Super Paper Mario=Undertale (SPOILERS FOR BOTH GAMES)

[Joseph]

Recently I finished playing Undertale. Throughout the game I've noticed lots of similarities. Here are a few examples.

*To start off simple, both are RPGs. Sure, one is a platformer and the other is turn-based. But they both are RPGs of some kind.
*Sans and Papyrus are very similar to Mario and Luigi. They both are brothers, the older one is shorter, and they both even like spaghetti.
*Both games involve heart objects that are very important to the game. For Super Paper Mario there are the Pure Hearts, and Undertale has the SOULs.
*Both games pull a "final boss?" on us. People playing Super Paper Mario blindly might think Count Bleck is the final boss, but it turns out to be Super Dimentio. And people playing Undertale blindly might think Asgore is the final boss, but it turns out to be Photoshop Flowey (Omega Flowey).
*More about the final bosses. Both are "secondary" antagonists who make a suprise at the end. Both final bosses are also powered-up versions of Dimentio/Flowey. What are they powered-up by? The hearts mentioned earlier. They both are also invinsible at the beginning, but the coresponding hearts make them vulnerable.
*Alphys and Francis both are nerdy lizards. Both games also have you go on a date with them.
*The ones who help you at the beginning, Tippi and Toriel, both were in love with the second-last bosses, who are Count Bleck and Asgore. Tippi and Toriel's names are both puns on helping. Tippi and tip, and Toriel with tutorial.

I think this last one is more of a coincidence...OR IS IT?
*Both have a song named "It's Showtime!". In Super Paper Mario, it is Dimentio's battle theme. In Undertale, it is used for Mettaton in a show.

Speaking of music, both of them have amazing music...BUT SUPER PAPER MARIO HAS WAAAY BETTER MUSIC MUAHAHAHA (inb4 flame war)

So, that about covers it. I'm gonna post this on Miiverse sometime. So comment if you have more reasons they are similar, or if you simply thought this was amazing. But how cool would it be if Toby (the creator of Undertale) got inspired by Super Paper Mario? (Unlikely, but would be cool)

 

[Ray Trace]

You should put those in spoiler tags as well. I scrolled through your text so nothing is spoiled, but if you want everyone to access your thread, use those tags

 

[Joseph]

You should put those in spoiler tags as well. I scrolled through your text so nothing is spoiled, but if you want everyone to access your thread, use those tags

I'm still new.

 

[Ray Trace]

That's why I'm giving you a gentle heads up.

 

[Joseph]

That's why I'm giving you a gentle heads up.

Actually I don't know how to. :P (I sent you a message on the wiki btw)

 

[Ray Trace]

Quote my post to see how it's done:

Spoiler

Tag it like this

 

[Joseph]

Quote my post to see how it's done:

Spoiler

Tag it like this

Danks liek dank memes (sorry)

 

[Mcmadness]

*looms ominously in the distance*

 

[Ray Trace]

Oh Mcmadness, how better is Undertale than Super Paper Mario?

 

[Lin Beifong]

UNMARKED SPOILERS BELOW


I think your list makes an interesting read and there probably are some similarities that can be drawn.

A few things though:

*Sans and Papyrus are very similar to Mario and Luigi. They both are brothers, the older one is shorter, and they both even like spaghetti.

Papyrus is actually the only one obsessed with Spaghetti. Sans off-handedly says he has eaten it in the past, but the food he is associated with most is condiments, particularly ketchup.

*Both games pull a "final boss?" on us. People playing Super Paper Mario blindly might think Count Bleck is the final boss, but it turns out to be Super Dimentio. And people playing Undertale blindly might think Asgore is the final boss, but it turns out to be Photoshop Flowey (Omega Flowey).
*More about the final bosses. Both are "secondary" antagonists who make a suprise at the end. Both final bosses are also powered-up versions of Dimentio/Flowey. What are they powered-up by? The hearts mentioned earlier. They both are also invinsible at the beginning, but the coresponding hearts make them vulnerable.

