“CORE” samples from both “Death by Glamour” (“~Ooooh yeaaaah…~”) and “Another Medium”. Nearly every song in Undertale references or samples from another song. This isn’t just something like the odd note or two locations and battles that are thematically similar tie themselves together through the music. “Ruins” gets referenced in “Waterfall”, using a slower and melancholy arrangement of the former. Both of these tracks are hauntingly gorgeous, and resonate whenever they reappear. On the subject of “motifs”, this doesn’t just extend to a few of the boss tracks. It’s a simple, charming touch that I adore. The reoccurring track acts as somewhat of a de-facto “mini-boss” theme.
It doesn’t include EVERYTHING from “Ghost Fight”, but it’s subtly there. The elements from the previous song are more clear if you listen to the end of each section. It uses a different set of samples (there’s none of the vocal stylings of the magnificent Venus here), instead going for a bouncy, childlike rhythm that makes you want to clap along with the (attacking!) spiders. You’d never think it until you really listened, but the equally fun “Spider Dance” is stealthy reprise of “Ghost Fight”. It’s infectiously catchy, with a ghoulishly hard-hitting acid-synth that drives the piece straight into your earlobes. It is more electronic and synth heavy, but, it still uses the previous inspirations. Out of all the battle themes, “Dummy” happens to be the one that just sticks to me. The eerily grooving bass-line harkens to the rambling madness of the regular battle theme “Peper Steak” in OFF. “Dummy” is like a dark reprise of “Ghost Fight”, taking place during a battle with a belligerent training dummy. The dissonant, shrill vocals of a female-voice are straight from the character Venus’ song from Earthbound.
It is a riff on the musical stylings of both Earthbound and the obscure French classic OFF. “Ghost Fight” is one of the first fight themes heard in the game. It’s a staple of most RPGs, yes, but Undertale ups it up a notch by making a motif around… motifs. Where do I start? One of the defining features of Undertale are the unique battle themes it associates with certain characters and enemies. It’s a barrage of artistic brilliance and demands your attention and care… and Temmie. The album is 101 tracks long, ranging between 30 second ditties to 6 minute powerhouses. I’m not going to beat around the bush this was a hard review to write. Using the soundfont from the Nintendo classic, he’s produced a tribute album of Earthbound (“Earthbound 2012 – I Miss You”). He also created/composed “The Halloween Hack”, a completely different game made out of the original. How can one even write about the soundtrack to Undertale? One of the greater games of this generation, everything unique about it comes from creator and composer Toby Fox. Responsible for the music for the cult-classic webcomic/web-cartoon Homestuck, Toby Fox has always had an interest in the music of the Earthbound series.