You can also engage in multiple KickTheDog moments via dialogue options without having any impact on a True Pacifist run. |
| 352 | * TomTheDarkLord: You are most likely going to be this in a Genocide run. Why would your own name be scary? |
| 353 | * {{Troll}}: You can very much be one by all means as you can choose to screw around with the monsters you encounter. This is best demonstrated by how you can make the TrainingDummy RageQuit by doing nothing useful for eight turns. |
| 354 | * TheUnfettered: ''Undertale'' is heavy on meta commentary about how your actions can affect the game's world for the worse, what might be your reasons for [[EarnYourBadEnding pursuing bad outcomes]], and even how much you're willing to cheat to take what you want from the game. If the worst comes to pass, Sans accuses you of having done it all just because you could and the Fallen Child outright calls you the sort of person who thinks themself to be above consequences and who acts on perverted feelings for the game's setting. You can prove that and assert your power over the game by erasing the records of your deal with the fallen human. On the other hand, there are plenty of people out there who have resisted the temptation of doing a Genocide run and who even hesitate in doing a True Reset after listening to Flowey's last request. However, the game does not spare calling out those who may have been pacifists themselves, but watched someone else take the Genocide route instead. |
| 355 | * VirtualRealityWarper: You can delete and edit the game's files, which clearly makes you this in a meta way, and, as said everywhere else, ''Undertale'' is a very meta game on purpose — [[RealityWarper then there's the ability to reset]]… |
| 356 | * VileVillainSaccharineShow: One of three, along with Flowey and the Fallen Child, as you are the one who ''plays'' the No Mercy run, which makes you the biggest KnightOfCerebus; interestingly, you have the choice to be the reverse and make the game happy and quirky. |
| 357 | * VillainousBSOD: A very, ''very'' common reaction — the [[IntendedAudienceReaction intended reaction]], even — for those who play the Genocide route, especially those who had no idea what they were getting into. This best demonstrated when willing either Toriel or Papyrus, or when Monster Kid decides to engage an encounter to stop you in your tracks. Some choose to [[HeelFaceTurn reset and undo their mistakes at that point]], while others choose to [[IgnoredEpiphany grit their teeth and press on anyway]]. |
| 358 | * WellIntentionedExtremist: You can invoke this (especially if this isn't your first playthrough) as an excuse to kill every boss monster while sparing the citizens. This results in the Annoying Dog taking over the throne, and arguably the second-best ending in the game right after True Pacifist. Even Sans would say thanks at the end of it, despite him being rightfully angry at you for killing his brother earlier. This can also apply to players who started out sparing the monsters but killed at least a few of the later encounters because [[IDidWhatIHadToDo they just couldn't find out how]] or [[ThisIsUnforgivable they didn't find them to be worth the effort.]] |
| 359 | * WhatTheHellHero: Beating the game on the True Pacifist Run and rebooting the game gets you a lecture from '''Flowey''' of all characters, calling you out on taking the characters' happy ending away from them because you were bored, and [[EvilerThanThou referring to you as a possibly worse person than him]]. |
| 360 | * WrongContextMagic: Even if it's only a few people, there are those who know about the power of determination and resetting. What they ''don't'' know about is the Anomaly's power to alter the game's data. Even Chara's attempts to trap them with the consequences of the Genocide run are nothing in the face of this. |
| 361 | * WrongGenreSavvy: |
| 362 | ** The first boss asks you to prove that you're strong enough to survive outside. Anyone familiar with RolePlayingGames in general[[note]]particularly {{Mons}}-[[GottaCatchEmAll catching]] games such as ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}''[[/note]] would try to beat Toriel to an inch of her life before Sparing her. The encounter's designed so that she's instantly killed when her health reaches 30%, and you're guaranteed to [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone feel like a scumbag afterwards.]] |
