Yknow, from Flowey’s perspective this must be really terrifying. A regularly peaceful kid, who can’t fend for themself if Toriel isn’t helping them, somehow fucking obliterating everyone and every *thing* the moment he leads them off the right path.
Even more terrifying when, you're still confident that you can use your powers to undo it all... you still have them, right? You just load a file if things go rogue, right? You just reset at the last minute... right? And then... *FILE 1 LOADED* But... it doesn't come from you...
Well, that is easy to explain, in the geno route we control Clover, Clover is not on his own, that is why Clover manages to kill everything that gets in his way... who knows the disaster we would cause if Flowey will never manipulate the lever to let us fall into the dark ruins....
Would've been neat if there had been different versions of Enemy Retreating for each area, like with Enemy Approaching. And if they had played in place of each area's version of Enemy Approaching if you were still on the genocide route.
Martlet mentions in a TALK dialogue that monsters hear their own theme music when they fight, I like to think this is Clovers, slowing as they stop being able to justify their actions as self defense.
At first it's because it can be seen as "Its self defense." or "They're preventing me from my mission." but as time goes on it starts to twist more into a "They deserve it." and thus as genocide progresses it slowly gets slower and slower to reflect the tone as it gets darker yet darker.
Don't forget it progressively gets slower and more unsettling, symbolizing how at first you are just and doing what you must to survive, but as people start running away from you your actions only get darker.
i interpret this as clover's boss theme, from the perspective of the enemies it's not that they're being attacked, they're now the one attacking, so their theme now plays instead of the default one
This is a possiblity! But I would like to mention that if you talk to Martlet while backtracking in the Dunes in Pacifist or Neutral, she says that the battle music in the game is actually diagetic (i.e. exists in-universe). When monsters focus their bodies begin to vibrate, which sounds like music.
@@ninjabros6282 you do realize enemy retreating is a normal enemy encounter theme when you're almost done killing all the enemies in an area, and not a main boss theme?
@@josephsong6354 I mean yeah but hey can't a guy like me come up with some Fun Theories or Ideas no need to bring Logic and suddenly make it a downer. Just saying 🤷
I love how the first time you hear this song, it’s so upbeat and awesome that you feel great, like you’re bringing Justice for the 5 children. Then, it eventually distorts and darkens, and you realize that this isn’t justice. Well, if you didn’t already know.
I kinda' wish it didn't slow down. I feel like that'd hit way harder. This is genocide. You _know_ it's genocide, because you've played Undertale before. You know in your heart that this kind of fervent vegeance is destructive and vain. But, from Clover's narrow view--lacking the context of the war, lacking empathy for the monsters--it *feels* right.
@@harrisonfackrell I wish it slowed down each region, rather than each monster. Like this in Ruin, slightly slower in Snowdin and then creepy in Dunes onwards
Flowey mentioned it in the neutral run. Yellow isn't Justice, but Judgement, Consequence. Monsterkind killed 5 humans, and as Consequence they'll be Judged for their actions
I noticed that a lot of people think this theme is too upbeat for a genocide song. And I agree. Which is why it CHANGES. It starts out sounding fast paced and heroic, like Clover is bringing justice towards wicked evildoers. But as you engage in more battles, it starts slowing down, fully showing the reality of what we're doing. We're not exacting Justice for the human souls. We're exacting Vengeance. And mindless Vengeance at that.
Honestly, it doesn’t really feel like you get any consequences for killing everyone. You just get to go free and leave the monsters to die that’s about it.
