Review RPG Codex Review: Undertale

[Eyestabber]

Roqua will make the Codex great again. Give the man his subforum already!

 

[Murk]

the fuck is wrong with you people taking that picture seriously

also yes, it is true -- you do in fact play ryan gosling

here's the LP to the elevator level https://youtu.be/PcMtKiqOpaw?t=2m48s

 

[Stinger]

You dont get it man, Undertale is so deep and shit. Man its like you need to level up yourself to understand how awesome it is. You need to like, yknow like be one with your like emotions and shit.

Does it engage your emotions?

Sounds like an RPG to me.

 

[MrJohnson]

Undertale
Game-Choices: Kill or let live.
RPG-Elements™: Equiping Weapons and use Items and Level up with no real stats and attributes.
Skills of the mainchar: Dodge shit flying at your soul-heart, and push button at the right time to deal damage. Or choose the right combination of Fallout4 like dialogue options to end combat peacefully.

Now I don't say that the story of the game is utter shit, because that's a matter of personal taste. It definitly is interesting if you like that anime like drama, and I enjoyed a few funny spots like the Mannequin.
Sadly the game itself has no real gameplay, it's basically a hike through the game world with a bit of dialogue and mini-games. But no RPG.

 

[Edward The Mediocre]

RPG-Elements™: Equiping Weapons and use Items and Level up with no real stats and attributes.
Skills of the mainchar: Dodge shit flying at your soul-heart, and push button at the right time to deal damage. Or choose the right combination of Fallout4 like dialogue options to end combat peacefully.

Sadly the game itself has no real gameplay, it's basically a hike through the game world with a bit of dialogue and mini-games. But no RPG.

Am I the only one who's played fucking paper mario here? Because it seems that I am. I mean for fucks sake that the skeleton's phone calls are similar to goomba buddy who gives you tips except humorous than useful seems an intentional reference.

 

[Murk]

The phone thing is from earthbound, your dad periodically talks to you and gives tips. And whatever pokemanz games that also featured cell phones that gave you tips and notified you when the NPC enemies were 'refreshed'. I think this last one varied with games, there's like a fucktillion pokemanz now tho so fuck if I know which ones exactly had it.

I say that only cuz those came out before paper mario, but it's not like "faceless helper" is an uncommon trait. Shit, metal gear had it too. Or fucking GTA NIKO MAI CUZIN DO U WANT SEE BOWLING AMERICAN TEETEES

 

[T. Reich]

After reading a few pages of this bullshit, I've decided to go ahead and to at least check out the gameplay of this overhyped indie game.

After watching a few of the gameplay vids from different parts of the game, both pacifist and non-pacifist variants, I only have this question:
WHY IS THERE A REVIEW OF A GRINDY BORING ACTION-ADVENTURE GAME ON THE FRONT PAGE OF *RPG*CODEX?

This is not an RPG, period. What is this review doing here?

Actually, that's a retarded question, sorry. A lot of you people play and enjoy Fallout 4, so Undertale must be right up your alley.

 

[Rivmusique]

Sounds like you need to level up.

 

[Jasede]

After reading a few pages of this bullshit, I've decided to go ahead and to at least check out the gameplay of this overhyped indie game.

After watching a few of the gameplay vids from different parts of the game, both pacifist and non-pacifist variants, I only have this question:
WHY IS THERE A REVIEW OF A GRINDY BORING ACTION-ADVENTURE GAME ON THE FRONT PAGE OF *RPG*CODEX?

This is not an RPG, period. What is this review doing here?

Actually, that's a retarded question, sorry. A lot of you people play and enjoy Fallout 4, so Undertale must be right up your alley.

4 hour game made by someone who hates grinding with all the grinding removed

=> WHY IS THERE REVIEW OF GRINDY GAME GORPHORPHORK

 

[Bigg Boss]

I understand some of you edgelords wanting to bash this game based upon the weaboo aesthetic but it is more of a contender for RPG of the year than Fallout 4 hence the front page review. It actually attempts to do something JRPG's rarely do which should be commended, or at least copied by other people wanting to make RPG's that appeal to your sensibilities. It is rare to see such a unique game even though a lot of it is heavy handed Earthbound references, slightly derivative gameplay mechanics, and SJW pandering.

 

[Bigg Boss]

and SJW pandering.

Still haven't found 1 valid example.

The ambiguous gender identity, gay/bi romance, and emo depression shit. It isn't over the top but it is there.

 

[Jasede]

Romeo & Juliet, Hamlet and New Vegas confirmed for SJW propaganda.

 

[Tito Anic]

Undertale
Game-Choices: Kill or let live.
RPG-Elements™: Equiping Weapons and use Items and Level up with no real stats and attributes.
Skills of the mainchar: Dodge shit flying at your soul-heart, and push button at the right time to deal damage. Or choose the right combination of Fallout4 like dialogue options to end combat peacefully.

