#that battle sprites face in deltarune i think that's a bit interesting

[ralseinumberonebiggestsupporter]

mewalphyne is CANON everyone.

[sorio99]

Deltarune Chapter 1: The Official Undertale AU

At 6:00 AM PST, on Halloween 2018, the official Undertale twitter account released what is essentially a demo for the next game by Toby Fox, deltarune. Between the baffling intro, the odd relationship with the original Undertale, and the implied involvement of a certain missing doctor, everything about this game was shrouded in mystery.

And I loved it.

(Spoilers and Review below the cut)

Part 1: The Story

At first glance, most people assumed this mysterious new game would be a sequel (or possibly prequel) to Undertale. After all, it involves a number of shared characters, the titular rune was prominently featured in Undertale, and even the name “Delta rune” is an anagram for “Undertale”.

However, the relationship between the two is much stranger, and the plots are largely unconnected.

After creating an avatar and having the game unceremoniously throw it in the garbage, you play as Kris (that lovely person up there), the human child of Asgore and Toriel, and younger sibling to Asriel Dreemurr. Right off the bat, about a million questions are raised, especially since later conversations indicate Kris has at least been living with the Dreemurrs’ since they were too young to know their species, but we’ll come back to that.

Toriel drives you to school, though still get there late, and Alphys (who is your teacher here) puts you in a group with Susie, the only student to show up after you, to work together on a group project. However, when she realizes she doesn’t have any chalk, she sends the two of you to go get some from the school’s broom closet. You catch Susie eating chalk, she threatens to eat your face but doesn’t, and you head off to the broom closet.

Then things get weird.

After that, it sort of follows a plot line similar to the original: you fall into another world, there’s a bunch of monsters you can either fight or spare, and you just have to keep going up and to the left to fulfill a prophecy & get to the exit, all while dealing with ambiguously evil characters who are more silly than dangerous. It is, however, a bit shorter, with only about ten unique enemies and only three areas in the whole game. But hey, it is technically just the first chapter, so what do you expect.

Of course, what really makes an Undertale is the characters. Since you’re in a different world for most of the game, the returning characters from Undertale don’t have much of a presence outside the very beginning and very end. Instead, we focus on a handful of new characters, all of whom are pretty well-rounded and developed, with the exception of Kris, our silent, somewhat-ambiguously-gendered protagonist. Susie, in particular, goes through a pretty nice character arc, going from someone who’d casually threaten to rip your face off and eat it, to an actual antagonist at one point, before eventually working her way back to being a good guy and someone you can actually be friends with! It’s definitely the strongest arc in the game so far.

There’s also Lancer!

He’s a villain.

And not a skeleton.

Just trust me on this.

Part 2: Presentation

Just to get it out of the way, the music is fantastic. Of course it is. It’s an Undertale spinoff and, more importantly, it’s made by Toby “Radiation” “I could shit out a better soundtrack than most of you will ever even imagine” Fox.

I will however say that I prefer Deltarune’s sound design in general to Undertale, though. Don’t get me wrong, Undertale still has the better OST (for now at least), but Deltarune’s sound effects JUST beat it out in my books. In particular, I felt like the text sounds for most of the characters was, on average, less annoying than in Undertale. Again, don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate Undertale’s voices, but some of them could get a little ear-grating, especially for characters who talked a LOT throughout the game. Here, with the exception of one returning character (where the irritation was kind of the joke anyways), all of them work really well. There’s even a tiny bit of voice acting from a couple of the more important characters! So, big thumbs up there.

More pressingly, however, are the visuals. In case it wasn’t obvious from the above screenshots (aside from that second one of Lancer, maybe), the graphics have gotten a MAJOR glow up since the last game. Temmie Chang, aka “Most Precious Meme”, is still the main Artist for the game, and Undertale is by no means a bad looking game. However, in general, the games’ art went from “Beautiful and sometimes even breathtaking” to consistently “HOLY SHIT MY EYES ARE NOT EQUIPPED TO COPE WITH SUCH SHEER BRILLIANCE!!!”

You think I’m exaggerating, but I legit dropped my jaw at a lot of this game’s visuals. I mean, just look at this one End-game animation!

I think this one short scene has more detail and frame than Asgore’s overworld sprite got in the entirety of Undertale.

On the slight downside, however, we no longer get the full-body monochromatic battle sprites from Undertale, as enemies appear in battle almost identically to how they appear in the world. Still, with this much more detail in overworld sprites, it’s not even a slight loss.

Speaking of battle...

