| 1 | %% |
| 2 | %% This page is SPOILERS OFF due to the sheer volume of spoilers. PLEASE DO NOT ADD ANY TEXT IN SPOILER BRACKETS. |
| 3 | %% |
| 4 | %% Please follow Administrivia/ExampleIndentation when adding examples. |
| 5 | %% |
| 6 | %% Administrivia/SpeculativeTroping is not allowed. |
| 7 | %% We're troping what the work says, not what the work might say in future. |
| 8 | %% |
| 9 | %% Don't forget that we currently only have the first two chapters out of (probably) seven. |
| 10 | %% Tropes based on patterns over multiple installments are probably premature at this time. |
| 11 | %% |
| 12 | !Due to the sheer volume of spoilers, [[Administrivia/SpoilersOff all of them are unmarked]] in this page. Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned! |
| 13 | [[quoteright:330:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/deltarune_page_image_3.png]] |
| 14 | [[caption-width-right:330:''No one can choose who they are in this world.'']] |
| 15 | ->''ARE YOU THERE?'' |
| 16 | ->''ARE WE CONNECTED?'' |
| 17 | ->''EXCELLENT.'' |
| 18 | ->''TRULY EXCELLENT.'' |
| 19 | -> ''NOW.'' |
| 20 | ->'''''WE MAY BEGIN.''''' |
| 21 | |
| 22 | ''Deltarune'' is an [[EpisodicGame episodic]] RolePlayingGame by Creator/TobyFox for the PC, Platform/NintendoSwitch, and Platform/PlayStation4. A successor and [[AlternateUniverse "parallel story"]] to ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'', Fox describes it as, "a game you can play after you complete ''Undertale'', if you want to." |
| 23 | |
| 24 | The town of Hometown is [[EverytownAmerica a perfectly normal and charming little sunny suburban community]] where pretty much all the residents are monsters living peaceful and mundane lives. You, the player, are placed in the role of Kris, the only human resident of the town. Otherwise, Kris lives in a perfectly normal house with their [[MyBelovedSmother rather overprotective]] and snail-obsessed mom, Toriel. |
| 25 | |
| 26 | One day at school, Kris and resident [[TheBully bully]] Susie are tasked to get some chalk from the supply closet. Said closet turns out to be BiggerOnTheInside, and Kris and Susie somehow fall into a dark and otherworldly place. They form an uneasy alliance to protect themselves against creatures that inhabit the place, and soon they meet the Prince of Darkness, Ralsei, who tells them that they are the fabled "DELTA WARRIORS" who are prophesied to save the world. |
| 27 | |
| 28 | But the dark world is full of many opponents and oddball characters, as well as the continued question of what kind of heroes they will be, and whether the choices they make matter or not... |
| 29 | |
| 30 | Gameplay fundamentals have changed little from ''Undertale'' (with ActionCommands and the ability to non-lethally defeat enemies being core parts of the system), though it has changed to accommodate three party members, each with their own classes and abilities. The game also introduces a TP[[note]]"Tension Points" instead of "Tech Points", though a couple [=NPCs=] make [[FunWithAcronyms the obvious "toilet paper" joke]][[/note]] system for combat, allowing the player to build up a special gauge by guarding, attacking or grazing bullets, with excess TP converted into money after battles. |
| 31 | |
| 32 | Initially teased on the ''Undertale'' Twitter account on October 30, 2018, the first chapter was released for free a day later on Halloween, in the guise of a "survey program." The second chapter, also free, was released on September 17, 2021. Chapters 3 and 4 are planned to release as a paid bundle some time in the future, with the remaining chapters[[note]]including Chapters 5 to 7, although it's unknown how many there will be at this time[[/note]] following suit in a final bundle. The game is available from various digital retailers, as well as its [[https://www.deltarune.com/ official site.]] |
| 33 | ---- |
| 34 | !!SELECT THE TROPES THAT YOU PREFER.[[note]]Tropes not specific to any chapter. See the [[Recap/{{Deltarune}} Recap pages]] for chapter-specific tropes.[[/note]] |
| 35 | |
| 36 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 37 | |
| 38 | [[folder:Tropes #-B]] |
| 39 | * FiveFiveFive: In Noelle's hidden blog, Berdly leaves a few comments. His username has his phone number in it, which starts with 555.[[note]] Funnily enough, his phone number is one number too long, being (555) 672-52899. [[/note]] |
| 40 | * ActionCommands: |
| 41 | ** When [=FIGHTing=], a bar comes from the right side of the screen, and the player has to press a button when it reaches a box on the left side; the closer the bar is to the box, the greater damage the attacking character deals, with a perfect attack turning the bar yellow and making a special sound. When more than one character attacks in a turn, multiple bars appear, with some bars being synchronised with another. |
| 42 | ** Select enemies and bosses include [=ACTs=] that require the player to complete various minigames in order for them to be effective, such as lining up Bloxer segments, gauging how Susie throws Kris and Ralsei at a target, blocking pop-up ads through button mashing, and timing when a cage drops to catch swarms of maice, among others. |
| 43 | * AerithAndBob: Considering that most returning monsters have made up or at least unusual names (Toriel, Undyne, Alphys, Asgore, etc.), it's a bit weird to see a lot of the newer ones have names like Rudy or Alvin. In particular, the current roster of playable party members as of Chapter 2 consists of Kris, Susie, Noelle... and Ralsei. |
| 44 | * AfterCombatRecovery: After combat ends, any downed party members will be revived at 12% of their maximum HP. |
| 45 | * AllLowercaseLetters: The game's title is stylized this way, in contrast to ''Undertale'''s all-uppercase title. |
| 46 | * AlternateRealityGame: ''Deltarune'' featured an ARG as part of the Spamton Sweepstakes charity event in 2022, in which [[https://deltarune.com/sweepstakes/ the sweepstakes website]] featured a number of [[https://twitter.com/NE0Nbandit/status/1571222237629276161 hidden links]] to various pages. Some are just {{Easter egg}}s hinting at content in future chapters, while others take the form of blog posts by Noelle providing lore about herself and the rest of Hometown's residents; some of these are connected by interactive pages that tie in with the blog's contents. A few other pages, including a couple of Noelle's posts, hint at lore for Spamton himself. |
| 47 | * AmbidextrousSprite: Kris and Berdly are aversions of this trope when they're in the Dark World, with their respective cape and eyepiece only showing up on one of their side sprites. |
| 48 | * AmbiguousSituation: |
| 49 | ** The exact nature of the Dark Worlds isn't exactly clear. Chapter 1 suggests and chapter 2 confirms that Darkners are mundane objects brought to life by the Fountains of Darkness. Despite this, Darkners imply they've had long relationships with both each other and Lightners. While the Lightner relationship could simply be the viewpoint of an old toy whose owner outgrew them, their relationships with each other seem impossible to have been constructed retroactively, as multiple characters know of Queen's existence before the fountain that formed her was even created. |
| 50 | ** Towards the end of Chapter 2, the save point that appears after you defeated Queen the first time tells you that you are filled with "a certain power". Soon, we see Queen talking about the Lightners' power to utilize Determination, effectively confirming that it exists in this game. However, the game continues to refer to Kris being filled with "a certain power", leaving it uncertain whether that power is indeed Determination. |
| 51 | * AnimateInanimateObject: The Darkners are a variant. Though they are fully-animated monster people inside their own world, they are suggested in Chapter 1 and more or less confirmed in Chapter 2 to correspond to objects found around Hometown. Chapter 1's Darkners become toys, cards, and chess pieces from a school storage closet in the Light World, while Chapter 2's correspond to the hardware and software found in the Librarby computer lab. |
| 52 | * AntiEscapismAesop: The game's plot is a subversion of this trope. The Dark World is a clear metaphor for escapist hobbies like games, the internet, and television. While the dangers of spending too long in the Dark World (i.e. getting too absorbed into fiction and escapism) are discussed, it also acts as a way for the characters to escape the social expectations of the world they live in and explore new sides of themselves. Susie, for instance, goes from a maladjusted bully lashing out because [[NotEvilJustMisunderstood that's what people expect of her]] into a [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold caring big-sister figure]] once she's introduced to a positive relationship with Lancer. Ultimately, escapism is very healthy and a natural thing for every person to do, and there's nothing wrong with running away from your problems for a bit. |
| 53 | * AntiFrustrationFeatures: |
| 54 | ** One of ''Undertale'''s many commentaries on role-playing games was defying WeBuyAnything, as the various shopkeepers would not buy the player's junk since they didn't need it; you could only sell items to the one shopkeeper dumb enough to accept your stuff. Since ''Deltarune'' is closer to a traditional RPG and money is more useful, it drops this joke and lets you sell your stuff to any standard store. |
| 55 | ** The game notices if [[NewGamePlus you're playing through a second time after completing a chapter on any file]] by letting you skip the opening of the chapter and head straight to the Dark World by going to sleep in Kris's bed. |
| 56 | ** In the original "SURVEY_PROGRAM" version, if you make it to the Dark World in less than 8 minutes, you get a Wrist Protector which lets you skip text by holding C. It also doesn't appear in the inventory. Starting with the Chapter 2 demo, the Wrist Protector is removed in favor of making text-skipping an inherent feature. |
| 57 | ** Similarly to boss fights in ''Undertale'', losing to a boss and retrying the fight will skip the intro cutscene and start the fight immediately. |
| 58 | ** The boss fights against most non-recruitable bosses such as King and Rouxls Kaard give the same result whether they're defeated through violence or [=ACTing=]. In Berdly's case, violently defeating him (normally) slightly changes his physical state, but doesn't change the route and gameplay. The sole exception to this pattern so far is the first fight against Spamton on the normal route: defeating him violently locks the player out of his sidequest. |
| 59 | ** The first time you get a GameOver, you get a few screens of dialogue. It's changed to a simple "want to continue?" yes/no question every time you die after that until you quit the game. Alternatively, you can mash buttons to skip the game over screen. |
