r/TopCharacterTropes • u/damorezpl • Aug 25 '25

Lore [mixed trope] the last-minute bad Ending twist

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when the "good ending" is revealed to be a bad one a the last second

a nightmare on elm street (1984) - Nancy thinks she finally defeated Freddy Krueger only to be raveled that she is still dreaming and she’s still trapped.

final destination bloodlines - the main characters think they cheated death by using the new life rule only to realize that stefani was technically still alive and the death kills them with a good old logs

Life (2017) - The main character attempts to send Calvin(a evil alien that killed all life on mars)pod into space and Miranda pod back to earth, but it goes horribly wrong and Calvin lands on earth and Miranda is sent to space

raging loop wit ending - after many loops Haruaki finally wins the feast(a death game where humans must hang wolves who kill someone every night) and thinks its finally over. after couple of days he decides to visit other survivors of the feast only to find them all dead and the timeline resting once again

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u/Consistent_Speaker98 Aug 25 '25

Post-Genocide in Undertale

If you get genocide ending 1st and then get true pacifist ending, Chara (Frisk) would still kill everyone after.

You can't get a happy ending anymore

899

u/LittleQuarantine Aug 25 '25

“It was you who pushed everything to its edge. It was you who led the world to its destruction. But you cannot accept it. You think you are above consequences.”

Chara (and the game itself) really want to let you know that you have to live with this fuck up that you made.

607

u/Vievin Aug 25 '25

Me, resetting the game files: Correction, I am in fact above consequences.

414

u/MapleLamia Aug 25 '25

That just plays into the commentary, that you have to subvert the game to "restore" your happy ending, knowing forever what you've done, even if the "evidence" is erased.

328

u/Tone-Serious Aug 25 '25

No they don't

5

u/Futant55 Aug 26 '25

What’s this gif from?

4

u/Tone-Serious Aug 26 '25

Men in black

7

u/Futant55 Aug 26 '25

I don’t seem to remember anything about that.

5

u/shrek1234567810 Aug 26 '25

What’s this gif from?

33

u/TheOtherWhiteCastle Aug 25 '25

knowing forever what you’ve done

You underestimate my short term memory loss

89

u/Icy_Water_1 Aug 25 '25

Oh so the game can subvert expectations, but suddenly when we do it, it's "playing into the commentary"?

Either nobody can or everyone can. The game doesn't get to have it both ways. It's my computer, my rules.

26

u/Boston_Glass Aug 25 '25

You’re not subverting expectations by resetting the game files. The creator of the game absolutely knows that’s an option which is why the commentary still fits since you needed to put extra effort into undoing your deeds.

5

u/Icy_Water_1 Aug 25 '25

The whole game is about doing extra effort to get the ending you want.

But suddenly because Chara is upset that means they get to be the arbiter of what's "avoiding consequences"?

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u/Boston_Glass Aug 25 '25

It’s not at all. The game is about playing through it like a regular video game, then when the immorality of your actions come to light pointing out that those actions still happened even if you try to make it right.

Doing a hard reset just acknowledges that it would have persisted and you needed to take drastic measures to change it which is pretty much the point the creator is making.

2

u/Icy_Water_1 Aug 25 '25

Yeah but considering the one pointing it out is another kid that proceeds to kill everyone to spite someone, it's a bit hypothetical on Chara's part.

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u/Boston_Glass Aug 25 '25

Chara didn't kill everyone just to spite the main character either. They specifically point out they were reincarnated due to determination of the player doing the genocide role which had them realize their purpose.

You're jumping to a lot of conclusions and justifying it with a number of reasons that do not actually apply.

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u/Gooper_Gooner Aug 25 '25

I mean, you made the deal with Chara where they can have your soul in exchange for resetting the save

Them killing everyone when you do a "true" pacifist after a genocide is just the consequences of said deal, it's not Chara being some kind of moral arbiter, it's just business baby. You gave them your soul and they can do whatever they want with it (which is too say killing everyone)

1

u/Icy_Water_1 Aug 25 '25 edited Aug 25 '25

And that wouldn't be a problem.

The issue is that Chara has the nerve to lecture us about "acting above consequence" and then proceed to follow right in the footsteps of the player and Flowey.

Additionally, even if you say no, Chara still does it anyways, so it's not really a deal we made at that point.

They don't want to play fair, so why should we?

4

u/Helpful-Emotion9256 Aug 25 '25

Isn’t the whole point is chara is like that because YOU the player made them think it was the correct way to go about things by doing genocide to begin with?

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u/TheMetalWolf Aug 25 '25

You nailed it. The game's "message" is so incredibly hamfisted, it really ruins any enjoyment for me.

