My Undertale Playthrough - Part 2: Snowdin

Welcome, to part 2 of my Undertale experience! This part focuses on Snowdin and the skeleton brothers, so let’s get to it!

But first, I’ve forgotten about the important scene that comes right at the end of the ruins, the reunion with Flowey.

This scene hit me hard and gave me a lot to think about. For one thing, Flowey returned, but far more important was what he said. In response to his comments about surviving against a killing monster, I thought a lot about the nature of sparing, how difficult it can be, how it was with Toriel, and what to do if I encountered something stronger and more difficult than her. The scene hit me so hard that well, it inspired my second write up haha, and as I said there, I was thinking of this idea of how to stop a killing machine throughout the whole adventure, because this scene resonated so much with me, and perfectly set up the big theme of the entire game’s story.

Here’s the write up too for any who haven’t read it and are curious: http://johnnyappleshy.tumblr.com/post/136072372470/the-message-of-undertale

Anyways, after this I headed out to the ruins, a little shaken up, but trying to reassure myself that I can do this. And as I walked along this long path, the music was slowly getting louder…oh my god the stick broke…holy crap what the hell was that SHADOW…..

The intensity of this scene was crazy, and geez I was really scared. Here it comes, the shadow's coming, time to see if I really can spare a killer. Aaaaaah……

....I remember being really really surprised that after the dramatic atmosphere of the ruins, came snowdin which was…really lighthearted and silly, and not very dramatic at all. Sans introduces the area perfectly with his hilarious jokes and laid back happy vibe, and it does a great job of relaxing you, I know it did me after the scare I just had at the end of the ruins.

It was interesting though. I expected to see a killing machine after what happened with Toriel and Flowey, yet what I got was Papyrus, of whom Sans constantly reassures me isn’t a threat at all and is someone I can play along with.

This really startled me, and I wondered why this was done. In hindsight though, I feel it works really well. For one thing, I’m all for startling the player and surprising them, but more than that, I think following the serious beginning with a fun second act allows things to be less tense, and ease the player into things so that it’s not an emotional rollercoaster. It lets the humor and dark sides of Undertale exist simultaneously without feeling like it doesn’t fit, and if anything it lets both shine brighter than ever. Having lighthearted fun moments with dramatic intense moments allows both to feel more powerful in the presence of the other, and the story of Undertale is a wonderful example of this done to its best.

I remember when I first met the new enemies of Snowdin I had a lot of trouble and came really close to dying, a theme that would continue for my entire playthrough. I remember too I spared everyone, even the Ice Caps, which I never knew you could beat in another way (steal its hat) like the veggies until I watched others do it.

Yet not all was well, as I would reach my first game over here in the dog couple. I remember their giant axe attack in particular being really tough for me to figure out for a while, so it would constantly damage me lots. I stayed determined though, and was able to figure them out and spare on the second try I believe. All other battles I recall went rather smoothly.

As for choices I made, I remember when I first encountered the snowman I took his piece to hold dear. I would never use it or think of using it until the final battle. I also remember a part in which you have to make a choice for sans and papyrus. You have to choose which puzzle you think is harder, and I remember thinking a lot of this one, mainly because I had forgotten which one they each thought was harder haha, but I went with the one I thought Papyrus thought was harder, for his own sake. I remember being happy when I learned I picked right, and even happier when Sans thanked me for playing along, since that was my intention. Like the ruins, I really liked how I got to learn more from someone. Where it was Toriel at first, now Sans was teaching me how to play along with others and give them a good time.

There’s one more moment that stands out in my mind at Snowdin. When you get to the mysterious cave that leads to a door, I well, had quite the reaction.

The door had the symbol I only knew from Toriel wearing it, and the door was also a dark blue color, similar to the color of Toriel’s clothes. I thought of her instantly when I saw the door, and thought that she must be on the other side, and tried frantically to find a way in. I called her phone when I saw the door for any response, and remember touching the mushrooms many times. Yet….to no avail, so all I could do was continue on. I have no idea if this was intentional, but I really loved this detail and my reaction. Amongst the lighthearted fun I was having with Sans and Papyrus, in which everything seemed like it would be all right, this door served to remind me of the emotional rollercoaster I went through in the ruins. It reminded me that what I’ve been through will always affect me, and that there are dark serious moments even in these innocent fun times. I loved the contrast here so much, and it really gave me a lot to think about, and in a great way.

Then Snowdin Town! I remember being surprised to see there be an actual tow. Like wow, with NPCs and lots to interact with and a shop and everything! I had lots of fun just talking to everyone and seeing everything. Again, it was nice that after the drama of the ruins we came to Snowdin, which was just a calm happy place in which I could freely interact with it as I choose.

I remember liking the library a lot too. I read everything and re read and thought about a few things. I remember the one about Monsters’ souls and how it worked with regards to humans’ souls in particular I re read and took a while to properly digest. I also remember after talking to the NPCs I looked at the bookshelf that said it was part 4 of the history, and immediately skipped through the text, and went back to read through the bookshelves in order, only to find there were no parts 1 through 3. I’ve seen just about every person I watch do this exact same thing, and it cracks me up how well designed it is, such that everyone does it.

Anyways, after talking to everyone and enjoying the dialogue and exploring about, I made my way to the next area where I found…Papyrus! I must say, this was a really fun battle for me, and I loved the blue mechanic and having to jump rather than dodge. I explicitly remember the point at which you turn blue, this sick beat starts playing and the song changes from Papyrus’ theme to the battle music, and ah man, I remember bobbing my head and just getting so into it and thinking “man this is awesome.” Again, I like how the battle very much matched the tone of the area. The drama was turned down from Toriel, and it was more fun and being cool than being scary and shocking.

Yet at the same time I loved the development Papyrus had during this battle, and how it really set the tone for all future battles. This was a battle about staying firm, holding your ground, and just letting your opponent vent their frustrations and pain out, and being there with open arms all the while, forgiving the pain and seeing how lovely they are as you finally befriend them. I thought it was a really beautiful way of playing, and it touched me so much that, this battle was when I first had the idea that inspired my first write up of what Undertale taught me about relationships and pain:

http://johnnyappleshy.tumblr.com/post/135872631933/what-undertale-taught-me

After this great battle I went back to have the date with Papyrus like I see most players do, and boy this was fun. I remember going along with him and calling him great and such, and yeah. Really silly, really great, and ah I was so happy to get a phone number, yay Papyrus! I loved that you can call his phone for every area and he’ll have different dialogue. It reminded me a lot of Tattling from the Paper Mario series, and I wondered if it may have been inspired from that, since I know the battle system of Undertale was partly inspired from the Mario RPGs.

Aaaaaand that’s all for Snowdin, next up, the Waterfall!
All images were taken from these videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVsrMxOy88Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQKnmqK7sXI