@@ald3898 thats because YOU are the judgement and you judged monsterkind to be guilty also, if you think about it, its quite likely that there _will_ be consequences in the future its not unlikely that something similar to undertales neutral routes where undyne takes over will happen, and we know for a fact that shes much more onboard with the whole "destruction of humanity" thing than asgore was a very pissed off and determined monster getting her hands on even one human soul would likely spell disaster for humanity, since in that case its likely monsterkinds power would snowball since she could cross the barrier with that immense power and take even more souls :/
Such a satisfying feeling finally hearing this when you're grinding, it's like the game is saying "you're almost there, it's just a little more" which feels surprisingly upbeat for geno
Because you're doing justice You're not doing anymore because of "just because you can, you have to" but because you must become strong enough to beat this endless cycle of death, where you either sacrifice yourself, get killed by Asgore or Flowey, the very person that is keeping you in this prison This game is disturbing, funny and very well written at the same time It's the only game where Flowey is written better than the original game
having a gun has a different vibe than having a knife, having a knife has a creepy vibe, while the gun has that fun and energetic vibe in games amirite?
Back in 2017, Enemy Retreating was one of my favorite AU songs, probably listened the song for several hours. And now, after all those years, the full game is out and I immediately noticed that this is a new rendition of Enemy Retreating
*Clover about to kill a monster before they hear the music change.* Clover: OH SHIT THIS IS MAH JAM! *Starts dancing while the monsters shake in fear.*
A lot of people consider this song "cheerful" but personally, I don't see it. It's upbeat, there's no denying that, but it has a sinister and *panic-inducing* undertone to it that I simply can't get enough. Also appreciate the slight tweaks this new version got!
I saw an earlier comment describing it like it's telling you "Quick, they're getting away!" and I do agree with that idea. It doesn't sound cheerful exactly, but it does sound urgent and like it's trying to make you feel like badass for your actions... that is until it slows down
@@gabrote42I really do appreciate the relation to vocaloid here because I _feel_ it. The "high energy", intense feel but that "doomed, dangerous" meaning behind it. Especially with how many vocaloid songs covered depression, suicide, abuse etc
@@fgvcosmic6752 Quite so. Especially ones like Meltdown, Shikabane no Odori, Aishite Aishite Aishite and name this pain. Glad that someone else caught it.
How did Undertale Yellow make the genocide route even more depressing than the Undertale genocide? They madee all the monsters have sad sprites and dialogue, making it seem more like they were innocent.
this song def should begin playing earlier and earlier throughout the route and maybe slow down at a slower interval so more of it can be heard, its great stuff it's also kind of unnerving in a way, it's so groovy but the way clover is so well characterized and portrayed makes it all the more brutal
Completely agree with this, I think it should slow down by around 1.5% each time you kill someone. By the time you kill so many monsters, you realize what you’re doing after the music starts sounding off And this isn’t really “upbeat”, Enemy Approaching sounds happier than this, especially the difference between the beginnings of the songs So I agree with both, this is more of an “oh no” song than Enemy Approaching
This song is SUPPOSED to be a hype track for genocide, made to keep you going, but it slows down way to soon in the run to actually motivate me at all. Still sounds great at full speed, wish it'd stay that way!
i wonder if this song could've worked better if it played in the overworld too. maybe instead of following undertale's formula, they could've done something where it's like: for every area, you have to run around, defeating as many monsters as you can before "time runs out" (all the monsters escape). the monsters are running away from you, and spread out across rooms. i had this idea because, this song gives me vibes of a song that would plays in battles, but continue on into the overworld. (they'd probably need to code monsters to appear in the overworld for this to work well, and that would take a lot of effort, but it could be cool)
@@great_hedgehog8199 It SHOULD motivate me the same way Clover is motivated on this path: to bring "justice." Clover's motivation should be presented to me, regardless of the sins being committed here, so I can feel just like them on this route.
@@pkchiptune Yeah, that's what I was thinking! This soundtrack would certainly fit into the overworld as a continuing track throughout your area of rampage, maybe slowing down the longer you don't get kills! Consider it "streak" music in my brainstorm, if you will!
@@pkchiptune this is honestly such a cool idea. in my mind, the timer would extend into battles too, so you're given less time as you progress and grow stronger because now you're capable of one-shotting everything in your path.