Now I don't say that the story of the game is utter shit, because that's a matter of personal taste. It definitly is interesting if you like that anime like drama, and I enjoyed a few funny spots like the Mannequin.
Sadly the game itself has no real gameplay, it's basically a hike through the game world with a bit of dialogue and mini-games. But no RPG.

Man, you just dont understand shit, it is too

for you.

 

[MrJohnson]

Man, you just dont understand shit, it is too for you.

No way Undertale is Zef!

 

[Tito Anic]

No way Undertale is Zef!

 

[almondblight]

It actually attempts to do something JRPG's rarely do which should be commended, or at least copied by other people wanting to make RPG's that appeal to your sensibilities.

Doing unusual things is fine. People saying that these things are inherently awesome without even saying what said things are because "OMG they're so awesome it would spoil it for you just trust us that the game is great!" is stupid, though. OK, there are some additional flavor texts when you reload or replay the game, and some minor things change depending on what you do (but you probably aren't going to notice that, say, the mad-dummy later in the game has different flavor text depending on what you did to the practice dummy at the very beginning of the game). I can see why some people might find that interesting, but it's not really groundbreaking stuff.

Thinking that everyone will be amazed by it, that you can't possibly talk about it because it will ruin such an amazing experience, and telling people "you need to play this game right now I can't tell you why just trust me trust me it's amazing you'll thank me later" because of minor stuff like that is fairly delusional.

 

[Bigg Boss]

It actually attempts to do something JRPG's rarely do which should be commended, or at least copied by other people wanting to make RPG's that appeal to your sensibilities.

Doing unusual things is fine. People saying that these things are inherently awesome without even saying what said things are because "OMG they're so awesome it would spoil it for you just trust us that the game is great!" is stupid, though. OK, there are some additional flavor texts when you reload or replay the game, and some minor things change depending on what you do (but you probably aren't going to notice that, say, the mad-dummy later in the game has different flavor text depending on what you did to the practice dummy at the very beginning of the game). I can see why some people might find that interesting, but it's not really groundbreaking stuff.

Thinking that everyone will be amazed by it, that you can't possibly talk about it because it will ruin such an amazing experience, and telling people "you need to play this game right now I can't tell you why just trust me trust me it's amazing you'll thank me later" because of minor stuff like that is fairly delusional.

I see some people making these statements but I don't agree. I don't think people should expect to be amazed by it. I do think spoiling elements of the game does take away from some of the fun though. I held off on spoiling myself just to see what the deal was and I am glad I waited. That is why there are always reviews that have spoilers so you can see what all the fuss is about. Undertale is unique because it gives you a reason to replay it to see what new things occur or what new story elements unfold.

It definitely caters to people who liked Earthbound, and the reason some people are finding it groundbreaking is because this game has managed to gain appeal over a large demographic, so a certain vocal fanbase are hyping it by word of mouth. The way dialog is handled in Undertale is really great. Getting to know the characters before you eventually murder them is a pretty interesting gimmick. I think people are impressed at how inventive this one little game made by basically one dude can be. The replay value is really what makes the game worth playing.

 

[almondblight]

I see some people making these statements but I don't agree. I don't think people should expect to be amazed by it. I do think spoiling elements of the game does take away from some of the fun though. I held off on spoiling myself just to see what the deal was and I am glad I waited. That is why there are always reviews that have spoilers so you can see what all the fuss is about. Undertale is unique because it gives you a reason to replay it to see what new things occur or what new story elements unfold.

It definitely caters to people who liked Earthbound, and the reason some people are finding it groundbreaking is because this game has managed to gain appeal over a large demographic, so a certain vocal fanbase are hyping it by word of mouth. The way dialog is handled in Undertale is really great. Getting to know the characters before you eventually murder them is a pretty interesting gimmick. I think people are impressed at how inventive this one little game made by basically one dude can be. The replay value is really what makes the game worth playing.

Every review is going to spoil a game to some extent. But the degree that Undertale fans say they can't tell people anything about the game they just have to play it is insane. Look at the Zero Punctuation review someone posted a few pages back. The entire review is "Undertale is a good game, you should go play it" and later goes on to explain how he can't say anything about the game without ruining it. The comments are full of people saying how great the review is, how they couldn't figure out how he could possibly review the game and were happy to find out how he succeeded, how anyone who hasn't played it needs to not read another word about it and go play it now, etc.

You can see a similar sentiment in other reviews, including a certain amount in the Codex review. Like I said, spoilers happen in every game review, but this is the first time I've seen flavor text in subsequent playthroughs treated as something so amazing you can't even mention that's the reason why it should be played again. Did you read that post a few pages back where someone was pressed to post one of these amazing spoilers, and they put huge spoiler tags over something that said "If you pet the dog twice, he barks; but if you put it once and throw a stick, it wags its tail"?

