I’m really surprised by the support this video has gotten (people actually thought the jokes?? were funny???) thank you everyone so much! I’m working on a similar video about suselle right now. Also, if you’re interested in more of my work I have an art instagram (stuffedalpacaa) and also post on twitter (stuffed_alpaca) and tumblr (saraanzu), including some Deltarune stuff. The delta meaning 4 thing was kind of a joke but I have gotten a lot of comments about it so to clarify: yes I know the symbol is a triangle lol. Some have pointed out that it’s also the symbol for change which could be really interesting if it’s relevant! In regard to whether or not I think there’s actually a secret fourth delta warrior… if there is I think it’s more likely to be the player or smth than like, Noelle, since she’s already obviously relevant and I think it’d be more interesting if she were an outside force that’s still integral to the story. Also, about Lancer being another “prince of the dark”: he does function as his dad’s successor but is consistently referred to as “the king’s son” and is only called a “prince” once. Furthermore, he isn’t born of the grand fountain and thus turns to stone in other dark worlds. I do think Ralsei having a very vague form in his visual in the legend relates to his vague identity, but people forget that he is still wearing his hood when he delivers the legend, and the figure being surrounded by fireballs indicates it’s him as he is a boss monster and Toby said he planned to give a certain character fire powers but decided against it for chapter 1. Still, I do think the possibility of Lancer replacing Ralsei could be brought up at some point in the story.
@@leafbladie if you’re referring to the intro where I talk about the fandom being in a drought, this video was in production for a while before uty released lol.
I'd like to mention that Lancer is the son of King Spade. Now, what royal position would that put Lancer in? It would make him just as much of a Prince of the Dark as Ralsei. Them showing up in the story around the same time I'm sure has no coincidence either. There may be a conflict as to who truly is the prince of the dark in the prophecy.
One aspect I like to think about them is how they are opposites in their meta roles as well. Ralsei despite wanting to spare, will attack other Darkerns if the player wants, and he is very much worried about making the player experience as good as possible. Susie on the other hand is the resistance to the player will, going about her choices and only following the player when she wants to, down to even the items she wants to equip.
Unrelated thought about Kris: Based on the choices we make for the most part, I think Kris doesn't HATE us. Kris is able to make their own choices during cutscenes, and none of their actions when seperated from our control necessarily implies a negative relationship. Honestly I think chapter 1 was kris pranking us. Like they would totally wear a shirt that said "I Became A JRPG Protagonist And All I Got Was This Free T-Shirt"
yeah I wonder how much kris knows about why and who is possessing them? because if they know it wasn’t our choice they logically shouldn’t hate us THAT much, even if it does suck for them. I don’t think deltarune’s really going to fully go down a “the player is the villain for playing the game” route, undertale didn’t even make moral judgements about you for playing no mercy (I mean, the characters do, obviously) it more so just comments on how you’ve become emotionally disconnected from this world out of your desire to see more of it, no matter the cost.
My theory is that Kris needs the player for something (possibly closing fountains and/or perhaps something even more important). But I'm also a staunch believer in Kris actually being way more in control than we think they are and that they're actually the mastermind behind many of the things that happen in the story. This includes Ralsei being an intentional creation of Kris.
@@TheGlenn8 On the topic of Kris being the mastermind, have you heard of the theory that they intentionally overslept at the start of chapter 1 specifically so they'd be partnered with Susie? Because the only reason Kris got paired with her is because everyone else had already picked a partner by the time they got to school.
ending wise, perhaps kris lets us have a last good bye with everyone, and we “disconnect”, and to restart, the saves all have to be fully wiped. like all three, also we should consider this is an incomplete game, we should probably wonder why toby fox decided originally (even tho the plan changed) to do 3-5 and not 3-7 aside from we would get it sooner. like what of 6-7 are much different and require reworking save files in some way for the ending(s?). like perhaps across al three saves we have to do something for an ending. or just things changing for other reasons.
We the player don't have total control over Kris. When attempting to have Kris look into Asriel's Cyber World room Queen made, Kris forces his eyes closed as the door opens, so we don't see what's inside. When responding to Susie post Spamton fight, they choose how they carry out our desired response.
oh my god ralsei is going to have SUCH a hard time the moment he can't make light out of any given situation. the instant something really is bad and horrible, he will NOT know how to cope.