*We took five, you took dozens.* there’s your quote. time for the rant I always find this kind of twisted righteousness to be such an interesting character trait. It’s not justice anymore. Vengeance, retribution, perhaps. The ends don’t justify the means, in either case. Neither side is truly right. anyway this goes so hard for a genocide theme. great theme to kill people to !!! shame you barely hear it at full speed
All in all, we have a great ending! You can't make war when there is noone to make war with and as an added bonus, they will never escape because their king and half of the entire underground was erased from most life. I am pretty sure that humans were the initiators of the war (considering how peaceful monsters are, It's hard to believe they would start the war), many were lost on both sides. Humans trapped monsters in the underground and they took every chance to escape. But for what purpose do they want to escape? Revenge? Making chaos and terror all around surface with all the human souls? Because ain't no way humans gonna let them live peacefully and ain't no way monsters will forgive humans for what they did to asriel. Sooo lightning from the hit serial tpot... I say LET CLOVER COOK 🗣️🗣️🗣️🔥🔥🔥💯💯
@@thewitchidolsachika6682 I can't tell if you're just pretending to have clover's psychology, but if you've seen undertale's pacifist ending, monsters just make peace at the surface. They hardly want another war
@@destroything To be fair, monsters only go up to the surface with peaceful intentions because of True Pacifist Frisk's influence. Before Frisk, a lot of monsters we see in the game are, to put it in Bratty and Catty's terms, "Soooo hyped for the destruction of humanity!!!!". Same for Pacifist Clover and a lot of the monsters he meets.
I really hope this theme gets updated to play earlier and slow down slower. By the time you're in the Steamworks, or maybe even The Dunes, it should probably be the Default in Genocide. Odds are most people are doing this run last anyway. So it's not like the gorgeous music of the battle themes in other zones goes to waste.
Completely agree. The only way you'd play a neutral run while completely skipping over Heatwave Approaching would be by aborting the geno run at the axis fight, something you'd only want to do to see if Ceroba shows up in the flowey fight
I feel like this is just clover clinging onto that last bit of justice and still feel like they’re doing the right thing by murdering them all, but this sense slowly fades as more of the monsters get killed
Someone already said this but I think that this song intends to, at first make us ecstashic, feel the need to attack because of the cool song, then it slows down, meaning that after killing them we start to snap out, and notice none of the monsters had a chance and that at this point we are the ones who hunt them down and not the other way
Undertale Yellow spoilers It might just be my head canon for a non-canon route, but still wanna say- the song that plays when Clover takes things into their own hands. I know it may just be me personally, but going the "genocide" route in Undertale Yellow, and how Flowey threatens Clover about "being in control" makes me feel like Clover is *not supposed to take Flowey's saves in that route* (which gives you NO healing even if you interact with the saves but don't actually save) It makes me feel like after going through the Neutral route and finding out that Clover has gone through *hundreds* of different outcomes, Flowey says Clover shouldn't remember, but *what if they did?* It'd be a never ending nightmare, that always starts you back at the beginning... and at that point, Clover most likely would lose their emotions on wanting to "help" any of the monsters, and just would want to break the cycle... ... which they do at the end of the genocide route, and not only do they break the cycle, but they also do what they came to the Underground to do, set the 5 souls of the children free. "We took five, you took dozens." Considering it was explained to Clover that they kept failing, in their eyes, if they do remember, *the monsters killed them several more times than "five"* (Also, seeing me mention "in their eyes" goes with the idea of Clover taking things "into their own hands") And to go with Flowey and Clover's relationship in a no save genocide run, why would Clover trust Flowey at that point? Knowing that in the end they will just betray them. (which would be why they wouldn't take the saves, building up enough determination to take over the saving powers themselves... unless they already have it without realizing it since apparently retrying if killed by an enemy doesn't "count" as saving to Flowey in the Genocide route, you get a snide remark from Flowey from the Game Over screen, but he still doesn't remember the death in the route since "you didn't save")
It's clearly a mechanic you're expected to depend on, so I wouldve loved to see a bit more significant interaction when you make a point of not saving (and for it to heal regardless of using the save since Flowey makes a point of "patching ya up" unprompted). All things considered, there's enough here to leave me satisfied. Def get where ur comin from tho
I like to think this song represents Clovers mental state. When it first starts playing, Clover thinks to themself that what they’re doing is just. They’re only just defending themselves after all. However, as they continue fighting, the song starts to deteriorate. Their sense of Justice being warped, perhaps maybe a side-effect of the LV they gained, turning their goal of “enact justice to those who deserve it” to “civilian kinda has the word villain in it, so that’s good enough for me!” During fights. (Not my joke btw lol.)
