{"id":51,"date":"2020-10-15T14:09:01","date_gmt":"2020-10-15T14:09:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.uww.edu\/wearepixels\/?p=51"},"modified":"2020-10-15T14:09:01","modified_gmt":"2020-10-15T14:09:01","slug":"shades-of-mercy-where-do-you-fall-in-undertales-spectrum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.uww.edu\/wearepixels\/?p=51","title":{"rendered":"Shades of Mercy: Where do you fall in Undertale’s Spectrum"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Undertale
undertale at store.steampowered.com <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Spoilers ahead!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What is Undertale? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Undertale was created back in 2015 by Toby Fox, previously known for his musical works in Homestuck. His game took the internet by storm, becoming a cult classic among gamers, and the bane of \u201chardcore gamer\u2019s\u201d existence as trends soon followed by gating the gaming community from kids who entered through Undertale. It sold 530,343 copies by the end of 2015, making it one of the best selling games on Steam. Come 2018, there are about there and a half MILLION players.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Undertale is, without a doubt, one of the best indie game I\u2019ve ever encountered because it is sincerely human. The plot of this game is simple: you are a human in a world of monsters, and you want to go home. You must decide between violence or pacifism \u00a0as your method for escape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Undertale
Fight or mercy from imagur.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Despite the fact this game allows you both sides of the spectrum, and every shade in between, I firmly believe that this game wants humanity to act good, as the ending where you actually escape the Underground is only accessible if you are a true pacifist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The theme is mercy and forgiveness, and I think it came out in a time where we\u2019re devoid of these sentiments. Undertale promotes the idea that no one is beneath mercy, and there is no action that removes someone from the consideration of receiving mercy. The only thing that makes you unforgivable, is how you feel about your own actions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Does Undertale live up to this message? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I can say without a doubt that Undertale doesn\u2019t sugarcoat this narratively. A story that promotes the idea that everyone deserves and needs mercy, but only puts in front of you obvious people you should forgive, then it\u2019s failed as a theme. Innocents are easy, but can you forgive someone who\u2019s committed crimes against humanity? Is there a line you draw? If so, where is it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are Undertale\u2019s Shades of Mercy.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Innocents<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

These are the average monsters that you encounter in the game. They haven\u2019t done anything wrong. The bosses Toriel, Papyrus, and Sans also fall into this category because at their core, they don\u2019t want to hurt you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Normal\"
undertale.fandom.com<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Toriel <\/strong>isn\u2019t trying to hurt you, she\u2019s trying to protect you. She just doesn\u2019t want to see you hurt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Toriel\u2019s Question of Mercy:<\/strong> can you forgive someone who may use forceful tactics to keep you safe, if it\u2019s done with inherently good intentions?<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
\"Normal\"
undertale.fandom.com<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Papyrus very clearly wants<\/strong> to capture you, but it\u2019s also made clear that Papyrus is inherently harmless, goofy, and can be easily made friends with. Your kindness can set him on a better path where he\u2019s not hunting humans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Papyrus\u2019s Question of Mercy: <\/strong>Can you forgive someone who wants to capture you, but is ultimately ignorant about the harsh realities he\u2019s participating in and is easily persuaded to be on your side, and not capture you?<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
\"Battle\"
undertale.fandom.com<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Sans <\/strong>is a hard case to make, but he also doesn\u2019t want to cause you harm. Canonically he\u2019s aware of the resettings and the timelines and he\u2019s there to judge you, to make sure you\u2019re on a good path. But it\u2019s ultimately up to your interpretation if Sans genuinely cares about you or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sans Question of Mercy: <\/strong>Can you forgive the sole survivor of your genocide, who\u2019s actively trying to kill you in the name of justice?<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
The Defenders<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
As you progress, the common monsters you encounter begin acting as defenders, trying to capture you so as complete the ritual to gain freedom. Undyne and Metatton are in the next shade of mercy. These two are actively trying to capture so as to bring you to Asgore and finish the ritual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"Battle
undertale.fandom.com<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Undyne <\/strong>is a very angry fish lady, and she really doesn\u2019t have any love for you as the main character. She chases you relentlessly, boasts about the victory she\u2019ll bring to her people. Yet even so, when she\u2019s dehydrated you have the option to give her water. She leaves you alone if you do this, and if you are a pacifist, you can even befriend her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Undyne\u2019s Question of Mercy:<\/strong> Can you forgive someone who is trying to capture you and is aware of the harsh realities, even though she\u2019s doing it in the name of her people?<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
\"EX\"
undertale.fandom.com<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mettaton <\/strong>is a robot that\u2019s programmed to kill humans but really wants to just be a star. His motives to capture you are selfish because it isn\u2019t about freeing everyone like Undyne wants, but rather his own rise to stardom. At defeat, he\u2019s confronted with his fans who love him, realizing that this Underground is where he\u2019s loved and the player has the choice not to kill him here after he\u2019s gone through personal growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Metatton\u2019s Question of Mercy: <\/strong>Can you forgive someone who wants to capture you for selfish intentions, inherently aware of the harsh realities in which he\u2019s participating in, who comes to terms with his own selfish intentions?<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
The Murderers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
There are no common monsters actively trying to murder you. Here is where Undertale questions your morality and this idea of mercy the most. What you believe is now being put to the test.  All previous monster didn\u2019t want to kill you (Though Undyne and Mettaton were aware you\u2019d get killed) but in the end, they recognized that you were a good person, and perhaps your story would end differently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Asgore and Flowey are not these people. These two really want you dead, but they also pose other questions of morality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"Reasons