@@MAXIMUMPOWER42 oh god. if we do end up cycling through monsters we manipulate into murder, ralsei will be the last, because either he will shatter into pieces or become an unstoppable force of Kicking Your Ass. I'm certain he's more powerful than he lets on, especially if he's comparable to Asriel. actually, now that I'm thinking about it, do we know Asriel's powerful? His parents certainly are, but we've never seen him do magic without being aided by other souls or the like. Hm.
Very clear and thorough video, I enjoyed it a lot. Reading into character dynamics tends to be a blind spot of mine so I always feel like I learn a lot from this kind of analysis.
Susie's rebellious nature is definitely having an effect on Ralsei, someone who was born with one specific purpose and is afraid to deviate from it. She's helping Ralsei become more confident, even a little sassy, which is a far cry from the subservient and shy goat boy from the first chapter. If Ralsei's story ends with him defying the prophecy, it'll be because of Susie's influence.
I think this might be my favorite video on Ralsei. His line about "a darkner's purpose is to serve lightners" is his most telling one, but it feels like few people bring it up. Personally, I didn't notice a lot of the sus stuff like him knowing Kris and Susie's name without being told, his name being an anagram for Asriel, or even that the perspective shifts Susie being initiated by him until after other people pointed it out. But what did set off my radar is his attitude about subservience. It feels vindicating to see your video approach it.
A lot of ppl assume Ralsei is bad cuz he makes the player not listen to their convo. But I don’t think wanting to talk to Kris alone without the player’s influence (a force that is possessing Kris, limiting his bodily automomy) is a bad thing. We don’t know enough to assume as such.
realizing susie will have to have a time when she is confronted with the fact that darkners "arent real" and are objects is ...oh i can imagine quite a large argument happening, a big confrontation on ralsei perhaps she'll even be the one who asks ralsei what he is, if hes even a darkner...
1:32 because even though delta is the fourth letter of the greek alphabet, the capital form is a triangle, and thus delta is associated with triangles (e.g., the nile delta.), therefore three.
This analysis is HUGELY underrated. I’ve seen some theories that make large leaps in logic and are essentially more headcanon than theory/exploration. Your video essay is compelling, well-worded, and overall great content to consume during our current fandom drought.
It's funny how so many people post-ch.1 were deadset on thinking Lancer was the real prince of the dark and Ralsei couldn't be because he had no subjects. I mention this in regards to the point about the monster in the prophecy not having a well-defined role like the human soul sealing the fountain or the darkner guide. It's a very interesting part of Susie that's yet to be explored fully (though I definitely think likewise for a long time now that she seems like even more of a classical protagonist than Kris).
I still think Lancer being the prince is possible. Or at least something is off with that part. The music even changes when he mentions the dark prince being a part of the prophecy.
Turns into Mario rpg where you can switch party members that fit that role. We already have the monster dynamic for noelle now to see if Ralsei can be replaced
this video is incredible oh my god! you articulated so many of the thoughts ive had about their dynamic so well! this fandom is kinda lacking in good character analysis videos and you have filled the void in my ralsei and susie obsessed heart
I'm so glad people are talking about Ralsei's lucifer references to Noelle's angel/jesus references, even in passing. That is something I am obsessed with which no one seems to acknowledge. More relevant to the video, Ralsei and Susie have this fascinating dynamic where they have this kind of... Law/Chaos thing? Ralsei is all about following the prophecy, about set roles, and about what a hero should be. Susie is about questioning things, and is this force which undermines your expectations. The interesting part is that this extends to the battle systems and game mechanics: Ralsei gives you the tutorial, he puts agency in the player's hand, he'll equip just about any item, he has an obvious party role as a white mage, etc. These are quite normal things in most games - to be a tutorial person with an obvious role - but some aspects of this end up suspicious here as it's pointed out that other characters do not have this meta-knowledge. He corrects other tutorial guys on the battle system, he knows stuff he probably shouldn't, etc. And, given Undertale is a game where the Pacifist Route is the obviously-correct route, most people are coming into Deltarune with the assumption of pacifism. Susie is the opposite - She persistently and actively undermines the mechanics of the game for her own purposes. Susie ignores your commands and acts on her own in chapter 1. She is the one who imposes herself on the game system and does things like forcibly change her own class and impose new ACT options in the battle system. She has by a wide margin the largest amount of equipment she just refuses to interact with. Susie will make decisions you have no say in, often undermining your own choices in favour of hers, which is largely unique among the current party members. And even within battle, Susie's Rude Buster deals extra damage with a timed hit - making her somewhat unusual, as no one else has this mechanic thus far. And, in a game where violent options are still largely optional, here very role as the party's tank and DPS is a little niche and in need of a role at times. So it's like... Ralsei establishes game concepts and rules. Susie tears those same rules down. And that's really interesting to me. Really curious how it all plays out. Like, maybe these two will balance each other, and Susie will become less rebellious and Ralsei less rigid. Or, maybe they will meet at an impasse and you will be forced to go with one or the other in some kind of route split that breaks the party.