| 60 | ** Just like in ''Undertale'', there are various points where the game autosaves (which is presumably deleted upon closing the game) so that if you die, you don't have too much to do again if it's been a while since you last saved. This is also useful if you're doing a no-save run. |
| 61 | ** Each chapter uses its own set of save files; this means you can skip to a later chapter even if you haven't completed an earlier one, as well as play each chapter individually instead of starting from the beginning of the game. You can also continue from any save file you've completed the previous chapter on, [[OldSaveBonus allowing you to keep any items you've obtained and dialogue options you've triggered on that file]]. |
| 62 | ** The {{superboss}} fights end with the player receiving an equippable item. Should the player's inventory be full however, the item will be stored in a chest near the boss arena so you can pick it up later ([[DevelopersForesight with some humorous dialogue in Spamton's case]]). |
| 63 | ** If you seal the fountain of a Dark World without fighting its {{superboss}}, you can still collect their Shadow Crystal and weapon/armor from the hole to the left of Castle Town as long as you have defeated them in another save file. |
| 64 | ** For both of the secret Egg rooms, the exit is to the south, but you move east and west to trigger the room, preventing you from accidentally leaving as soon as you enter. |
| 65 | * AntiGrinding: Monsters run away instead of dying when defeated in ''Deltarune'' (outside of a very specific alternate path, and even then they still technically don't give XP), so the party members can never receive XP, and their LV and base stats only go up upon sealing a Dark Fountain. Starting with Chapter 2, the heroes can get stat bonuses by fighting enemies, but this has its limits and also prevents the monster fought from being recruited into Castle Town. |
| 66 | * ArbitraryHeadcountLimit: Kris can only have up to two extra party members. Lancer joins the three-member Delta Warriors in Chapter 1, but just slides to the side of an enemy-free path right up until he leaves. Noelle only joins the party after Susie and Ralsei leave in Chapter 2, and while she stays after the groups combine, she conveniently gets preoccupied at any point where the Delta Warriors could get into an encounter, right up until she gets separated from them for the rest of the chapter. |
| 67 | * ArcWords: |
| 68 | ** When using certain save points, the words "Shining" or "power" appear in the flavor text, paralleling ''Undertale'''s "filled with determination". Notably, the word "determination" never appears in ''Deltarune''[='=]s first chapter. |
| 69 | ** The phrase "your choices don't matter" and variants thereof show up a lot in Chapter 1; this is contrasted to the message of ''Undertale'' quite severely, which was that your choices really do matter quite a lot. |
| 70 | ** Every keyword related to Dr. Gaster shows up either in-game or on the Twitter lead-up to chapter releases. Things like "Very, very interesting", "Darker, yet darker", "Don't forget", "feedback" from nonsensical yet ominous surveys and variations of "be seeing you soon" or "you'll meet somebody soon". |
| 71 | ** Chapter 2's Weird Route has "Proceed". If you choose to turn Noelle into a cold blooded murderer, when you come across the first annoying mouse puzzle, you'll be given the option to say "Proceed". Doing so enough times will cause her to rush past the puzzle. You'll do this again for the second annoying mouse puzzle, except this time she freezes the puzzle, but when you reach the third one, she will automatically freeze it without you telling her. When encountering Berdly, you'll be given the option to say "Proceed" again. Doing this is required to continue the Weird Route and it receives several [[{{Lampshade}} lampshades]] from Noelle and Berdly. |
| 72 | * AreYouSureYouWantToDoThat: After returning to the Light World from the Dark World, your Dark World inventory is represented as a "Ball of Junk". If you attempt to drop it, the game will warn you that you don't want to do that -- and if you insist, your Dark World main inventory[[note]]excluding storage and items currently equipped to a character[[/note]] will be wiped out. |
| 73 | * ArtEvolution: The sprite animation in this game is more fluid, detailed, and dynamic compared to ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'', which saved its most detailed stuff for very key moments. This is part of the reason for the game's lengthy development time. |
| 74 | * TheArtifact: [[http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1sqn3p9 While giving his thoughts on the demo]], Toby Fox admitted he found the ACT/FIGHT system a lot less meaningful due to his choice to only include one ending for the game. Chapter 2 [[ReimaginingTheArtifact introduces more factors affected by whether the party uses violence or mercy]], though outside of the Weird route (which is deliberately distanced from typical actions and is ambiguous as to what it implies for the rest of the game) they're still kept relatively minor. |
| 75 | * ArtificialInsolence: Until you [[DefeatMeansFriendship defeat her and Lancer in a battle]] and she subsequently has a HeelRealization in the Card Castle, Susie will ignore any commands given to her and will blindly attack the enemy closest to her no matter what. Even after she's come around, she'll still refuse to equip her starting weapon if she already held the stronger ones, saying ''"I'm too good for that"'', and will refuse some armor point-blank because she dislikes how it looks. |
| 76 | * AscendedFanon: [[InvokedTrope Explicitly played with]], as the charmingly domestic town lifts elements common in fan works, such as Asriel surviving what happens to him in ''Undertale'''s Pacifist ending. But it also subverts a lot of those expectations as well, with many relationships from the previous game nonexistent, such as Undyne not knowing who Alphys is. |
| 77 | * AscendedMeme: |
| 78 | ** Kris' love for [[SweetTooth chocolate]] is mentioned in multiple places by the narration and people who know them well, with Toriel even having to hide chocolates from them so they don't eat them all at once. Being a CompositeCharacter of [[VideoGame/{{Undertale}} Frisk and Chara]] at least in design, this appears to be a reference to the ''Undertale'' fanbase having fun portraying Chara, whether [[AmbiguouslyEvil good OR evil]], as a [[NotSoAboveItAll ravenous chocolate-loving maniac]] based off a single line in the game. |
| 79 | ** Ralsei's Valentines 2024 mentions Susie wanted to roll up all the valentine paper into a giant tube. Ralsei indignantly refuses her pestering to pretend to smoke out of it, playing on a meme showing Ralsei smoking an improbably-large marijuana cigarette. |
| 80 | ** One of the items being given away in the Spamton Sweepstakes was a jar titled "Spamton After Not Surviving", referencing the "Steven After Not Surviving" meme that claims Sans is a dead version of Steven Universe. |
| 81 | * AsYouKnow: Several characters (especially Toriel) will talk about past events with Kris conveniently conveying information about their backstory to the player. |
| 82 | * AuthorAvatar: Once again, the Annoying Dog appears as Toby Fox's avatar. In Chapter 1, he can be seen via text actively working on the game in the library's computer lab, and becomes a recurring gag starting with Chapter 2. |
| 83 | ** Similarly, Temmie represents the game's artist Creator/TemmieChang. |
| 84 | * BecauseDestinySaysSo: |
| 85 | ** Deconstructed as the central theme of ''Deltarune''. Deltarune portrays the idea of fate and destiny in a scary and pressuring way. You don't get to choose your character and you don't get to choose how you play the game. Nowhere in the game do you actually have free will or make any impactful choices. In the ending, Kris tears out ''the SOUL'' from their chest, [[AmbiguousSituation seemingly]] so they can have [[ScrewDestiny free will and a choice of their own, even if it's sinister or psychopathic]], since Kris may not have wanted to be good or be a hero in the first place (and many characters make the point that Kris is acting very out of character, implied to be due to the influence of the player on their decisions and abilities). |
| 86 | ** However, Chapter 2 reveals this is either a lie, or there's a loophole -- ''Kris'' can't make impactful decisions, but the player can cause ''other people to do so''. Specifically, Noelle can be forced into killing every Darkner she encounters, and if you equip a specific ring for her, she gains a lethal ice spell that she can use to seemingly murder ''Berdly'' and go on a horrifying killing spree, which ends with the violent death of Spamton NEO. Back in the Light World, Noelle implies that a voice was telling her to do all those horrible things, which is implied to be the player's voice. |
| 87 | * BigDoor: |
| 88 | ** There's a large bunker-style door built into the landscape in the forest to the south of Hometown. Locked, obviously. The epilogue of Chapter 2 has some of the classmates attempt to open it, but to no avail. |
| 89 | ** The door in the castle town leading to the classroom Dark World is a giant golden door with the Delta Rune emblazoned on it. Sealing the fountain reveals that it's just the door connecting the supply closet to the unused classroom. |
| 90 | * BiggerOnTheInside: Dark Fountains made inside of rooms invoke this, creating Dark Worlds that are far more extensive than Hometown itself. |
| 91 | * BizarroElements: Every character and magic ability in the game is categorized into one or more elements. Some elements are your standard fare such as "ELEC" or "ICE", but there are more types that fit this trope, such as "MOUSE" and "ORDER". |
| 92 | ** Starting in Chapter 2, you can check a recruited enemy's elemental type at SAVE points; however, these are merely cosmetic strings added individually for each enemy. A character with multiple elements will have them listed together, separated by a colon symbol (for example, Rudinn Ranger's element is [=JEWEL:BLADE=]). To recap, here are all the elemental descriptions thus far, along with characters associated with them: |
| 93 | *** RUDE: Susie's Rude Buster attack deals Rude-elemental magic. This is the first element to be explicitly stated in the game, from the very first chapter. |
| 94 | *** [[GemstoneAssault JEWEL]]: Rudinn and Rudinn Ranger. |
| 95 | *** [[HeartBeatDown HEART]]: Hathy and Head Hathy. |
| 96 | *** ORDER: Ponman, Ambyu-Lance, Tasque Manager. |
| 97 | *** RABBIT and [[SandBlaster DUST]]: Rabbick is the only character belonging to both of these elements so far. |
| 98 | *** FIGHT: Bloxer and Werewerewire. |
| 99 | *** MOUSE: Jigsawry, Maus, and Mauswheel; the latter having the element [=MOUSE:MOUSE:MOUSE=]. |
| 100 | *** PUZZ: Jigsawry. |
| 101 | *** BLADE: Rudinn Ranger. |
| 102 | *** [[AnIcePerson ICE]]: Head Hathy. Noelle's spells are also Ice-based, such as [=IceShock=]. |
