Before I share my opinion of Undertale (again), let me quickly clarify some things:

1. I don't judge single-player games based around their fanbases to any degree
   
2. If you don't know what Undertale is, I recommend not reading on because THERE WILL BE SPOILERS
   
3. There's a reason why this is called "My Thoughts On," because I'm simply explaining my views on a specific topic, so if you're here just to argue with me, please leave now.
   
4. My goal isn't to convince you to love/hate a specific topic. If you have an opposite view of me, more power to you, but we'll have to agree to disagree
   

"But- but Jordan! You've already made a journal on DA explaining your thoughts for Undertale! Why are you putting this on PMC?!"

Because looking back at that journal, I've changed. Well, not completely, but after I posted it I went to go watch other people's reviews (as well as a few other stuff) for the game and it showed me a lot of stuff I never really thought about at the time of posting that, and because my Mac throws a fit whenever I try to edit it.

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So, Undertale... If you know me, you already know what my thoughts for the game are, and if you don't... Well, there's no point in trying to put it lightly; I hate Undertale. I personally consider Undertale to be my least favorite video game of all time, and no, I'm not using sarcasm or hyperbole or anything like that with that statement. I'm being completely serious when I say that.

"But why though?! Undertale is such a unique game with well-made characters, an intriguing story, creative gameplay, an absolutely stunning soundtrack, and morals that really-"

No, kinda, no, I actually agree with that, and no.

To me, the game has cliched characters, an 'okay' story and gameplay, 'an absolutely stunning soundtrack', and it either lacks morals or it has confusing morals. Again, if you disagree with me on these things, more power to you, but I have a really hard time seeing the opposite side.

To start things off, I'm gonna follow the same pattern as I did on DA and go from the things I like the most about Undertale to the things I despise most about Undertale. Let's get into it.


Soundtrack

Who doesn't like the soundtrack? Despite all the negative stuff, I will give credit where credit is due. Undertale definitely has some of the most catchy, immersive, unique songs I've heard compared to most other games. HOWEVER, I love the soundtrack by itself, as in, I would rather listen to songs such as "Another Medium" by itself without any sort of real context behind it. In the game itself... While it's definitely not bad, it just feels like background music and nothing more. Also, with context, some songs, such as 'Dummy!' and 'Megalovania', end up sounding either over-the-top or just doesn't give the right mood. Overall, the soundtrack is absolutely lovely to listen to, but Toby Fox (the creator of Undertale) should've had some second thoughts.


Graphics

It's 8-bit. There's not really a whole lot I can say about that. I personally love 8-bit, and considering the game is made as a dedication to RPGs such as Earthbound, it definitely seems reasonable enough for Toby to go in that direction. Now don't get me wrong, there are moments of unforgivable laziness, but there are more moments of great attention to detail (at least by 8-bit standards), leaving me a bit inspiration for some of my 8-bit sprites.


Story

Despite the fact that this game is called UnderTALE, this game actually has three stories instead of one (though to be fair, Undertales doesn't have a good ring to it). These stories are generally categorized into routes that are nicknamed the 'Pacifist Route,' 'Genocide Route,' and 'Neutral Route.' How do you access these routes? Well it's simple; decide if whether you're going to kill no-one, everyone, or somewhere in between ahead of time. Really, that's it. I'll talk more about this point when I get to the gameplay. I would talk about the Neutral Route first, but I'm gonna skip it for good reason.

No matter what route you take, however, the backstory of the game doesn't change. Basically, a long, long time ago, there were two species who lived at peace with one another; humans and monsters. One day, the humans feared the power that the monsters had if they absorbed a human SOUL, so they started a war with the monsters. When the war was over, the humans rose victorious and banished the monsters underground, casting a barricade that could only be broken with seven Chaos Emer- I mean... SOULs. Yeah. That. Fast forward to the sometime in the year 201X, where a human child falls into the underground, starting the many stories that Undertale has... At least that's what the intro tells you. Believe me, once you figure out what truly goes on in the backstory, it's truly something wonderful. It's a shame I can't quite say that for the Pacifist and Genocide Routes.