Part 3: Gameplay

Yep, the gameplay has gotten a major overhaul over the past three years. First, as the screenshot should make obvious, you have a team now! Yep, in addition to Kris, you can get up to three additional party members over the course of your adventure, including Susie! 

In general, what you can do in battles with Kris is mostly the same; you can Fight by hitting the button at the right time, Act in certain ways to make the enemies not want to fight you, use an Item really quick, or Spare an enemy who you don’t want to kill. You also have the option to defend, which will lessen the damage you take if you get hit during the obligatory bullet-hell attacks your enemies dish out.

Where things get really interesting, though, is the team mechanics. You see, every character is different, and everyone but Kris can use magic (although some of Kris’s ACT commands kinda seem like magic?). However, only Kris can directly ACT, with other party members only being able to preform certain set spells. So, instead, Kris can command the other party members to perform actions, or Kris can ACT while the others defend, use items, or attack. If you use a Team ACT, the other party member(s) involved won’t be able to do anything else that turn, but said Team ACTs are usually more powerful or potent as a result. The whole thing can set up for actually strategic choices in battle: In Undertale, since most enemies only had one or two ways to spare them, the most strategy you could use on a Pacifist play through was “Which enemy should I deal with first?” Here, you have to figure how you’re going to handle each encounter. Do you have Kris ACT first, then have another party member spare that monster in the same turn? Or do you act WITH that party member, and next turn be able to spare at least two monsters?

In addition to the battle system being reworked, there were a number of smaller, quality of life changes:

You now have three item categories: Items (your standard consumables), Gear (your armor and weapons), and Key Items (your cellphone and a couple other important things).

You can sell at pretty much every shop in the “Dark” world, which makes sense, since you’re mostly selling food, armor, and weapons-things people in this world would need to survive.

Each character in your party uses a different kind of weapon, but all of them use the same armor, and you can give them all two pieces of armor each, so you can stack defense and get extra boosts!

Choices are mostly presented in a cross pattern, so you just have to pick a direction and confirm to choose that option.

THERE IS NOW A RUN BUTTON AND IN THE OPTIONS YOU CAN CHANGE SO YOU AUTO-RUN AND THE RUN BUTTON IS JUST A WALK BUTTON!

And speaking of which, YOU CAN ACCESS THE MENU FROM WITHIN THE MAIN GAME! THANK YOU!

You can also have up to three save files at once, although I’ve heard each file has some minor differences in flavor-text across the game, so be on the look-out for that.

Overall, I feel like I honestly prefer the game play to Undertale. In fact, with the exception of the story (which is mostly underdeveloped because, again, this is basically just a very long demo), I honestly prefer most of Deltarune to Undertale. While it isn’t technically a sequel, per se, it does do what any good sequel should do: use the original as a starting point and just improve almost everything. It’s almost like the Bioshock Infinite to Undertale’s Bioshock, if that makes sense.

(Would that make System Shock 2 Homestuck? Am I over thinking this?)

Now, with the actual review out of the way, we can get to the main event.

Part 4: Co̞͞n̤̠͎̙̥̗n̸̰̜̳͚͓͇͍e̸͈͉̳̺c̭̮̬̖̭̗̳͠t͍͓͘i̖̺͙͇̟̫o̢̰̜̦n͈̮̼͈͎͖̦s͈͝ ̹̙̦͈̯̜A̡̟̥ņ̥͙̗d̛͙̤̦͈̹̪͚ ̺T͍̞h̡̜̝̟̬e͏̱̹̲ͅ ͕̯̰͍̜͇͍D͝oc̜t̸̺̱̯͙̠o̷̱r͈̟̣̤̯

As I mentioned before, this game isn’t technically a sequel to Undertale. None of the events of Undertale seem to have occurred in this universe, including (seemingly) things from before the game even began. This becomes especially apparent after you leave the “Dark” world and can explore town, talking to various people. Character relationships are almost universally reset, there is no mention of the “Underground”, and considering Asriel is still alive and in college, it’s safe to say there is no Flowey in this world. It could almost be passed off as a complete alternate continuity, or even a reboot, if it weren’t for a few...

oddities.

Yep, among the returning characters, Sans makes an appearance, having apparently just moved into town and never having met you before. Despite having apparently met Toriel the night before in the grocery store, and having a business relationship with your teacher, Alphys. Plus, there's the fact that what used to be Grillby’s and the Bone Brother’s house both look WAY too close to there original versions (no other building looks that similar), the fact that of ALL the returning characters, only Sans looks the exact same (no redesign, visible aging, or even new clothing), and the fact that some of Kris’s dialogue choices seem to reference things that haven’t happened in this universe, and other characters notice them acting...different.

