Toby Fox's Undertale uni(multi?)verse uses leitmotifs A leitmotif is a repeated musical expression (melody, instrument, rhythm, etc.) found throughout a particular work. to establish themes and connections, and to enhance the plot and themes of the story.
This index aims to catalogue said usage of leitmotifs to the best of my ability. In doing so, I hope to create a comprehensive resource for anyone to reference in regards to theorycrafting and other discussion.
Of course, I am far from the first to attempt this, and I would like to give thanks to those who I can base and double-check my work off of:
JakobTheQuizGuy,
MediaMotifs,
LL Game Shows!,
Jason M. Yu,
Alex Yard,
Andrew Cunningham,
and all of the contributors to the Undertale and Deltarune Wikias.
I'd also like to personally thank the Andrew Cunningham Discord Server for helping to make this index a reality.
(Indirectly and unknowingly, via inspiration and boredem-reduction through shenanigans)
In particular, I thank Awesome Possum and Trondor for their participation in leitmotivic discussion and analysis.
Please do keep in mind three things:
Use your own judgement when reading through, and especially if you plan to cite this index elsewhere!
(Also, feel free to contact me via discord or e-mail to discuss/correct any disagreements/inaccuracies/typos you find)
(Discord: @jcoxeye | Email: oxeye1284@gmail.com)
Throughout this index, in order to ease confusion when talking about songs versus motifs, song names are italicized, whereas the names of leitmotifs are put in single quotes, like so:
The 'Ruins' leitmotif first makes its appearance in the song Ruins.
'Ruins' later appears in Waterfall alongside 'Another Medium'.
The index itself is split into various articles:
Right now, this index is in its early stages, and therefore only contains rough overviews of most leitmotifs in the Undertale and Deltarune soundtracks, with little analysis.
I also hope to have a listing of all of the UT/DR songs, in addition to some sound files and extraneous tracks.
What form said track listing will take is unclear, but hypothetically each song would have links to the relevant leitmotifs, and some general information (key, bpm, time signature, trivia, etc.), akin to the Undertale wiki.
A list of pages covering specific motifs or sets of motifs, separated into five sections.
'Once Upon a Time'
(Undertale 's main theme)
'Your Best Friend'
(Flowey's theme)
'Fallen Down'
(Toriel's theme)
'Ruins'
(The theme of the Ruins)
'Uwa!!'
(As heard on the controller config screen)
'Anticipation'
(The bassline of Undertale 's battle themes)
(Also covers 'Enemy Approaching' and 'Powers Combined')
'Dogsong'
(Used as the main melody of Undertale 's battle themes, and in other dog-related contexts)
'Ghost Fight'
(Used in relation to Napstablook and other ghosts/spooky entities)
'Determination'
(Undertale 's game over theme)
'Home'
(The bassline of Home and its derivatives)
'Heartache'
(Toriel's battle theme, also heard in ASGORE )
'sans.'
(sans.)
'Nyeh Heh Heh!'
PAPYRUS!
'Snowy'
(The theme of Snowdin)
'Hopes and Dreams'
(Initially used in conjunction with 'Snowy', is later used elsewhere)
'Undyne'
(Undyne's theme)
'Quiet'
(The rising glissando of Quiet Water, later referenced in Quiet Autumn)
'Another Medium'
(Also covers the CORE's motif)
'Memory'
(Asriel's theme)
'Jingle Bells'
(???)
'Alphys'
(Alphys' theme)
'It's Showtime!'
(Mettaton's standard theme)
'Metal Crusher'
(Mettaton's battle theme)
'Hotel'
(The MTT Resort's theme)
'Oh!'
(Mettaton's opera theme)
'Bergentrückung'
(Asgore's theme)
'Your Best Nightmare'
(Flowey's 'evil' theme, later used in Deltarune)
'Woofenstein'
(Woofenstein.)
'Power of NEO'
(The backing melody of Battle Against a True Hero and Power of "NEO", later used in BIG SHOT )
'Don't Forget'
(Deltarune 's main theme)
'Hometown'
(Hometown's theme)
'Susie'
(Susie's theme)
'The Door'
(The melody of The Door and The Chase, later used in THE WORLD REVOLVING)
'The Legend'
(The theme of Ralsei's legend, used elsewhere in Deltarune Chapter 1)
'Lancer'
(Lancer's theme)
'Rude Buster'
(The main melody of Rude Buster and Lantern, in conjunction with 'Determination')
'Scarlet Forest'
(The Scarlet Forest's theme)
'Rouxls Kaard'
(Rouxls Kaard's theme)
'Hip Shop'
(The melody of Hip Shop and Green Room)
'Darkness Falls'
(Deltarune 's game over theme)
'THE WORLD REVOLVING'
(The theme of Deltarune 's secret bosses, A.K.A. the "Freedom Theme")
'THE HOLY'
(The melody of THE HOLY, (debatably) used elsewhere in Deltarune)
'Girl Next Door'
(Noelle's theme)
'Queen'
(Queen's theme)
'Sweet Cap'n Cakes'
(Sweet Cap'n Cakes' theme, also used as the backing melody in A CYBER'S WORLD? and WELCOME TO THE CITY )
'A CYBER'S WORLD'
(The main melody of A CYBER'S WORLD? and WELCOME TO THE CITY )
'Berdly'
(Berdly's theme)
'Spamton'
(Spamton's theme)