The genocide route seems to be the only particularly interesting gimmick (to me, at least); but that is supposed to only come after lots and lots of tedious grinding. The Codex review, for example, says that the genocide route is intentionally boring.

As for the Earthbound comparisons, I'm not seeing it. It's been a while since I played Earthbound, but other than both being humorous JRPG with child characters, the games seem to be completely different.

 

[Bigg Boss]

The game is very much like Earthbound in more than a few ways. It isn't just as simple as being a JRPG or dealing with child characters. Parts of the game are deliberate homages to Earthbound, whether it be a certain beach scene near the end of the game, or the running table that you ride on to travel from one location to the next. Undertale even has it's very own Saturn Village although it is much less memorable. The Earthbound (or more appropriately Mother) references are too numerous to list. Undertale isn't as strong a game as Mother 2 or 3 but it is stylistically similar enough to give off that vibe on more than a few occasions, sometimes looking downright identical. That is where some parts of the fanbase are coming from I have no doubt.

It is relatively short so more people can see the consequences of their earlier actions. It doesn't take longer than a few hours to finish then you can go back through and try new things. It isn't too difficult to play either so it is accessible to everyone . The art style is much worse than Mother 2 which is ironic...Mother 2 was panned at release because it didn't look next gen enough. Overall it is a decent little game. It will probably be a great number of gamers favorite RPG for the foreseeable future until they grow into something else. I seriously doubt this stays PC exclusive for long.

 

[GlutenBurger]

I don't think I'm going to finish this game. I was only able to comfortably play to the final boss because I could end most fights after a couple of turns. Now I'm right at the end and find I suddenly need to employ honed reflexes that I lack, without having access to healing. The game crashing was nice at first, but now it's just annoying having to restart the battle over and over again.

I don't think I'd call it an RPG, but even if I did, it's not the RPG stuff that entertained me so I wouldn't call it a good RPG. Still, it was an entertaining gimmick with a few amusing moments of silly humour.

 

[Damned Registrations]

I don't think I'm going to finish this game. I was only able to comfortably play to the final boss because I could end most fights after a couple of turns. Now I'm right at the end and find I suddenly need to employ honed reflexes that I lack, without having access to healing. The game crashing was nice at first, but now it's just annoying having to restart the battle over and over again.

I don't think I'd call it an RPG, but even if I did, it's not the RPG stuff that entertained me so I wouldn't call it a good RPG. Still, it was an entertaining gimmick with a few amusing moments of silly humour.

This is why why can't have nice (difficult) things.

 

[TigerKnee]

The game crashing was nice at first, but now it's just annoying having to restart the battle over and over again.

The game keeps your progress on how many of the hearts you've triggered, which means if you keep at it, you only need enough "skill" to survive the final wave.

 

[GlutenBurger]

The game crashing was nice at first, but now it's just annoying having to restart the battle over and over again.

The game keeps your progress on how many of the hearts you've triggered, which means if you keep at it, you only need enough "skill" to survive the final wave.

So far that's zero. Bullet hell has never been my thing. I might try again when I'm more fully rested.

 

[Namutree]

Played it at a friend's house. He insisted I try it, so I did.

Did the neutral route and the true pacifist route. Didn't have the time or will for the genocide run. Checked that out on youtube.

My opinion:

What it does well-
Music: Good soundtrack, and the music fits very well.
C&C: Lots of C&C; far more consequences for your decisions than in most rpg's.
The price: It's pretty cheap. $8.00 seems good.
Characterization in combat: You really get the sense of the personality of your opponent while you fight them. This makes the combat more personal.

What it does poorly-
The RPG elements: It just isn't done very well. Far too lite on the RPG side of things. The is no reason the game couldn't have had skills, more equipment, ect. It would have made the game better. Especially for the second time playing which is vital to fully appreciate the game.
The difficulty: The game is too easy. I know the genocide run is more challenging, but it's also tedious. I shouldn't have to play the game in such a lame way just to get a proper challenge. Undertail would really benefit from a hard mode.
The underground: The areas are too linear. Would be nice if it were a little more open.

Everything else is decent.

BTW: The demo does NOT give you a good idea of how good/bad the game is since you don't really see any of the consequences of your actions in it. Consequence for your actions is a big part of Undertail's appeal.

Overall the game is good, but not great. Doesn't live up to the hype. If you don't like JRPG's, look elsewhere as I doubt this game will impress you. If you do like JRPG's, give it a whirl; it's above average.

 

[skyst]

My wife bought this on winter sale so I gave it a shot. There are a few humorous bits, but overall the game is pretty dull. I was playing in the middle of the afternoon with a cup of coffee and was nearly falling asleep in some caves after the snow/ice village.

I've seen it compared to Earthbound a lot, but EB is a much better game. Zero interest in finishing my playthrough.