The Pacifist Route. Well... the beginning and ending are good, it's the middle that truly annoys me. It starts off with your character, Frisk, waking up in the underground and meeting a new best friend named Flowey. First off, absolutely creative name. Secondly, did I type 'best friend?' I meant to put in 'best nightmare.' Yeah, he attacks you so he can absorb your SOUL and escape the underground, but thankfully you're saved by a goat mom named Toriel. Her name is a play on the word "tutorial". I point that out because that's all she is for the first few minutes you meet her; a tutorial. Granted, not a boring tutorial guide at all, but should probably explain the gameplay a little more better than what she actually says. So you then do a couple puzzles until you reach Toriel's house, then you explain that you want to leave the underground, but because she doesn't want you to leave, she decides to blow up your only escape. You then 'spare' her and move on to the next area. You meet some new characters while also doing puzzles and finding out more information about the backstory. Repeat this two more times and then you get to World 8-4 of Super Mario Bros. You then battle the king of monsters, Asgore, and "spare" him only to be killed by Flowey, who then transforms into, in all honesty, the best boss of the game. There's only two real problems I have with this newer Flowey; Firstly, his name changes into "Photoshop Flowey." I'm not making that up, that's what he's actually called. Again, REALLY creative. Secondly, now there's really no point in playing the Neutral Route unless I want to endure all the dialogue that comes at the end. Once you beat "Photoshop Flowey," and 'spare' him, the game then tricks you into thinking that you got a Neutral Ending when in actuality, another, more secret mission is added. Then after that, you then get to see Flowey's TRUE form, who is actually the prince of the underground; Asriel Dreemurr. Now, Asriel's boss battle isn't bad, but I personally found it kind of boring. It didn't quite feel like I was doing anything new with the gameplay and the boss is kind of easy. Then after that, everyone seems to get their happy ending. What a shocker. The Pacifist Route really could be a bit better here and there, but believe me, the Genocide Route is just... why.

The only real good thing I can say about the Genocide Route is that some of the music is really creepy (in a good way), the boss battles actually feel like a challenge, you're given more backstory with Flowey, and at least it was trying to make itself as different from the Neutral and Pacifist Routes as possible. Other than that, this route is incredibly dull and bland that I'm not gonna really bother explaining what goes on. Just re-read the Pacifist Route part, but replace 'spare' with 'kill' and stop at the point of Flowey's first transformation, then replace everything following that with a big sign that says "My only purpose is to ruin the Pacifist Route. Enjoy."

Overall, the Neutral Route is just... there, the Pacifist Route is only good at the beginning and end, the Genocide Route is just awful, but the backstory that this game has is just so well written it's hard to dislike it.


Gameplay

Ehhhh... the gamplay could've been worse. I mean, the only credible thing I can give the gameplay is the combat system. It's original, a tun of fun, and with the soundtrack, it definitely feels like I'm going against an enemy and not a cardboard cut-out. However, as I mentioned earlier, the game doesn't really explain the combat system all that well, it just tells you that "You can spare monsters!" without actually teaching me how to spare monsters. What if I just decide to kill them? Well the gameplay, for some unknown reason, seems to revolve mostly around whether or not you choose to kill. I mean, Toby, don't you think that in the times of today, and even 2012, when you first started development, that maybe, just MAYBE, dialogue could have some kind of value? Because the decisions with the dialogue are kind of pointless if I can be a complete jerk to everyone and still get the best ending just because "I didn't kill anybody." What about the rest of the gameplay? Nothing really happens, you're just walking around, going to shops and solving puzzles.

"What's wrong with that? You do that sort of thing in almost every RPG!"

The problem is that the game doesn't really make them interesting, leaving it just to be remembered as bland and boring, this is especially a problem for the puzzles. Outside of a character named Papyrus, I can't remember most of the puzzles the game has. In fact, when I went back to Undertale for this blog, I was actually surprised to know how much I've forgotten. I forgot about the leaf piles, the lantern maze, the ventilation jumps, etc.

Oh, and don't even get me started on the little amount of re-playability that this game has.


Setting/Mood

I put the setting and mood together because I feel like they compliment each other too much to really make them separate.

The very first location the game has is the Ruins. The Ruins feel very basic in terms of just about everything, but I honestly am willing to forgive it of such due to the fact that I love temples and ruins of all sorts, but what I don't love is the gross amount of purple Toby had to use.

The second location is... a snowy forest? ... What? Why? Why is there a snowy forest underground?? How does that work?!?! ... Never-mind. It's basically just about what you'd expect from any other game that has a snowy forest. Except for Call of Duty: Black Ops III, but not for exactly good reasons.

Then we move on to a more cave-like area of the game, and this definitely my favorite setting of the game. The colors work wonderful together, the atmosphere feels mystical but terrifying (again, in a good way), and let's not forget about that good ol' soundtrack.

Then we have a lava-themed area. I'm honestly kind of surprised Toby didn't use this as the last theme, but I guess he didn't want every setting to be completely cliche. Lava-themed areas aren't really my favorite just because they're kinda dull and everywhere in video games.