Sure. So like... - First, the standard Boss Monster aesthetic in this series is something which seems intended to evoke demon imagery. You know - Bipedal goats, magic-users, fangs, often reddish eyes, etc. Ralsei himself even has a more androgynous presentation, which is a often trait of Baphomet and Lucifer in particular (Especially depictions of Lucifer in Anime) - He is, at various points, called permutations of "Dark Prince." One of Lucifer's titles is the Prince of Darkness, especially in Paradise Lost - This one is subtle, but the location of his castle. You drop down from below the closer into a creepy, empty dark world and keep going lower and lower through it. At the very bottom - below even the town around it (the game is specific that the castle is below Castle Town and not overlooking it as you would expect) - is Ralsei's Castle. So he exists at the very bottom of this weird alternate world which seems to itself be 'below' the earth. - It's more directly aimed at Kris, but the king calls us "Lightbringer." This is what "Lucifer" means literally. - If you equip the Jevilstail to him, he rather curiously says "I'm a GOOD Devil, okay?" - He actually Be Not Afraids you when you first meet, like an angel. And you first meet him standing on a Deltarune symbol. Some of his other weird traits - the seemingly impossible-to-acquire knowledge, his weird multi-winged motif in the castle, for example - may also evoke angels. Lucifer, of course, is a fallen angel who led a rebellion against heaven - His primary goal is to banish the Angel's Heaven which will appear at the end of the world. His adversary being Heaven is obviously rather notable. - This isn't really a parallel, but sorta relevant. If you give him a HeartsDonut, he's the only character to be kinda ambivalent towards it despite it being full of blood That's off the top of my head. What does this all mean? ...Well. Maybe it's some Deepest Lore and Ralsei is some kind of fallen angel and this all ties in with the Roaring ...Or, you know, maybe he's also just Kris' childhood red-horned headband. Which is, you know, probably one of those Devil Headbands you see sometimes. This would explain why Ralsei looks like a Dreemur, and seems unerringly patient and kind even with his Satan allegories.
@@i010001 Chapter 2’s “villain” gives off the sense that this isn’t even out of the tutorial stage yet. …I don’t know what that has to do with this comment, but I typed that several minutes ago and have no idea what prompted it.
A lot of relationship dynamics in deltarune (and Undertale... and other media) are very underrated. I'm so glad someone talks about it! And I also want to see more Lancer/Ralsei interactions
I used to have a headcanon that the reason Ralsei’s ch2 outfit has a spade when it didn’t before is because Lancer helped him make a new dress… it doesn’t actually work since Lancer doesn’t come to Castle Town until Kris takes him the next morning but oh well
Whoo, finally a video on the absolute SHITSHOW hanging over our harem protagonist dragon's head completely unmentioned! I feel like she'll get hardcomboed by the info about about darkners, kris, and ralsei himself once she realizes how much she doesn't know, and spend a stint around chapter 5-6 just plain not having a good time as a result. Good reading of the relationship in general, though, highlighting her importance as the only person who asks ANY questions in the entire gang and giving ralsei's suspiciousness an even-handed look.
God wtf why do you have such small reach??? I’m incredibly autistic about deltarune and your theory crafting and video quality are some of the best on the platform???
this is my first video essay (and first video in 7 months) and I only had 64 subs prior to this, so I’m honestly surprised by the reach is HAS gotten. but thank you that’s all very flattering!!
