How Undertale PERFECTED Meta Storytelling

[@akumafate]

I swear to god Toby Fox scares me so much with how he was able to play with us so much with this game and that laughter genuinely gave me chills

[@kaxcommentssomethingREAL]

i genuinely like to believe the banter between the characters ALONE is enough to make us wait years until Toby is satisfied with his story/writing, i think that's one of the main reasons why we wait so much longer for Deltarune's chapters, this man definitely knows what he's doing

[@ChimeraLotietheBunny]

Respect for this man’s genuine genius sort of writing

[@rusty-button]

I'm not ashamed to say I put my blanket over my head at that part 😭

[@roomtomush]

Not sure if it is what you mean here, but the hidden game file warning data miners with the automated laughter afterward is my Least favorite thing, it makes my skin crawl genuinely lol

[@Lagw1020]

I like to point out how every character loses their "charm" in Geno. Besides Flowey, only one that comes close is Undyne because HER determination is inspiring. But even then, you just get half of it. You miss out on her bombastic friendship, her flaws, and her connection to other characters. But Sans is the only one in tact. He jokes around, he eventually loses because he gets "too tired" (aka demotivated), and he cares about Papyrus (at least during Snowdin and muttering his name in his last breath). He's the only "character" left in Geno and since every character has turned into merely enemies and bosses, his character is in the forefront of Geno. This could even play into the whole "stopping the player" thing, using his humor and twisting it to make it threatening might be an attempt to stop the player.

[@Maskman8547]

Yeah, and I love how the genocide run does everything in its power to get you to stop. Then basically gives up, giving you an anticlimactic ending and forcing you to sit in darkness for 10 real-life minutes before being able to do another input again.

[@miniwhiffy3465]

You see a somewhat better side of mettaton, he stands in your way to protect the ones he cares about, in pacifist he is shown as an arrogant showman not a caring guy

[@yourcraft000]

I dont think sans gave up, in fact after you miss the first hit when he is sleeping, you kind of get the feeling you're really done for. tho since you literally break the game and attack a second time, you inevitably escape his ring of control and kill him. I dont think he was lazy, I think he just had no way of predicting that.

[@polocatfan]

honestly I think papyrus GAINS charm from genocide run. it shows he's not just an oblivious idiot.

[@Gkpower307]

@@polocatfan are you implying that true pacifist portrays Papyrus as an "oblivious idiot"?

[@papermr.magolorguy7957]

I don’t like living in the Meta Renaissance and miss Sincerity. Undertale’s Meta aspect works because it does something interesting with the meta storytelling rather than it being. “LOOK LOOK LOOK LOOK! Guys!! We’re in the video game!!!”

[@davifelizardo4187]

While I can understand your feelings, I can't help but think that you're barking at the wrong tree here. The problem you mention isn't a consequence of metanarratives or they becoming popular nowadays, but of amateur/bad writers picking this style of story and doing bad because it's popular and because it is popular a bunch of people watch/read/play that work, it gets a lot of money, more people are incentive to jump on the bandwagon and the cycle repeats itself. As an anime/manga fan this is basically the entire problem that the media is having with the isekai genre right now.

[@papermr.magolorguy7957]

@@davifelizardo4187 so basically When everything is subversive, nothing is?

[@Tam-Ezrac]

@@papermr.magolorguy7957yep!

[@polishscribe674]

​@@papermr.magolorguy7957 pretty much yeah. If something becomes popular because it's innovative, things that copy it are not.

[@DumplingDoodle]

if you like that kind of pseudo-meta narrative, and you don't mind VNs, try slay the princess. idw say more than that bc idw spoil anything, but it's one of the best examples i've seen since undertale.

[@garygwagwa]

"Every battle is treated with respect" ...except Jerry.

[@Koshara_is_derevni]

Beat me to it

[@SuperBatSpider]

I see something interesting with the Sans boss fight Flowey as a final boss weaponizes the reset, but Sans weaponizes everything else Going first, dodging his enemies’ attacks, not being allowed invincibility from his opponent’s attacks, and a betrayal kill on someone sparing him, these are all things the player can do.

[@WhiteSnap]

It fits perfectly as well. Flowey's fight is you against the game's rules, whilst Sans faces you with YOUR own rules. He makes you realize how much of a tainted person you are by showing how destructive even HE can be. The weakest enemy, right? He doesn't fight you with raw power or strength, but by his mastery of your own logic. By doing that, he makes the player want to quit artificially, not because Sans is strong, but because he's smarter than you.