| 103 | *** [[ShockAndAwe ELEC]]: Werewire, Tasque, Ambyu-Lance, Maus, Werewerewire. The most common element thus far, assigned to over half of all the enemies in Chapter 2. |
| 104 | *** [[TheVirus VIRUS]]: Virovirokun and Poppup. |
| 105 | *** CAT: Tasque and Tasque Manager. |
| 106 | *** COLOR: Swatchling. |
| 107 | *** CHAOS: Jevil. His element as written in his unused Recruits bio is [[CharacterCatchphrase CHAOS:CHAOS]]. |
| 108 | ** An actual hidden element system with in-battle effects exists in Chapter 2, but as it stands it is incomplete and only partly relates to recruit descriptions. Elemental armor can defend against bullets of the same element pair, and in some cases multiple elements. So far, we know of these elements: |
| 109 | *** Element 0: Default neutral element, does not partake in element calculations. |
| 110 | *** Element 1 (Elec/[[HolyHandGrenade Holy]]): The unused Sky Mantle item is said to protect against Elec/Holy bullets. However, both the item and the element itself are currently unused. |
| 111 | *** Element 6 (Puppet/Cat): Tasque, Tasque Manager, and Spamton NEO. Three armor items reduce damage from Puppet/Cat attacks. |
| 112 | *** Element 7 (Mouse/???): The unused Mouse Token item reduces damage from a presumable Mouse-related element pair. |
| 113 | *** Spamton’s Q&A also mentions [Thunder/Light][[note]]which may be the same as Elec/Holy[[/note]], [Dark/Star], and [Death/Scythe] pairs, none of which exist in-game yet. |
| 114 | * BorderOccupyingDecorations: Console releases feature a decorative border around the screen, thanks to the game using a 4:3 display as part of its {{retraux}} aesthetic. The border's contents dynamically change based on what area of the game the player is in. |
| 115 | * BoringButPractical: The DD-Burger/Double Darkburger is a fairly plain healing item but one of the best available in the early game. For just 140 D$, two Darkburgers from Seam's shop can be combined into a single DD-Burger by Malius, healing 60 HP upon use and turning into a Darkburger that heals 70 HP, similarly to the Bisicle from ''Undertale''. Since the party can only hold a limited number of items at once, DD-Burgers allow them to carry a lot more mid-strength heals, with the only disadvantages being that Noelle dislikes them (only healing 20 HP per use) and that they can only be made between Dark World visits. |
| 116 | * BossAlteringConsequence: In Chapter 1, the game lets you choose which machine to build in the "Create a Machine to Thrash Your Own Ass" segment. Rouxls Kaard will use this machine against you in Chapter 2 and the head of the machine determines the special attack. The head of the machine also determines the special move that you can use against Giga Queen. |
| 117 | * BossRemix: Like ''Undertale'' this is the norm for boss fights rather than the exception. |
| 118 | ** "Vs Lancer" is a remix of "Lancer". |
| 119 | ** "Vs Susie" includes the motifs from "Susie" and "Imminent Death". |
| 120 | ** "Chaos King" is a remix of "Card Castle", both of which use motifs from "Basement" and "Lancer". The former also has "The Legend" included in it. |
| 121 | ** "Cyber Battle" is a remix of other tracks associated with Sweet Cap'n Cakes ("Almost to the Guys!", etc.) |
| 122 | ** "It's Prounounced 'Rules'" is a remix of "Rouxls Kaard". |
| 123 | ** "Smart Race" is a remix of "Berdly". |
| 124 | ** "Attack of the Killer Queen" combines "Queen" with "Berdly"/"Smart Race". |
| 125 | ** "Knock You Down" is mainly a remix of "Queen". |
| 126 | ** "BIG SHOT" is a remix of "NOW'S YOUR CHANCE TO BE A" (with several other noteworthy ''Undertale'' and ''Deltarune'' tracks mixed in), while "NOW'S YOUR CHANCE TO BE A" is ''itself'' a boss remix of "Spamton". |
| 127 | * BossWarningSiren: "Gallery", a short, but tense theme, plays during the cutscenes immediately preceding the fights with King and Queen. |
| 128 | * BrickJoke: |
| 129 | ** Among the various Easter eggs in ''Undertale'' that hinted at Gaster and ''Deltarune'' is a SoundTest of sorts where the player is thanked for the "feedback" of listening to Gaster's song for a few seconds. Years later, the ''Deltarune'' demo is presented as another survey and Gaster's Theme is not-so-subtly featured in both the morbidly humorous vessel setup as well as in various other places later on. |
| 130 | ** The name for the Hotel track in ''Undertale'' was "Can You Really Call This A Hotel I Didn't Receive A Mint On My Pillow". Cue Queen's mansion, where returning to the private rooms after escaping will have a Swatchling tell Kris they put a mint under their electric cage, but not to mistake the mansion for a hotel for it. |
| 131 | ** Early in ''Undertale'', Sans teases the protagonist with a fake word search puzzle featuring a character named "Ice-E" on the side of the paper. Ice-E is never seen or mentioned again anywhere in ''Undertale'', but turns out to be the mascot of a pizzeria in ''Deltarune'''s Hometown. And in Chapter 2, the nonsense word in the word search that almost matched the first row of the word search is revealed to be just one letter off from Ice-E's "[[CharacterCatchphrase catchphrase]]". |
| 132 | * BulletHell: In addition to the combat system being a refined form of this from the original game, there are also elements of it incorporated in the overworld at certain parts. |
| 133 | * BusCrash: As part of the AlternateUniverse setting in the town, headstones for some of the monsters who were previously part of the Amalgamates as well as Gerson can be found in a small graveyard, retroactively naming them as well. |
| 134 | * ButThouMust: Appears to be the theme of the game; despite appearing to have a similar structure to ''Undertale'' in terms of choosing between pacifism or more violent methods, the game constantly forces you along only a single path. You are even told multiple times that "your choices don't matter", and many of the choices you are offered get rescinded immediately, in direct contrast to the ''extremely'' choice-driven experience of ''Undertale''. The biggest choice a player can make is with the alternate route of Chapter 2, but it involves going completely OffTheRails and its results are less than pleasant. |
| 135 | [[/folder]] |
| 136 | |
| 137 | [[folder:Tropes C-F]] |
| 138 | * TheCameo: The Amalgamates never came to be, but Everyman is still out there, appearing as a RecurringExtra as pieces of graffiti or rarely as part of boss attacks. |
| 139 | * CassandraTruth: Attempting to talk to Undyne about the Dark World causes her to laugh you off. |
| 140 | * CentralTheme: |
| 141 | ** In opposition to ''Undertale'': Your choices don't matter. Your CharacterCustomization choices at the start of the game are immediately discarded, you're unable to choose your partner in class, DialogueTree choices will result in no actual difference (sometimes, you won't even be given time to pick a choice before another character cuts you off), characters will tell you multiple times your choices don't matter, you are incapable of engaging in full genocide or full pacifist playthroughs like you could in ''Undertale'', and at the end of the game, control of Kris is literally ripped away from you. If you corrupt Noelle in Chapter 2, however, this theme is broken in the most horrifying manner possible. |
| 142 | ** Another central theme that's directly tied to the first is seemingly "[[ArcWords freedom]]", whether it be release from a prison or the ability to have agency at all. The Shadow Crystal holders mention "freedom" a lot. At the end of the "corrupt Noelle" route, it's implied Noelle becomes more aware of the lack of control over her own life and how she was being manipulated by "Kris". And after the battle against Spamton NEO, Kris is deeply unnerved at the potential cost of what it takes to gain "true freedom". |
| 143 | * CharacterLevel: Like ''Undertale'', the game tracks your EXP and LV. However, EXP and LV still appear to quantify KillingIntent, and the protagonists are unable to kill anyone due to the enemy running away after a certain amount of health is lost ([[NonLethalKO non-lethal beatings]] still don't give any EXP). There is even a boss that must be overcome in another way due to it being able to heal itself more than the party can damage it, removing even the ability to non-lethally beat up every enemy in the game. Thus far, LV only increases for the party as they complete chapters by sealing the Dark Fountains, and Kris still remains at LV 1 when in the Light World. Even on Chapter 2's Weird route, which does involve a party member killing enemies to get stronger, the system isn't framed in the exact same way that it was in ''Undertale''. |
| 144 | * CheatedAngle: Because most of the characters aren't drawn from top-bottom perspective, Kris's laying down in bed sprite is the same one as their left facing sprite and they simply walk out of bed without changing their angle. |
| 145 | * ChekhovsGunman: This time, you don't need to dig into the game's code or mess with the save files to catch hints of Dr. [[VideoGame/{{Undertale}} W.D. Gaster's]] presence in the world. To begin with, an entity who's implied to be Gaster or someone related to him heralds the release of Chapter 1 and its opening act when the game is first loaded. The noise from Entry #17 plays when trying to make calls in the dark world, he's implied to have driven the Shadow Crystal holders insane with his revelations, and his theme song is incorporated in at least nine tracks of the soundtrack. A mysterious hill with a locked door to the south of Hometown makes a murmuring noise that's actually a slowed-down version of the noise from Entry #17. But by far the smoking gun for Gaster's likely involvement in the story is the presence of the site "deltarune.com" [[EarlyBirdCameo since December 2015]] (when ''Undertale'' was still a very recent release), and until the actual game was announced, there was only one file on the website: a darkened image of ''lines of [=WingDings=] text'' (Gaster's signature writing style). |
| 146 | * CloseContactDangerBenefit: You earn Tension Points, which can be used for spells, when the SOUL comes close to bullets without actually touching them. |
| 147 | * CloseOnTitle: Each chapter ends with the game's title showing up. |
| 148 | * ColorCodedForYourConvenience: |
| 149 | ** The flying numbers that ShowsDamage are colored differently based on which character dealt said damage. Kris's are blue, Susie's are pink, Ralsei's are green, and Noelle's are yellow. |
| 150 | ** As of Chapter 2, hostile enemies glow red to distinguish them from the harmless [=NPCs=], though some [=NPCs=] become hostile if you fulfill certain conditions (such as breaking a vase near a Swatchling). |
| 151 | * CombatExclusiveHealing: Ralsei, Susie, and Noelle's healing spells are only usable in combat, and the TP they use doesn't even stay after battle, as it's converted to money. That said, you can buy healing items or SAVE to restore health. |
