Highlights
- Undertale is a breakout indie game developed by Toby Fox, featuring 8-bit and 16-bit computer-generated music that adds context to the narrative without using words.
- The soundtrack uses leitmotifs to establish underlying themes, creating a cohesive work of art that remains above criticism.
- Each character in Undertale has a unique musical theme that complements their personality and adds depth to their story, making the soundtrack a big part of the game's appeal.
Undertale is best known for being a breakout indie video game developed solely by one person, Toby Fox, with artist Temmie Chang providing the artwork for some character sprites. Fox is also an extremely talented composer. He wrote and recorded all of Undertale's music, making use of 8-bit and 16-bit computer-generated sounds, reminiscent of retro video games, enhanced with digital musical instruments, such as piano, guitar, and violin.
The music also makes use of leitmotifs, the practice of repeating a melody to establish an underlying theme between musical pieces. This creates a very cohesive work of art and allows the soundtrack to add context to the narrative without using words. Even after all these years, Undertale's OST remains above criticism.
Updated on July 26, 2023 by Quinton O'Connor: If you ask a dozen Undertale fans to name their favorite things about the game, surely at least ten of them will mention the soundtrack as a big part of the equation. To that end, we've added a bit more to our article and brought it back to celebrate Undertale's tenth anniversary!
10 Bonetrousle
The rather precocious and ingenuous younger skeleton brother, the self-proclaimed Great Papyrus is known for his antics with puzzles and undying love for spaghetti. But underneath his jokes and overblown speeches is the kindest, most gentle soul in the whole of Undertale.
The music that plays during his dialogue and the battle against him resonates with Papyrus's goofy personality. It’s both a playful and lighthearted tune that complements the mood in Snowdin and the flavor text during the Papyrus’s fight.
9 Sans And It’s Raining Somewhere Else
At first, sans seems to be a carefree, lazy individual, putting little to no effort in helping Papyrus set up his puzzle games, something which is captured in the track named after him. However, as the game progresses, you are given more and more hints of Sans’s true role and power.
One particular characteristic scene is when Sans invites you for dinner at the MTT Resort. The track that plays during that meeting is a somber and pensive rendition of sans., making use of slow piano instead, punctuating the meaningful dialogue in this scene.
8 Your Best Friend, Your Best Nightmare And Finale
Flowey’s theme is a sinister, mischievous track that often plays during unsettling moments in Undertale. When Flowey absorbs the six human souls, he turns into Omega Flowey, a horrifying giant plant creature with rendered flesh and machine parts. The melody of Flowey’s theme is played repeatedly during this fight, found within the tracks called Your Best Nightmare and Finale.
Once you complete a True Pacifist Route, the end credits and special thanks screen is accompanied by the track called Last Goodbye, which also contains Your Best Friend’s leitmotif.
7 Ghost Fight, Dummy, And Spider Dance
The track that plays during the encounter with Napstablook is a fantastic, upbeat composition, reminiscent of jazz music. When you encounter Naptablook’s cousin, the Mad Dummy, the track called Dummy! plays, which is a sped-up version of Ghost Fight with additional sections and instruments.
Finally, when you fight Muffet at Hotlands, Ghost Fight's leitmotif is audible in the track called Spider Dance, which takes the Halloween-themed melody to a whole new level with new instruments and an even more upbeat tempo. It is a perfect rhythm for when Muffet's spider minions are crawling over the battle screen.
6 Bergentrückung And ASGORE
King Asgore Dreemurr serves as the antagonist for the Neutral Route. You will soon learn that the King of Monsters is neither evil nor cruel and that his choices throughout the story are born of unjust circumstances. Asgore carries the hopes and dreams of a kinder future for the monsters of the Underground. He also carries the weight of what happened to his family: both of his children were killed by the humans on the surface. He soon became estranged from his wife Toriel.
The music that plays throughout scores his grief and resignation to injustice. It contains leitmotifs from Toriel’s theme (Heartache) and the Game Over screen (Determination). It is a solemn and mournful song about a person who is forced to choose violence after failing to protect those important to him.
5 Battle Against A True Hero
Undyne is the Captain of the Royal Guard, and her Undying form is only encountered in a Genocide Route. Here, she will valiantly defend the citizens of the Underground against any player who wants to murder them all.
This track perfectly fits the fight that ensues: each piano note flows into the next one like raindrops on a lake and the stepwise melody seems to uncannily choreograph Undyne the Undying’s flurry of spear attacks.
4 Hopes And Dreams And Save The World
During the first phases of the fight against the God of Hyperdeath Asriel Dreemurr, you'll be enamored by music that is so energetic, it could be an opening track for an anime. The first two musical acts of the final boss of the True Pacifist Route contain leitmotifs pertaining to Once Upon A Time (Undertale’s Main Theme, found in both the prologue and main menu) and Your Best Friend (Flowey’s theme).
The music gives away that this form of Asriel is not dangerous, despite the edgy dialogue and powerful attacks. Once you progress through the fight and rescue Asgore, Toriel, Sans, Papyrus, Undyne, and Alphys from the clutches of Asriel, you'll realize that there is one last person left to 'SAVE'.
3 His Theme
First hinted at by the song called Memory played in Waterfall, His Theme plays during the climax of the fight against Asriel, when the identity of the first fallen human in the opening scene of Undertale is revealed.
It scores the emotions of the once docile child who longs for a sense of comfort and belonging after a lifetime of trauma. Its leitmotif is also found in tracks like Finale and The Choice. It is a vulnerable, heartwarming melody that brings veritable buckets of nostalgia, even to some who have never played Undertale.
2 Megalovania
Sans is secretly the Arbiter of the Underground and the battle against him at the end of a Genocide Run is widely regarded to be the most difficult fight in the whole of Undertale. It's almost impossible for an inexperienced player to defeat Sans on their first try. Only sheer determination can help you suffer through multiple failed attempts to best the skeleton, slowly memorizing his attack patterns, improving your reflexes, and mastering how to effectively dodge each move.
The song that plays during this fight is called MEGALOVANIA, and is perhaps the most popular and iconic song in all of Undertale’s soundtrack. It underscores the epic battle of willpower and endurance between a Genocidal player and Sans. It is an electronic masterpiece that elicits a fight or flight response to everyone who is familiar with the Genocide Run.
1 Undertale
The journey towards New Home is poignant, with nothing to listen to except the low, steady humming of the elevator until you reach King Asgore’s home, when an acoustic guitar begins to play an oddly familiar melody.
The titular Undertale track and two leitmotifs are included: His Theme and Once Upon A Time. In contrast to the digitally recorded samples, the title track is a live recording of someone playing the acoustic guitar. It feels like a warm, heartfelt performance that certainly elevates the scene that unfolds.
As the final scenes begin this is when we finally learn what Undertale is about: empathy and compassion. After hours of digital recordings, the sound of a live performance of a musical instrument really evokes genuine human emotions—it is the perfect accompaniment as the game’s narrative is brought back home.