[@wandydoodles]

There is another take on the Soulless genocide ending that I like even more regarding this subject. After a player completes all the main routes, there won't be much else left to do. There are a few "paths you haven't taken", but Undertale is pretty much "gone" for what it had to offer. In this state, playing the same exact route you already played again doesn't usually have the purpose of finding new content. If there is a single different secret, you can simply look for it online. The most common way people find themself playing Genocide again is because they are attached to Undertale. Because they -miss- when it still had something for them, when numbers could still be increased and it didn't feel soulless. They miss fighting Sans or Undyne the Undying for the first time and go through the game aimlessly hoping it can make them feel that way again. Upon meeting Chara, they'll say "This SOUL resonates with a strange feeling. There is a reason you continue to recreate this world. There is a reason you continue to destroy it. You are wracked with a perverted sentimentality." For those who don't know, being sentimental means being overly attached to good memories of something and ending up acting guided by emotion rather than thought. Chara, being everything that is your detachment from the game cannot understand that. For what they embody, this world means absolutely nothing to them. It's a world like any other, made to be consumed because it's possible to do so. They walk through papyrus' puzzles, ignoring him and calling him forgettable. They interrupt dialogues from others, impatient to reach the end and not caring about the content itself. When you equip the true knife they comment "About time." The addictive nature of numbers increasing in videogames can become destructive if you allow it to take control of you. Destructive for your own experience. You can only discover a piece of media once, that's why you should care about each part of it. Let it create sensations, emotions, memories that stay with you and make it much more than something useful only as long as it has something to offer. In fact, after Chara calls you out for your own sentimentality, they ask to destroy the world again. And if the player chooses "do not", their reaction will be "No...?This feeling that you have... This is exactly what I spoke of. Unfortunately, regarding this... YOU MADE YOUR CHOICE LONG AGO." - followed by the game's death. In an interview, Toby was asked something about this. The interview mentioned how Undertale is filled with miniature "voids" where you are forced to contemplate your experience without being rewarded directly. And asks if Toby believes people have become addicted to experiences and contents. Toby's reply was: "The addictive quality of numbers increasing is what drives a lot of games. However, some of the most important things in life cannot be accurately represented by numbers." Which is why Chara, the feeling "every time a number increases" can't understand those important things. The more humane part of you, outside of the demon. The one part that you lost control to when your curiosity became so much you erased your happy ending just to have more, which is why Chara "steals" your SOUL. About the abc123 file, I wanted to add something you'll love. Many players are familiar with that creepy audio, but not many know the full story. The files of Undertale had lots of secrets to satisfy players' curiosity. One of them, along with the abc file, is found at the start of the Undertale code. This string of text became known as "The Demon Message" in the datamining communities, because every single variable for it is titled "Demon" in the code. Message is the following: "Part of this game's charm is the mystery of how many options or secrets there are. If you are reading this, please don't post this message or this information anywhere. Or doing secrets will become pointless. By the way, most of the seemingly unused text/files are used. If you can find the in-game context for an asset, you can show it off. But if you can't, it probably means you haven't looked hard enough. Anything truly unused I'll probably post myself, later. Living in a world like this, where people can simply cheat out the answers from the code... your impatience has REALLY damaged you, hasn't it?” This message was purely aimed at dataminers, who started exploiting every secret of the files sometimes before even actually checking if something appears in the game or not. A tedious, repetitive, Impatient hint of thousands of strings just for the far hope it contains something new. Reminds you of anything? =) After Undertale received its first update, the abc message was updated to the creepy laugh we know about. This is because players did not listen to the warning and did not resist their curiosity, immediately posting the secret online. However... The demon message changed as well. The entire original demon message got deleted, and from V1.001 forward, if you choose to open the code you are welcomed by the demon messages that will now say "Greetings. You have made yourself completely clear. Understood. I, your humble servant, will follow you to the utmost..."

[@guest_1145]

That’s a lot of words

[@MusicRifle_YT]

I see there's barely any appreciation for your analysis. Nonetheless, great job and thanks!

[@alliwrites6739]

see I never got deep into the files like that, I just know about the in game stuff so this is very, very, interesting

[@HyLion]

I can't help but think that that entire segment about dataminers is what must have inspired the "character in the code" in Deltarune. After his suspicions that people peering inside the game's code was inevitable and it would spoil mysteries, he made the game's code part of the mystery

[@leedlelel2373]

Theres also a final message from the demon. called "demonx" which says "HE IS."

[@ASmolBoy]

I like how everyone just uses my geno playthrough video because they don't have the heart to do it themselves lol.

[@PandaPiguinOfficial]

quick question, how do you know it’s YOUR genocide run?

[@ASmolBoy]

@@PandaPiguinOfficial Description

[@gengargamer5657]

I love how Undertale Yellow, Deltarune, and TS!Underswap managed to recapture what made this game good and then some

[@mariotheundying]

What about deltatraveler

[@gengargamer5657]

@@mariotheundying Deltatraveler is great, but I don’t think it quite captures UT’s spark like the games I mentioned do

[@orngjce223]

Even in Undertale Yellow, Flowey's metatextual role as a mirror of the player remains. Flowey saw Clover through the Underground on the canonical route many, many times, got frustrated/bored with the results, and decided to introduce a divergence by interfering with the beginning of Clover's journey and taking control of the story's path. Which is to say: *Flowey had exhausted the possibilities of canon Undertale, so he made an AU.*

[@gengargamer5657]

@@orngjce223 He’s based for that. Because of him, the game is a very different experience from Undertale

[@gamercentral2417]

@@mariotheundyingit’s good as a deltarune game, but it feels like the player is exposed too easily along with it getting very not serious (in genocide) in the third section.