"It's only gonna play for a few seconds and it's gonna get slower, you don't have to go too har-" YES. YES THEY DO. THAT IS THEIR JOB AND THEY ARE VERY, VERY GOOD AT IT. SHUT UP.
I don't know much about music but I've listened to this an unhealthy amount of times so these are the Enemy Retreating motifs (More info in replies) 00:00 Intro 00:03 Enemy Retreating 1 (Main Motif) - Piano backing kicks in (loops until the end) 00:08 Part 01 00:08 Enemy Retreating 1 (Main Motif) shows up (plays 4 times, adds an instrument to the 3rd and 4th) 00:23 Enemy Retreating 2 slides in (plays twice, adds the same instrument to the 2nd) 00:38 Enemy Retreating 3 lands (plays once) 00:53 Enemy Retreating 4 hops in (plays 4 times, adds drums (?) to the 2nd and adds the same instrument mentioned above to the 3rd and 4th) 01:25 Part 02 (repeats part 01) 01:25 1 (Main Motif) returns 01:40 2 reappears 01:55 3 rejoins the party 02:10 4 is back (plays until the end)
Genocide Route spoilers 1 is pretty much the main motif of Enemy Retreating, not only does it play over and over in the form of piano backing, but because it's used in Trial By Fury, END OF THE LINE_, and Retribution. Martlet's talk dialogue in the area before East Mines on a Pacifist/Neutral Route reveals that when monsters focus on battles, melodic vibrations echo from them, which their opponent can hear too, and she wonders if humans can find their own melody if determined enough. I like to think Enemy Retreating is Clover's theme as they become more determined to bring justice upon the monsters, and that the monsters now hear this track as some sort of Clover's "boss theme", as at this point it can be argued that they're actively attacking monsters first and not the other way around.
*This is JUSTICE, right? *You convince yourself what you are doing is right. *You keep moving. *AXIS has nowhere to run. *You are filled with JUSTICE...
Starlo's scene is what had me mark Yellow as the best game ever when it comes to emotional moments. Still struggling against Ceroba to this day lol. Edit: Went from Ceroba-Locked to Compound-Mixer-Locked.
This music feels like a montage theme. Which fits given you only hear it if you grind out the enemy encounters, to the point your ATK is so high you're one or two-shotting every monster that you run into.
this is probably just a silly numbers coincidence but i think it's rlly funny the "i'm killing people" song is number 127 in the OST, when i hear 127 i can only think of cave story's instakills doing exactly that much damage (again this doesn't feel super deliberate but i also think it's worth noting that a lot of genocide battle themes contain this song's motif)
love how it slows down every encounter after the first because its meant to give the player the realization this isn't justice anymore just judgement clover doesn't care at this point to them all they want to do is destroy any chance of monsters surfacing so another war will never happen and a monster wont take a human life ever again
Yes, i love the way this song plays so fast and happy at first, meaning there are few enemies left for you, and when there are being less foes remaining, it turns slower, lovely detail!
"Quick; they're getting away! Time to pick up the pace. Go ahead and give chase. Child of the human race. Now you let justice reign. Endure through all the pain. Outlast all their efforts. Righteousness is inert."
