Undertale is a game all about the unexpected. On face value, it may appear to be just another indy title with a passion for the retro. But this brain-child of one Toby Fox looks to subvert RPG norms in fun and inventive ways. It’s most blatant inspiration is EarthBound, though it also evokes Super Mario RPG and the Mario & Luigi series on equal levels. All of which are apt inspirations for an RPG that wishes to be unconventional. What’s all the more unexpected is how well Undertale lives up to its inspirations.
The “hook” of Undertale is simple enough in concept: You don’t have to kill anything. But the depth of this concept is what gives Undertale its uniqueness in both gameplay and story.
In terms of gameplay, Undertale looks very much like EarthBound, complete with retro-style first-person battle screens. But players are able to go along with or against RPG conventions with the options to fight or act.
By fighting, you can defeat the monsters, earn experience points, and level up, as is RPG tradition. But if you choose to act, you can find a non-violent way to win the battle, whether it be striking up a conversation, initiating a dance-off, or giving a simple compliment. Once you’ve won the favor of a monster, you can choose to “spare” them, ending the fight without gaining experience points (though you can still earn gold).
Neither option is more difficult than the other, however, as most monsters are not easily swayed or defeated. No matter which route you choose, you will still have to endure their attacks. It’s within these segments where the influence of the Mario RPGs shines through.
During enemy attacks, the game takes on something of a “bullet hell” setup. The player’s “soul” is represented by a tiny heart, which the player can guide within a window. The enemy attacks are present as various projectiles, which the player can avoid altogether, provided they have the ability to guide the heart out of harm’s way.
Like in the Mario RPGs, every enemy provides its own unique challenge, meaning that avoiding their attacks feel like mini-games unique to each monster.
Though each enemy fights differently, Undertale’s battle system has a few consistent rules to keep things together. Enemy attacks that are colored white will damage the player. Blue attacks won’t harm you so long as you hold the heart still, while orange attacks are the reverse, and will be harmless if the player willingly moves the heart through them. Some monsters have attacks that can be turned green, which then heal the player.
The battle system is an utter delight, and one of the most fun and interactive I’ve seen in an RPG. It’s probably the only RPG I can think of outside of the Mario series where the battles provide a constant sense of surprise. This variety is reflected equally in the aforementioned “act” options, which are unique to every monster’s personality.
The story is another highlight of the game. Undertale tells the story of a long-forgotten war between humans and monsters, where the humans emerged victorious and banished the monsters to a subterranean realm. The monsters can’t break the seal keeping them in the underground, but humans can find their way to this world of monsters through a single mountain.
Players take the role of a child who happens to fall into the monster world, and must go on an adventure to find his/her way home. An adventure that takes many twists and turns and, ultimately, questions the child’s morality.
The two things that ascend Undertale’s story to the realm of great video game narratives are its writing, and the way in which it takes full advantage of its medium.
The writing can be downright hilarious. Undertale is not only the funniest game I’ve played since Portal 2, it’s one of the funniest games I’ve ever played, with an absurdist sense of humor that once again echoes the likes of EarthBound and Mario & Luigi. Yet the game is also able to tell a compelling and even tragic narrative that brilliantly contrasts the game’s humorous writing.
Undertale is also one of those rare games that understands how to tell a story unique to the video game medium. There are so many games out there that simply want to replicate movies, but Undertale is a story that plays out in a way that could only happen in a video game. Every decision the player makes in every battle (and some outside of battles) will have an impact on the story and characters. The game even includes three different final bosses, depending on whether your choices are righteous, villainous, or somewhere in between (with the third option providing numerous different endings of its own).
Visually speaking, Undertale is simple but charming. The retro look is appealing and well done, and the character designs are original. Though some of the environments can admittedly look a bit sparse.
The soundtrack, composed, of course, by Toby Fox, is one of the best in recent years. The music of Undertale can range from retro and catchy to atmospheric and melancholic. It is distinctly a video game soundtrack, one that can capture a range of emotions without feeling the need to simply replicate the style of a film score. It’s beautiful to listen to.
If you love RPGs, Undertale is an absolute must-play. It even follows in the footsteps of its inspirations EarthBound and Super Mario RPG in being an RPG that’s fun and accessible even for those who aren’t fans of the genre. It’s one of those rare indy games that lives up to the reputation that precedes it, and a damn fine RPG under any criteria.
10
Wizard Dojo 
Ah, decided to see what all the fuss was about, did you? I’m glad you gave it a chance!