| 363 | *** Interestingly, on a Full Pacifist Route, the game does this to you again with Asgore, but in reverse. Asgore's boss fight plays the RPG trope straight, you ''have'' to fight and beat him within an inch of his life to Spare him, but by then you've played almost the entire length of the game having adapted to its new rules. You end up frustrating yourself trying to find a hidden (non-existent) trigger for a non-violent Mercy Condition just as you've done all game for every other monster. [[DoubleSubversion Wrong Wrong Genre Savvy?]] |
| 364 | ** The game itself is very meta, and if you think you can just save and load as you please to see what would happen if you do this or that, you will be in for a ''[[YouBastard nasty]]'' surprise. |
| 365 | * {{Yandere}}: You can be a platonic version of this if you reset a True Pacifist ending, taking away a happy ending in order to spend more time with characters you've grown to love. |
| 366 | * YankTheDogsChain: How the aforementioned permanent HeelFaceDoorSlam manifests. Even if you do everything right and get a Pacifist Ending, in the end, the Fallen Child is revealed to still have your soul, after which they'll take control and possibly starting killing again, anyway. |
| 367 | * YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame: Just like MyGodWhatHaveIDone trope above, the game evokes this trope to the player at its hardest. When Flowey or Chara/the fallen human congratulates you, the player (and/or Frisk) for killing Asgore and/or Flowey himself in the Neutral route on the former, and completing the Genocide/No Mercy route on the latter. |
| 368 | [[/folder]] |
| 369 | |
| 370 | [[folder:Dr. W. D. Gaster]] |
| 371 | !!Dr. W. D. Gaster |
| 372 | [[quoteright:135:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dr_wd_gaster_4.png]] |
| 373 | [[caption-width-right:135:The "Mysteryman" sprite commonly believed to be Gaster.]] |
| 374 | ->''"THIS NEXT EXPERIMENT SEEMS VERY VERY INTERESTING."'' |
| 375 | |
| 376 | The enigmatic Dr. W. D. Gaster was the original Royal Scientist, before Dr. Alphys. Can't find him? Well, that's no surprise--he's barely in the game. |
| 377 | |
| 378 | Originally, if one were to explore the game's files, they'd come across a few odd [=NPCs=], rooms, and messages that appeared to be cut content. After the Internet took note of them, they were changed to extremely rare {{Random Event}}s instead. |
| 379 | |
| 380 | Either way, what follows is the mysterious tale of a brilliant mind who fell into a creation of his that accidentally caused him to be shattered across reality, with his fate uncertain. Even to this day, no one knows the complete story of W. D. Gaster... well, no one that wants to talk, anyway. |
| 381 | |
| 382 | A second Goner was also added in the Switch port, and a figure implied to be very close to him (if not him) facilitated the reveal of ''Undertale''[='=]s successor, ''VideoGame/{{Deltarune}}'', with the game itself having a notable amount of nods to the mysterious scientist. [[RiddleForTheAges As for what this means, however…]] |
| 383 | ---- |
| 384 | * TheAce: The former Royal Scientist, a highly esteemed position, who was well-regarded in his field and hailed for the creation of the CORE that powers the world of the monsters. His followers can only wonder if Alphys can measure up to his talent. |
| 385 | * AmbiguouslyEvil: Gaster is certainly an ominous figure, but he doesn't actually ''do'' anything to suggest he's malicious. Due to just how unknown he is, its really impossible to discern his true nature or what, if any, plans he might have. He might be a bad guy, he might not. Then again... |
| 386 | --> '''River Person:''' Beware of the man who speaks in hands. |
| 387 | * AmbiguouslyRelated: |
| 388 | ** To the mysterious voice who unveiled ''Deltarune'' to the internet. While their manners of speech are near-identical, and the voice pointedly states that it thought we would find ''Deltarune'' "VERY, VERY INTERESTING," no official statement has been made. |
| 389 | ** To Sans, thanks to his weapons being known as Gasterblasters in the game files (this being one of the few places Gaster's name shows up at all), as well as his scientific interests. This extends to Papyrus by proxy. |
| 390 | * AmbiguousSituation: |
| 391 | ** Gaster's life was cut short, and he fell into his creation. But the followers don't make clear if it was an accidental death because his experiment went wrong, [[DrivenToSuicide or one]] [[ThanatosGambit on purpose]] after his experiment went wrong. One of the followers wonder if Alphys will end up the same way, which [[{{Foreshadowing}} may be about her suicide in multiple neutral endings]]. This isn't even bringing up the possibility he was ''pushed'' into his creation. |