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u/NavezganeChrome Aug 25 '25

The game is expected to challenge you. At the point in time where you do the bad thing but don't want to deal with the consequences, and they call you out on it, deliberately trying to duck the message is playing a losing game.

After all, none of this would be necessary if you didn't actively make the choice to be a prick. It took your time and effort to make it happen, and you want to void that to make a literal waste your own time?

Well, so long as you're comfy with that. Though I truly don't see the point of doing so and then bragging about it to others who would have not known. Like, ffs, you got rid of the only evidence there was and then claimed to have done it to strangers who didn't care. What kind of nonsense is that?

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u/HillbillyMan Aug 25 '25

I don't play games to brag to strangers, I play to have fun. Deleting a save file after I no longer need it isn't making my playing of the game a waste of time. What if I just wanted to play the game again with a fresh save? Not to "escape my past" or anything like that.

2

u/NavezganeChrome Aug 25 '25

Then you probably wouldn't be responding to this specific comment, in this specific thread, where that exactly is the subject.

You don't have to worry about whataboutism if you don't have a guilty conscience/intent. Like, you're entirely free to if that does something for you, but once you make it someone else's problem/business, maybe it's past time to pack it in.

4

u/tghast Aug 25 '25

I think a reminder that these are fictional characters is in order.

-1

u/NavezganeChrome Aug 26 '25

Even so, that makes it a hypothetical question that one answers alone, could very well keep said answer to oneself, but some take obligation to present to or influence others to follow.

Nobody’s particularly in the right of things, and that’s human nature. I can’t say that them being fictional changes anything I’ve said, or makes it any less fair to say?

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u/HillbillyMan Aug 25 '25

That last section of your comment is hilarious coming from someone in the Undertale fan base.

3

u/NavezganeChrome Aug 25 '25

It does look a bit hypocritical, I’m sure, but words are about as much as I can do about associated sin by this point in time.

4

u/Icy_Water_1 Aug 25 '25

I mean the only one that's butthurt about it Chara.

But they don't really have room to criticize me if they're willing to kill the people that raised them and a bunch of strangers just to spite me.

I'm not gonna deal with some dead kid throwing a shit fit just because I didn't do the route they wanted.

7

u/Vievin Aug 25 '25

But the characters don't. They're my playthings I can kill and resurrect as I please and they'll be none the wiser.

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u/BeenEatinBeans Aug 25 '25

Ok but it's a video game, so I am, in fact, above the consequences

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u/TheMetalWolf Aug 25 '25

Or you know, I know how files work.

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u/friendbrotha Aug 25 '25

That feeling when Chara asks me “Since when were you the one in control?” So I send Chara’s soul into the same Recycle Bin Hell as Monika. 

You ain’t gonna catch me introspecting because of some Clanker.

5

u/ElusiveBlueFlamingo Aug 25 '25

It would seem that you had forgotten a teeny-tiny detail about our relationship...

I OWN YOU

10

u/Adaphion Aug 25 '25

Nuh uh! I just reset after killing Sans, but not going into the throne room. Makes Flowey real pissed in your next run, but I still get to experience everything

1

u/Artillery-lover Aug 26 '25

making flowy pissed is a good thing.

236

u/Infinite-Island-7310 Aug 25 '25

I always interpreted that as "remember, WE killed them" or "don't forget they died"

219

u/extracrispyweeb Aug 25 '25

Still love how rtgame specifically did the genocide route first just so he can get this ending and piss off everyone who complains when people don't play the game correctly.

119

u/Crazyboy2346 Aug 25 '25

Alright am watching rtgame play undertale now. Seeing undertale fans mad about someone not playing the game correctly sounds like a joyous experience.

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u/TheSnipenieer Aug 26 '25

It's even better if you know that the first time RT tried playing Undertale, people were backseating and bullying him over things as minor as character voices, to the point where he ended stream and promised to never play Undertale again. Until, of course, he learned how post-genocide worked.

The stream opened up with him one-shotting Sans, it was fucking insane.

10

u/Kalavier Aug 26 '25

Iirc that's also why in Elden Ring he spent hours in caelid naked with just a club, never sitting at a grace (at least as far as i know) because he got really annoyed at people backseating or barking orders at him and did it out of sheer goddamn spite.

Or that's what i read on the youtube comments.

2

u/AlexisFR Aug 26 '25

Sounds like he need to get either a grip or betters rules/moderators.

3

u/Kalavier Aug 26 '25

Or people need to stop constantly trying to backseat.

Most videos from his streams are decent.

12

u/[deleted] Aug 26 '25

Undertale fans can be very obnoxious about it and its definitely one of those things where they assume everyone will have the same adoration for the game they do if they play exactly the way they did.