aminoapps.com @multi <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Asgore <\/strong>does not want mercy. At the start of his fight, he destroys the mercy button, which causes you to fight him. Fox confronts the player with this uncomfortable idea: what do you do when you want to forgive someone, but they don\u2019t want your forgiveness? He\u2019s solemn, he doesn\u2019t want to hurt anyone but he feels cornered without a choice, and he still yet mourns his son. While he is actively trying to kill you, you can sympathize with his desire to free his people, but he doesn\u2019t want it. It\u2019s only when he\u2019s on death\u2019s door do you, despite how much damage has been dealt, get the option to forgive him anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Asgore\u2019s Question of Mercy:<\/strong> can you forgive someone making active attempts to kill you for a greater good, to sacrifice the life of one for the lives of many<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
\"Undertale
The Let’s Play Archive <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Flowy is my favorite character because of his question of mercy. Flowey does not have any redeeming qualities at this point because we don\u2019t\u2019 know the truth. All Flowey has ever done is hurt the player with the upmost cruelty, and he kills Asgore in his moment of weakness. Flowey is trying to prove, in a way, that humans are murderers and have no morality within them, and judges you over every choice you make, much like Sans as Flowey is also aware of the timeline. You proving him wrong upsets him, and at the  very end, you have the choice to spare Flowey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you spare him, he resist and ultimately says he \u201cjust can\u2019t understand\u201d before running away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
screenshot from Undetale by Erin Lewis <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Flowey\u2019s choice of mercy brings us, players, to the ultimate question Undertale is asking:<\/strong> can you forgive someone who has done nothing to deserve it?<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Choosing yes is what confuses Flowey because he doesn\u2019t think that\u2019s possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Uncatigorized <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Normal\"
undertale.fandom.com<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Alphys <\/strong>doesn\u2019t have a category, because she\u2019s a tough nut to crack. You don\u2019t have an option to kill her or not, so this isn\u2019t so much something that affects gameplay, but it\u2019s worth mentioning that Alphys does pose a question of mercy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Can you forgive someone who has committed scientific crimes against humanity in the hopes of delivering a race to freedom?<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
\"Normal\"
undertale.fandom.com<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Chara <\/strong>represents the game\u2019s opinion of mercy. While up until this point, the game has been unbiased, allowing you to make these moral choices of mercy on your own, Chara is the representation of how the gameworld feels about mercy, and it may not line up with what you think. Chara is only achievable as a player  character if you kill every monster in the Underground and at the end when you fight Sans, he gives the option to spare you as Chara, and laughs when you fall for this trick, saying that you can\u2019t be forgiven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"Sans
Screenshot taken from DevientArt.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
But Chara is different from everyone else in one other dimension. Ultimately, everyone but Chara responds to mercy. Even those who resist it vehemently at the beginning, such as Asgore and Flowey, eventually come to accept that they\u2019re worthy of forgiveness. Chara (you) rejects it at every turn, kill despite people begging for their lives, and at the end, there\u2019s no way to justify anything in the genocide route because you have to go out of your way to complete this route. You can\u2019t accidentally happenstance on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is no question of mercy for you because it\u2019s ultimately Sans that has to answer.<\/strong> Can you forgive someone who doesn\u2019t feel remorse for what they\u2019ve done?<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
What is Undertale’s Message? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
screenshot taken from undertale by Erin Lewis <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Undertale\u2019s message is answered by the two final questions of mercy that comes from Flowey and Chara: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
 Can you forgive someone who\u2019s done nothing to deserve it?<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
 Can you forgive someone who doesn\u2019t feel remorse for what they\u2019ve done?<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
The first is up to the player, but in order to complete the pacifist route you have to spare Flowey, so the game does lean towards yes to the first question. You can forgive people who don\u2019t deserve it, but with Chara\u2019s question it adds the stipulation that it should be someone who feels remorse for what they\u2019ve done. Flowey does feel bad, this being revealed in the True Ending with Asriel l Dremurr.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thusly, Undertale\u2019s ultimate message to its players is this: Anyone who genuinely feels remorse for their actions are worthy of mercy.<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
This alone is why Undertale has a special place in my heart, because it\u2019s such a difficult theme to convey, and everyone interprets mercy differently, and I hope that the more people play this game, the more they share this sentiment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Spoilers ahead! What is Undertale? Undertale was created back in 2015 by Toby Fox, previously known for his musical works in Homestuck. His game took the internet by storm, becoming a cult classic among gamers, and the bane of \u201chardcore… Continue Reading →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8260,"featured_media":53,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1272870],"tags":[1321050,288,1321751,394241,1322097,641856,1321155,486063,1321264,576,1489],"class_list":["post-51","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-talking-indie","tag-flowey","tag-games","tag-genocide","tag-indie","tag-indie-games","tag-mercy","tag-sans","tag-undertale","tag-undyne","tag-video","tag-video-games"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uww.edu\/wearepixels\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uww.edu\/wearepixels\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uww.edu\/wearepixels\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uww.edu\/wearepixels\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8260"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uww.edu\/wearepixels\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=51"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uww.edu\/wearepixels\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uww.edu\/wearepixels\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51\/revisions\/54"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uww.edu\/wearepixels\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/53"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uww.edu\/wearepixels\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=51"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uww.edu\/wearepixels\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=51"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uww.edu\/wearepixels\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=51"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}