Sans (character)

Sans is a fictional character in the 2015 role-playing video game Undertale by Toby Fox. He is introduced as a comic relief and acts as the final boss if the player chooses to kill all the monsters and go down the genocide route. His name is based on the Comic Sans font, which is used for most of his in-game dialogue. The character was praised by critics for his dialogue and boss fight, which is considered to be the most difficult in the game. His popularity with fans inspired several user-created mods and other types of projects.

Sans
Undertale character
Sans' in-game appearance
First appearance
Last appearance
Created byToby Fox
In-universe information
SpeciesSkeleton
FamilyPapyrus (brother)

A version of Sans also appears as brief cameo in the related game Deltarune.[1] His likeness also appears as a customizable skin for the Mii Gunner character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.[2][3]

History and appearances

In Undertale

Prior to the events of Undertale, Sans had moved to the settlement in Snowdin from an unknown location with his brother Papyrus. Papyrus was hired as a royal guard trainee sentry, and forces his brother to help in his quest to capture a human.[4]

Sans first appears in Snowdin, initially appearing as a silhouette approaching the player from behind before shaking the player's hand, setting off a whoopee cushion. He clarifies that he has no interest in capturing humans, unlike Papyrus, who he describes as a "human-hunting FANATIC." After helping the player hide from Papyrus, Sans follows his brother throughout most of the forest, commentating on his puzzles and even contributing a word search, much to Papyrus' dismay. As the story proceeds, Sans continues to be a regular source of comic relief, performing such antics as attempting to sell the player fried snow. Later in the game, Sans invites the player to go eat at a restaurant with him. As he talks, he explains how he befriended a woman behind the large door in Snowdin who shared an equal love for puns as he did. He explains how he made a promise not to kill any humans who come to the Underground and states if he didn't make that promise the player would have been dead where they stand.

Sans makes one more appearance in the "Judgement Hall", where he reveals the true meaning of the "EXP" and "LOVE" values that the player has accumulated through the game: 'Execution Points' and 'Level of Violence', respectively. He judges the player for how high their EXP and LOVE values are before disappearing and letting the player proceed to fight the king, Asgore. After the player defeats Asgore and leaves the Underground, Sans calls them to inform them of what occurred after their departure, having different dialogue depending on the player's actions in game. If the player finishes the game without killing any monsters, Sans appears after Asgore's defeat along with the other main characters, but his soul gets absorbed by Flowey along with most of the other monsters. He is restored after the player defeats Flowey and escapes the Underground with the rest of the monsters.

If the player opts to kill every monster, Sans' behavior will be very different. He threatens the player with a "bad time" if they proceed with their actions before the Papyrus boss fight. If the player ignores Sans' warning and continues slaughtering every monster they encounter, he eventually confronts the player in the Judgement Hall to prevent them from destroying the world, acting as the route's final boss. Sans puts up a fierce fight but is eventually slain by the player, allowing them to finish the route.[5]

In Deltarune

Sans appears as a cameo in chapter one of Deltarune, where he is found standing outside his shop. He informs the player he has already met their mother, Toriel, and asks them if they would like to come over to his house and meet his brother.

In other media

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, a Sans costume for the playable Mii Gunner character was released as downloadable content on September 4, 2019.[6] Sans has also been the subject of many fan works and projects, being featured in numerous games, creations, and video game mods.[7][8][9][10]

Development

Sans is listed in the credits as being created by Toby Fox with "special inspiration" from J.N. Wiedle, author of the web comic Helvetica, a series about an eponymous skeleton named after the Helvetica typeface. His first concept drawing was made by Fox on a college notebook.[11]

The song that plays during his fight, "Megalovania", was originally composed for an EarthBound ROM hack for Halloween of 2009, where it serves as final boss music for the alternative version of Dr. Andonauts, one of the few major characters from that game.[12] Although the song was later featured in Homestuck,[13] "Megalovania" principally rose in popularity after the release of Undertale, spawning many internet remixes and memes.[14][15] "Megalovania" has since appeared in games like Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum 'n' Fun![16] and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[6] and was also used by a Spanish dating show, First Dates.[17]The song was also featured in an All Elite Wrestling Halloween special, in which wrestler Kenny Omega wore a Sans costume and was accompanied by the song during his entrance.[18]

He is one of the characters who does not use the default font in his dialogue; rather, it is displayed in lowercase Comic Sans. He is often paired with his brother named Papyrus, also named after a font of the same name.[19]

Reception

Sans' appearance in Undertale was well-received by critics, with Dan Tack of Game Informer praising his boss fight.[20] TheGamer ranked Sans as the third best Undertale character, stating that his jokes were "spot on in delivery".[21] Screen Rant ranked Sans one of the top 7 of the hardest boss fights in video games.[22] During the Undertale Q&A, Sans and Papyrus were the characters that received the most questions from fans.[23] Sans was ranked as one of the best video game characters of the 2010s by Polygon staff and writer Colin Campbell, particularly his appearance and how: "When he makes a joke, the camera zooms in on him while he winks. It never gets old."[24]

Sans has also been well-received by fans of the game, being the subject of many fan works.[25][26][27] Professional wrestler Kenny Omega has expressed his love of Undertale, dressing as Sans for the October 30, 2019, episode of All Elite Wrestling: Dynamite.[28] His addition as a Mii fighter costume in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate garnered positive feedback from fans,[29] although The Commonwealth Times considered his addition to be a "potential problem" due to the decreasing nostalgia factor for each new character and ever-increasing size of the roster.[30]

gollark: I'm sure you'd like to think so.
gollark: Unfortunately, your proof required the axiom of determinacy, which is bad.
gollark: We could always deploy multiplication by -1™ technology.
gollark: Besides, you don't have infinite *computers*.
gollark: Those don't work ever since we proved they couldn't work.