Great unique analysis, and great humor :D Very good job making this As to why it's the "delta warriors", I imagine it not as symbolizing Four, but instead the mathematical usage of delta: Change. That means the game is literally called "symbol of change" (delta -> change, rune -> symbol), which is strange if our choices aren't supposed to matter. That, or we the player are that symbol of change in a world that cannot make choices for itself. Or the angel is the symbol of change, that certainly seemed to be the case in Undertale. Some might even say those are the same, idk. maybe I should do more theory/analysis videos too...
my sister overheard me recording that part out of context and told me it was probably because the delta symbol is a triangle (still doesn’t explain why it’s the greek letter for 4…) but I kept it in since it was just a one-off bit. But the change thing is actually a really good point! I imagine toby fox had a little bit more reasoning in mind than “there’s three of them” when he decided to name it “the legend of deltarune”
@@astuffedalpaca5365 With the insane levels of symbolism Toby manages to imbue things with, I wouldn't be surprised if the change idea and the triangle idea were both intentional.
@@astuffedalpaca5365 Only 1 min and 30 seconds into the video but I lost my mind when you pointed out the delta=4 part because my thoughts basically were "Noelle's going to be the 4th one" or something idk but that's a really good point that kind of blew my mind.
@@astuffedalpaca5365 I'm not totally sure, but I think part of the reason it's called the "delta rune" is because it depicts 4 people: Kris, Ralsei, Susie, and the angel, who is most likely us, the player.
The two pointing up are the Lightner Heroes, Kris and Noelle, the single one pointing down is the Darkner Hero, Ralsei, and the Angel is Noelle. The player is the heart surrounding all four of them, symbolizing our control.
ive always found ralsei and susies contrast to be interesting. susie always does what she wants and she constantly goes against the rules. she is her own person, knows it, and makes that abundantly clear. but ralsei kinda hangs onto this idea that his entire existence is just to serve others. it kind of made me sad honestly, (since i very much relate to just doing things asked of me with no question, _especially_ with friends) and heavily concerned about what hes willing to let people do to him in the name of "fulfilling his purpose." i think itd be nice if, later on in the game, susie made ralsei question his ideas more. made him wonder if serving others is _really_ his purpose, or if he wants to finally figure out who he is. mainly because i am getting gradually more attached to these characters and i will be legitimately devastated if anything happens to their friendship lmao.
9:44 you bring up a good point about the dad. I’m not 100% sure Ralsei spawned recently, since he says he’s been around for a while (and I kinda believe him?), it’s more that he has never had much of a life to begin with. Being alone for so long has likely made him desperate and wants to focus on the good things. Hence why he seems more ready to let Lancer’s dad out if he promises not to hurt anyone. Meanwhile, Susie likely had a bad home life and as such completely distrusts the king as a father figure. I actually don’t think the king is a bad guy. Lancer speaks of him without malice, mentions certain rules he’s set in place that are typical parenting stuff (don’t make a mess, get home before dinner, etc.). But I do think he’s neglectful and takes out his hurt from the lightners onto others. Seeing what they each decide to focus on is interesting
haha yeah the ralsei spawning 3 days ago thing was more of a joke castle town is probably several years old at least. I imagine we’ll learn about its creation at some point?
Okay so what’s Kris is deal? Do they just think like Ralsei or also kinda distrust them for reasons unclear? I feel like him being grabbed by the king would probably be traumatizing by thinking your adventure ended right then and there
I don't understand why the entire Undertale/Deltarune community decided to randomly wake up and start theorizing again, but I missed it so much! We only got 2 chapters of Deltarune so far, but it already seems to be one of the most complex story I have ever seen. There i so many topics to cover up, so I'm glad that we are rolling!
ok sorry this is my fifth time rewatching this and im just amazed because your jokes dont get old they consistently make me chuckle. this combined with the newsletter will help fuel the ut/dr special interest part of my brainhole
My pretty wholesome prediction for the ending is that Susie will demand to keep the item that Ralsei is in the light world (my bets are on green crayon) for herself because of how much she cherished the friendship with him.
