110 Fun Facts About Undertale

Who created Undertale, writing the script, composing the music and programming nearly all of it?

Apart from artwork and character designs by a small group of guest artists, the whole game was a one-person project.

In what year was Undertale first released, for OS X and Windows?

It launched on September 15, and the Linux port followed the next summer.

What is the name of the large, secluded region under the surface of the Earth where the game takes place?

It is separated from the surface by a magical barrier, and the whole game is the journey back up.

Which motherly, goat-like monster rescues the fallen child at the start of the game?

She teaches the child how to get through conflicts without killing, and wants to adopt them to keep them safe from the king.

Undertale's motherly goat monster Toriel was created as a parody of what kind of game character?

Fox also felt RPGs lacked strong mothers, so he wanted 'a mom that hopefully acts like a mom' who genuinely cares what the player does.

Who is the king of the monsters, whose castle contains the barrier to the surface?

He was written as an intimidating figure at first, but Fox made him goofier, inspired by Fangamer founder Reid Young.

The two skeleton brothers who act as sentries in the game are named after what?

Their in-game dialogue is even displayed in their own fonts, Comic Sans and Papyrus.

The skeleton brothers act as sentries for which area?

They are two of the first named monsters the child meets after leaving the Ruins.

What position does Undyne hold?

Fox found her hard to write; the one detail that never changed was that she was the first boss who genuinely wanted to kill the protagonist.

Who is the kingdom's royal scientist, creator of the robot TV host?

She was originally depicted as a man; Fox grew to dislike that and redesigned her, adding eyelashes.

What kind of being is Mettaton?

He was built by the royal scientist, and his glitzy shows are a running gag through Hotland.

The flower who greets the child at the start lies about which stat to try to kill them?

He frames it as friendship points, which turns out to be a very dark joke later in the game.

According to the judgment scene late in the game, LOVE is actually an acronym for what?

The reveal recasts the whole levelling system as a measure of how much harm the player has done.

In the same judgment scene, EXP is revealed to stand for what?

The player is judged on the totals they have accumulated across the whole run.

Which battle menu option lets you check an enemy's stats and take non-violent actions?

Using the right actions, or attacking until an enemy is weak but alive, opens the way to sparing them.

During battles the player controls a small heart. What does it represent?

Boss battles change how the heart moves, and coloured obstacles are added as the game goes on.

Dodging enemy attacks in battle plays like a miniature version of which game genre?

Fox tested it on friends with no shooter experience and was satisfied when they could all finish the game.

Which Japanese shoot-'em-up series was a direct inspiration for the game's battle system?

Fox first downloaded its demos in middle school, and later credited it alongside the Mario & Luigi games.

Fans call the ending in which every single fightable monster is killed by what name?

It is also called the 'No Mercy' route, and much of the world empties out as characters flee.

The best ending, unlocked by reloading after a kill-free neutral run, is known as what?

Flowey ambushes the reunion of the child's friends and absorbs everyone's souls before the finale.

What is revealed to be the human child's true name at the end of the best ending?

The name is spoken by the goat prince after he reverts to child form and destroys the barrier.

What is the name of the first fallen human, who befriended the royal family's son long before the game begins?

In the worst ending this character appears at the very end and erases the world.

What is the name of the king and queen's son, who befriended the first fallen human?

He was killed by humans on the surface, which is what pushed his father to declare war.

Humans fall into the monsters' realm through a gap in the barrier at which mountain?

It is the only opening in the barrier that seals the monsters away from the surface.

How many human souls has the king collected when the game begins?

He needs just one more to break the barrier, which is why the child is in danger.

What was the funding goal of the game's 2013 Kickstarter campaign?

It ran for exactly one month in the summer of 2013 and blew far past the target.

Roughly how much did the Kickstarter campaign end up raising?

Just under 2,400 backers chipped in, roughly ten times what Fox had asked for.

How many months did the game's development take?

It was originally meant to be a two-hour game released in mid-2014.

Which game creation tool was Undertale built with?

That choice later mattered: Fox said Nintendo 3DS and Wii U ports were impossible because the tool didn't support them.

Before Undertale, Fox was best known for composing music for which webcomic?

He started writing music for it in 2010, while still in high school.

'Megalovania' was first written for a Halloween ROM hack of which game?

Fox submitted the hack to a fan-site competition in November 2008, years before Undertale existed.

The title 'Megalovania' combines 'megalomania' with the name of which region?

Fox only named it at the last minute, and wanted a bit of 'Halloweeniness' in the title.

Which character's boss battle is scored by 'Megalovania'?

In an early draft this character ran poker at a casino, an idea revived in the Xbox port, where he runs a casino at home.

What new feature did the Xbox One version add to the Dog Shrine?

The Dog Shrine itself was first added for the PlayStation 4 and Vita releases.