| 392 | ** It's also not specified which "creation" he fell into. The most likely candidate is probably the CORE, since it's his only confirmed invention — but it's also unclear how a geothermal-powered magical electricity engine causes one to be "scattered through time and space", unless there is some detail about its operation we don't know about. Other candidates for his creation include the Determination Extraction Machine (found in Alphys' True Lab, but it's implied that she might have not been the one to design it) and the mysterious machine in Sans' secret room. |
| 393 | ** It is unclear whether Gaster's fate should be taken as him being completely RetGone, or just being forgotten about in the mundane sense. In particular, Goner Kid asks about [[ItsAWonderfulPlot a world where everything is exactly the same except you don't exist]], which could be taken as Gaster's fate, but the Gaster Followers describe him as a ToughActToFollow with a large gap between him and Alphys, implying some memory of his greatness lingered on. Related is the interpretation that Gaster is an InUniverse exploration of a DummiedOut character. |
| 394 | ** The Riverperson's warning to "beware the man who speaks in hands" is almost universally believed to refer to Gaster, but it's not as clear-cut as the fandom would have you believe, considering that this would make the Riverperson the only character to talk about Gaster besides his followers, and not every symbol used by Gaster is a hand. Another of the Riverperson's warnings, "beware the man who came from the other world", is similarly questionable; it could refer to Gaster since he doesn't reside in the world of ''Undertale'', but he also isn't really ''from'' another world as far as we know, he's just not in this one [[note]] unless you count the timeline from when he existed as "another world"[[/note]]. Unlike the former quote, there are alternative candidates for this, mainly Sans, So Sorry, or Chara. |
| 395 | * AndIMustScream: Implied. Goner Kid talks about horrible it is that the world moves on without you but still looks exactly the same, as if you never mattered. And since the goners are implied to be connected to Gaster in some fashion, it's not too much of a stretch to assume that Gaster is suffering from his "scattered across time and space" situation. |
| 396 | * BeyondTheImpossible: His report mentions negative photon readings, which is a physical impossibility. |
| 397 | * BodyHorror: One of the [=NPCs=] who speaks of him claims to be holding a piece of him, and his Mysteryman fragment has two gashes on his face - one blinding his left eye, the other cutting into his mouth. |
| 398 | * CapsLock: Gaster's Entry Number Seventeen is spoken in full uppercase Wingdings, and that font only has the hand symbols he's seemingly associated with in uppercase. Interestingly, there is a second hidden character in the game that speaks in Wingdings with the same VoiceGrunting as Gaster but does not use full uppercase and only spouts lines like "redacted". |
| 399 | * CrypticConversation: Everything related to Gaster in ''Undertale'' is this, from his report about an expanding darkness directed at two unknown people to several entities displaced in time-space gossiping about him and a voice asking players for "feedback" on his theme song before leaving. |
| 400 | * DemBones: The font ThemeNaming convention he shares with Sans and Papyrus, as well as the appearance of the Mysteryman, heavily suggest that he is/was a skeleton monster. |
| 401 | * DoNotTauntCthulhu: Implied. Trying to enter "Gaster" as the Fallen Child's name causes the game to boot back to the title screen. Many of the Gaster followers are extremely hesitant in divulging information about him, only giving the player bits and pieces of his backstory at a time before shutting themselves up. However, when one of the Gaster followers arrogantly talks more than he should, he gets erased on the spot. |
| 402 | * TheDreaded: Along with his status as a once powerful scientist, he has many associations with [[NumberOfTheBeast the number 6]], [[TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow meta game mechanics]], Determination, and general warnings to be wary of or avoid even speaking of him. Whoever Gaster was, it's possible he was, or [[CameBackWrong is]] [[MyDeathIsJustTheBeginning now,]] very dangerous. ''"Beware of the man who speaks in hands."'' |
