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Undertale Soundtrack
Soundtrack album by Toby Fox
Released	September 15, 2015
Genre	Video game music chiptune
Length	2:10:28
Label	Materia Collective
Producer	Toby Fox
Toby Fox chronology
Undertale Demo OST (2013) Undertale Soundtrack (2015) Deltarune, Chapter 1 (2018)

Undertale Soundtrack is a soundtrack album by Toby Fox, released in 2015 for the video game Undertale.

Development

The game's soundtrack was entirely composed by Toby Fox with FL Studio. A self-taught musician, he composed most of the tracks with little iteration; the game's main theme, "Undertale", was the only song to undergo multiple iterations in development. The soundtrack was inspired by music from Super Nintendo Entertainment System role-playing games—such as EarthBound and Live A Live—bullet hell series Touhou Project, the chiptune band Anamanaguchi, as well as the webcomic Homestuck, for which Fox provided some of the music. Fox also stated that he tries to be inspired by all music he listens to, particularly those in video games. According to Fox, over 90% of the songs were composed specifically for the game. "Megalovania", the song used during the boss battle against Sans, had previously been used within Homestuck and in one of Fox's EarthBound ROM hacks. For each section of the game, Fox composed the music prior to programming, as it helped "decide how the scene should go". He initially tried using the music tracker FamiTracker to compose the soundtrack, but found it difficult to use. He ultimately decided to play segments of the music separately, and connect them on a track. To celebrate the first anniversary of the game, Fox released five unused musical works on his blog in 2016. Four of the game's songs were released as official downloadable content for the Steam version of Taito's Groove Coaster.

Release and reception

Undertale's official soundtrack was released by video game music label Materia Collective in 2015, simultaneously with the game's release. Additionally, two official Undertale cover albums have been released: the 2015 metal/electronic album Determination by RichaadEB and Ace Waters, and the 2016 jazz album Live at Grillby's by Carlos Eiene, better known as insaneintherainmusic. Another album of jazz duets based on Undertale's songs, Prescription for Sleep, was performed and released in 2016 by saxophonist Norihiko Hibino and pianist Ayaki Sato. A 2×LP vinyl edition of the Undertale soundtrack, produced by iam8bit, was also released in the same year. Two official Undertale Piano Collections sheet music books and digital albums, arranged by David Peacock and performed by Augustine Mayuga Gonzales, were released in 2017 and 2018 by Materia Collective. A Mii Fighter costume based on Sans was made available for download in the crossover title Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in September 2019, marking the character's official debut as a 3D model. This costume also adds a new arrangement of "Megalovania" by Fox as a music track. Super Smash Bros. director Masahiro Sakurai noted that Sans was a popular request to appear in the game. Music from Undertale was also added to Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum 'n' Fun! as downloadable content.

Undertale's soundtrack has been well received by critics as part of the success of the game, in particular for its use of various leitmotifs for the various characters used throughout various tracks. In particular, "Hopes and Dreams", the boss theme when fighting Asriel in the pacifist playthrough, a run-through where the player avoids killing any monster, brings back most of the main character themes, and is "a perfect way to cap off your journey", according to USgamer's Nadia Oxford. Oxford notes this track in particular demonstrates Fox's ability at "turning old songs into completely new experiences", used throughout the game's soundtrack. Tyler Hicks of GameSpot compared the music to "bit-based melodies".

The Undertale soundtrack had frequently been covered by various styles and groups. As part of the fifth anniversary of the game, Fox streamed footage with permission of a 2019 concert of the Undertale songs performed by Music Engine, an orchestra group in Japan, with support of Fangamer and 8–4.

The track "Megalovania" has seen extensive use in Internet memes and was already popular among the Homestuck fandom, as another version of the song was associated with the characters Vriska Serket, Jack Noir, and Aradia Megido. In January 2022, the song was played in a circus performance happening during a weekly public audience with Pope Francis.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Toby Fox.