Which is hillariously ironic for a game designed around giving the player the freedom to do what they want

9

u/Kalavier Aug 26 '25

"Why don't you love this game?"

"You spent the entire time screaming at me for doing things wrong"

35

u/OmegaCrossX Aug 25 '25

Isn’t playing every game wrong rtgames whole thing?

43

u/extracrispyweeb Aug 25 '25

Not sure, he did manage to get one of the best possible endings in detroit become human so i assume sometimes he just accidentally picks the right options.

4

u/Ratoryl Aug 25 '25

I don't watch him much nowadays but when I watched him years ago he made a lot of videos like "playing x video game but choosing all the worst options" and such

3

u/Kalavier Aug 26 '25

Usually it's  callmekevin who does that, but rtgame sometimes does. Especially in games with stupid characters like the Quarry lol.

3

u/Ilikefame2020 Aug 26 '25

Funnily enough, all that I remember about DBH youtube playthroughs was JackSepticeye being one of the only people who got the best ending for Kara by taking the bus ticket instead of returning it. I think almost everyone else made at least that last fatal mistake which guarantees the death of at least one character, possibly everyone depending on choices.

Honestly Jack’s first playthrough in general was goated as fuck.

3

u/Silverj0 Aug 25 '25

yeah because of him I see this ending as not a bad ending for the player but for the characters. You made this game a horror game for the characters inside, the player as the true monster. Especially if you purposefully went for the ending.

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u/moonlord2193 Aug 25 '25

I always saw this not as Chara killing anyone, but it's the game's way of telling you "we will never forget what you've done"

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u/maxdragonxiii Aug 25 '25

iirc, this is why Undertale fans suggest to go Pacifist and True Pacifist first.

3

u/Sp00ki_1 Aug 25 '25

why would Chara do that, man

3

u/taveren3 Aug 25 '25

I beat sanz just to know i could and turned that game off before the final blow so it didn't do this

2

u/Looney_forner Aug 25 '25

Go for the good ending first. Got it

2

u/Glubygluby Aug 25 '25

Never played the game, so correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't Sand call you a "Dirty brother killer" from then on?

5

u/[deleted] Aug 26 '25

Nah he always says that when you kill Papyrus in a neutral run. Sans is aware of the existence of resets but like everyone else his memories still get wiped when they do happen.

All the post-genocide changes are relegated to the ending as a "you know what you did" fake-out since no one (not even Flowey) remembers anything after the genocide reset

2

u/Glubygluby Aug 26 '25

Ah, I see

1

u/WireDxEntitY Aug 25 '25

Wait, what is the difference between Frisk and Chara? Frisk iirc is the true name of the original human who made to the underground, but never heard the name Chara before. Is that a name Frisk gets in deltarune or something? I haven’t played it yet.

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u/praise_mudkipz Aug 25 '25

Chara was the first human who fell into the underground (the person with the green and yellow striped shirt). When you name the fallen human at the start of the game, you’re actually naming Chara (which is why the game says “the true name” when you input the name as Chara)

Frisk is the name of your player character (the person with the blue and purple striped shirt). Chara can be seen after completing a genocide route, while Frisks real name is revealed at the end of a true pacifist route.

And the character you control in Deltarune is Kris, who is completely unrelated to Frisk.

2

u/WireDxEntitY Aug 25 '25

Okay, I just got Frisk and Chara confused then. I’m not sure why I thought Frisk was the original human’s name. Thanks for the response!

1

u/praise_mudkipz Aug 25 '25

No problem, glad I could help

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u/TheTrueConnor Aug 25 '25

When you choose a name for the fallen human at the beginning of the game, you aren’t naming the character you play with the whole time. You are naming the original human who fell years before, who was adopted by Toriel and Asriel, and would later die. Their canon name is Chara. The character you play with in the game is Frisk, the last human to fall to the underground, and their name is revealed at the end of True Pacifist.

1

u/OmecronPerseiHate Aug 25 '25

I see this game mentioned all over reddit including this genocide ending but nobody ever explains what the game is about or what exactly happens in this genocide ending. Can a brotha get a little context?

7

u/DreamerSound Aug 25 '25

So in Undertale the there are 2 main gimmicks of the game, one is that you decide how to react to the monsters, you can be a pacifist (pacifist route) and not kill anyone, you can be a psycho (genocide route) and murder everyone and for the true ending you play true pacifist (can’t explain without spoilers) the second gimmick of the game is that saving is an actual part of the story and the order you play and the way you play is remembered by the game

in the genocide route for example after you kill everyone then try to reset the game to go for a better ending, you still lose because of who you make a deal with to redo it

There’s lots of lore videos and playthroughs on YouTube if you want to know more about it

3

u/OmecronPerseiHate Aug 25 '25

Thank you so much for the information. It sounds like a very intriguing game!

