{{Infobox character | color = #000000 | name = Sans | image = Sans undertale.jpg | caption = Sans' in-game appearance | first_major = Undertale | first_date = September 15, 2015 | last_major = [[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate] | last_date = September 5, 2019 | series = Undertale | creator = Toby Fox | designer = | family = Papyrus (brother) | species = Skeleton }} Sans is a fictional character in the 2015 role-playing video game Undertale by Toby Fox. He is initially introduced as a comic relief character but is eventually revealed to be one of the most knowledgeable characters in the game. He is depicted as a short, paunchy skeleton who wears a blue jacket, black basketball shorts with a white lining, a white t-shirt, and pink slippers or white sneakers. 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.
A version of the character also appears as brief cameo in the related game Deltarune.[1] Sans' 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. The duo was soon hired as sentries for the Royal Guard.[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 they encounter, 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 JN 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 that served as a final boss music for the alternative version of Dr. Andonauts, one of the few major characters from that game.[12] Although it did exist beforehand as the music later featured in Homestuck, Megalovania became popular due to Undertale, as it spawning many internet remixes and memes.[13] Megalovania has since appeared in games like Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum 'n' Fun![14] and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate,[6] and was also used by a Spanish dating show, First Dates.[15] 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.[16]
Reception
Sans' appearance in Undertale was well received by critics, with Dan Tack of Game Informer praising his boss fight.[17] TheGamer ranked Sans as top 3 on the characters of Undertale stating that Sans' in-game dialogue was hilarious.[18] Screen Rant ranked Sans one of the top 7 of the hardest boss fights in video games.[19] During the Undertale Q&A, Sans and Papyrus were the characters that received the most questions from fans.[20] 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 "When he makes a joke, the camera zooms in on him while he winks. It never gets old."[21]
Sans has also been well received by fans of the game, being the subject of many fan works.[22][23][24] Professional wrestler Kenny Omega has expressed his love of Undertale, dressing as Sans for the October 30, 2019 episode of All Elite Wrestling: Dynamite.[25] His addition as a Mii fighter costume in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate garnered positive feedback from fans,[26] 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.[27]
References
- ^ Grayson, Nathan (November 1, 2018). "Undertale Fans Already Have Theories About What's Going On In Deltarune". Kotaku.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Lee, Julia (September 4, 2019). "Sans from Undertale joins Smash Bros. Ultimate as a Mii Fighter costume". Polygon.
- ^ Walker, Ian (September 4, 2019). "Undertale's Sans Joins Smash Bros. As A Mii Fighter Costume". Kotaku.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Cobbett, Richard (September 29, 2015). "Undertale review".
- ^ "Undertale: The Kotaku Review". Kotaku.
- ^ a b "Undertale's Sans becomes a costume in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate". September 4, 2019.
- ^ "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate fan creates functional Undertale Sans Amiibo". September 21, 2019.
- ^ Hernandez, Patricia (May 13, 2019). "Someone put Undertale's Sans fight in Fortnite, and it's amazing". Polygon.
- ^ "Undertale's Toughest Boss Fight Made Into A Fortnite Map". Kotaku.
- ^ "Sans From Undertale Makes His Way Into Monster Hunter: World via a New Mod". Twinfinite. October 3, 2019.
- ^ Hilliard, Kyle. "Toby Fox Shares College Notebook filled with early concept art and ideas that eventually became Undertale". Game Informer.
- ^ Schilling, Chris (May 5, 2018). "The making of Undertale".
- ^ "Megalovania". Know Your Meme. Retrieved 2019-11-24.
- ^ Life, Nintendo (October 13, 2019). "Undertale Song Pack Arrives In Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum 'n' Fun! As Paid DLC". Nintendo Life.
- ^ "Spanish Version Of First Dates Show Uses "Megalovania" From Undertale On Its Soundtrack". TheGamer. 2019-05-13. Retrieved 2019-11-24.
- ^ "UNDERTALE: A Game That Is Still Amazing Today". December 15, 2016.
- ^ Tack, Daniel. "Does Undertale Live Up To The Hype?". Game Informer.
- ^ "Ranking The Main Cast Of Undertale". TheGamer. September 7, 2019.
- ^ "The 20 Hardest Video Game Bosses Ever (And Exactly How To Beat Them)". ScreenRant. January 20, 2019.
- ^ Frank, Allegra (September 15, 2016). "This Undertale Q&A is the best reminder of why it's one of the funniest games ever". Polygon.
- ^ Colin, Campbell (November 27, 2019). "The 70 best video game characters of the decade". Polygon. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
- ^ "Undertale: 21 Creepy and Cute Sans Fan Art - IGN" – via www.ign.com.
- ^ "Undertale's Papyrus And Sans Have Dark Souls". Kotaku Australia. December 31, 2015.
- ^ Altl, Morgan (February 18, 2016). "'Undertale' still captivates audiences".
- ^ Crosby, Jack (October 30, 2019). "AEW Dynamite results, recap: Inner Circle wreaks havoc, inaugural tag team champions crowned". CBSSports. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
- ^ "Smash Ultimate players are losing their minds over the Sans costume". Dexerto.com.
- ^ Editor, Spectrum (September 16, 2019). "Smash Bros. creates potential problem with new DLC characters". The Commonwealth Times.
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