[@Pebblemeistro5689]

This is something I only discovered recently, but is possibly my favourite part of this game. So, many people know if you do entire runs back to back, small things change, but I recently did two true pacifist runs back to back. Many changes were subtle, papyrus saying he recognised me, undyne saying she feels like we're friends, standard stuff. However, the most interesting changes in character is flowey. At the start of the game he pops up in the black screen like he usually does at the end of a run, and he tells me to make friends with everyone. After that when the game loads up, mot only did he not try to kill me, but he wasnt even there in the ruins. Most shocking of all, the end. So I killed asgore expecting him to go omega, but he didnt. He showed up with the souls, but just said, 'they'll probably just revolt again, so theres no point' then broke the barrier. I lost my shit, I wasnt expecting that at all. All this to say, this game handles the concepts it uses extremely well

[@CalvinNoire]

I've been in the Undertale Fandom before, and wow I did not know that Flowey behavior changed that much. Or are you straight up just lying?

[@Pebblemeistro5689]

@@CalvinNoire no, you can try for yourself. Problem is, usually after a true pacifist run, you have to true reset so I just deleted the game and reinstalled it after a length of time

[@CalvinNoire]

@@Pebblemeistro5689 I'm pretty sure that just happens in every reset (True or not I believe), if you do a neutral run and then do a pacifist run it will still happen.

[@kaxcommentssomethingREAL]

HOLY SHIT, i don't think i ever saw anybody record any of that, i had no idea that happened as well, this game continues to surprise me

[@mariotheundying]

True pacifist? No, that must be a bug, as in true pacifist you only have the option to true reset, which includes erasing any deja-vu and flowey's memories, the game tells you this when you open the game after the true pacifist ending, you should've gotten a normal first time undertale play through after true resetting The flowey thing tho about not fighting happens when you fight omega flowey a lot tho, and he remembers all of that

[@TobyStan]

I'm so glad someone finally talks about Chara's characterization instead of chalking it up to 'theyre just a demon representative of evil'. Over and over again I'd hear people say that Chara is on board with whatever we do, subtly appearing when we interact with the game, that were the ONLY evil thats forcing Charas spirit to bear our sins burden. It never sat right with me and I was always convinced that the characters connections and story are playing a role in their dialogue and actions, chosing to appear when their needs are met or feel like they can gain something out of us, the player, whos even further beyond the game than Flowey and Chara are. They dont exist as mere vessels to make us do their bidding. They didnt live through the horrors they did for us to simply chalk them up to being soulless evils. This is probably the best analysis I've watched so far, even after 8 years I still find out more things about my favourite game.

[@OmniversalInsect]

To be fair, people usually say this in response to Chara being used as a scapegoat for the player's actions. I do think their personality in genocide is influenced by the player's choices, but that doesn't mean we have to entirely strip away Chara's character. Just like how Flowey and Asriel are undeniably different, yet are fundamentally inseparable.

[@ilikecats24-ct5nx]

This clip with Etika, i didn't even know how to act when it came up He will always be my number one person when it comes to undertale, i can't think of a single other big youtuber who was attached to this game to the point where he almost cried when killing Froggit, i wish he was still here On the other note, these undertale essay videos never fail to amaze me, the understanding you have of the game and the characters is remarkable, and the way how no matter how many year pass there will still be topics to be discussed about this game is exactly why it's so timeless

[@lod4246]

OOH, if only Etika nearly crying was shown in this video too!

[@cheesymcnuggets]

I only found out about Etika after the unfortunate incident but a few months later I went a watched a bunch of his content, he really was such a cool guy, I'm sad to feel his absence but glad to have felt his presence, we need more creators like him

[@Avysilvasan]

i completely agree

[@eloise2319]

I miss him so much :'(

[@bepbobbap]

​@@cheesymcnuggetswait what happened to him?

[@Much_Ado]

I never considered the parallels between Pacifist "Chara's plan to free monsterkind that Asriel goes along with, but can't see through to the end" and Geno "Chara's/your plan to destroy the world that Flowey goes along with, but can't see through to the end" man undertale is so good

[@penntopaper9305]

and, also, in pacifist, asriel DOES manage to actually see it through to the end, but without chara. in geno, chara sees the plan through to the end. without asriel.

[@CheeseburgerEnjoyer]

@@penntopaper9305damn didn’t realize that.

[@danzemanatee]

@@penntopaper9305 Though debatably Chara does take part in the Pacifist ending, as you wouldn't be able to get through to him without his memories with Chara

[@penntopaper9305]

@@danzemanatee yah i know but. you get what i mean

[@puresport9]

I am so glad we're at a point in this game's lifespan where the thematic intent of why it was made is being discussed so frequently. HELL YEAH!!

[@renthemen.]

as a little kid, I loved this game for the goofy characters and the fanworks. now as a teen, i love it for the deep meta aspects of the game that sorta flew under the radar when i was seven.

[@annoyingloudmicrowaveculti4373]

@@renthemen. ah same!

[@Yensid951927]

5:39 That is probably the most down-to-earth way I've heard anyone describe Sans' arc in the story.