I felt the random encounters weren’t annoying at all; they weren’t like in certain old school, NES-era JRPGs where they occurred every other footstep. Though something weird happened at one point when I was playing. After I got the first ending and returned to the game, I only got into two random encounters between then and the true ending. When I backtracked to other areas, I found I was able to do so without any interruptions. I’m not sure if it was luck or if they just stop spawning if you spare them enough, but it’s a bit strange nonetheless.
This game marks the lowest level I’ve completed an RPG with; I didn’t even get a single EXP. I remember seeing the number remain at zero about halfway through and I thought to myself, “Well, I guess I’m just not going to gain levels in this game.” Then when I reached the final corridor…
I could see traces of every title in the Earthbound trilogy when playing this game, though it seemed to draw more inspiration from the first two installments than the third, as the story is touching and hilarious without going overboard at any point, which is just the way I like it. As I said before, it’s one of the best games to ever emerge from the indie scene.
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I’m glad I gave it the chance as well. It’s an excellent game for sure. Probably one of my favorite RPGs, actually. I flip-flopped between a 9.0 and a 9.5 for a good while. I only really picked the lesser of the two when I stacked it to some other RPGs I might rank similarly. I’m still not sure I picked the right score, but it’s just a number anyway.
I’ll be doing my video game awards soon (and finish up my movie awards with my list of favorite 2015 films, which I delayed). At first Super Mario Maker was pretty much my guaranteed Game of the Year, but now it’s a toss-up with Undertale. It’s that good.
As for the random battles, I definitely agree they weren’t nearly as bad as the old NES days (like I said, they aren’t excessive). I admit I’ve kind of developed something of a disdain for random battles in general. It might have something to do with the fact that the earliest RPGs I played were games like Mario RPG, EarthBound and Chrono Trigger, so playing RPGs with random battles after them just felt so backwards.
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The first RPG I played was Super Mario RPG, but shortly after that, I tried the Final Fantasy Legend series and Pokémon Red/Blue, so I got introduced to random encounters pretty early. That said, my three favorite JRPGs (Chrono Trigger, Persona 4, and Earthbound) don’t have random encounters because, like you, I prefer to see the enemy parties before fighting them. It’s nice to mentally prepare for a battle before it actually happens. They work in Undertale because, like almost every other game mechanic present, they’re tied into the plot really well. Although I like how Bravely Default deals with random encounters; you can just turn them off entirely if things aren’t going so well or if you want to fight the dungeon’s boss at full health.
Personally, I would rank Undertale higher than Mario Maker, but then again, I really like it when games have excellent storytelling.
As far as RPGs go, I’d say that Undertale definitely has a spot in my top ten – possibly my top five. Isn’t it great when the internet decides to latch onto a masterpiece? They should do that more often.
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Oops, I guess I need to add Pokemon to the list of earliest RPGs I played. Random encounters still somewhat annoyed me there, but they made a bit more sense. To me anyway.
The thing I loved about Mario Maker was how easy it made level creation, while still making it a deep experience. You could finish a level in an hour or work on it for days, and make a masterpiece either way. Plus, making Mario World levels is too hard to resist. But I do see myself leaning towards Undertale for Game of Year.
I’m not quite sure where Undertale would rank among my favorite RPGs, but it is in the top 10 somewhere. I think my favorite is still Super Mario RPG. With some of my other favorites being Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, Paper Mario, Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story (and Superstar Saga for that matter), and Ni no Kuni. I guess I’m not much of a fan of western RPGs…
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Oh duh, and EarthBound would be another favorite. Obviously. Any game that lets you beat up hippies with a baseball bat has to be something special.
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Inspired by Earthbound, Mario and Luigi, and Super Mario RPG, you say?! Well, it can only be a great game then!
The mechanics sound really intriguing. I had never heard about it. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
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It’s a fantastic game! Possibly my favorite from 2015. With inspirations like those, how could it go wrong (it can’t)?
You can purchase it on PC or Mac via its website or Steam, if you’re interested. I highly recommend it.
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Excellent review! Another person who strongly recommends Undertale, who would’ve thought? Granted, I have yet to play many of its inspirations, but hopefully I’m still able to appreciate its implementation and homage to the genre. Just recently finished Chrono Trigger, which is simply immaculate, so I’m just itching to play another RPG 😀
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I’d definitely recommend Super Mario RPG (probably my favorite in the genre), as well as EarthBound and the first two Paper Mario games (the N64 one is readily available on the Virtual Console). Also the Mario & Luigi games (Superstar Saga and Partners in Time are also on the Wii U VC, and I strongly recommend the former).
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