| 403 | * [[invoked]]DummiedOut: Originally, ''all'' evidence of Gaster's existence was locked away in the game's files, unable to be accessed normally; players originally learned about him [[NoFourthWall by fixing a "typo" in the game's save file]] (changing the "fun" item to "Fun" and setting it to certain values). After a patch, the "typo" was corrected so the Fun value worked properly, allowing much of the Gaster-related content to be accessed legitimately (albeit under very unlikely circumstances), including the Gaster Followers, the Goners, and the Mysteryman encounter. Some of it is still only found in the files however. |
| 404 | ** His Entry Number Seventeen report (Room 264, room_gaster) is completely inaccessible outside of hacking the game, as he details his "next experiment" to two unknown individuals. |
| 405 | ** room_water_redacted, or Room 272, is a blank, empty room with a mysterious figure in the middle of it. Regardless of whether the character itself has ties to Gaster (it only says a single word in Wingdings, being "[REDACTED]"), the room's exit leads to the Sound Test, the one place in the game where you can listen to Gaster's Theme. The room is implied to have originally been accessed by a cut stable placed in Waterfall near where the snail race takes place, where it was locked. The stable could be unlocked by locating a hidden key in a trashcan, after which the mysterious figure in Room 272 would show itself inside of the stable when the player got near. An additional piece of code implies that the key could then be used to open the stable, presumably leading to Room 272. After this sequence was scrapped, it seems it was given a Gaster-themed coat of paint for dataminers and then removed. It's possible this may have originally been Grandpa Semi, due to code in the demo for ''Undertale'' saying he was meant to be found in Waterfall, although this could also have simply been an early incarnation of the Mysteryman encounter. |
| 406 | ** There is also an actual cut character known as Grandpa Semi. The name was found in the ''Undertale'' demo's code, and he was likely going to be the one to call Frisk for pizza in Snowdin (in the final game, Alphys does this), while an audio file bearing his name quotes the opening of "Metal Crusher". (See [[https://tcrf.net/Proto:Undertale/June_8th,_2013 here]].) That's all we know about him, but since "Semi" could refer to semi-serif fonts, many think Grandpa Semi is a proto-Gaster. |
| 407 | * EldritchAbomination: He exists, yet he doesn't. |
| 408 | * {{Expy}}: |
| 409 | ** The mysteryman sprite brings to mind Uboa from ''VideoGame/YumeNikki''. Just like Uboa, it's a black and white entity with a hidden RNG dictating whether or not it and its accompanying room will show up. |
| 410 | ** Being a scientist stuck in a prison of his own making is similar to Dr. Andonuts in Toby Fox's ''VideoGame/TheHalloweenHack'', who is even represented as Uboa in his overworld sprite when confronted. |
| 411 | * FailureIsTheOnlyOption: In a since-deleted tweet, Toby stated that [[https://twitter.com/tobyfox/status/644973310481166340 "You've all seen the happiest outcome. Neither of them could fix the machine, no matter how hard they tried. No one can."]] |
| 412 | * GhostlyGape: One of his fragments (serving as his folder's image) looks like it ''might'' be a skeleton like Sans and Papyrus, but with that particular expression and the cracks on his face, it ends up looking more like a ghost. Given his predicament, it's probably fitting. |
| 413 | * GoneHorriblyRight: Whatever time-space shenanigans his "creation" would have involved and whatever they were meant for ended up affecting ''him'' instead. |
| 414 | * GoneHorriblyWrong: As brilliant as he was, his life was cut short; one day, his experiments went wrong, he fell into his own creation, and... ''[[{{RetGone}} poof.]]'' |
| 415 | * HellIsThatNoise: In Entry #17, Gaster speaks over a unsettling dial-up like noise and his VoiceGrunting is a jumble of [[VoiceOfTheLegion multiple text-to-speech voices]]. In ''Deltarune'', characters like Kris and Spamton have had their ears blasted with that same noise over the phone, but Gaster hasn't responded on-screen as of chapter 2. |
| 416 | * HoistByHisOwnPetard: Non-villainous version. Gaster was the one who designed and built whatever he plummeted into, the damage of which was so severe that it blasted him and possibly some of his colleagues across time and space. |
| 417 | * {{Leitmotif}}: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0dgaYe2LZw "Gaster's Theme"]][[note]]"mus_him" in the game's files[[/note]], a song that can only be heard in a secret SoundTest screen that only features a few supposedly [[DummiedOut unused]] songs and locks up once the player reaches his theme. It's simply an eery arpeggio played on a piano with some backing, so jury's out on whether any other arpeggi in the soundtrack are meant to be quoting it. |