[@newstickyanimations3956]

So…I’m pretty sure someone already said this in the comments, but I just gonna say it: The Geno route is purposefully trying to make you stop doing it. Think about it. You have to wander endlessly killing until you get the “but nobody came”. Then the game becomes ominous. All the puzzles in the Ruins were already done, and everyone fled from you, so the only thing you can really do is just go to Toriel and kill her. Then there’s Snowdin, and you grind yet again. Papyrus’s puzzles don’t appeal as much as they did before, because you automatically walk past them. Snowdin Town is a ghost town, with an eerie note begging you to spare the shopkeeper’s family. Then, you kill Papyrus. Waterfall is where things get really interesting. You fight Monster Kid, who could easily get killed. The two of you have been touring Waterfall and telling stories, but now you have to kill them. Undyne (I hope I spelled that right lol) steps in, and for a second you think this will be the climax you’ve been waiting for. All those massacres, bland puzzles and betrayals would finally be worth it. But instead, you’re treated with an incredibly hard boss fight. The amount of times you would die in this is intense, and I bet some KZbinr’s actually quit Geno because of it At last, you murder her and continue. But this time, it’s much worse. I’m pretty sure Hotland has the most creatures to kill. And with Alphy’s evacuating everyone, it’s up to Mettaton to stop you. But he doesn’t. You have to go on another bland massacre, with most of the puzzles disabled. You take a pit stop at MTT resort, but BurgerPants is the only guy you can talk to. Then there’s the core. More enemies, less interactions. Alphys doesn’t guide you anymore, so you just cruise over to Mettaton. This time, they transform into Mettaton NEO to kill you. And yet again, after all the killing, running,stealing, betraying and dying, you think it’s gonna be worth it. But they die in ONE HIT. At this point, the game has given up hope on stopping you. Flowey gives info about his past, and now that’s pretty much the only interesting thing at New Home. But even then…Flowey gets afraid of you. Then there’s Sans. Sans is the games last defence, their last attempt of stoping you. Every action you make either stalls the fight, or makes it harder. After that insanely difficult fight, it’s over. There’s nothing you can do. The Asgore fight gets completely abandoned, and Flowey actually feels something. But it doesn’t matter now. Nothing matters now. You’ve did it. After the hardships and struggles, your determination prevailed. At the end of the day, it’s just a game after all. Honestly I think my essay will be clowned at lol.

[@parallax256]

What, this guy's essay? What's wrong with it? I totally agree with you, this is something I think 99% of people have noticed playing genocide (I'm playing genocide and by god the Hotland massacre was the most mind-numbing thing ever fuck) and something I immediately noticed. Although I will say that I actually think the Sans fight is kind of fun. Sans gives you some cool dialogue, the attacks are interesting and challenging, and the music is a banger. It's the only reason I did genocide. I hated fighting Undyne (I was stuck on her for months) but Sans is cool.

[@raczrekanoemi4957]

I agree whit you before killing Metaton it was pain to kill all the monsters there. First I was like who cares and I didnt get the Sans fight (what I was going for) and got angri becas I had to do the whole thing again

[@penntopaper9305]

i think the best part of the geno run is the fact that it pulls off convincing you it shouldnt be played while in actuality it is 100% intended to be, and still actually does manage to keep you engaged and even reward you for playing it behind a guise of being unrewarding. you dont notice this until you step back afterwards and are like "hey, undyne the undying was actually really cool. the sans fight was actually really unique and fun. i learned so much new lore about these characters i love and saw other sides to them that further endeared me to them." and i think the ability to do that while still convincing you it doesnt want to be played is like. extremely impressive

[@parallax256]

@@penntopaper9305 No that's a really good point

[@RandomDude1487]

I do care I did ask I’m reading allat

[@bigflatfish4490]

I don’t comment often but wanted to say your take on this game feels like one of the best I’ve ever seen. I’ve been a fan since my friend told me about it years ago, but i feel like a lot of people who both like, hate, or are indifferent about the game are not able to place ‘why’ it was and still is such a sensation. This gave me a lot to chew on. Also you’re a real one for the Etika clips (RIP). Loved this video.

[@davifelizardo4187]

If you really like the game you should really look for so analysies of the game on youtube right now, because just like he said on the video there are a lot of videos coming out right now that are picking this game and Deltarune apart. But if you are looking videos about Deltarune be warned that there is a lot of theorizing content on that game, so if this isn't your cup of tea, just keep looking that you will find good videos on it's story. If you are looking for recommendations the Andrew Cunningham channel is a really good one.

[@KuboYori]

In case you can't read Wingdings, the Gaster at 15:19 says "SUBSCRIBE"

[@NintendoHero]

Holy crap I can already tell this video is going to be a banger, let me grab a snack or something hold on a sec

[@NintendoHero]

Update: I was so right. This video was fascinating to watch as someone who only ever did one pacifist playthrough. Like you said, I was satisfied with that story, but there's so much more that I didn't experience. Really great job with this one, I feel like I understand Undertale like 10% better now (which is a lot because man there's a whole lot going on in this game)

[@chadichannel]

The neutral route is like the middle sibling, always forgotten. Atleast undertale yellow went all out with it

[@Typi]

6:25 Not every enemy is treated with respect. I mean how could you ever respect Jerry?

[@whocaresaboutthename6850]

Redditors probably do Lmao ☠️

[@_-Lx-_]

So Sorrry...

