An Examination of Leitmotifs and Their Use to Shape Narrative in UNDERTALE – Part 1 of 2 – Music, Melee, Miscellaneous

overthinkingvideogames:

On Leitmotifs:

To quote Wikipedia: “A leitmotif is a short, constantly
recurring musical phrase associated with a particular person, place, or
idea.” Perhaps the best example of this in popular culture is in Star
Wars—when the Imperial March plays, you know Darth Vader is going to
show up. The Imperial March is a leitmotif that is associated with the character of Darth Vader.

UNDERTALE is full of leitmotifs that fit all 3 definition types.
There are leitmotifs that refer to certain characters, certain areas of
the game, and larger ideas and themes that run through the game as a
whole. My goal with this article is to show the different ways
leitmotifs are used in UNDERTALE, how they affect one’s experience with
the game, and how a game soundtrack can do much, much more than just
provide catchy background music.

On leitmotifs in the music of Undertale (with sound clips). OP’s post is only the link to Part 1; Part 2 is here.

I personally tend to wonder if the Ruins theme isn’t meant to reference the war itself and its related human-monster conflicts, as it’s most recognizable at key points related to that conflict (the Ruins where monsters first fearfully packed themselves in to get as far from the entrance to the Barrier as possible, Waterfall with its placards detailing the history of the war, neutral ending phone call where the conflict has failed to be resolved) and in Undyne’s fight (where Undyne’s anger at humanity for the ongoing effects of the conflict, and belief that your death will save monsterkind, fuel her determination to kill you- Undyne is effectively a soldier still fighting the Human-Monster war, even though it was long before her time!). It even sounds a bit like an old war song in Ruins, and a dirge in Waterfall. I could see some variation on the Ruins theme being an old Monster soldier’s drinking song.

An Examination of Leitmotifs and Their Use to Shape Narrative in UNDERTALE – Part 1 of 2 – Music, Melee, Miscellaneous