Finally, an area that I already made a World 8-4 joke for. All I can say is that it's truly the most bland theme of the entire game.

Now there is technically a sixth area that's exclusive to the Pacifist Route, but I'd rather not talk about it just because I'm kind of mixed with the overall atmosphere.


Moral(s)

I put the "(s)" because truthfully, I have no idea what on Earth this game wants to teach me. In fact, I have no idea if Undertale even HAS a moral. I've watched countless videos to see what would've made the most sense, but so far the closest ones I can think of is "Killing is not okay," and "All decisions have a consequence." Okay, the first one was obviously a joke (at least I hope it is), but the second one really is about as close as I can get to an actual moral (which I can already say is probably not the case considering that, as I pointed out earlier, that the dialogue has no impact on if you get a good or bad ending). If there actually is a moral, please let me know. Seriously, please.


Characters

Oh boy, we reached the bottom of the list. And I'm discussing the characters as my least favorite part of the game. This surely won't cause any sort of controversy.

Now, I personally do feel like as though judging the characters as a whole is a bit unfair, so I'm gonna share what I think of some of the more 'bigger' characters of the game, starting off with Frisk

Oh Frisk, you're probably the most ugliest main character I've ever had to lay eyes on. I'm sorry, but Frisk's color pattern is just horrendous, and his/her design certainly doesn't help. In terms of actual character... Well, Frisk doesn't have any. Frisk is supposed to be that character who you're supposed to imagine yourself as. Toby Fox chose to image an 80s reject as his main character.

Flowey. My 2nd favorite character in the entire game. He's got single-handedly the best backstory of any character in Undertale, and he has a great personality, though the design, name, and music are kind of basic.

Toriel. In all honestly, I don't really like her. I mean, her backstory is okay, but her personality... she's basically the mother cliche that's been done so many times before.

Sans. He's pretty much just that edgy teenager who's also a theory magnet. IDK why he gets to be the theory magnet, but I'm not Toby Fox, maybe there's a good reason.

Papyrus. My least favorite video game character of all time. I hate his music, I hate his design, I hate his personality, I hate his backstory (or rather lack of backstory), and I especially hate that HE TALKS IN ALL CAPITALS. DOESN'T THAT JUST SOUND LIKE A NICE CHARACTER?!?!

Undyne. There's nothing much I can really say about her. She's basically the 'tough person,' but her backstory's okay, her personality's slightly annoying, but mostly tolerable, and her design isn't anything too crazy. I mean, I don't like her transition from songs such as "Undyne" and "RUN" to "Spear of Justice!", but after listening to a different, official version, I'm glad Toby made that decision.

Alphys. A lot of people seem to hate her, and I can completely understand why, but I honestly consider her my favorite character in the game. It's dumb, I know, especially considering she's a stereotypical nerd, and the first few interactions with her are absolutely insufferable, but her backstory, personality, design, is all stuff I like. Even her music is pretty good despite being extremely basic. Though she does honestly look like a Lisa Simpson rip-off

Mettaton. I honestly don't care for him. He's not exactly a great character, but I can deal with him. His battle music, "Metal Crusher," is my favorite song in the entire soundtrack, so I'll definitely give him that. Now, if we were to talk about his transformations, THAT is where the bad stuff truly lies.

Asgore. I have mixed feelings about Asgore, but I guess I think of him the same way I think of Undyne.

Now, overall, these characters aren't exactly that bad, but that's the main characters. If we're talking about ALL the characters (Napstablook, Doggo, Dummy, Muffet, etc.), then we have a completely different, horrible story to share. If I were to give ANY credit with the characters what so ever, it's that at least Toby did manage to make each of them feel like a unique individual.


There was gonna be a bit more than just these seven points and other stuff from my DA that I didn't include in here because I felt like those points were very nit-picky and not that big of a deal to begin with.

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And with that I conclude my thoughts for Undertale. To me, it's not a good game, though I personally will give it credit for at least trying. In all seriousness, my least favorite part of the game is that this IS a game that I should enjoy. A lot of the content feels like it should be right up my ally, but isn't. I guess I'm not the kind of guy who likes RPGs? Or maybe Undertale's just a specialty. Eh, whatever the reason may be, it does not feel... right to say that I hate this game, but there are just a lot of negatives that this game suffers from that prevents me from doing so. If you do like Undertale, I'm glad you managed to find enjoyment in something I could not. Well then... I guess I'll have to end of the blog here. Until the next My Thoughts On! ...Or should I say... OUR Thoughts On!