[@Typi]

@@_-Lx-_ I don't respect them enough toa actively remember them lol

[@matttale7918]

@@whocaresaboutthename6850nah, Undertale redditors hate Jerry And love Terry

[@feilkate5892]

WDYM Jerry is the best. Yes, he's a bit extra, but at least he tried to be a friend with people

[@zigazav1]

I'd like to bring attention to the other meta element of Undertale. If the game realizes you're cheating by modifying your save data, you'll be treated to the "dirty hacker" ending, an ending that has Sans calling you out for cheating.

[@shadefire8605]

Catch your “here before this explodes” pass here!

[@jaredcondit9888]

What, is the video gonna self destruct or something?

[@lol_09.]

​@@jaredcondit9888 Yes

[@CultReport]

2:22 correction: Toby Fox's current magnum opus is "The Baby is You"

[@ok-tr1nw]

DAVEJOHN PREGGERS

[@BasicViewer]

I played Undertale when I was around 8 years old. Any message it was trying to convey was lost on me because there were jokes and my baby mind focused on that. In the assumption that the genocide route would have some more fun I played that. It made me feel awful... I didn't get out of the "funny" perspective until around a year ago when someone else discussed the genocide route and I realized that I didn't need to play it. I am haunted by my sins. 10/10 game.

[@orngjce223]

Nah, being 8 and just enjoying the ride is also a valid way to play the game. That's another one of the excellent things about Undertale: even if you only play the surface-level game and never get into this meta stuff, it is _still a good game._ Without that surface level, far fewer people would pay attention long enough for the meta to score a hit this powerful. Games that are _only_ meta, like _The Stanley Parable,_ don't blow up like Undertale, because no eight-year-olds can play them. Relatedly, Deltarune is built to play on nostalgia for Undertale-the-story. So you're actually the target audience for Deltarune. If that helps any.

[@BasicViewer]

@@orngjce223 I... also played the Stanley Parable when I was 8 and didn't process anything but the comedy... The broom closet "ending" was funny (even though I had no idea what drugs and hookers were) and that was enough for me. These are, genuinely some of my favorite games, some of the best parts were lost on me originally though.

[@_-Lx-_]

Interesting case of coming back as an adult to a classic you enjoued as a kid, Same thing happens when someone revists a movie like Incredibles or such. Many great things have layers of depth/themes.

[@adamantii]

How did you react to Photoshop Flowey as an 8 year old

[@BasicViewer]

@@adamantiiI can't remember exactly but I know that Flowey's speech beforehand scared me and I likely died a lot and got angry.

[@xSkysilver]

Undertale is a game that accurately shows how scary human determination is

[@XX-sp3tt]

Ironically, One-Shot would reconstruction the New Game Plus as being a simulation of events before the true finale, so you're not screwing with the lives of people you've already saved in the best ending, but are exploring different possibilities.

[@CodySky]

I think that OneShot has the best meta story telling! It takes the player as an actual character much like undertale! You don’t control the main character, but you instead guide them!

[@UndertaleClod190]

Undertale my beloved, you were my first fandom and I see you in ever new interest I gain

[@UndertaleClod190]

Every*

[@mljesus7743]

“Defining a Medium” Yeah…. Hell of a game for us whos childhoods were defined by said medium, after peeling back the layers, its no wonder Undertale got the attention for the being as speical as it is. Personally, those last two Chara monologues have been burned into the back of my mind since and summer of 2017.

[@thespeedyyoshi]

I mean…it is “character”. So “chara” would likely be pronounced as the prefix to “character” at least, what I think. (I woullldddd tone down the sound effects a bit. It got a bit irritating at the start) 😅 But that aside, freakin excellent breakdown. I love the distinction between The Undertale and Undertale TM. That’s a pretty unique way on interpreting this game that I haven’t seen in many other places. Also the discussion about the moral not just being “murder bad” is not something I normally think about, that was quite insightful ^^

[@Protendo]

But have you considered that Car-uh sounds better in my ears? Thanks for the note about the sound FX. Been dabbling with it lately but wasn’t sure if it was intrusive or not - will definitely relax it next time around.

[@davifelizardo4187]

True, I think this was the best analysis that I saw on Chara so far.

[@mariotheundying]

I just say Shara sometimes because of my native language

[@mr.monkey354]

@@Protendoi mean, you don't say "may-rio" jsut because it sounds cooler lol

[@ipplays8617]

@@mr.monkey354because it doesnt

[@droycon]

Pacifist isn’t dubbed “true pacifist” actually. Pacifist refers to the neutral ending where you don’t kill anyone and “true pacifist” refers to the specific pacifist ending you get if you also hang out with papyrus, undyne and alphys🤓

[@existenceispain_geekthesiren]

that ending had me quietly screaming "DON'T YOU DARE" over and over on by school bus

[@thejester4130]

Okay this is probably my favorite take on a character that has more takes than actual info on them. The explanation you gave for chara as both a representation bur also a character in the game which makes them unable to truly represent us completely.