| 418 | * MeaningfulName: Possibly named after the Wingdings font, which he uses to speak and write. Much like the man himself, Wingdings is cryptic and mysterious, and it takes a lot of effort to memorize and understand. "Gaster" probably comes from the Old English word "gast," from which the word "ghost" derives. "Aster" is also the name of a typeface and is a genus of flowers. |
| 419 | * MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate: He's a rather ominous doctor, between his dangerous creations and the fear of those [=NPCs=] which discuss him. |
| 420 | * NumberOfTheBeast: There is data in the game for a possible battle encounter against Gaster. For some reason or other, his attributes have the number 6 in every digit. 66 being the Fun value that specifically reveals the door to Mysteryman's room at Waterfall is one factor that plays into fans assuming he is what Gaster looks like. |
| 421 | * OmnidisciplinaryScientist: He's an engineer skilled enough to create the CORE, the geothermal powersource of the entire Underground, and it's implied that he was engaging in experiments with Determination before Alphys, with the latter learning from provided blueprints to use the extractor in the True Lab. Then there's his investigation into matters regarding time and space. |
| 422 | * TheOmniscient: He's been scattered across space and time. As a result, he seems to be able to eavesdrop on everything. |
| 423 | * PaintingTheMedium: Initially it was necessary for players to make a quick fix to the game's save file to enable the content related to Gaster. After a number of patches and ports this content was made available by default and ''expanded''. The announcement of ''Deltarune'' was later made by an unknown entity who remarks they and the audience have been looking for each other for a while, and that they look forward to connect with them. |
| 424 | * ProductionForeshadowing: It seems that Gaster's (non)existence in ''Undertale'' was meant to foreshadow ''Videogame/{{Deltarune}}'': |
| 425 | ** The enigmatic Entry Number Seventeen, with its talk of darkness and the "garbage noise" that Gaster talks over both becoming vaguely relevant in ''Deltarune''. |
| 426 | ** The secret room 272 with the mysterious figure that says "redacted" in wingdings leads to a Sound Test, and the moment you finish listening Gaster's theme, it will say "Thank you for your feedback! Be seeing you soon!", which supposedly connects to the mysterious voice waiting for us in ''Deltarune''. |
| 427 | ** The original version of ''Deltarune'''s website in [[https://web.archive.org/web/20160817183540/http://www.deltarune.com/ December 2015]], unnoticed by the entire player base back then, was a pitch-black page with a hidden message in Wingdings that [[https://tcrf.net/Prerelease:Deltarune changed over time]]. First it quoted from Entry Number Seventeen, and then it had Gaster mentioning the legend of the three heroes who oppose the Angel's Heaven: |
| 428 | --->''THREE HEROES APPEARED'' |
| 429 | --->''TO BANISH THE ANGEL'S HEAVEN'' |
| 430 | * TheProfessor: A monster who speaks entirely in Wingdings, and the most brilliant mind in all of monsterkind responsible for creations like the CORE. |
| 431 | * ProfessorGuineaPig: He fell into his creation, transforming him into what he is now. It's unknown if it was on purpose or if it was a freak accident, but either way, he ended up becoming part of his experiments. |
| 432 | * RetGone: Due to his name triggering a restart in the name select, the dialogue from the Goner Kid, and the lack of any characters ever mentioning him (besides the Followers), it may be the case that Gaster was not only shattered across space and time but had his history erased and no one remembers him. Of course, this is just one of many mysteries surrounding the man and no one knows for sure. |
| 433 | * RiddleForTheAges: While there are some "models" of Gaster that are more popular in fanon interpretation, at the end of the day, he as a character is an absolute mystery on just about every level. We have no idea what he was like as a person, what his goals or relationships were, his exact fate and how it befell him, or even what he looks like; all that is known for certain about him is what his followers tell us: he was the brilliant Royal Scientist who made the CORE, an experiment of his went horribly wrong, and he was scattered in pieces across time and space. |
| 434 | * ToughActToFollow: InUniverse. One of his followers says that after Dr. Gaster's death, the Royal Scientist position stayed empty for so long because nobody could follow Gaster's act. |