| 152 | * CombinationAttack: Some [=ACT=]s have an upgraded version that's used with one or both other party members, but using them also uses up said party members' turns. Played straight with Susie's [[EleventhHourSuperpower Red Buster]], which deals massive damage. |
| 153 | * ComedicStrangling: When Berdly admits he has a crush on Susie, Noelle (who has feelings for Susie as well) lets out a multitude of [[BigWhat "WHAT?!"s]] as she strangles him. |
| 154 | * CosmicHorrorStory: Both in a meta sense and in-universe. |
| 155 | ** Meta-wise, the actions of the player are seen as incongruous with Kris's personality, [[EmptyShell as if you are a higher being who uses them as a vessel]]. This extends to the {{superboss}}es, who have gone mad from [[FourthWallObserver hyper-awareness of their world]], and Chapter 2's Weird Route, where the player, through Kris, compels Noelle into murdering Darkners and even her own classmate. |
| 156 | ** In-universe, the Dark World is a sub-dimension consisting of inanimate objects given life with the power of the Dark Fountains. If too many Dark Fountains are formed, beings called Titans will rise from the earth and [[EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt destroy the world]]. |
| 157 | * CreepyBasement: Both of the {{Arc Villain}}'s bases have one, being dimly lit areas with unsettling music playing in the background. Both of them hold their respective chapter's [[{{Superboss}} hardest fights]] (albeit only on the normal route in Chapter 2, with the Weird Route moving the fight to the Dark Fountain). |
| 158 | * CriticalExistenceFailure: Downplayed by the game's HP and revival mechanic. When a party member's HP is depleted, their NonLethalKO state is represented by their HP being set to the -50% of their max HP, which can be healed to the positives to revive them. The implication is that one can fight unhindered to the point of collapsing, but not dying. |
| 159 | * ChromaticArrangement: The main three characters, Kris, Susie, and Ralsei, form this in the Dark World, with Kris being blue, Ralsei being green, and Susie being reddish-pink. |
| 160 | * CrystalDragonJesus: "The Angel" is worshiped at a church, complete with stained glass, a priest, and Sunday school. This would normally be an innocuous religion were it not for "the Angel's Heaven" being the thing that the Delta Warriors are supposed to banish, according to the prophecy spoken by Ralsei, which has unsettling implications. |
| 161 | * DarkIsNotEvil: Although some Darkners are bad people, most of them are just normal folks living their life in the Dark World. |
| 162 | * DarkerAndEdgier: While ''Undertale'' could get quite dark, ''Deltarune'' is much more direct and, to a lesser degree, somewhat more cynical. Characters are less hopeful and more jaded, and the heavier themes come into play much earlier. There is also a fair amount more profanity (which is likely why the game went from an E rating to a T rating after Chapter 1's initial release), particularly in Chapter 2. |
| 163 | * {{Deconstruction}}: |
| 164 | ** Following in the footsteps of [[VideoGame/{{Undertale}} its predecessor]], ''Deltarune'' loosely tries to deconstruct [=RPGs=] and the storyline and cast members of classic ''Dragon Quest'' or ''Final Fantasy''-style games by having more of a psychological approach and a nitpick of the various tropes without trying to be too self-aware or critical. However, while ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' was a deconstruction of LevelGrinding and [[ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption RPG combat]], ''Deltarune'' mainly deconstructs the idea of ButThouMust that most [=RPGs=] use by default thanks to [[{{Railroading}} usually having one defined plot outlined for the story]], by showing just how bleak and suffocating a world where choices are superfluous at best would truly be. It outright proclaims that your choices are irrelevant and simply not giving you much in the way of options to begin with. |
| 165 | ** The game also deconstructs the fan's expectations of any sort of sequel or prequel to ''Undertale'' by using an AlternateUniverse plot to ruse and draw ParanoiaFuel from said expectations. [[invoked]] |
| 166 | ** The Weird Route of Chapter 2 deconstructs the player's control over party members in an [=RPG=], as the player has the power to mold Noelle into a killer through commanding her in battle and tailoring Kris's out-of-battle responses to gaslight her towards violence. It's also implied that Kris is aware of, and horrified by, what you, the player, are making them do to her, but is unable to do anything about it. |
| 167 | ** Chapter 2 deconstructs {{Superboss}} by showing how insane and illogical the steps needed to unlock one would be from the perspective of a normal person. It's made clear from the get go that Kris wants absolutely ''nothing'' to do with Spamton based on the dialogue options they present the player, and considering they keep giving blatant scam offers, it's not hard to see why. But, in order to unlock the optional boss of the chapter, the player needs to keep interacting with him and completing his quest. [[spoiler:This includes traversing a creepy basement ''multiple'' times while ''[[BeingWatched something]]'' is watching Kris, while taking multiple sketchy deals from Spamton, ultimately cumulating in Spamton [[TreacherousQuestGiver attempting to steal the SOUL from Kris]] once he's obtained his new body. All the while both Ralsei and Susie are highly suspicious as to why Kris keeps going off on their own, and then hammer home how idiotic it all was after all was said and done. And at the end Kris does ''not'' take it well. If you let Kris say "no" when asked if they're okay, they will ''scream'' that they aren't.]] |
| 168 | * DefendCommand: Defend is a new option in the battle interface that lets party members steel themselves to take less damage on the enemy's turn. This also boosts the Tension Point gauge, which applies instantly with obvious benefits (for example, if you lack enough TP to heal with Ralsei's magic, defending with another character can let him cast the spell on the same turn). |
| 169 | * DeliberatelyMonochrome: The Lightner characters have black-and-white dialogue portraits. The Darkner characters have fully-coloured portraits. |
| 170 | * DemotedToExtra: Within the two chapters that have been released so far, every returning character from ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' plays a much smaller role, with the player being free to completely ignore the vast majority of them. Some characters don't even show up at all: Asriel is away at college, while Gerson Boom and the Amalgamates (or at least their constituent monsters) died before the events of the game. |
| 171 | * DevelopersForesight: As with ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'', Toby Fox and crew have put so much effort into having the game respond to almost anything a player might do that [[DevelopersForesight/{{Deltarune}} it required a subpage to contain the examples]]. |
| 172 | * DerangedAnimation: |
| 173 | ** Burgerpants (named Pizzapants here) is back with a Downplayed example, making use of portraits instead of an entire shopkeeper menu. Nevertheless, almost every line of dialogue with him will change the shape of his head or the size of his face, with the art style wildly varying between each expression. |
| 174 | ** Berdly has an especially distorted portrait during his more smug moments. There's also his entrances into cutscenes, such as [[IncomingHam him slowly floating and circling down the side of the screen]] when he and Susie rescue Noelle. |
| 175 | ** Spamton is constantly glitching and twitching, enlarging his head to launch miniature copies of himself, spew stock sales lexicon, or suck in the battle box, and he'll horizontally stretch the first few times you try to deny his final offer. At his shop, he looks in all sorts of directions and tensely shakes during some of his lines, with his sprite scrambling at a couple points (including [[SayingTooMuch when he tries to tell Kris about the Knight]]). He gets worse as Spamton NEO, moving like a deranged marionette as his limbs flail and circle during his attack animations. |
| 176 | * DoubleMeaningTitle: Aside from being an anagram of ''Undertale'', Delta also is used in mathematical notation to designate the difference between two values, and ''Deltarune'' has many changes from ''Undertale''. Finally, the Greek letter Delta is a triangle, at least when uppercase, and the party in Chapter 1 consists of three heroes known as the DELTA WARRIORS, the "Delta Rune" itself being the name of the Dreemur family royal crest. |
| 177 | * DumpStat: |
| 178 | ** For any player doing a PacifistRun, they won't care much about equipment that only increases Attack, or weapons without additional effects, as outside of certain targets, [=FIGHTing=] results in failing the pacifist run. And since Susie's only (non-joke) spell is an offensive one, they won't try to increase her Magic either. |
| 179 | ** Any Magic-boosting item is wasted on Kris, since they can't use any magic. |
| 180 | * EasyLevelsHardBosses: ''Deltarune'' shares the same difficulty traits as ''Undertale'': most areas are straightforward to navigate and it won't take longer than two or three turns to fight or spare a group of enemies, but bosses have a variety of dangerous attacks and take at least twice as long to repel no matter which method you use, with major fights breaching 15-20 turns in length. The number of bosses has also been upped from ''Undertale'', with Chapter 2's normal route alone containing seven required bosses[[note]]Sweet Cap'n Cakes, Berdly (twice), Spamton, Rouxls Kaard, Queen and GIGA Queen[[/note]], a {{superboss}}[[note]]Spamton NEO[[/note]], and three UniqueEnemy encounters framed like mid-bosses[[note]]Tasque Manager, Mauswheel and Werewerewire[[/note]]. |
| 181 | * EldritchLocation: The {{Dark World}}s: a mysterious entity can suddenly decide to give life to a room which becomes a micro-world, where all the items become characters with a story, and where the furniture becomes complex structures. It even applies to electronic devices whose software becomes a part of this world. |
| 182 | * EmergencyEnergyTank: [=ReviveMints=] fully restore the HP of a party member if they're knocked down, but only two can be found in each chapter. |
| 183 | * EnemyScan: The Check option in the ACT menu returns from ''Undertale'', letting the player get an enemy's attack and defense, as well as a short description of them. In Chapter 2 onwards, however, it only gives a description, leaving the stats to the recruit information. |
| 184 | * EquipmentBasedProgression: You can't level up, since enemies just [[NonLethalKO run away]] after draining their HP. The main way to increase stats is via weapons and armor, though beating up enemies in Chapter 2 onwards can incite minor stat boosts at the cost of the enemy no longer being recruitable. |