[@agcrazystudios5199]

This topic seems… Very Very Interesting… (Now I gotta get back to watching this amazing video!❤✨)

[@Site_42]

Me, having never seen this channel before, after the first minute and a half of this video: *Ooh, I’m gonna like this creator.*

[@Forpus888]

This is a really good analysis, I feel i understand more about the game than before! Great video

[@lod4246]

very VERY-

[@clowneryandbuffonery]

The editing is so charming! Love love love the sound FX, and the motion graphic elements! Also, awesome breakdown of the narrative 🎉. Haven’t played the game, but the joyful tone it seems to evoke from you makes me interested! I better clear up some time in my schedule, and re-download the game on the switch ❤ also, never even considered the actual messaging of the game 😭 I know that sounds crazy, but you did a phenomenal job explaining the meaning of the game

[@userinker]

this is surely THE undertale video. you just encapsulated a lot of points that i couldn't put to words and did it perfectly, and the irony of this video existing is so cool to me. maybe this is the first time im watching it, but no way its the last

[@100organicfreshmemes5]

Even beyond what's in the game itself, I think it adds more onto the meta-narrative that once the fanbase had seen every little thing there was to see, they started to create their own content via fan AUs and other fanfiction. Quite a large amount of people became so obsessed with Undertale that they couldn't let go after doing everything there was to do and started making their own worlds. Thinking of it from a meta-narrative standpoint it makes perfect sense that Sans is the most popular character, he's the most fleshed out character who is aware of the player's actions outside of any single playthrough. There isn't anyone better suited to tie together all the fan content people create in their endless need for more time with the characters. From a meta-narrative standpoint it would be interesting to envision the fanbase as a self-serving deity, creating worlds solely to live vicariously through its creations and experience all the fun, drama and suffering they do. Very well made video, hope you can grow your channel because you deserve it with content like this.

[@LMANPAD]

Man I did not expect an Etika cameo. I miss Etika

[@alicec.b.9906]

14:50 I don’t think flowey disappears completely after that, I remember in my first play through when I was at the waterfalls I saw flowey in the corner of my eye so I turned around to see if he was actually there, and he was! But then he immediately go backs into the ground. I believe that meant that he was always there, watching your every action, no matter where you go or what you were doing, whenever you’d kill a monster, he’d be there to witness your sins… Good thing I didn’t kill anyone in that run.

[@CharaDreemurr-UT]

This is THE Undertale video that explains and shows every aspect of one of the primary reasons as to WHY I fell in love with this game. Thank you for your video ❤

[@SobreDunas]

Oh my god that ending sequence with the heartfelt music and beautiful moments and then the true reset is haunting

[@wingedmirage4226]

Something I find interesting that I don’t see a lot if people talk about is how Geno isn’t just about “kill all the monsters that you can for content”, but how it’s about twisting the story itself for what YOU want. Undertale already has a very clear story that it wants you to follow, even if there are neutral branches. To do geno, you have to push against how the game itself is constructed. The grind is boring because it’s not meant to be a game about grinding kills, the story falls apart because you kill off important characters, etc. You make it into the power fantasy that most RPGs are built to be: everything is crushed more and more easily except for a couple super bosses, but part of the power fantasy is going up against a worthy foe. Then you conquer all foes, and thus the game/world. Then there’s Deltarune, where you have to go out of your way to break the story by using Noelle to kill people. Part of this route also has you being possessive/controlling of her (like saying she’ll ride the Ferris wheel with you, that we’re “something else” instead of just friends before taking the snow ring by force, etc.) which suggests that the Snowgrave route will also disrupt the (probably) planned pairing of Susie and Noelle by having Kris have her instead. In fact I wonder if having the options to pick/flirt with other chars like Ralsei could also have ramifications later. A commentary on games where you can make characters fall for you perhaps? In both cases, you’re making the story about YOU and what YOU want, rather than just being just one person in a living world and mostly being along for the ride.

[@ERICBALYBERDIN-h2z]

Chara: CAR-uh (IS CAHARA A CAR) CARE-uh (MAYBE CHARA CARES ABOUT YOU) Char-uh (I don’t know) CHAIR-UH (IS CHARA A CHAIR UNDERTABLE LORE INCOMING)

[@sumgamesonmyphone9203]

Chara-cter

[@ungreee]

I'm almost 100% sure that Deltarune is going to be THE meta storytelling game of ALL TIME cuz Toby made UT as practice to make deltarune. Plus he said he had thought of an ending so good, that he had to make a game for it. (it being DR)

[@CGFillertext]

This is an amazing video! I had my mind blown so many times, you’re bringing out new ways to look at the game that I never even thought about before

[@cottonycloud]

This is such a great video!!

[@Thunder-Sky]

I always took the use of the title "True Pacifist" to distinguish from the Pacifist variant of Neutral ending, with the use of true coming from the area exclusive to it: True Lab

[@linkthehero8431]

Hard to believe this was Toby's first game. I've seen games by more experienced developers with less immersion than Undertale.

[@snailvine]

god this is so good… subscribed

[@weegiblook7953]

... well. a video essay on my favorite aspect on my favorite game? this is not what i was expecting for today. that being said, this is a cool video. learned things i didn't know before, seeing things in a bit of a new light. and of course abc_123 or whatever had to be put in there... this just puts all the random ideas i had about this game floating in my head into one cohesive group, and that's awesome.