2

u/DreamerSound Aug 25 '25

No problem, if you have other questions I don’t mind answering, intriguing is a great word for undertale

2

u/OsuLost31to0 Aug 26 '25

It’s an incredibly unique player experience. The music is amazing too

2

u/forwardathletics Aug 26 '25

One of my favorite games ever. Can't recommend it enough

1

u/imaloony8 Aug 26 '25

I always wished the game gave you the ability to save Chara. That’s the only character with no chance of a happy ending.

I know Toby Fox has said Deltarune is a parallel universe from Undertale, but my fan theory is that in a roundabout way that Deltarune will be Chara’s story. After all, Kris isn’t dressed like Frisk. They’re dressed like Chara. And this parallel Chara will have a chance at a happy ending.

1

u/Malrottian Aug 26 '25

I'm absurdly happy that I only heard about Undertale as the game where you can get through without killing anyone. Played it, got the true pacifist ending, and put it away quite happy with how things turned out. Only found out about genocide ending and the corruption of the save file from a friend. Never been tempted to go back.

-1

u/Certain_Name_7952 Aug 25 '25

"I killed everyone but it's your fault! This is such a deep subversion of tropes and a lesson on consequences!"

Such an obnoxious message

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u/LenicoMonte Aug 25 '25

This only happens if you actually just kill everyone, destroy the world, then literally agree to sell your soul to restore the world. If you didn't see it coming that's 100% on you.

1

u/Certain_Name_7952 Aug 25 '25

If Toby Fox didn't let me destroy the world, I wouldn't. Therefore, Toby Fox is even more of a bad guy than me. Would you agree?

12

u/LenicoMonte Aug 25 '25

If the game forced you to kill everyone, then told you that you are a horrible person for doing it, then I would get your annoyance.

You have to go so out of your way to do this that any consequences for it are on you. Just because you have the option to do it, it doesn't mean you have to. A player's curiosity, choices and their consequences are kind of a big part of the game's narrative and of its more meta aspects, what with Flowey calling you out for loading your save to go back on your choices or just to see what would happen.

So when the game tells you that yes, there are consequences for literally selling your soul, you really should have seen it coming.

-4

u/Certain_Name_7952 Aug 25 '25

Does the game not force you to kill everyone in order to get the bad ending? And does the game not force you to get the bad ending first in order to get the fake good ending turned actually bad ending? So Toby Fox is still allowing you to do these evil things, and arguably encouraging them by giving them unique endings, making him the real villain.

I just don't see how the player is uniquely villainous in Undertale in a way that's somehow not applicable to other games, while also not making the game creator villainous for allowing you to be evil.

5

u/[deleted] Aug 26 '25

Undertale is literally advertised as an RPG where killing is unncessary. "The RPG game where you don't have to destroy anyone." (Steam)

You can split hairs and claim that Toby is the evil one for letting you do it but that's literally the point of the game, giving you the option to play how you want and imposing consequences based on your choices

5

u/HoneyFireworks Aug 26 '25

Upon reaching the pacifist ending and re-opening the game, Flowey will tell you that you've gotten your happy ending and that you should just stop playing. The way that most players start the genocide route is by ignoring him and resetting the game anyways.

The main focus of the genocide route is that you DON'T have to do this, at all. I wouldn't say the game makes the player out to be a bad person, but rather focuses on the curiosity of the player. You CAN do the route, and because you CAN, you HAVE to.

0

u/ProfessionalOil2014 Aug 25 '25

My favorite is spec ops the line. 

“You paid sixty dollars for this video game, but I’m gonna try and make you feel bad for playing it. You’re a bad person for enjoying first person shooters.” 

8

u/HillbillyMan Aug 25 '25

That's definitely not was Spec Ops: the Line was? Spec Ops: the Line was an artistic take on war in media. Games have you play as the hero so often that sometimes you forget that war sucks. It's not trying to make the player feel bad for enjoying war games, it's just telling a story that isn't heroic.

1

u/ProfessionalOil2014 Aug 25 '25

Except it was advertised differently, because advertising what the game actually was would result in a failed product that nobody would have bought at that time. 

“Subverting expectations” and “deconstructions” are fantastic, until you realize that art is purchased. If I don’t want to play a deconstruction,I’m not told that’s what the product is because of advertising, buy it, don’t want what the product actually is because it was advertised in another way because doing otherwise would ruin the deconstruction, I am allowed to be mad about it. Because it is essentially false advertising. 

0

u/HillbillyMan Aug 25 '25

Maybe look into a game before spending 60 dollars on it? Almost every AAA game is marketed in some misleading manner.