Plus, you know, there’s Chapter 1′s ending.

Yeah.

(Plus, as you might have noticed at the top of this part, there’s a monster who is the only one in either game who looks similar to this Gaster Follower)

All of this seems to point to something much more sinister going on. And, for those who haven’t seen it, the tweets leading up to the demo’s release might just explain why.

Now, we aren’t quite sure who this is supposed to be, but judging by their vocabulary and how they type, it’s a pretty safe assumption we’re being chatted to by our favorite former royal scientist. And, sure enough, most people are assuming that this entity is at least some version of Dr. W. D. Gaster. Why is he doing this? What does it all mean? Why was the Delta Rune even slightly relevant to the plot of this chapter aside from there being three prophesied heroes?

Well, I suppose only time will tell.

Until then...

L̴͙̖̠̕è̘̝͚̯̩̘ͅt͔͎͖̝͎̼͘͢ ̷͎̮͘ù̴̹̘̮̰̙̮̮̘͝s̵̷̫̠͎̯͙̥͟ͅ ͍͍̤̟͇͕̺ͅh̨̼̼͕̠ą̶̛̦̫̼v̺͞e̸͎̭̱͍̭͞͠ ͖̩̳͕͔͚͚̝̱s̘̭̩͜͟ơ҉̥͖̯͟m̞̠͈e̷͔͖̭ͅ ́҉̤͔͎̫̣̥̱͚̲ḿ̶̩̼̙̪̻̝̥͟o̗͇̩͇̠͍͟r̡͖͇̤̗͔͈̕͠e̶̝̠͔͈̭̟ ̷̫̬̺̮͔̣F̢̗̘̟̯͈̜͖͕͈͞Ų̴͍̜͚̘̠̞͈͇̀N҉̡̣̺̝̩̘͓ͅ.̷̩̹͓̯͝

S̛̪̦͉͎̙̀h̴͇͈͡á̤̣̫̬l̷̬̤͓͈͟ͅl͚͚̙̦̙̣̱̺ ̳̗̩͍̱̤̦͈̣w̡͔é͔̝̹̻̜͎̞͝?͜҉̣̣̥̫͎͎ͅ

[waddlesdpig]

DELTARUNE RUN THROUGH ( Or how quiet silence can speak volumes)

*The following is a opinionated writeup about Delta Rune, spoilers and bad jokes ahead.*

SO, October 31st, Toby Fox stealth dropped a follow up to the smash success that is Undertale. The reaction to this of course was hype of unparalleled levels, Goat Mom’s, Skelebro’s, Socially anxious lizard people, whatever this guy is, everyone was and still are going nuts about DeltaRune. ( Even Jerry! EVEN JERRY!) And what’s not to like? Ya got a brand new story, brand new cast of characters with a unique spin on the returning favorites, new and improved battle system and animation, of course that sweet sweet music, and they even added a run button! ( Video games? Saveeeed!) 

However as i played Delta Rune more and more, i found myself notably less charmed as a whole when compared to my time with Undertale. Don’t get me wrong here, i fully understand that in terms of production and story subject, these are two very different games. Undertale was a complete experience when it was released, while my judgements on Delta Rune so far are based on what is essentially a demo with the promise of a full game later on. 

However i would argue that both Undertale and Delta Rune share a common element which in one elevated the experience, and in the other detracted from the overall enjoyment.

This element being the Player Character ( which will be refereed to as “ PC” from now on cause i’m hella lazy). Given both game’s protagonists are silent, it might be laughable to suggest that UT/DR’s PC effectiveness could vary so much that one would serve as a hinderance in one title or as a boon in the other. However in terms of levels of engagement i feel though that this is just the case.

This is evident firstly in the character design of each game’s respective PC. On a purely surface level Frisk is a blank slate, pure and simple. Though Frisk sports the simpler and albeit rougher design of the two PC’s, his neutral expression goes a long way in allowing the player to imprint their desired personality onto Frisk without having too many mental hoops to jump through. 

Kris on the other hand, despite having the more interesting design and much cleaner sprite work, is harder for the player to grasp onto. His face being mostly covered by shadow, conveys a sense of aloofness and detachment, which plays into the early Delta Rune’s depiction of him as the odd man out in his class. But ( so far) fails to capitalize on turning him into a successfully likable character that can work on his own. In the same way Suzie’s change in appearance signaled a satisfying development in her character, i feel DR could have done something where Kris’s design evolved with his character. Instead it only serves to act a twist at the end of the game, letting us know that Kris is actually the embodiment of all that is evil. 