| 185 | * EstablishingSeriesMoment: The game begins with the player selecting between various appearances, likes, and a name. The game then tells you those choices "will now be discarded" because "no one can choose who they are in this world." This lets the player know what they're in for right away. |
| 186 | * EverytownAmerica: Hometown is a small forest town that has a tight-knit community, with a church and a school. |
| 187 | * EvolvingTitleScreen: After you beat each chapter, going to that chapter shows Ralsei's legend as the intro and provides a new background for the file select screen. |
| 188 | * ExperiencePoints: Battles end by saying how how many EXP you've earned, [[SubvertedTrope which will almost always be 0]]. As in ''Undertale'', gaining EXP is GainingTheWillToKill, something ''Deltarune'' only allows with one party member in a well-hidden route of Chapter 2. However, beating up enemies in Chapter 2 will still cause you to become more distanced from violence, raising your stats. |
| 189 | * ExtremelyShortTimeSpan: Each chapter takes place over a single day, with the Dark World adventures occurring during a few hours between the end of the school day and sunset. |
| 190 | * EyeMotifs: Eyes and vision are central themes, tying in with the overarching light/dark dichotomy. Among other instances, Several characters (e.g. Kris, Lancer, and Susie in Chapter 1) have HiddenEyes that only rarely become visible, the player has to blind eyes as part of a puzzle to enter the Dark World, Ralsei wears large glasses that accentuate his eyes, and in Chapter 2, Susie's bangs no longer [[HidingBehindYourBangs cover her eyes]] outside of battle to cement her HeelFaceTurn. |
| 191 | * FantasyKeepsake: The "Ball of Junk" item found in the inventory outside of the Dark World is made of items Kris acquired there (having at least one Dark Candy while leaving even makes the game mention of it smelling like scratch'n'sniff marshmallow stickers). The "Use" command prompts Kris to look at the ball in admiration, likely reminiscing about their adventures in the Dark World. When told to drop it they express hesitation to do so, and then extreme bitterness when successfully pressured, resulting in you losing all the items in your inventory. |
| 192 | * FisherKingdom: The outfits of Lightners change when they enter the Dark World, as well as brightening their skin tones. |
| 193 | ** Kris' skin changes from dull yellow to light blue, and they change into a suit of armor. |
| 194 | ** Susie becomes pink-colored, and wears a biker outfit. |
| 195 | ** Noelle gets paler fur, and wears white robes. |
| 196 | ** Berdly's feathers become slightly paler, the sclerae of his eyes change from white to yellow-green, and he changes into high-tech armor. |
| 197 | * FlushingEdgeInteractivity: The toilet in the Dreemurr household can be flushed multiple times; a fanfare plays when it is flushed. Do this enough times, and Toriel will ask Kris [[NoodleIncident if they flushed a bath bomb again]]. Keep doing this, and she'll declare that they'll be footing the plumbing bill if the toilet breaks. |
| 198 | [[/folder]] |
| 199 | |
| 200 | [[folder:Tropes G-M]] |
| 201 | * TheGhost: Besides the GreaterScopeVillain(s), numerous characters are mentioned but unseen and unheard as of Chapter 2: |
| 202 | ** Asriel is mentioned repeatedly by the residents of Hometown, but is stated to be away at college. |
| 203 | ** Dess is mentioned in a sparse few lines of dialogue from both Noelle and Rudy, being the oldest daughter of the Holiday family and implied to either be dead or missing for some time before the events of the game. |
| 204 | ** The mayor of Hometown, whom you are prevented from seeing by [=NPCs=] blocking the way. All that's stated in Chapter 1 is that she's female and [[PermanentElectedOfficial non-charismatic but competent enough to keep getting reelected]]. Chapter 2 confirms that she's Noelle's mother, but she still doesn't appear onscreen. |
| 205 | ** Asgore's overdue rent notice is signed by a mysterious "C.". |
| 206 | * GISSyndrome: PlayedForLaughs with the stock image of an almond milk carton that pacifist-enforced bosses (K. Round and Sweet Cap'n Cakes so far) use to [[HealingBoss restore their health if they take damage]]. A stock explosion GIF is also often used in place of proper art whenever an explosion happens. |
| 207 | * GreasySpoon: QC's, the local diner, where Kris, Asriel, Asgore, and Toriel used to eat when they were all living together. Fittingly, the Southern-accented, kindhearted rabbit shopkeeper from Snowdin is the head waitress here, and calls Kris "hun". |
| 208 | * HalfBakedNiceness: Near the end of chapter one, Kris and Ralsei try to convince Susie to be nice towards their enemies. She doesn't get it. Ralsei tells her to try telling the enemy something that she would want someone to tell her. Susie then tries to say things like "You are unbanned from free ham sandwich day," or "Please keep tackling the soda machine." Surprisingly, it actually works, and the enemies are able to be spared. Thankfully Susie's compliments do improve. |
| 209 | * {{Hammerspace}}: Kris can carry around a lot of stuff in their pockets even if it doesn't look like it should be able to fit with only a few exceptions. A notable example is when Susie asks Kris to steal a statue that looks like her from the room Queen made for Noelle, even though it's much larger than them. |
| 210 | * HammyVillainSeriousHero: Kris, although a bit strange, is stoic, quiet, and cynical, never showing any outward reaction to the weirdness of the Dark World. The ArcVillain of Chapter Two is Queen, an AffablyEvil LadyDrunk with a NoblewomansLaugh and a larger-than-life personality, who likes blowing things up and making {{Big Entrance}}s. Many funny moments are had when Kris and Queen interact, with Kris not even changing their deadpan expression as Queen goes on one of her tangents, leans on their head, or treats them [[FriendlyEnemy like an old pal]]. |
| 211 | * HardTruthAesop: |
| 212 | ** In stark contrast to ''Undertale'', this game makes the point that some people are too unreasonable to be dealt with peacefully, [[BeyondRedemption even if you try your best to be nice or spare them]]. For such people, [[ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption the only way to pacify them is through force]]. This aesop sees use in Chapter 1's FinalBoss fight, where Ralsei's attempts at peacefully resolving the conflict with King nearly gets the party killed, and King is only able to be subdued either through magic or an outright revolution (depending on the player's actions). |
| 213 | ** Conversely: Malicious people can be contained depending on the context, but never truly reformed. Jevil is imprisoned, but once released displays the same violent temperament Seam describes. |
| 214 | ** Sometimes, no matter what you do or how good you are, you have no control over your situation. |
| 215 | * HaveWeMetYet: Back in ''Undertale'', Sans' remarks about his original home, his accusations towards the "anomaly" and bothering at all to let Frisk stumble into the backroom lab of his house imply he expected the kid to know what he was going on about. In ''Deltarune'', the SOUL is the one expressing through Kris curiosity about how people like Undyne and Sans are doing in this new world. To [[MindScrew further muddle matters]] about what is happening, Sans denies knowing Kris while standing before a building that looks plucked right out of the original game's Snowdin. |
| 216 | * HealingBoss: To ensure that they can only be defeated through pacifism, both K. Round and Sweet Cap'n Cakes automatically heal all damage inflicted on them by drinking from an edited stock photo of Silk almond milk. |
| 217 | * HealthDamageAsymmetry: The amount of damage the player characters can deal is easily more than half their health, and can reach more than double in the case of Susie's and Noelle's spells. Meanwhile, the most damage that an enemy can dole out is around a third of a party member's health bar, and their health bars are larger than the player's, with the {{superboss}}es having an order of magnitude more health than the entire party. |
| 218 | * HealthyGreenHarmfulRed: While [[RedIsViolent damage is indicated by red numbers]], healing is represented by green numbers appearing above a character's body. |
| 219 | * HelloInsertNameHere: Defied in the vessel creation intro in Chapter 1. The player is given the choice to enter multiple values for their character, only to have ''most'' of them discarded before the game starts. However, the name inputted as the player's own name becomes the name of the save file itself, which starts by overwriting a pre-existing file labelled "Kris".[[note]]Only on a never-used save slot; an erased save slot shows as "[EMPTY]".[[/note]] The save file name is also used in the Castle Town in Chapter 2, named [name]Town. |
| 220 | * HitboxDissonance: To make [[CloseContactDangerBenefit grazing]] more exciting, many attacks [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myZH11fH5Qc are actually far smaller than they appear to be]], though the most egregious single example is probably Jevil's carousel attack -- despite the animals' large size, the only parts that actually do damage are [[https://www.reddit.com/r/Deltarune/comments/9whvx3/how_to_dodge_jevils_carousel_attack_for_those_who/ the areas just around the wings]], occupying only around a third of the sprites. This is a point of advice at the Castle Town Dojo in Chapter 2. |
| 221 | * HolidayMotif: True to their names, the Holidays are a family of anthropomorphic reindeer themed after Christmastime. Noelle is named after Noël, the French word for Christmas, Rudy is named after the title character of ''Literature/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer'', and "Dess," the name of Noelle's unseen sister, is implied to be short for "December." Rudy occasionally uses Christmas-themed wordplay (e.g. "jingle my bells") and has an angel tree-topper in his hospital room, while the month of December is ironically a TraumaButton for Noelle. |
| 222 | * HumanPet: One of the books in the library is a monster's guide for "How to care for humans". Upon inspection, Kris finds their mother borrowed it often when they were a young child, though [[YouAreWhatYouHate they personally dislike the contents]]. |
| 223 | * InterspeciesAdoption: Kris is a human who is adopted by the Dreemurr family. |
| 224 | * InterspeciesFriendship: Kris forms some with Susie, Ralsei, and Lancer in the Dark World, and seems to get on well with some of their classmates. |
| 225 | * IntriguedByHumanity: The bunny monster children have an adorable fascination for how Kris is made up of flesh and blood instead of magic. |
| 226 | * ItsAllUpstairsFromHere: Both chapters' Dark Worlds end with the heroes climbing up the {{Arc Villain}}'s base to seal the fountain, though the greatest foes lie on the lowest floors of the bases. |