| 435 | * TheUnintelligible: Gaster speaks in the font he is likely named after, in this case, Wingdings. It ''probably'' isn't a "dialect" the player will understand, though fortunately, lots of translation tools exist online. |
| 436 | * VaguenessIsComing: The elusive Entry #17 hidden in the files, in which Gaster talks about doing research on an ever expanding darkness. He then asks what two unknown people think about it. |
| 437 | * VoiceGrunting: The oddest sounding variety of it in the game: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlmB21Bpv1I&ab_channel=Flippy%3Av a jumble of text-to-speech voices speaking in gibberish]], only heard in the hidden Entry #17. The text-to-speech voices are actually taken from a message asking dataminers who happen upon the file not to spoil the game's secrets, which is then jumbled up for Gaster's voice. The Version 1.01 patch replaced the message with the same text-to-speech voices [[LaughingMad laughing, one after the other]], which sounds pretty much the same when jumbled up. |
| 438 | * {{Wingdinglish}}: Uses the Trope Namer, Wing Dings, as the font he speaks through, which the River Person seemingly deems as "speak[ing] in hands". |
| 439 | * WorldsStrongestMan: According to [[https://undertale.fandom.com/wiki/W._D._Gaster the wiki]], his datamined stats are [[NumberOfTheBeast 666666 [=HP=], 66666 [=ATK=] and 66666 [=DEF=]]]. Compare this to the stats of the second strongest enemy[[note]]9999 [=HP=], 8 [=ATK=], and 9999 [=DEF=] for Asriel's FinalBoss form.[[/note]] and you see they're all comparably paltry. [[SubvertedTrope However]], seeing as Gaster technically does not exist in the world of ''Undertale'', he also ''isn't'' the strongest monster. |
| 440 | [[/folder]] |
| 441 | |
| 442 | [[folder:Gaster's Followers and Goners]] |
| 443 | |
| 444 | ->''"However, his life... was cut short."'' |
| 445 | |
| 446 | A group of characters that are all related to the game's internal "Fun" value; much like other EasterEggs related to Gaster, they will only appear if it is at certain values. Additionally, if the player leaves the room that they appear in, they will not reappear. There are five characters total: Gaster Followers 1-3, Goner Kid, and Goner Clam Girl. The former three directly talk about W.D. Gaster himself. Goner Kid does not, but functions similarly to the followers. Goner Clam Girl also does not talk about Gaster, and instead appears in place of the normal Clam Girl for one line of dialogue. |
| 447 | ---- |
| 448 | !!Tropes that apply in general |
| 449 | * AmbiguousGender: They are never given a canon gender. |
| 450 | * DeliberatelyMonochrome: All five of them are grey. |
| 451 | * NoNameGiven: None of them are named in-game. The game files refer to them as such: |
| 452 | ** Gaster Followers 1-3 = spr_g_follower_... |
| 453 | ** Goner Kid = spr_mkid_goner |
| 454 | ** Goner Clam Girl = spr_clam_goner |
| 455 | * PaletteSwap: Gaster Followers 1-2, Goner Kid, and Goner Clam Girl are all monochrome versions of other monster characters in the game, though they also have other differences from the "normal" versions. |
| 456 | ** Gaster Follower 1 = The ficus licker in MTT Resort |
| 457 | ** Gaster Follower 2 = The monster holding the donut at the Spider Bake Sale |
| 458 | ** Goner Kid = Monster Kid |
| 459 | ** Goner Clam Girl = The Clam Girl near Napstablook's house |
| 460 | ** Gaster Follower 3 = DoubleSubverted, as the "normal" version later appears in ''VideoGame/{{Deltarune}}'' |
| 461 | |
| 462 | !!Gaster Followers 1-3 |
| 463 | [[quoteright:264:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gaster_followers.png]] |
| 464 | [[caption-width-right:264:''"After all, the old one... Dr. Gaster. What an act to follow!"'']] |
| 465 | |
| 466 | * BodyHorror: Follower 3's normal appearance is revealed in ''Deltarune'', but given their differences it seems as if the follower has lost their lower jaw, had their throat cut and their feet melted into the floor. |
| 467 | * MrExposition: They only talk about what happened to W.D. Gaster in some form. |
| 468 | * OracularHead: The "head" in Gaster Follower 2's hand is the one talking. |
| 469 | * ProperlyParanoid: Gaster Follower 3 believes it'd be "rude to talk about someone who's listening" in regards to Gaster. Given that Gaster Follower 2 vanishes immedietely after boasting about having a piece of Gaster... |
| 470 | * RhymesOnADime: Gaster Follower 2 does this if you look closely. |
| 471 | -->'''Gaster Follower 2''': Alphys might work f'''aster'''. But the old Royal Scientist, Doctor W.D. G'''aster'''?\ |
| 472 | One day, he vanished without a tr'''ace'''.\ |
| 473 | They say he shattered across time and sp'''ace'''.\ |