YouTuber MatPat gave a copy of Undertale to which world leader in 2016?

He tied the gift to the Vatican's Jubilee of Mercy, and in 2022 a circus even performed 'Megalovania' at a papal audience.

Papyrus began as a mean sketch in Fox's notebook wearing a fedora, named after which other font?

Fox says the most memorable moment of development was writing the scene where Papyrus turns down the child on their date.

Who was the game's main artist, providing most of the sprites and concept art?

Fox says the simple art style would probably have stayed the same even with a bigger team.

Which Nintendo RPG series inspired the timed defensive segments of battle?

Fox wanted a battle system as engaging as Super Mario RPG and Superstar Saga.

The dialogue system, where you can talk to monsters to avoid a fight, was inspired by which 1992 game?

Fox wanted a system that 'satisfied my urge for talking to monsters', and the no-kill run grew out of that naturally.

Fox composed the entire soundtrack using which software?

He first tried the tracker FamiTracker but found it unintuitive, and most tracks were written with little iteration.

Which consoles were the first to receive Undertale, in August 2017?

The console version added exclusive achievements and a new location, the Dog Shrine.

The Nintendo Switch version added an exclusive boss fight against whom?

The Switch release also showcased a deal letting GameMaker Studio 2 users export straight to the console.

Which Japanese localisation company translated the game and handled all its console ports?

They used a single primary translator, Keiko Fuchicho, to keep the game's voice consistent.

How does the name 'Deltarune' relate to 'Undertale'?

Fox says Deltarune is 'not the world of Undertale' but is meant for people who have finished it.

On what date was the first chapter of Deltarune released, for free?

Fox had teased something Undertale-related just one day earlier.

Who is the human protagonist of Deltarune?

They are joined by a monster classmate and a prince from the Dark World to fulfil a prophecy.

Unlike Undertale, Deltarune is marketed as having how many endings?

Whatever the player chooses, the story is meant to arrive at the same place.

How many sales had the game surpassed by early February 2016, about five months after launch?

It had already been one of the year's best sellers on Steam by the end of 2015.

A Mii Fighter costume of an Undertale character was released for which Nintendo game in September 2019?

Director Masahiro Sakurai noted the character had been a popular request to join the roster.

The tenth-anniversary charity marathon livestream raised US$330,000 for which organisation?

Players saw new dialogue, areas and boss fights, which were later released as a browser game.

Undertale was originally planned to be how long?

It was also meant to ship in mid-2014, but the project kept growing.

In which US state was the game's creator born?

He was born in Manchester in October 1991 and later graduated from Northeastern University in 2014.

What subject did the game's creator study at Northeastern University?

He graduated in 2014, the year before his game became a phenomenon.

Fox got the idea for the game's text system in 2012 after reading a Wikipedia article about what?

After building the text system he thought up the battle system, and the story grew from there.

Which Legend of Zelda companion character did Fox strongly dislike for revealing puzzle answers too early?

That frustration shaped his tutorial character into someone who genuinely cares rather than nags.

In 2019, wrestler Kenny Omega dressed as an Undertale character on which promotion's weekly TV show?

He wore the skeleton costume on the October 30, 2019 episode of Dynamite.

Which fan-made spinoff, released in 2023 after seven years of development, became hugely popular?

The fandom is known for elaborate fan games with their own stories and mechanics.

Which YouTuber quit his first playthrough, saying fan demands left him 'not having fun'?

Streamers who killed enemies were harassed by some fans, which gave the fandom a difficult reputation.

Fox partly derived the title by swapping words in the name of which earlier indie game?

He replaced 'Story' with 'Tale' and the setting word with 'Under', and also liked how two-word titles like EarthBound stuck together.

How many chapters is Deltarune planned to have in total?

Chapters 1 through 4 shipped as a paid package in June 2025, with all later chapters promised as free updates.

Which dish does Undertale's Papyrus obsessively cook, having learned it from his mentor Undyne?

Spaghetti lessons are a kindness in disguise: Undyne finds Papyrus far too nice to be a soldier, so she teaches him cooking instead of combat.

In Undertale's opening, what does Flowey call the white bullets he urges the fallen human to catch?

Friendliness pellets fool few players twice: dodge them and a furious Flowey slips up and calls them bullets before hastily correcting himself.

What does Undertale's Undyne believe is real human history, because the royal scientist told her so?

Anime was sold to Undyne as history biopics about humans, so she keeps a giant sword at home and insists humans wield blades ten times their size.

Which creatures does the shy, music-loving Napstablook raise and race on a family farm in Undertale?

Snails are all Napstablook has left: every cousin quit the Blook family farm, leaving one lonely employee to host races called Thundersnail.

Fans nickname Omega Flowey, the grotesque final boss of Undertale's Neutral route, after which software?