| 227 | * ItsAWonderfulFailure: If you choose "No" when asked to continue after dying, the voice from the intro talks about how the world was covered in darkness. |
| 228 | * LateArrivalSpoiler: ''Deltarune'' spoils a few things about some of the endings for ''Undertale''; perhaps most notable being the original game's twist of "the protagonist and the player are separate entities" being casually mentioned during the character creation screen. The game's official site does state it's "intended for people who have completed ''Undertale''," and the narration that appears when booting up the console version for the first time reaffirms this, bringing up a prompt that allows the player to purchase ''Undertale'' if necessary. |
| 229 | * {{Leitmotif}}: |
| 230 | ** Besides the original leitmotif "Once Upon a Time", which shows up a few times (most notably in "[[https://tobyfox.bandcamp.com/track/you-can-always-come-home You Can Always Come Home]]", a reprise of "Home" from the original game), there's a new Leitmotif called "[[https://tobyfox.bandcamp.com/track/dont-forget Don't Forget]]". |
| 231 | ** The Shadow Crystal holders, the game's once-per-chapter {{superboss}}es, have their own associated leitmotif which has made an appearance in each of their battle themes so far. It can be heard on its own in [[https://tobyfox.bandcamp.com/track/dialtone "Dialtone"]] from Chapter 2. |
| 232 | * LethalJokeItem: The Lancer Cookie's description mentions it only restores 5 HP, which is reduced to 1 HP in Chapter 2. This is the amount the cookie heals in the overworld, but in battle, the cookie heals 50 HP. |
| 233 | * LighterAndSofter: |
| 234 | ** While ''Deltarune'' as a whole is more cynical and depressing than ''Undertale'', it has yet to get nearly as dark as ''Undertale'''s darker moments on the main route, primarily because violent options result in a NonLethalKO at best, and a minimal modification of the post-boss scenes at worst. Chapter 2's alternate route averts this, culminating in the player coercing one of Kris's friends into killing another in a way that is implied to stick once they're back in the Light World. |
| 235 | ** On a more specific level, while most of the Darkners actively antagonize Kris and the other Lightners, with the exception of [[{{Superboss}} Spamton]], they aren't openly out for Kris's SOUL. |
| 236 | * TheLonelyDoor: Each Dark World has a fast-travel system in the form of a standing Warp Door with a fire flickering under it. Most of the Warp Doors in each Dark World are empty and unusable until the party travels through the one that ''is'' active. |
| 237 | * LonelyPianoPiece: If the player chooses not to continue if they die, one called "Darkness Falls" (a melancholic version of W.D. Gaster's leitmotif) plays. |
| 238 | -->THEN THE WORLD\ |
| 239 | WAS COVERED\ |
| 240 | IN DARKNESS. |
| 241 | * MagicSkirt: Well, Magic Robe in this case. Even when he's completely upside down, Ralsei's cloak doesn't budge. |
| 242 | * MagicalLand: The Dark World is a land created by a Dark Fountain in the regular "Light World" that is shaped by items nearby the fountain. |
| 243 | * {{Mana}}: Tension Points[[note]]TP for short[[/note]] are collected by either [[CloseContactDangerBenefit grazing bullets]] or defending, and are stored in an [[ManaMeter orange meter as a percentage]]. TP can then be used on spells such as Pacify or Rude Buster, as well as certain [=ACTs=]. |
| 244 | * ManaPotion: [=TensionBits=] and [=TensionGems=] raise the party's Tension Meter when used, letting them use spells. |
| 245 | * MoodMotif: A lo-fi filter that cuts off high frequencies is used at the beginning of each Dark World overworld track ("Field of Hopes and Dreams" and "A CYBER'S WORLD?"), with the rest of the song featuring a fuller, clearer sound; concurrently, the instrumentation shifts from a single instrument to a much beefier arrangement. The transition between these portions symbolizes the shift from the mundanity of the Light World to the vibrancy of each Dark World. |
| 246 | * MythologyGag: |
| 247 | ** In Kris and Asriel's bedroom, Asriel's side has a framed image of a yellow daisy on the wall, nodding back to his ''Undertale'' counterpart's reincarnation as Flowey. |
| 248 | ** In the alleyway, behind Alphys in Chapter 1 and Bratty in Chapter 2, there's graffiti of Everyman, previously used for all of Reaper Bird's attacks in ''Undertale''. It also shows up in a few boss attacks across the game as an EasterEgg, including as one of the heads in Jevil's carousel and as an inactive lurker in Queen's social media attack. |
| 249 | ** Three of the dead monsters in the graveyard are based on the components of the Amalgamates from ''Undertale'', who were supposed to die before being experimented on. |
| 250 | ** The PortalDoor that allows the player to fast-travel across each Dark World is identical to Sans' door in ''Undertale''. |
| 251 | [[/folder]] |
| 252 | |
| 253 | [[folder:Tropes N-O]] |
| 254 | * NapInducingSpeak: While you can't read Ralsei's manual, you can use it in battle to make enemies sleepy and vulnerable to his Pacify spell. |
| 255 | * {{Nerf}}: Like ''Undertale'', damaging enemies without depleting their health allows you to defeat them peacefully. However, instead of being put in an immediately spareable state, enemies get tired, requiring a spell to be taken out of combat. |
| 256 | * NewGamePlus: After completing a chapter once, you can skip its opening Hometown section by returning to bed and accepting a warning prompt that will ask you to confirm if [[AreYouSureYouWantToDoThat you're sure, since you will miss a lot of story content]]. |
| 257 | * NewWorkRecycledGraphics: While most of the content of ''Deltarune'' is brand new, there are minor elements recycled from ''Videogame/{{Undertale}}''. The Heart/SOUL (though it has a different sprite in BulletHell segments), the Annoying Dog/[[Creator/TobyFox Toby Avatar]] (during most Dogchecks), and Sans all reuse their previous sprites, and the Light World's UI is directly carried over from ''Undertale''. |
| 258 | * NiceMeanAndInBetween: Kris, Susie, and Ralsei form a trio like this. Ralsei is the nice one, being the most pacifistic, gentle, polite, and affectionate of the three, even to his enemies; Susie is the mean one, being rude, brash, aggressive, and cruel [[TookALevelInKindness (at least at first)]]; and Kris is the in-between one, since they are [[TheStoic stoic]] and because you control their actions. |
| 259 | * NoClearLeader: The miniboss trio Sweet Cap'n Cakes are a bit confused with regards to which one of them is in charge. Sweet has no idea who the leader is, Cap'n thinks he is the leader and K_K is second in command, and K_K wonders if he can be third. |
| 260 | * NonElemental: Some bullets are classified in the code as element 0, which is not affected by any resistances from armor. This mostly applies to overworld attacks. |
| 261 | * NonLethalKO: |
| 262 | ** Enemies flee or get blasted away when out of HP. Notably, [[ExperiencePoints EXP]] is unattainable by any method, as it presumably still stands for "Execution Points" as in ''Undertale'', and none of the player characters ever kill anyone (and in the one specific situation when anyone ''does'', XP gain isn't actually listed). |
| 263 | ** This also applies to player characters whose HP is depleted; this is lampshaded by Ralsei if you use a [=ReviveMint=] on Susie: |
| 264 | --->Susie: I'm ALIVE!!! |
| 265 | --->Ralsei: (You weren't dead) |
| 266 | * NoodleIncident: |
| 267 | ** Toriel and Asgore still had a falling-out in the past, but this time, what actually caused it isn't explained. |
| 268 | ** Asgore was formerly the chief of police. Some unspecified incident forced his removal, and subsequent replacement by Undyne. If the player inspects an article about it, Kris will close their eyes, refusing to read the contents. |
| 269 | ** Kris apparently did some interesting things in their past. Some are described by the residents of Hometown, while others, such as hiding under Noelle's bed to scare her and putting a bath bomb in the toilet, only get a mention, leaving the details to the player's imagination. |
| 270 | * NotCompletelyUseless: [=FIGHTing=] (and dealing damage in general) is this in a "pacifist" run. While all enemies (sans GIGA Queen) can be defeated without pressing the FIGHT button, it can be used to end the King fight early without affecting the ending and Susie's Buster spells take down Queen's acid shield ''a lot'' quicker than [=ACTing=] will without getting Berdly injured. |
| 271 | * NothingIsScarier: |
| 272 | ** The desolate gray valley Kris and Susie find themselves in when first entering the school's Dark World. There's nothing but a few odd little creatures, piles of what seems to be dust and bleeding eye symbols in the walls. When Ralsei explains the prophecy of the Titans later, those eyes are seen as part of one of their bodies. As of Chapter 2, nothing is said about either the valley or what the locked room to the west of the storage room could even be to contain such a thing. |
| 273 | ** The bunker. A rusty red door located south of the town, after a long trek through a path, during which no music plays apart from the Entry 17 ambient noise from ''Undertale'', slowed down by 666% to mimic humming machinery. It goes completely unmentioned by anyone in Chapter 1 and is still unopened and unexplained by the end of Chapter 2. In chapter 2's epilogue, Monster Kid and Snowdrake can be found musing about what's on the other side, but for now, all one can do is imagine. |
| 274 | * NothingExcitingEverHappensHere: Kris and Susie's home town of Hometown is a small community where everyone knows everyone else. Police Chief Undyne, in particular, seems rather upset that the town is so peaceful. |
| 275 | * NPCBoomVillage: As you recruit more monsters, Castle Town becomes more lively. |
| 276 | * NumerologicalMotif: The numbers 17 and [[NumberOfTheBeast 666]] are used in the game's data to imply a connection with Dr. W.D. Gaster, as they did in ''Undertale''. The bunker at the forest uses the room ID 17 and plays a muffled version of the "garbage noise" from Entry #17, slowed down by 666%. The Voice's dialogue in the Survey is printed on-screen with ID 666, which was formerly used for Gaster's Wingdings text. The Chapter 2 demo was released on the 17th of September. |
| 277 | * ObviousRulePatch: During Chapter 1, the Manual is secretly a LethalJokeItem because it can be used to make a number of enemies Tired, which lets Ralsei cast Pacify to spare them without needing to go through the normal process. To prevent this from becoming a dominant strategy for the rest of the game, arriving in the Dark World in Chapter 2 secretly removes the Manual from Kris's inventory, and Ralsei places it in Kris's room of the castle where it can never be picked up again. |