"The supposed final villain gets double-crossed and usurped by the true villain" is actually a very common trope in RPGs. Like, one of the most famous cases is probably Kefka overthrowing Gestahl, which incidentally doubles as a secondary antagonist overthrowing the apparent main villain.

Also, one might argue that the true final boss of Undertale is the absolute god of hyperdeath, who does not quite fit the format of SPM's final battle. I'd say overall, both of those battles in Undertale more closely resemble fights from the Mother series than SPM.

*Alphys and Francis both are nerdy lizards. Both games also have you go on a date with them.

I'd say on the surface they are themed similarly, but the way Francis is written is a much more mean-spirited take on it. Francis is written as a pathetic loser, an obsessive loony, and overall a very unpleasant person. Alphys on the other hand is a much more benevolent portrayal of the stereotypical nerd, being socially awkward and kind of weird, but still ultimately trying to be a decent person despite struggling with some pretty heavy emotional baggage.

So really, if you go deeper than surface level, they really aren't similar at all.



Overall, I think it's a collection of interesting observations, but ultimately I think most of these are coincidences.

 

[Joseph]

UNMARKED SPOILERS BELOW


I think your list makes an interesting read and there probably are some similarities that can be drawn.

A few things though:

*Sans and Papyrus are very similar to Mario and Luigi. They both are brothers, the older one is shorter, and they both even like spaghetti.

Papyrus is actually the only one obsessed with Spaghetti. Sans off-handedly says he has eaten it in the past, but the food he is associated with most is condiments, particularly ketchup.

*Both games pull a "final boss?" on us. People playing Super Paper Mario blindly might think Count Bleck is the final boss, but it turns out to be Super Dimentio. And people playing Undertale blindly might think Asgore is the final boss, but it turns out to be Photoshop Flowey (Omega Flowey).
*More about the final bosses. Both are "secondary" antagonists who make a suprise at the end. Both final bosses are also powered-up versions of Dimentio/Flowey. What are they powered-up by? The hearts mentioned earlier. They both are also invinsible at the beginning, but the coresponding hearts make them vulnerable.

"The supposed final villain gets double-crossed and usurped by the true villain" is actually a very common trope in RPGs. Like, one of the most famous cases is probably Kefka overthrowing Gestahl, which incidentally doubles as a secondary antagonist overthrowing the apparent main villain.

Also, one might argue that the true final boss of Undertale is the absolute god of hyperdeath, who does not quite fit the format of SPM's final battle. I'd say overall, both of those battles in Undertale more closely resemble fights from the Mother series than SPM.

*Alphys and Francis both are nerdy lizards. Both games also have you go on a date with them.

I'd say on the surface they are themed similarly, but the way Francis is written is a much more mean-spirited take on it. Francis is written as a pathetic loser, an obsessive loony, and overall a very unpleasant person. Alphys on the other hand is a much more benevolent portrayal of the stereotypical nerd, being socially awkward and kind of weird, but still ultimately trying to be a decent person despite struggling with some pretty heavy emotional baggage.

So really, if you go deeper than surface level, they really aren't similar at all.



Overall, I think it's a collection of interesting observations, but ultimately I think most of these are coincidences.

k

 

[Lin Beifong]

A stimulating conversation.

 

[Mcmadness]

Oh Mcmadness, how better is Undertale than Super Paper Mario?

Probably a lot. Can't say though since I haven't played it.

But being better than that game isn't very difficult.

 

[Xandalf]

*Both games pull a "final boss?" on us. People playing Super Paper Mario blindly might think Count Bleck is the final boss, but it turns out to be Super Dimentio. And people playing Undertale blindly might think Asgore is the final boss, but it turns out to be Photoshop Flowey (Omega Flowey).

I felt it was kind of obvious Flowey would be a boss at least at some point but I guess most people didn't.

I'm mostly sure all of these are coincidences though. Toby says he doesn't own any modern-day consoles, and the Wii is a modern console.

 

[Time Turner]

Toby himself has said that he drew inspiration from Superstar Saga, which mostly appears in the battle system (every attack can be avoided, every attack is telegraphed, timing-based attacks for the player, etc.). There isn't really too many similar points in terms of plot, but he's familiar enough with the Mario series.