If the contrast between these two PC’s went only this far, i’d say more than likely i would have enjoyed my time DR at least marginally more than i already did. However the differences goes beyond that, permeating the depth of Delta Rune.  

Going back to Frisk, despite being a silent protagonist, throughout the game of Undertale we can see facets of him having a personality of his own. Frisk is curious about the world, has a sense of humor, ( in non-genocide runs) shows a determination to fight without harming others, and genuinely cares about those he comes across. He makes choices and those choices affect the world around him. Granted aside from Frisk’s merciful nature, ( which is a integral part of UT’s gameplay) most of what i just listed is all implied. Implied through his actions to be fair, but implied nonetheless. But there exists enough of these breadcrumbs of emotion that the player’s mind could fill in the blanks and create a version of Frisk that most appeals to them. 

Kris-py Kreme lacks these facets completely, in fact of all the things he lacks, the most distinct thing he lacks is choice. ( Yes i know surprise surprise, don’t need me to tell you that.) While i say this, that last statement isn’t technically true. In DR you have a variety of choices, you can choose to explore the environments, when engaging with NPC’s you can choose how to respond in conversations, you can choose to ignore NPC’s all together, and famously you can choose to fight or mercy your way through enemy encounters throughout the game.

So what i really mean is in most aspects, the choices Kris makes are never truly his own. This is mainly due to having an active party accompanying the PC. In UT Frisk was on his own for a majority of the journey, ( Shoutouts to Monster Kid) and as a result near every major turning point is affected by Frisk’s choices alone. Meanwhile Kris faces every decision is with a green Jiminy Cricket on his side encouraging him to be a gud boi and get dem brownie points.

I’d be amiss to suggest that Ralsei wasn’t likable in his own right, but his role in the group dynamic completely negates any presence Kris may have had. Serving neither as the aggressor nor the voice of reason, Kris’s silence unfortunately causes him to slip through the cracks when it comes to interactions with Suzie and or Lancer. 

Furthermore Ralsei’s cuddling extends to the choices the players themselves make. Booting up the game the first time i was fully prepared to play passively, it’s freakin Undertale 2 ( The pre-sequel-progressive-alternative-child-timeline-universe-and-knuckles-do-you-know-the-way-to-end-my-suffering) for crying out loud. Yet it’s not till Ralsei quite literally tells you that you don’t have to kill anyone, that you are presented with a non-scripted battle. Which immediately dampened my enjoyment to that point. To play a pacifist route was no longer a self determined course of action, it was a direction the player was pushed towards multiple times throughout the game. 

In UT solving fights by talking and sparing your enemies was encouraged in the beginning. Now i’m sure most approached combat in UT as a standard RPG, spam attack, get exp, level up, rinse and repeat. It was only later in the starting area that many understood that ACTing and mercy was a viable way to play the game. To act in this way was a CHOICE made all your own, a choice that was unfortunately robbed in DR as sparing is something heavily encouraged throughout the game.

As an example to illustrate my point, think back to the Pacifist Undyne fight. After a frantic escape and running sequence, you cross past the bridge into hotland and Undyne passes out due to the heat and conveniently next to you is a office water cooler. Now it wouldn’t be a stretch to imagine many players would simply move on, unaware that saving Undyne was even a possibility. While on the flipside i’m sure it dawned on many what they could do and did so. Whatever the action, this something we had to decide on our own.

Conversely i’m confident that if this sequence had occurred in DR, Undyne would have fainted, with Ralsei immediately exclaiming that Kris needs to do something pls halp. Though the choice is still technically there, it is no longer your own. In fact i would go so far to say that if one were to take Kris out of DR completely, the story and character interactions play out without skipping a beat. Which is the last thing you want in a story-driven RPG.

In this way i feel that not all silent protagonists are born equal. UT was built knowing Frisk wouldn’t utter a word and as such was able to give him a sense of presence both in the story and the character interactions. While Kris ( for now) as failed to be nothing more than a blank slate with a sweet cape that takes up a character spot. 

EPILOUGE

As much as it might seem that i’m beating up on Delta Rune cause “ It’s not mah undertale!” I sincerely had a good time with it, and i’m excited for more. ( Pls no lynch) I do feel a bit guilty judging a character who hasn’t had a chance to finish his story yet. Also recognizing the high possibility that Kris is exactly how Toby Fox wanted him to be, i would not be surprise if this usage of the PC was his way of hammering in the theme of choices being a fallacy. More than anything the purpose of this writeup was to explain my feelings why in my opinion Frisk is the more well utilized character.

Thanks for reading.

TL:DR Frisk > Kris