| 278 | * OddOrganUpTop: In Hometown, the receptionist at the Town Hall has a manicured hand for a head. |
| 279 | * OldSaveBonus: The player is able to import save data from an earlier chapter's completed file when starting a save file for the succeeding chapter; the game marks a file as "complete" after viewing the credits, and certain actions taken in the old file will affect the new one. |
| 280 | ** Items and money from the previous chapter carry over, averting BagOfSpilling. |
| 281 | ** Talking to [=NPCs=] in the Hometown epilogue will change some of their dialogue and actions in the next chapter. |
| 282 | * OrphanedEtymology: A poster for a ferris wheel is seen in the city. There's no indication in the game whether or not [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington_Gale_Ferris_Jr George Ferris Jr.]] exists in this universe, and Susie at one point ponders what a Ferris even is. |
| 283 | [[/folder]] |
| 284 | |
| 285 | [[folder:Tropes P-S]] |
| 286 | * PacifistRun: Enforced. Since [[NonLethalKO reducing enemies' HP to 0 does not kill them]], whether a playthrough is "pacifist" or not depends on if you resolve battles peacefully or through non-lethal force. Consequently, doing one or the other has much less of an impact on the story than in ''Undertale''. Certain bosses are outright impossible to bring to 0 HP or spare, killing any strict violent/merciful runs of the game then and there. Only through going completely OffTheRails in Chapter 2 can the player instigate something similar to the Genocide run of ''Undertale''. |
| 287 | * PaintingTheMedium: The game's UI elements are styled differently between the Light World and Dark World, emphasizing the plain, everyday nature of the former and the enticingly unusual nature of the latter. |
| 288 | ** In the Light World, text boxes and menus are styled identically to ''Undertale'', consisting solely of black boxes with plain white text and borders, with menus being segmented into multiple boxes in the vein of ''VideoGame/{{EarthBound|1994}}''. In the Dark World, a more advanced menu divided into drop-down tabs is used, in-game text features a subtle blue drop-shadow, and text boxes have a fancy silver border. |
| 289 | ** Lightners have monochrome portraits like in ''Undertale'', while Darkner portraits are in full color. |
| 290 | * PermanentlyMissableContent: |
| 291 | ** Played Straight with most of the things in individual Dark Worlds, which cannot be revisited once completed. |
| 292 | ** Played With regarding the Shadow Crystals and equipment dropped by {{superboss}}es; if you beat them on one save, the rewards will appear in the hole near your town in all other saves. However, this logically requires having defeated them in the first place, so you can still permanently miss these items on your first playthrough. |
| 293 | * PlayerAndProtagonistIntegration: Building on ''Undertale'', the game continues the implication that the PlayerCharacter is literally being controlled by the player (or an in-universe entity that controls them). Not only that, as the game expands to having you control a team, you for a short time ''leave'' Kris's perspective to follow a party member that separated from them with a lesser degree of control/guidance. |
| 294 | * PlayerDeathIsDramatic: Just like ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' before it, if the HP of all party members in battle reach 0, everything will vanish except for the SOUL, which then cracks and shatters into pieces. This is actually played with, since Kris does remove the SOUL from their body no less than twice without dying, but the SOUL is the representation of the Player's will, so if it breaks, the game is over anyway. |
| 295 | * PreExistingEncounters: Unlike the RandomEncounters in ''Undertale'', all battles occur from on-field enemies rushing toward you. |
| 296 | * ProductDisplacement: The self-heal move used by a few bosses is pretty transparently a carton of Silk-brand almond milk based on the design, but look closely and you'll notice that the pixelated text reads "Milk" instead of "Silk". |
| 297 | * TheProphecy: Ralsei talks about a prophecy at the very start of Chapter 1, which is replayed when entering a completed chapter. He later expands the prophecy at the end of Chapter 2. |
| 298 | ** The first part of the prophecy talks about how an imbalance in the forces of light and dark would bring a great calamity on the world, before three heroes seal the Dark Fountains and banish the Angel's Heaven, saving the world. Ralsei believes that Kris and Susie are two of those heroes. |
| 299 | ** When Berdly is about to create another Dark Fountain, Ralsei reveals the consequences of filling the world with darkness. The world would fall into chaos, with the fountains turning into Titans that devastate the land. Eventually, Darkners would be crushed by the darkness and [[TakenForGranite turn into stone]], and Lightners would be left to fend for themselves. |
| 300 | * {{Railroading}}: Discussed. As a contrast to ''Undertale'' remembering every choice and changing things based on player decisions, sometimes to a truly dramatic extent, ''Deltarune'' goes to great lengths to try and convince the player that everything they do does not matter at all. One of the {{central theme}}s of ''Deltarune'', as referenced by ArcWords, is that "your choices don't matter". |
| 301 | ** In Chapter 1, regardless of whether you attacked everyone or spared everyone, the outcome is the same. Kris and Susie escape the Dark World, Kris pulls out the SOUL, and Susie has a HeelFaceTurn. |
| 302 | ** Chapter 2 is a little less strict about the need to FollowThePlottedLine, but it still has every event play out largely the same, even though sparing or fighting enemies now affects the population of your town. |
| 303 | * RainbowSpeak: Important words tend to be colored either [[gold:yellow]] or [[red:red]]. Special nouns are also put in [[CapsLock all caps]], most prominent being the KNIGHT and the FOUNTAINS OF DARKNESS. |
| 304 | -->'''Seam:''' Historically, this land was ruled by the Four Kings, from [[gold:CARD CASTLE]] to the East. But, recently, a [[red:strange knight]] appeared… And three of the kings were locked away. |
| 305 | * RecurringRiff: Just like in ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'', there are riffs that are used throughout the entire soundtrack, including a few from ''Undertale'' itself. The most used riff so far seems to be of "Don't Forget", though there are also many likely instances of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H89ZT0jjiO8 Gaster's theme]]. |
| 306 | * RecycledSoundtrack: The theme that plays when a new character joins the group is re-used from Fox's soundtrack for ''VisualNovel/RoseOfWinter''. |
| 307 | * RegeneratingHealth: When a party member's HP is depleted, their health will be set to -50% of their maximum. Their HP regenerates by 13% each turn, reviving them in four turns (at 17% of maximum) unless the player uses items or magic to speed things up. |
| 308 | * RespawningEnemies: Going back into a room that you've previously cleared of enemies will have them show up again in the same places, and you will have to fight them again if you cannot escape them. Justified here as reducing HP to 0 is a NonLethalKO, so even in the worst of circumstances, nobody dies. This is also lampshaded if you repeatedly fight the very first Rudinn, with the game's narrative text repeatedly insisting it's a different one each time with incredibly minor (and not visible in the game) differences. |
| 309 | * ReusedCharacterDesign: Aside from the CostumeEvolution, most characters returning from ''Undertale'' who didn't get an AgeLift use the same designs. Sans is one of the very few characters who didn't even receive a CostumeEvolution. |
| 310 | * RuderAndCruder: Characters' swears are stronger here than in ''Undertale'', most notably Susie infrequently talking about thrashing asses and Rouxls Kaard's infamous "GOD DAMMIT". This is likely the main reason why, while the console versions of ''Undertale'' have [[UsefulNotes/MediaClassifications an ESRB rating]] of Everyone 10+, ''Deltarune'''s first two chapters are rated Teen. |
| 311 | * RunningGag: |
| 312 | ** The "smells like (something)" in-battle description returns from ''Undertale''. |
| 313 | ** Susie getting increasingly annoyed every time you find a new ribbon and try to equip it to her. |
| 314 | ** Kris seems to have a thing for eating moss. |
| 315 | ** Photorealistic .gif explosions are used instead of pixel art almost every time something explodes, with a stock explosion sound accompanying them. |
| 316 | ** Whenever you encounter an enemy party where all three enemies are different from each other in each chapter, the battle flavor text will read "Smorgasbord (chapter # from Chapter 2 onward)". |
| 317 | * SavePoint: Progress can only be saved in the Dark World, via white sparkles that contain some unspecified power. |
| 318 | * ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Normal enemies will bail out of the battle when their HP reaches zero. This becomes important in the Snowgrave route, as you have to go out of your way to find a way to kill your enemies instead of scaring them away. |
| 319 | * ShipTease: |
| 320 | ** Noelle's crush on Susie transcends "tease" into "all but overt canon". Sadly for her, Susie seems to be ObliviousToLove. |
| 321 | ** Beardly mentions in Chapter 2 that he has a crush on Susie. Noelle is furious. |
| 322 | ** Whilst Noelle normally expresses that she and Kris are just childhood friends, there is one route where she expresses she may also be carrying a small torch for Kris too. |
| 323 | * ShootTheMedicFirst: Ralsei is almost guaranteed to die first during harder battles, such as {{superboss}} fights, which is a bit of a problem given that he heals the party and that his Pacify is the only way to end that boss fight if you're doing it the pacifist way. This is probably just a result of Ralsei's [[SquishyWizard awful health and defenses]] that makes him statistically the most likely to go down first. |
| 324 | * ShopFodder: |
| 325 | ** The rare Glowshards can be sold for a decent sum of money. Their one practical use is for sparing a Rudinn, but given that Rudinns are [[TheGoomba among the most basic enemies in the game]] and exclusive to the first chapter, it doesn't amount to much. The value they sell for increases with each chapter passed. |
| 326 | ** The Dog Dollar only exists to be sold, but gets halved from its base value of 100 D$ per chapter. Not a great prospect when the first one is available in Chapter 2 via a bizarre secret. |
| 327 | * SigilSpam: The Delta Rune itself appears repeatedly in the Dark World, and the Delta Warriors each have a heart visible on them somewhere. Ralsei has one on his robe from the beginning, Susie's belt buckle is heart-shaped, and and Kris's [=SOUL=] manifests as a heart. Elements of the Delta Rune can also be seen in Toriel's house, on the school's front door and on the top of the church's tower. |