Photoshop Flowey got the name because artist Everdraed built him from photoshopped images, with orders to make the visuals unsettling.

Which multiplayer game added Undertale cosmetics in 2023, including Undyne's armour and Flowey's head?

Among Us bundled the items in its Indie Cosmicube, which also let crewmates wear a hoodie belonging to Papyrus's lazy brother.

In Undertale battles, how does a player avoid taking damage from an attack coloured light blue?

Stand still and a light blue attack passes harmlessly through, a rule first taught by the dog Doggo; orange attacks are the exact opposite.

In Undertale, which flavour of pie does the goat-like caretaker of the Ruins bake for the fallen human?

Butterscotch-cinnamon pie restores the human's health in full, and eating the slice in front of the monster king lowers his attack and defence.

Diaries in an abandoned Undertale house reveal that the celebrity Mettaton began life as what?

A ghost who dreamed of a perfect body, Mettaton left his cousin Napstablook behind once the royal scientist built him a new one.

Which humble weapon is the human child already holding when Undertale begins?

Stick in hand, the child gets no attack bonus at all, yet throwing it wins over every dog enemy at once, and Papyrus will even fetch it.

Which quality, said to fill the human at each of Undertale's SAVE points, lets humans persist after death?

Determination was named by the royal scientist after she extracted it from human SOULs, and monsters dosed with too much of it melt when they die.

Through which Undertale region does Undyne hunt the human, cutting a bridge from under them?

Waterfall is the third region the human crosses, and three famous residents keep houses there: Undyne, Napstablook and Mettaton.

Which glowing blue plants in Undertale let the human overhear snatches of monsters' private conversations?

Echo Flowers replay the last sounds they were exposed to, though over time the recording decays into white noise.

Which snack sits in a bowl on a pedestal in Undertale's Ruins, spilling across the floor if the human takes four?

Monster Candy is said to have a distinct, non-licorice flavour, and on Hard Mode the bowl tips over a piece sooner.

At which Undertale pub, run by a monster made entirely of fire, does Papyrus's brother keep a tab?

Grillby's treats Papyrus's brother like a celebrity: patrons greet him warmly, he orders whatever the human picks, then offers them a bottle of ketchup.

Which snack does Papyrus's brother sell from his own stand in Undertale, piling spares on the human's head?

Hot dogs pile up to 30 high on a human whose pockets are full, until the seller admits he cannot reach any higher; the second one sold is a Hot Cat.

Which frozen Undertale treat, sold at stands in three regions, comes in a wrapper printed with a compliment?

Nice Cream wrappers carry messages such as "You're super spiffy!" and "Is this as sweet as you?", and three Punch Cards buy one for free.

Which Undertale character is its creator's self-insert, seen dozing beneath 'THE END' on the ending screen?

Annoying Dog began as a dog-shaped attack pattern drawn to please the game's dog-loving lead artist, and only later came to represent its creator.

In Undertale, which colour does Undyne turn the player's heart, leaving it unable to flee?

Green mode roots the heart to the spot, so the player must block arrows from four directions with a spear: Undyne's way of forcing a head-on fight.

Which Undertale track, the final boss theme of the kill-free best ending, reprises most character themes?

Hopes and Dreams struck USgamer's Nadia Oxford as "a perfect way to cap off your journey", proof of its composer's knack for making old songs feel new.

In the epilogue of Undertale's best ending, what does the former queen achieve her dream of founding?

A school suits her: in Deltarune the same character works as a teacher, and in Undertale she offers the human a home once the barrier breaks.

Which Undertale guard dog's neck stretches further up the screen every time the player pets it?

Lesser Dog can be petted 55 times before the messages run out, by which point its head has risen past the dialogue box and the menu.

What name is given to the melted-together monsters the royal scientist keeps locked in Undertale's True Lab?

Amalgamates were dying monsters revived in her experiments; ashamed of how they turned out, she hid them instead of sending them home as promised.

Which vanished royal scientist of Undertale is mentioned only in rare easter eggs and hidden game data?

W. D. Gaster is said to have fallen into his own creation and been shattered across time and space, leaving a few followers who appear at random to tell his story.

Which Undertale facility converts geothermal energy into the magical electricity powering the kingdom?

The CORE is a maze of swappable rooms, a trick Mettaton exploits by rearranging its paths and hiring monsters to ambush the human.

By what grandiose title is the transformed final boss of Undertale's kill-free best ending known?

God of Hyperdeath is the adult shape Flowey assumes for the finale, a battle Kotaku's Jason Schreier called one of the greatest final boss fights in RPG history.

Which part of Undertale's battle screen does the monster king destroy before his boss fight even begins?

The MERCY button is smashed so the human cannot spare him; once he is beaten it returns, visibly damaged, restoring the choice he tried to take away.

In Undertale, the spider baker Muffet raises money to buy what for her relatives stuck in the Ruins?

