The following will contain spoilers for the No Mercy route of Undertale Yellow.
When comparing Undertale Yellow to Undertale, one of the many things it got right was the music. Undertale’s music is famous for being one of the most well renowned and beloved soundtracks in all of gaming, with a distinct and yet hard to describe style and emotional pull. Undertale Yellow too delivers in the music department, with several beloved tracks that feel as if they could have fit right in with the soundtrack of the original Undertale. However, one thing that Yellow does that stands out when compared to its inspiration is how it handles the music of the No Mercy route, with a genius touch that really makes it come together; the Enemy Retreating leitmotif.
For those out there who are unaware, a leitmotif is a term in music that describes a recurring theme for a character or concept. The Enemy Retreating leitmotif is the theme associated with Clover, the protagonist, specifically when on the No Mercy path. The No Mercy route of Undertale Yellow is where Clover goes through the Underground and kills everyone they come across, to get revenge for the monsters taking the lives of the previous five humans. A prominent song, exclusive to this path, is “Enemy Retreating”, the song that plays when there are only seven monsters left in each area. This, again, is widely accepted in the community as Clover’s theme in No Mercy, for a specific reason that is absolutely brilliant from a gameplay and story perspective.
With only two exceptions, some variation of the first part of Enemy Retreating plays in every No Mercy exclusive boss theme. The reason for this is because of how strong Clover is in comparison to almost every opponent they face; throughout the entire game, Clover is far more powerful than everyone who is unfortunate enough to cross their path. As a result, their leitmotif overpowers the leitmotif of various other songs. In notable songs like “Trial By Fury” and “END OF THE LINE_”, Clover’s leitmotif appears where normally the various boss’s specific leitmotifs would play. This is showing that, even in the music itself, Clover is too strong to be stopped.
However, the one major exception to this is further evidence to the rule itself. When you encounter the final boss of the game, Martlet, who is the only character strong enough to stand up to Clover (her check dialogue specifically gives her the title “a worthy opponent”), the song that plays doesn’t have the Enemy Retreating leitmotif. This track, “Remedy”, is a more triumphant, heroic, and tragic version of Martlet’s first theme, completely uncorrupted by Clover’s motif. However, when you get to her second phase, where Martlet is slowly weakening over time and Clover is in a position where they can win, sure enough, the Enemy Retreating leitmotif is in the song, the track being “Retribution”.
The use of the Enemy Retreating leitmotif and how it is sprinkled throughout the soundtrack is pure genius. It perfectly translates the energy of the No Mercy path of Undertale Yellow, and is an amazing way to demonstrate the strength of Clover even down to the music in the game. While filling the shoes of the Undertale OST is close to impossible, Undertale Yellow is a worthy successor.
