Undyne

Undyne is a character in the 2015 video game Undertale and the 2018 video game Deltarune. She is a monster who serves as the captain of the Royal Guard of the Underground under its king, Asgore. She is initially an antagonist to the player-character, the human, but depending on the human's actions, she may become their ally. She is reluctant to befriend the human, but through persistence by the player, eventually realizes that they were a good person. If the human makes a point of killing every monster possible, Undyne will transform into Undyne the Undying, vowing to destroy the human in order to save humans, monsters, and all other life from their actions. She is a lesbian, revealed to be in love with Alphys.

Undyne was created by Toby Fox, who created most of the rest of the game. He received assistance from other artists, including Temmie Chang. Undyne went through multiple depictions in early concept designs, including being more fish-like in art by Fox and resembling an Axem Ranger from Super Mario RPG in art by Temmie. She was difficult for Fox to design at first before Fox settled on her final design and characterization. Undyne later appeared in Deltarune, though in an unrelated role to the one she has in Undertale, as she was now depicted as the chief of police of Deltarune's hometown in the light world.

Since her appearance in Undertale, she has been met with positive reception. Undyne's sexuality, as well as her relationship with Alphys, were praised by critics for how they were depicted. She was considered one of the best characters in and out of Undertale, particularly as a female character. Her boss fights were also praised, with Game Informer calling the "genocide" route boss fight against her one of his favorites. Her music was also discussed, with critics and writers discussing how her music reflects her personality and actions. She has been the recipient of multiple pieces of merchandise, including a Nendoroid figure from Good Smile and multiple pieces from Fangamer.

Concept and creation
Undyne was created by Toby Fox for the video game Undertale, and was also designed by others involved, such as Temmie Chang. According to initial concept designs, Undyne was originally meant to look more fish-like. Other early concept designs created by Temmie were meant to look like an Axem Ranger's head from Super Mario RPG per Fox's vision. Undyne is a lesbian monster who serves as the captain of the Royal Guard of the Underground under its king, Asgore, tasked with getting a human's soul to free the monsters in the Underground. She is first seen in a full suit of armor, though when her helmet is removed, she is shown to be a fish woman with red hair pulled back in a ponytail, blue skin, fangs, and only one eye. She fights with a blue spear, and can summon energy spears as well. When not in her armor, she is seen wearing a tank top and pants.

She was difficult for Fox to decide on a final design, both in terms of appearance and characterization, with the only consistent detail being that she would be the first boss to try to kill the protagonist. He tried various accents and hobbies, such as fashion and singing, but was not satisfied. The final concept only materialized for Fox once he began writing the monologue she spoke before her boss battle with the protagonist. At this point, he found her natural to write. Her face and body were also difficult to settle on, taking a long time to pick a final design. Her first sprite by Temmie was deemed too much like a "normal knight" by Fox, who addressed this by tweaking her helmet. Other changes he made included making her waist-armor longer to avoid looking like a miniskirt and changing the lighting of the sprite to make her more intimidating.

When designing a "cute outfit" for Undyne, artist Gigi commented that it looked too much like jogging clothes. A friend suggested adding a jacket, which Fox did. When designing Undyne the Undying, an alternate form Undyne may assume, Fox intended for her hair to be more vertical, but found that it would not fit on screen. Fox originally considered giving her a pet fish, but found it strange since Undyne was also a fish. Her design was first revealed through a Steam digital trading card shortly before the release date illustrated by Gigi. Toby Fox intended to make it clearer what players had to do in the fight against Undyne due to multiple players having trouble understanding that they had to run away. He added an extra line to her dialogue to telegraph to players that they needed to run away.

When composing the theme in Undyne's first boss battle, Fox used the same trumpet sounds used by ZUN in the Touhou series. Her home was designed by artist Gigi, with the only notes given by Fox being that it needed to look funny when it catches on fire. Undyne had another song that was planned before being scrapped, which was the most complete of all scrapped songs in Undertale. It was made before Fox fully understood Undyne's personality, and despite him liking the arrangement, he felt it did not sound enough like "being heroically punched in the face." Both of her boss themes, "Spear of Justice" and "Battle Against a True Hero," use a combination of real and synthetic instruments.

Appearances
In Undertale, she appears as an antagonist to the protagonist, the human, attempting to kill them in order to extract their soul and use it to free the monsters from the Underground to fulfill Asgore's plans. She is also friends with Alphys, whom she met in the dump. She pursues them throughout Waterfall, and eventually fights them in a duel. The human can either fight Undyne or run away, but cannot spare her. If they run away enough, Undyne follows them into Hotland, causing her to overheat. The human can give her water, and if they do, as well as avoiding killing any monsters, they are able to visit her home, where Papyrus and Undyne are. Papyrus leaves them alone together as part of his manipulation of Undyne into befriending the human. she is reticent to do so, but is chided into doing so by Papyrus. Undyne and the human accidentally burn down her house while cooking food; she believes they can't be friends, so attacks them, though discovers that the human doesn't want to hurt her. She feels the same, and befriends the human before going to hang out with Papyrus. Depending on the player's actions before fighting Asgore, Undyne's ending will change.