A heated limo would carry the Ruins spiders across the freezing forest that cuts them off, which is why her Hotland pastries cost 9999 G each.

Which timid monster attacks the human early in Undertale's Ruins, then slinks off after a guardian's glare?

Froggit later turns helpful: friendly ones dotted around the Ruins ribbit advice about the game, including a hint that enemies can be spared.

What becomes of Undyne's house in Undertale at the end of her chaotic cooking date with the human?

It catches fire and stays off limits for the rest of the game, capping a visit in which Undyne also splits her own table with a spear.

Which Undertale battle theme was first written for an earlier game its composer scrapped?

Bonetrousle was meant to be the everyday battle music of that abandoned game, parts of which later grew into Deltarune.

After a word search trap fails in Undertale, the player must say whether crosswords or what else is harder?

Junior Jumble or crosswords: whichever the player calls harder changes a library visitor's later remark and even a line in the best ending's final battle.

Where in Undertale did Undyne first meet the royal scientist she later falls for?

A garbage dump brought them together: Undyne was hunting for swords and listened for hours to the scientist's theories about where its bottomless abyss led.

Which British comedy character's series did Undertale's creator cite as an influence on its silly humour?

Mr. Bean was named alongside the silliness of internet culture as a comic influence, with the aim of subverting ideas most games never question.

Which company, whose founder inspired the goofy side of Undertale's monster king, published its retail edition?

Fangamer founder Reid Young, a friend of the creator, prompted the rewrite that turned an intimidating ruler into a lovable one.

Which website's 20th-anniversary 'Best Game Ever' bracket did Undertale win, months after its release?

GameFAQs users picked it over The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time in the final round, after it had knocked out Fallout 3 and Mass Effect 3 on the way.

As a boy, Undertale's creator and his brothers made mostly unfinished games with which hobbyist program?

RPG Maker 2000 came recommended by his brothers when he was still a young child; he is the third of four boys.

In Deltarune, the follow-up to Undertale, which job does an eyepatch-free Undyne hold in Hometown?

Chief of police is a job she took over after the previous chief was dismissed, and this Undyne knows the scientist she adores in Undertale only in passing.

Undertale's creator made his voice-acting debut as a skeleton called Jared in which animated series?

We Baby Bears gave him the part in its 2023 episode "Polly's New Crew", fulfilling a long-held ambition to voice a cartoon character.

Which elderly Undertale shopkeeper, a veteran of the war with humans, was once called the Hammer of Justice?

Gerson once mentored Undyne, and on the darkest route he stays unruffled behind his counter, aware that nobody can be attacked inside his shop.

Undertale's creator likened the 'Battle Body' armour worn by Papyrus to the outfit of which video game hero?

Captain Falcon, the F-Zero racer, was one reference point for the costume; an enemy from Mega Man X was the other.

Which Japanese action role-playing series gave Undertale's creator the idea of a hero trapped beneath the earth?

Brandish also shaped his most famous song: the melody of 'Megalovania' was inspired by the final boss theme of Brandish 2: The Planet Buster.

Which 1997 game about undoing a hero's damage inspired Undertale, though its creator had never played it?

Moon: Remix RPG Adventure finally left Japan in 2020, after a conversation with the Undertale creator inspired its designer to attempt an English release.

Undertale's 'Megalovania' began as a substitute for 'Megalomania', a boss theme from which Super Nintendo game?

Live A Live was the plan until its boss theme proved too hard to transcribe, so the composer wrote a new song instead, in about thirty minutes.

The intro of the monster king's Undertale theme was inspired by 'The Fog', a song from which other game?

Persona 4 left a fingerprint in the files too: the project holding that melody was saved under the name persona4.flp.

Which pair of Undertale best friends, both devoted Mettaton fans, run a shop in an alley beside his resort?

Bratty and Catty are an alley-gator and an alley cat, a visual pun on where they trade, and they tend to finish each other's sentences.

Which Undertale miniboss, once a piano pupil of Undyne, draws a cheering crowd when the human hums to her?

Shyren is tone deaf and ashamed to sing, but keep humming and a concert breaks out, complete with tickets made of toilet paper.

Which Hollywood actor and rock musician briefly sang Undertale's 'Megalovania' on his YouTube gaming channel?

Jack Black is one sign of how far the song travelled: it is said to be recognisable from its first four notes, even to people who never play games.

Which unpopular Undertale monster has no attack of its own and can be abandoned mid-battle using 'Ditch'?

Jerry makes its allies' attacks last two seconds longer, and those allies are so fed up that they help the player slip off when it looks away.

What must the human place over an ancient statue in Undertale to make a hidden music box start playing?

An umbrella shelters the statue from water dripping off the ceiling, and a tune called Memory begins; neither Papyrus nor Undyne knows where the figure came from.