Charts

References

1. Petite, Steven (January 22, 2021). "Best Video Game Soundtracks: Where To Stream Them". GameSpot. Archived from the original on March 5, 2021. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
2. "UNDERTALE Help, FAQ and Troubleshooting". Fangamer. Archived from the original on June 17, 2017. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
3. ^ Turi, Tim (October 15, 2015). "GI Show – Yoshi's Woolly World, Star Wars: Battlefront, Undertale's Toby Fox". Game Informer. GameStop. Archived from the original on January 30, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
4. ^ Scarnewman, Bobby; Aldenderfer, Kris; Fox, Toby (December 15, 2015). Toph & Scar Show S1 SEASON FINALE – ft. Creator of Undertale, Toby Fox, and Storm Heroes. Event occurs at 1:15:10. Archived from the original on December 17, 2017. Retrieved January 21, 2016 – via YouTube.
5. Gray, Kate (February 10, 2022). "Random: Undertale's 'Megalovania' Was Inspired By Square's Super Famicom RPG 'Live A Live'". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on July 23, 2022. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
6. "『UNDERTALE』トビー・フォックス×『東方』ZUN×Onion Games木村祥朗鼎談──自分が幸せでいられる道を進んだらこうなった──同人の魂、インディーの自由を大いに語る" ["UNDERTALE" Toby Fox x "Touhou" ZUN x Onion Games Yoshiro Kimura ──This is what happened when I went on the path of being happy ── Talking about the soul of the same person, the freedom of indie]. Den Famitsu Gamer (in Japanese). Mare Inc. October 19, 2018. Archived from the original on October 19, 2018. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
7. Fox, Toby; Peacock, David (January 1, 2017). "Hopes and Dreams". Undertale Piano Collections. ASIN B072PVZ1SK. ...the way I arranged in game is inspired by the band Anamanaguchi
8. Isaac, Chris (December 10, 2015). "Interview: Undertale Game Creator Toby Fox". The Mary Sue. Archived from the original on January 5, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
9. ^ Feeld, Julian (October 9, 2015). "INTERVIEW: TOBY FOX OF UNDERTALE". Existential Gamer. Feeld. Archived from the original on January 22, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
10. ^ Oxford, Nadia (April 21, 2016). "Note Block Beat Box: Listening to Hopes and Dreams from Undertale". USgamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on May 2, 2016. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
11. ^ Tarason, Dominic (October 17, 2018). "Undertale DLC hits Taito rhythm 'em up Groove Coaster". Rock Paper Shotgun. Archived from the original on October 18, 2018. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
12. Leack, Jonathan (September 15, 2016). "Undertale Dev Celebrates 1 Year Anniversary With Unreleased Music". Game Revolution. CraveOnline. Archived from the original on September 15, 2016. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
13. Schreier, Jason (January 5, 2016). "Undertale Has One Of The Greatest Final Boss Fights In RPG History". Kotaku. Gawker Media. Archived from the original on April 28, 2016. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
14. "UNDERTALE Soundtrack". Steam. Valve. Archived from the original on January 9, 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
15. Grayson, Nathan (January 6, 2016). "Undertale has an officially sanctioned fan album, and it's awesome". Kotaku. Gawker Media. Archived from the original on March 31, 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
16. RichaadEB; Waters, Ace. "Determination". Bandcamp. Archived from the original on April 14, 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
17. Gwaltney, Javy (February 6, 2016). "Official Undertale Jazz Album Live At Grillby's Released". Game Informer. GameStop. Archived from the original on May 2, 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
18. Hamilton, Kirk (December 5, 2016). "Undertale just got a nice new musical tribute". Kotaku. Archived from the original on December 6, 2016. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
19. "Undertale Soundtrack Coming to Vinyl". IGN. August 26, 2016. Archived from the original on August 27, 2016. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
20. "Undertale Piano Collections". RPGFan Music. Archived from the original on July 11, 2019. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
21. "『UNDERTALE』のピアノアレンジアルバム第2弾『UNDERTALE Piano Collections 2』が発表。Bandcampで予約開始（試聴動画アリ）". Famitsu (in Japanese). Archived from the original on July 11, 2019. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
22. Glogowski, Peter (September 4, 2019). "Sans from Undertale is getting a costume in Smash Ultimate". Destructoid. Archived from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
23. Sans Costume in Smash Bros. Ultimate! Version 5.0 Update: Home-Run Contest & More!. Archived from the original on November 17, 2021 – via YouTube.
24. "Undertale Song Pack Arrives In Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum 'n' Fun! As Paid DLC". Nintendo Life. October 13, 2019. Archived from the original on November 15, 2021. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
25. Yu, Jason (April 6, 2016). "An Examination of Leitmotifs and Their Use to Shape Narrative in UNDERTALE – Part 1 of 2". Gamasutra. UBM TechWeb. Archived from the original on April 21, 2016. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
26. Yu, Jason (April 14, 2016). "An Examination of Leitmotifs and Their Use to Shape Narrative in UNDERTALE – Part 2 of 2". Gamasutra. UBM TechWeb. Archived from the original on May 6, 2016. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
27. Hicks, Tyler (November 20, 2015). "Undertale Review". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on January 18, 2016. Retrieved January 21, 2016.
28. Williams, Hayley (September 15, 2020). "You Can Now Watch The Undertale Orchestral Concert Free On YouTube". GameSpot. Archived from the original on September 18, 2020. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
29. Haasch, Palmer (February 25, 2020). "TikTok users keep reinventing Undertale's 'Megalovania'". Polygon. Archived from the original on May 20, 2020. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
30. Diaz, Ana (January 6, 2022). "The Pope listening to Undertale's 'Megalovania' is already 2022's weirdest video". Polygon. Archived from the original on January 6, 2022. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
31. Parrish, Ash (January 6, 2022). "For some reason Megalovania played during an audience with the Pope". The Verge. Archived from the original on January 7, 2022. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
32. Colbert, Isaiah (January 6, 2022). "The Pope Listened To Undertale's 'Megalovania' In The Year Of Our Lord 2022". Kotaku. Archived from the original on January 7, 2022. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
33. "Official Independent Album Breakers Chart Top 20". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on February 7, 2022. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
34. "Official Soundtrack Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
35. "Soundtrack Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
36. "Soundtrack Chart History (Soundtrack Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 6, 2022.

Further reading

• Jones, Rebecca (September 17, 2020). "Watch Undertale's 5th anniversary concert on YouTube". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
• Stewart, Charlie (January 8, 2021). "The Most Memorable Musical Moments in Gaming". Game Rant. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
• Good, Owen S. (January 15, 2020). "Steam's soundtrack change means saying goodbye to some good goofs". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
• Hayward, Mark (December 6, 2020). "City Matters: Secretive NH game designer created Undertale video game". Union Leader. Archived from the original on June 22, 2021. Retrieved March 6, 2021.

External links

• Toby Fox on Bandcamp

• Undertale
• 2015 soundtrack albums
• Video game soundtracks
• Internet memes introduced in 2015