[@rxndomfxndom7405]

To add on to the point at 22:35, in the Asgore fight he DESTROYS the Mercy button. And, in that battle, the more turns you delay fighting the stronger his attacks becomes. You can only win by making him weak enough (and then deciding his fate).

[@amberhernandez]

Had to pause at 23:38 because even the first few words hit me like a train. Dropping that without warning was so cruel, but I don't think you could've chosen a better way to convey your point.

[@solsystem1342]

Honestly I prefer oneshot. It feels like it sticks the meta landing better. Obviously it'll depend player to player but frisk being a blank slate protagonist really makes me feel a bit less connected to the world than the characterization Niko gets.

[@_.luminosity._]

You'll looooove deltarune

[@isaiahkirk4153]

Undertale is the sort of game that makes you think and feel, and feel, and FEEL. You can play it however you wish... sort of. The game sees you and is aware of every. little. thing you do. and it reacts to you. I respect that.

[@jackeroni216]

another parallel between the player and flowey similar to the player and chara one you mentioned: flowey has reset time and time again, starting with pacifist, and then doing genocide and presumably every single route possible. but when you fall down, he's still a murder psycho. i guarantee you, if a real player was to see a random major change they hadn't seen before, they would play pacifist again, like shown how basically everyone played pacifist first in deltarune when that came out. if someone else smarter than me could help interpret this that'd be great, but it was something i've been thinking of recently.

[@Meringues0]

Man that was GOOD. Thank you so much for your work!

[@maggus_maggus]

Huge thumbs up, that video really gave me ynother point of view on this game, thx man, keep it up

[@Dxublbhs]

You did an amazing job on this video. This is the best analysis for Undertale I've ever seen. The detachment the player has to have to the characters in the Geno route is such a commentary on how people consume video games today and even how detached people are to real world problems while they're happening through a screen. Great video.

[@sahilhossain8204]

Lore of How Undertale PERFECTED Meta Storytelling momentum 100

[@Poyostar]

Tons of games have done meta-storytelling to varying degrees, but when it comes to what the best case of it in recent memory could be, there is, atleast in my opinion, no topping UNDERTALE. Some games have come before and after and have gotten close, that much is true, but UNDERTALE is on its own level to me, and this video is a great showcase of how and why. This is a great watch!

[@conno02]

wonderfully written and executed. subbed.

[@brycesonmoon655]

I appreciate you including mad mew mew and showing a clip of mad dummy, because they’re the same character.

[@mintrydoesstuff9221]

upon my playthrough of the game, i originally played with my boyfriend. he had killed a couple monsters despite me not wanting to, but nevertheless i continued on a neutral run and finished the game. then i completed the true pacifist run on my own. i loved every single bit of it and made sure to experience every bit of content for myself. then it ended. i couldn’t bring myself to do the genocide. to this day that game remains on my desktop with the option of the true reset. the possibility scares me.

[@mufinboi975]

Its still so cool that undertale always has something new to be talked about. the game released when i was 8 years old. i didn't play it then but i discovered it years after. and today i am 17 and I'm about to turn 18 in a few months. its so crazy that this game still has something to say. Toby Fox is a flippin' genius and this video just proves that again.

[@chiemorrison7117]

for the first time, after years of only doing pacifist or "testing" various neutral endings i finally brought myself to attempt geno. i was struggling immensely against Undyne and hadn't been able to beat her for weeks when i found this video. i quit geno immediately after i finished watching lol

[@clnne]

I was a huge fan of the game for years from 2016 and eventually grew out of it, but an artist brought Undertale Yellow fan content to my timeline and I had to check UT out again. I've just watched multiple new playthroughs, reinvesting my love for the game after a long time. It made me want to remember everything I forgot. The reactions were amazing and just as they should've been, but they didn't cover all that I knew they could've. I wanted to see all the extra content again. It's funny I found this video. 100% I'm not a gamer, but I adore seeing theories and ranbles and fan content and analysis and anything I've not seen before. I love that I personally don't have to do it. There are people out there willing to look and create. I'm happy to consume. Thanks for making this video. You've earned a subscriber. :D

[@rodrigoqteixeira]

3:44 Bro just can't resist it 😂😂

[@fruitloops2058]

26:17 I... never actually thought about that. We all knew that was emotion filled but not the implications that come with that.

[@italex827]

I hope there's never a movie or TV adaptation. Undertale would not be Undertale if it wasn't a game.

[@vianneyb.8776]

IIRC Chara isn't the one who started stabbing Flowey, the player is. They hesitated, and only took over once you pushed them again. (but even then Flowey killing Asgore means the player can't take his soul, pass the barrier and escape to the world of humans). In general, I like to think of Chara as a helper who can turn as bad or good as the player, but I'm a strong supporter of Chara not being evil so I'm a bit biased here. PS: Thank you for including Etika's let's play of Undertale, it's one of my favorites on the platform. He was so hyped by how badass Undyne the Undying sounded. It is so tragic what happened to him. Rest in peace.

[@Dosplo]

but the player doesn’t decide to kill flowey (I actually didn’t want to kill flowey on my first genocide run, I would’ve spared him if I got the choice) chara does that on their own and don’t use the stupid “BUT YOU PRESSED ENTER” argument, enter just continues the text it’s not choosing anything

[@Florgato22]

I never even did the genocide run to find out what would happen, I just looked online. I don’t have that kind of will, that kind of determination. My soul is green bro.