References
  1. Grayson, Nathan (November 1, 2018). "Undertale Fans Already Have Theories About What's Going On In Deltarune". Kotaku. Archived from the original on May 7, 2020.
  2. Lee, Julia (September 4, 2019). "Sans from Undertale joins Smash Bros. Ultimate as a Mii Fighter costume". Polygon. Archived from the original on December 21, 2019.
  3. Walker, Ian (September 4, 2019). "Undertale's Sans Joins Smash Bros. As A Mii Fighter Costume". Kotaku. Archived from the original on September 5, 2019.
  4. Cobbett, Richard (September 29, 2015). "Undertale review". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on September 29, 2015.
  5. Grayson, Nathan (October 30, 2015). "Undertale: The Kotaku Review". Kotaku. Archived from the original on May 7, 2020.
  6. Minotti, Mike (September 4, 2019). "Undertale's Sans becomes a costume in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on September 5, 2019.
  7. Newell, Adam (September 21, 2019). "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate fan creates functional Undertale Sans Amiibo". Dot Esports. Gamurs.
  8. Hernandez, Patricia (May 13, 2019). "Someone put Undertale's Sans fight in Fortnite, and it's amazing". Polygon. Archived from the original on May 18, 2019.
  9. Gach, Ethan (May 13, 2019). "Undertale's Toughest Boss Fight Made Into A Fortnite Map". Kotaku. Archived from the original on May 7, 2020.
  10. Morales, Greysun (October 3, 2019). "Sans From Undertale Makes His Way Into Monster Hunter: World via a New Mod". Twinfinite. Archived from the original on October 27, 2019.
  11. Hilliard, Kyle (January 9, 2017). "Toby Fox Shares College Notebook Filled with Early Concept Art and Ideas that Eventually Became Undertale". Game Informer. Archived from the original on January 13, 2017.
  12. Schilling, Chris (May 5, 2018). "The making of Undertale". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on March 27, 2019.
  13. Hussie, Andrew. "[S] Wake". Homestuck. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  14. Haasch, Palmer (2020-02-25). "TikTok users keep reinventing Undertale's 'Megalovania'". Polygon. Archived from the original on 2020-05-20. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
  15. "Megalovania". Know Your Meme. Retrieved November 24, 2019.
  16. Doolan, Liam (October 13, 2019). "Undertale Song Pack Arrives In Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum 'n' Fun! As Paid DLC". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on October 27, 2019.
  17. Baird, Scott (May 13, 2019). "Spanish Version Of First Dates Show Uses "Megalovania" From Undertale On Its Soundtrack". TheGamer. Archived from the original on December 7, 2019. Retrieved November 24, 2019.
  18. Jones, Alistair (2019-10-31). "Undertale's Sans Just Made His Professional Wrestling Debut". Kotaku UK. Archived from the original on 2020-05-20. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
  19. Sotomayor, Bella Vanessa (December 15, 2016). "Undertale: A Game That Is Still Amazing Today". ComicsVerse. Archived from the original on May 7, 2020.
  20. Tack, Daniel (December 2, 2015). "Does Undertale Live Up to the Hype?". Game Informer. Archived from the original on April 7, 2016.
  21. Tortorici, Colby (September 7, 2019). "Ranking The Main Cast Of Undertale". TheGamer. Archived from the original on October 27, 2019.
  22. Dembrow, Dylan (January 20, 2019). "The 20 Hardest Video Game Bosses Ever (And Exactly How To Beat Them)". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on October 27, 2019.
  23. Frank, Allegra (September 15, 2016). "This Undertale Q&A is the best reminder of why it's one of the funniest games ever". Polygon. Archived from the original on November 16, 2016.
  24. Colin, Campbell (November 27, 2019). "The 70 best video game characters of the decade". Polygon. Archived from the original on March 30, 2020. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
  25. "Undertale: 21 Creepy and Cute Sans Fan Art". IGN. August 19, 2016. Archived from the original on September 30, 2016.
  26. Vas, Gergo (December 31, 2015). "Undertale's Papyrus And Sans Have Dark Souls". Kotaku Australia. Archived from the original on June 12, 2016.
  27. Altland, Morgan (February 18, 2016). "Undertale still captivates audiences". The Oswegonian. Archived from the original on June 3, 2017.
  28. Crosby, Jack (October 30, 2019). "AEW Dynamite results, recap: Inner Circle wreaks havoc, inaugural tag team champions crowned". CBS Sports. Archived from the original on November 1, 2019. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  29. Becht, Eli (September 6, 2019). "Smash Ultimate players are losing their minds over the Sans costume". Dexerto. Archived from the original on October 27, 2019.
  30. Schuhart, Jonah (September 16, 2019). "Smash Bros. creates potential problem with new DLC characters". The Commonwealth Times. Archived from the original on May 7, 2020.
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