In the game's true ending route, Undyne will ask the human to deliver a love letter to Alphys, who misinterprets the letter as being from the human, going on a date with them. Undyne shows up during the date, and Alphys ultimately admits her feelings to Undyne, at which point they talk out their feelings. After the human learns more about Alphys' past and reencounters Asgore, Undyne and other monsters show up to stop the fight. However, the antagonist Flowey shows up, taking the monsters' souls and becoming his true form, Asriel Dreemurr, forcing the human to defeat him and rescue the souls of Undyne and the others. After managing to pacify Asriel, the human is able to break the barrier, freeing the monsters from the Underground. During the end credits, Undyne and Alphys are seen at the beach, where Undyne kisses Alphys. If the human instead makes a point of killing every monster possible before fighting Undyne, a child named Monster Kid, who had been trying to befriend the human, finds themselves nearly dying by the human's hands; however, Undyne steps in the way, nearly dying in the process. Due to an abundance of "Determination," the quality that allows the human to survive death, she manages to survive, transforming into Undyne the Undying and vowing to destroy the human in order to save monsters, humans, and all other life.

Undyne also appears in Deltarune, a video game featuring multiple characters from Undertale, though in a different incarnation than the one in Undertale. She works as the chief of police of hometown in Deltarune's light world nstead of a knight. Cosmetics based on her were included in Among Us, alongside other Undertale characters.

Promotion and reception
Undyne has received multiple pieces of merchandise. A Nendoroid figure of Undyne by Good Smile was released, featuring accessories such as her spear and fish-shaped mug, and multiple swappable faces. People who pre-ordered the figure would also receive a special backdrop. A figure of Undyne was released by Fangamer as part of the second set of the "Little Buddies" series of figures. Fangamer has also released multiple pieces of merchandise based on Undyne and other Undertale characters, including multiple sets of stickers, sticky notes, and a cloth face mask based on Undyne was sold alongside a storage pouch based on Waterfall.. A soundtrack based on music related to Undyne, including an Undyne medley remix, was also released by Fangamer. Fangamer also released a plush toy of Undyne, designed by Audrey Waner. Banpresto has also produced various pieces of Undertale merchandise, including an acrylic figure of Undyne.

Since her appearance in Undertale, she has received generally positive reception, with Kotaku writer Kirk Hamilton identifying her one of Undertale's most memorable characters. IGN staff praised her for her charm, which they explained comes from being able to see her from "multiple facets" depending on the player's play style. This ranges from her being a "fairly intimidating warrior" if the player kills any monsters or, if they are doing the genocide route, the "hero of the game." Additionally, they note how the pacifist route shows her as someone who cares deeply for those she loves. Writer Evan Marzahn similarly discussed Undyne's changing dynamic, highlighting how characters could be both good or bad, and how the genocide route makes Undyne serve as a heroic character against the human's villainous nature.

She has been considered among the best female characters by multiple critics. Game Informer writer Elise Favis identified as both one of her favorite female characters of 2015 and one of the best Undertale characters. She praised her for being "at times terrifying and merciless." Polygon writer Allegra Frank also regarded her as one of the best video game women of 2015, saying that she was the best female character to choose from in Undertale. She praised her character arc, going from an antagonizer who is "frightening and merciless" to having more depth. She discussed Undyne's reluctance to accept the human's friendship, as well as discussing how her romantic interest in Alphys helps drive players towards completing the "true pacifist" route. She also appreciated how she has a "no-holds-barred approach to everything," as well as her having her own vulnerabilities and insecurities despite that, finding her arc among Undertale's "most compelling." She has also been praised as a favorite LGBTQ character by multiple critics, including Nintendo Life writer Kate Gray. In an article celebrating LGBTQ representation in video games, RPGFan writer Stephanie Sybydlo regarded the relationship between Undyne and Alphys as best encapsulating the article, encouraging Undertale players to help ensure that they get together. Writer Max Delsohn discussed their gender journey and how they reacted negatively to certain media, including what they describe as "Alphys and Undyne's easy, lesbian love in a whimsical, faraway world" due to the complications they were undergoing.

Undyne's boss fights and music have been well-received. Elise Favis identified her boss fight as one of the best, giving additional praise to her battle theme. The boss battle in the genocide route Undyne was considered a favorite by Game Informer writer Daniel Tack. Writer Matthew Perez discussed how Undyne and her music contrasted the earlier game's "whimsical aesthetics," calling her first theme - "Undyne" - "haunting and threatening" - which he felt matched Undyne. He discussed how "Waterfall" using elements later associated with Undyne helped "create a relationship between [Undyne] and current gaming environment." He later talked about the genocide route, talking about how Undyne's selfless actions of protecting Monster Kid with her life contrasted the protagonist's selfish actions, representing Toby Fox's interest in clarifying the "notions of good and evil." He noted that, despite her violent nature, she is given tonal tracks due to the "purported noble intentions with which they operate." When analyzing Undyne's leitmotif, writer Jason Yu noted that it appeared well before her actual theme in other themes such as her first encounter, as well as the themes of Waterfall and the Ruins. He discussed her Undyne the Undying theme, "Battle Against a True Hero," feeling it represents Undyne after she has been "maxed out, stretched to her limits." He also pointed out that Undyne's theme, similar to the other two female characters (Toriel and Alphys), have a triple meter for their themes, as opposed to the male characters, whose themes are in common time. Writer Tobias Salte Klausen discussed the concept of ludonarrative resonance semiotic metaphor, citing examples such as Undyne's attacks growing more sluggish in battle, suggesting Undyne was growing more weary. They also cited how the ability to run away was removed during this fight, requiring players to follow Undyne's comment about needing to face her head on so long as the human's heart is locked in place. They noted that Undyne is the first boss character where the player lacked an emotional connection to, contrasting Papyrus and Toriel, and that they only get to see their perspective once they begin the battle with Undyne.