[@Kowal9833]

I will watch all your Undertale/Deltarune esseys religiously. Make more i beg you 🔥😳

[@crobisbobis]

28:40 Exactly

[@charathedemon5939]

*Seeing you talk about Frisk's story fills you with determination.*

[@orngjce223]

After this video ended I immediately clicked on your profile icon to see if you made anything else like this. Good stuff.

[@Voidbear_FNaF_and_Undertale]

I once said that hope there's some secrets of undertale that never get revealed, so there's things that'll still be talked about. But this video shows that it'll still be talked about even if it's revealed who Gaster is or what one specific line of text was about. And it shows that I'm right in a way, if everything is revealed, if every bit of lore has be wringed out, there'd be nothing left.

[@meriewanderer]

Undertale has always been probably the best game I've ever played, I'm so glad people still talk about it to this day.

[@coreo6688]

Can we just appreciate that there are many people today who can be recommended to you even if they don't have that many subscribers? honestly the best videos I have seen in the last let's say 2 years have been from people with under 100k who under the circumstances of 10 years ago youtube, I would have never knew that they existed. Too bad at the same time there is a lot of low quality content , but people like you turn the balance over and make this site enjoyable, nice job

[@higuys9789]

10:51 I got the game a few months ago cause I was finally able to get steam to work. Before that I already knew basically 99% of the lore and a bunch of theories about it

[@toyloliSpare]

Another video I saw breaking this down, was that rather than addressing the fourth wall they felt like Flowey was actually reaching out of the fourth wall. Like audience participation to the next level. He pulls the player inside and makes everything that you the player did about you. That's why I usually rebuke people who give 'chara' agency in their descriptions. The point of undertale is that the only true evil in that world. Is what the player brings with them.

[@THEPurpleEgg]

I just so happened to have reinstalled the game just a few hours ago, planning on revisiting it and maybe finally going to finish my geno run. After this, I remembered why I never finished my first geno run: to let the characters I learned to love as a kid have their happy ending. I'm content to let the memories just be memories, even if I need to remind myself that the game's characters are just that: video game characters. I was also recently wondering why Undertale never got any achievements, and now I have my answer for why it never needed them: it would just fuel the player's intense consumer mindset. It would further push them to play the game over and over again, torturing the characters before bringing it back to zero, just to give them a taste of happiness in a pacifist run, just to reset yet again.

[@Noobie_Pro-vl1xu]

"I could never predict you, CHARA." *SUMMER OF DASHPASS IS HERE!!!*

[@nezubun]

the etika clip almost made me cry

[@Cutted_Cheese]

Last time I did a geno run I named myself "cheese" so when chara showed herself she said "I am cheese" best line in the game

[@antoni4582]

Every time you show Gaster as you say "very, VERY-", i die a little more out of laughter I have no idea why or how that shit makes me laugh still almost a decade later

[@gabrielpopescu8080]

1m sub KZbinr-quality video

[@abdillahahmad7025]

2:05 frisk: verrrrrrrrrrrrryyyyyy

[@tankissed]

this is the best video essay on Undertale I've seen :)

[@stephanieagustin7496]

Thanks for the video!✨ This thing Toby did was amazing!♥️ I love undertale!! You're video does show how good of a game he made and what elements full potential he showed!!

[@ihavenoclueidk]

..people thought undertales messange was .. murder bad? sure I am a writer so I have a bit of edge at seeing themes, but I am very very dense (autisim) even I could see that with the heavy focus on DETERMINATION the game was just about that. once your in too far you never want to go back. it's a tactice cults use, if you've sacrificed your outside friends already, why back out? you've already done somethign so awful just to presue something you don't like, but now you don't have anything to lose. so you keep going. Edit ; this went froma critique of people trying to crituqe the game to just cultish info dump lol

[@jeremiahowens9999]

ETIKA UGH MY FEELS NO😢

[@colinstorm2892]

Fantastic analysis

[@shadownight3030]

Awesome essay !!!

[@calebmarsters5602]

the only game that has made me cry, in general i just dont cry, bruh

[@amyhardwick8720]

You did a really great job with this video! It was fun to listen to and I really liked the point at the end about being remembered for what it has to say, it was pretty nice. Thank you for all the work you put into this video!

[@In.New.York.I.Milly.Rock.]

You cannot "perfect" metalinguistic art for Kantian self-criticism is an infinitely self-referential process. Undertale is post-Kojima, who is post Mother and so on.

[@_-Lx-_]

Sure, but people can have their own opinion on what story was perfect to them. UT is thr No1 series I care about in terms of Lore and Layers of plot/writing, largely tied to metanarrative reasons. I'd say it's a good choice to believe is perfect for metanarrative overall.

[@pizzadogma]

What

[@zeo4481]

28:40 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏 Absolutely

[@alifetooquietisadeadsea]

No matter how old I get and how much stuff happens in my life, I still cry whenever I see this game

[@ChimeraLotietheBunny]

Always love new videos always analyze why Undertale is so popular and one of my fave games