| 474 | Ha Ha... how can I say so without f'''ear'''?\ |
| 475 | I'm holding a piece of him right h'''ere'''. |
| 476 | * SatelliteCharacter: To Dr. Gaster, as they are only there to provide information about him. |
| 477 | * TemptingFate: Gaster Follower 2 says they have nothing to fear from Gaster, since they've got a piece of him. They vanish ''immediately'' after they're done talking.[[note]]Notably, his disappearance is accompanied by the same sound that plays when the "Mystery Man" vanishes. The sound was also used for Goner Clam Girl.[[/note]] |
| 478 | * WhamLine: The followers all speak of Gaster in the past tense, and the snippets of his story you hear all imply that he's dead, gone, or {{Ret Gone}}d. That is, until you speak to follower #3, whose final line suggests something [[TheOmniscient much stranger]]: |
| 479 | --> "Well, I needn't gossip. After all, it's rude to talk about someone who's listening." |
| 480 | |
| 481 | !!Goner Kid |
| 482 | [[quoteright:100:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/goner_kid_overworld.png]] |
| 483 | [[caption-width-right:100:''"Please forget about me."'']] |
| 484 | |
| 485 | * AndIMustScream: Talks about how horrible it is that the world moves perfectly fine on without them. |
| 486 | * CheatedAngle: Goner Kid's horns appear at the side in both the back-facing and front-facing sprites (unlike Monster Kid, who only has a cheated angle in their front-facing sprite). |
| 487 | * ItsAWonderfulPlot: {{Discussed}} and PlayedForHorror. |
| 488 | -->'''Goner Kid''': Have you ever thought about a world where everything is exactly the same...\ |
| 489 | Except you don't exist?\ |
| 490 | Everything functions perfectly without you...\ |
| 491 | Ha, ha... The thought terrifies me. |
| 492 | * MirrorSelf: Goner Kid and Monster Kid have their (asymmetrical) horns on opposite sides. Interestingly enough, Goner Kid's horn side ''does'' match Monster Kid's horn side in ''VideoGame/{{Deltarune}}''... |
| 493 | * MonochromaticEyes: Has completely blank eyes. |
| 494 | * ThrowTheDogABone: Talking to them while holding an umbrella makes them feel less miserable about their situation. |
| 495 | -->'''Goner Kid''': An umbrella...? But it's not raining.\ |
| 496 | Ha, ha...\ |
| 497 | You know that does make me feel a little better about this.\ |
| 498 | Thank you. |
| 499 | |
| 500 | !!(Goner) Clam Girl |
| 501 | [[quoteright:114:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/clam_girl_overworld.png]] |
| 502 | [[caption-width-right:114:''"Not knowing where I live is no issue. Fate finds a way."'']] |
| 503 | [[caption-width-right:114:[[labelnote:Goner Form]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/clam_girl_overworld_greyed.png''"In life's grand scheme,, she may be why you came here in the first place..."''[[/labelnote]]]] |
| 504 | |
| 505 | * CanonForeigner: Clam Girl's goner counterpart only appears in the Nintendo Switch version of ''Undertale''. |
| 506 | * TheGhost: Suzy, the Clam Girl's neighbor's daughter. [[SurprisinglyCreepyMoment Goner Clam Girl]] [[WhamLine hints you]] [[VaguenessIsComing might meet her soon]]... |
| 507 | * ProductionForeshadowing: Mentions her neighbor Suzy. Then says we will meet Suzy soon in the Nintendo Switch port. Not too long after the port's release, Su[[InconsistentSpelling sie]] debuts as a deuteragonist in ''VideoGame/{{Deltarune}}''. |
| 508 | * SurprisinglyCreepyMoment: The Clam Girl, when she transforms into her goner counterpart, appears with a single, bloodshot eye in place of her head. |
| 509 | * UnknownCharacter: Clam Girl's neighbor and their daughter Suzy. No information is revealed about either of them, for all we know they could be just an InventedIndividual. We do meet Su''sie'' in ''Deltarune'', but it's not clear if this is a case of InconsistentSpelling or [[OneSteveLimit not]]. |
| 510 | * WhamLine: Goner Clam Girl's appearance qualifies as one. |
| 511 | -->'''Clam Girl''': So you never met my neighbor's daughter.[[note]]She calls her '''Suzy''' in an earlier conversation.[[/note]]\ |
| 512 | But please don't despair.\ |
| 513 | Because the time that you will meet her...\ |
| 514 | ''[[[SuddenSoundtrackStop Music stops.]]]''\ |
| 515 | '''Goner Clam Girl''': ... is fast approaching.[[note]]Curiously, this text box is displayed on the upper half of the screen, rather than the bottom.[[/note]]\ |
| 516 | ''[Disappears.]'' |
| 517 | [[/folder]] |
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/context.php
FollowingContext Characters / UndertaleSpoilerCharacters
Go To
- Show Spoilers
- Night Vision
- Sticky Header
- Wide Load