| 328 | * SignificantAnagram: Explored not only as hints for connections to the previous game, but as a theme. |
| 329 | ** "Deltarune" is an anagram of "Undertale", and like an anagram, characters and the plot set-up are rearranged in a different order. On top of that, both names can be turned into the word "unrelated", hinting how ''Deltarune'' seems to be a world unto itself instead of a continuation of ''Undertale''. |
| 330 | ** "Kris" and "Ralsei" are both anagrams of "Frisk" (minus the F) and "Asriel", respectively, who they strongly resemble, but have numerous [[ContrastingSequelProtagonist deviations]]. |
| 331 | ** "Dark" -- "Kard"; PlayingCardMotifs are present with most major characters from the first Dark World. |
| 332 | * SpiritualAntithesis: To ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'', which was all about player choice and the consequences therein, while ''Deltarune'' thus far [[ButThouMust regularly denies the player the privilege of making any meaningful choices]]. |
| 333 | ** Both games' take on resolving conflicts with violence are also different. All of your opponents in ''Undertale'' are ObliviouslyEvil at best and {{Tragic Villain}}s at worst, and can eventually be reasoned with peacefully and even befriended. In fact, doing so is the only way to achieve the GoldenEnding. The King in ''Deltarune'', however, is undeniably, unwaveringly evil, and even if you've been going for a pacifist playthrough, your attempts to settle matters peacefully nearly get the entire party killed, and the "peaceful resolution" is his son overthrowing him and locking him up, with the lesson learned from the encounter being that sometimes a certain level of violence ''is'' necessary. |
| 334 | * SpoiledByTheManual: Parodied; the unused assets for the manual Ralsei gives you lists the controls for the overworld, menus, text, and (not-actually-in-the-game) cooking, with three of the four buttons corresponding to "butter" and the final one being used for "pulsar cannons." |
| 335 | * StatGrinding: Unlike the CharacterLevel system in ''Undertale'', beating up enemies in Chapter 2 onwards will cause your stats to granularly increase. |
| 336 | * StatusEffects: The two statuses currently found in the game are Sleep, which works as expected, and Tired, which allows an enemy to be spared with Ralsei's Pacify magic without having to turn their name yellow for a normal spare. |
| 337 | * StealthSequel: {{Inverted|Trope}}. At first glance, the game appears to be a sequel to ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'''s [[GoldenEnding True Pacifist Ending]], seeing as the monsters are living on the surface and Kris, who could easily be mistaken for an older Frisk, is living with Toriel. However, once you get the opportunity to explore Hometown towards the end of the first chapter, it becomes clear that events don't correlate between the two games and that the cast of ''Deltarune'' aren't the same people as their ''Undertale'' counterparts. |
| 338 | * StoryBranching: Even though the game makes a point of saying your choices don't matter, there is ''some'' minor differences in the plot of Chapter 1 where, depending on if you spared or fought everyone, Kris and Susie will be able to say goodbye to everyone on amicable terms or be chased out of the dark world by the inhabitants, respectively. Regardless, the beginning of Chapter 2 plays out the same. [[spoiler:Chapter 2 gives the player much more choice where, depending on the player's actions, can end with one of the Lightners ''dead or alive''. Only time will tell how this will play out in the later chapters.]] |
| 339 | * StoryBranchFavoritism: While pacifism/violence plot differences aren't very prominent in ''Deltarune'' outside of very specific cases, the [[{{Superboss}} Shadow Crystal bosses]] seem to subtly favor taking one tactic over the other: |
| 340 | ** Jevil is typically easier to fight than he is to spare, and sparing him just involves making him tired and casting Pacify as opposed to something more unique. In his post-mercy speech, he states that he will sleep in his cell for another century, ominously warns the heroes, and grants them the Jevilstail, a decent piece of armor with no unique traits. Beat him violently instead, and he commends the heroes' strength, foreshadows the coming of Queen in Chapter 2, and joins the party by [[EquippableAlly transforming into the Devilsknife]], which is Susie's strongest weapon as of Chapter 2 and reduces the TP cost of her signature Rude Buster. Beating Jevil violently also doesn't ruin the "pacifist" King cutscene. |
| 341 | ** Spamton has a unique spare method in cutting his strings, and arguably the condition he's left in afterwards (falling "dead" onto the ground when cut free vs. [[ExplosiveOverclocking exploding in a failed attempt to power up]]) makes more sense for his post-battle scene and the reaction Kris has while leaving the basement. Not only that, but the cutscene immediately after sparing him also has a unique background and song that aren't present in the violent victory cutscene. His speech afterwards is the same for both, and he turns himself into an item either way, but the mercy-granted Dealmaker glasses (a strong armor that also grants a substantial D$ multiplier) are much less situational than the violence-granted Puppet Scarf (a weapon that massively buffs Ralsei's attack but also cuts his Heal Prayer healing). |
| 342 | * SuckECheeses: The local [[XtremeKoolLetterz "Pezza"]] parlor seems to be this, complete with employees in mascot suits. |
| 343 | [[/folder]] |
| 344 | |
| 345 | [[folder:Tropes T-Y]] |
| 346 | * TalkingIsAFreeAction: Downplayed. Talking to enemies through [=ACTs=] takes up that character's turn, and the boss fight monologues take several turns to listen to. However, characters are still able to say far more in a turn than they should be, considering that they're in active combat. |
| 347 | * TakeThatAudience: A lot of content in the early game pokes fun at common [[FandomSpecificPlot Fandom-Specific Plots]], such as Toriel adopting human children post-game. In a more general note, it examines the common fandom wish for there to be a sequel to ''Undertale'' by creating a simultaneous HappyEndingOverride and a scenario where the main cast doesn't have the same relationships as in the first game, completely averting one of the main reasons that fans wanted to see a sequel.[[invoked]] |
| 348 | * TechnicalPacifist: One way you can play the game, since you cannot actually kill anyone. You can just force your way through every enemy encounter with no impact on the plot, since all of the enemies just run away when out of HP. In Chapter 1, the only differences it makes are that [[{{Superboss}} Jevil]] will reward you with different equipment depending on whether you won violently or nonviolently, and the cutscene with the King changes but still has the same outcome. You can also spare the majority of Darkners in the chapter while still fighting certain encounters[[note]]Lancer, C/K Round, Lancer and Susie, Jevil, the King[[/note]] and still get the pacifist ending for the chapter. In Chapter 2, however, beating up an enemy violently (even non-lethally) prevents them from being recruited into Castle Town. |
| 349 | * ThreatenAllToFindOne: When Alphys wants to write the assignment on the board, she discovers there is no chalk, and very awkwardly threatens to get everyone in class in trouble if nobody speaks up about the missing chalk. Noelle suggests there might be some chalk in the supply closet. It is then discovered that Susie has eaten all the chalk. |
| 350 | * TooAwesomeToUse: |
| 351 | ** The Top Cake is a phenomenal item, healing the whole party for 160 HP, more than their maximum HP in Chapter 1, and only Susie's max HP after sealing the Cyber World, 190 HP being high enough to fully benefit from the Top Cake. However, you can only get one by repairing the Broken Cake in Chapter 1, so that usage needs to count. Giving the Top Cake back to Topchef rewards the party with a Spin Cake, which only heals 80 HP but can be replenished infinitely by talking to the chef, even across chapters. |
| 352 | ** Post-Chapter 1, the Spin Cake now counts for this. While it got a massive healing buff (it now heals 140 HP for the party), Topchef now resides in Castle Town (instead of the Card Kingdom), which [[PlotTunnel can't be revisited in the middle of a Dark World]], restricting it to one use per chapter. |
| 353 | ** As of Chapter 2, revival items[[note]]Four Revive Mints (revives one downed member to 100% HP) and one Revive Dust (revives all downed members to 25% HP)[[/note]] are only found in the overworld and not in any shops. Naturally, you'll likely want to save them for the {{superboss}}es of the game or bosses in future chapters. |
| 354 | * UniversalAdaptorCast: The game plays with this by putting the characters from ''Undertale'' into a suburban setting far distanced from the Underground. While they lack many elements of their original history and are decidedly unrelated casts, their personalities remain the same with slight alteration to account for their new situations. |
| 355 | * UnusuallyUninterestingSight: No one seems to notice how odd it is that their appearances transform whenever they enter the Dark World. Susie does, however, notice how she seemingly gained an ax out of nowhere. |
| 356 | * ViolationOfCommonSense: The method of being kind to enemies who are trying to kill you is {{Lampshaded}} by Susie. And opposed to ''Undertale'', this method is often subverted for each chapter's ArcVillain: |
| 357 | ** You can technically win the fight against King without fighting, but either way, Ralsei will be too soft with King and heal him, nearly getting the party killed when King pulls an ISurrenderSuckers. |
| 358 | ** The spare method for Queen's first fight at least makes more sense (loosening Berdly's wire to avoid him getting injured), but once she gets her HumongousMecha, it's clear that you ''must'' fight. |
| 359 | * WhenAllElseFailsGoRight: Each Dark World starts the player off in the West of the world, and has them travel East towards the Fountain. |
| 360 | [[/folder]] |
| 361 | ---- |
| 362 | |
| 363 | ->''THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.''\ |
| 364 | ''YOUR TROPES, YOUR WONDERFUL PAGE...''\ |
| 365 | ''Will now be discarded.'' |
| 366 | |
| 367 | ---- |
| 368 | |
| 369 | ->''When the light is running low, and the shadows start to grow\ |
| 370 | And the places that you know seem like fantasy\ |
| 371 | There's a light inside your soul that's still shining in the cold\ |
| 372 | With the truth, the promise in our hearts\ |
| 373 | Don't forget, [[YouAreNotAlone I'm with you in the dark]]'' |
| 374 |
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/context.php
FollowingContext VideoGame / Deltarune
Go To
- Show Spoilers
- Night Vision
- Sticky Header
- Wide Load