OH MY GOD. YOU'RE SO SMART. I LOVE THIS ANALYSIS SOSO MUCH. I LOVE THE CHARACTER FOCUSED ANGLE ESPECIALLY YOUR ANALYSIS OF RALSEI. Also i laughed outloud at you saying susie is a straight man not in the sexuality sense but in a cosmic horror sense thats such a good way of looking at it.
Delicious character analysis! Being constantly subjected to awful understandings of the characters is so painful, I'm so glad to see someone with such an understanding of the characters.
Honestly I’m starting to wonder something, if over the story Ralsei will start getting so attached to his friends that he’ll never want them to leave again. Not because he’s evil but because he loves them so much, as the say the path to hell is often paved with good intentions. He see how much his friends love the Dark World, so he tries to make it even more inviting making stuff for them to make them want to stay longer and possibly forever at one point.
For the Ralsei POV shift I am 100% sure that in chapter 2, if you don't watch the Suselle Wheel Cutscene, there's no loading screen. Susie just geronimo's herself onto Ralsei, without his explanation. So, this implies that Ralsei altered the perception of time so that he can chat with Kris. Is it a crack theory. Yes. Do I believe in it? Also yes.
This is one of the most insightful reads I've seen yet about Ralsei's characterization and motives; you're absolutely right in that people underestimate Susie as a lens through which to understand him. You do a fantastic job sticking to the known facts, and I would love to see more analyses from you in the future :)
Great editing, well-timed humor, and some really interesting character analysis forming a perspective I haven't considered before. This was a great watch!
This is a very good video! I have so many thoughts about Ralsei, all of them bundled up in my own little theory about him. He's such a funny little guy
HEY DETERMINATORS MENTION!!!! also great video :D also also gosh yeah despite everything i hope that theyre friendship remains intact by the end. the thing about ralsei avoiding negative things is a bit funny considering thats also just an aspect of escapism, or it can be. its escapism in the full sense, and despite how noelle and susie and berdly and maybe kris all seem to enjoy the dark worlds using escapism to well. escape the light world and everything that comes from it, the fact that ralsei uses that mindset but it has the opposite effect almost (post spamton neo?) just showcases the Layers to it. uhh i hope ralsei becomes more of his own person i hope susie gains more self love and yeah! i was going to say somethhing on the fandom before chapter 2 but i forgot. also in general thanks for making a ralsei and susie video, one because susie is overlooked in theories in general and two finally not a ralsei is evil or kris is evil video. every day i wake up. ALSO I DIDNT NOTICE THE HEAVENLY LIGHT THING + THE DEVIL AND ANGEL SYMBOLISM? also susie making that her own thing is super super cool and im glad you saw that
Amazing work! I'd say you're probably right about quite a bit! Personally, I think that it's going to come down to you having a choice, and while the ending is the same, what comes next / the context behind it is different. Eg, the roaring happens and you beat it regardless, but what happens next is way more darker if you've done, say, nothing but snowgrave-esque routes, etc.
Banger video essay. Nice edition and superb script. You just made me realize that the characters actually have a ton more layers than I actually thought. And that Ralsei is actually not evil just doesn't have any social abilities xd
Fantastic video, your ideas are so well articulated! This relationship is almost never talked about online and it is quite puzzling. I'll have to reluctantly admit that these two are a personal favorite and I ended up shipping them together at some point, but that's just how my mind likes to mess around with characters like dolls. Thing is, that's obviously never going to be canon, but when it comes to online discussions around character relationships and pairings, no one ever brings these two up (whatever the implied nature of their bond is given each discussion), because everything you mentioned here goes criminally overlooked by the fandom. Susie and Ralsei's dynamic is full of interesting details, themes and juxtapositions. Their friendship feels genuinely earned when we consider how it started, and they complement each other delightfully well. It's intriguing to think of how that could play into the overarching plot of deltarune in the long run, and what it's already reflecting from the core ideas in the game. Thanks for sharing this, it was a joy from start to finish!
This is amazing for your (from what I can see) first video essay/analysis! I love how this is paced, and your script is very good to follow :D My only recommendation is to let things on the screen a little longer as you're mentioning them, since I've had to go back on the video a dozen times because I couldn't pause fast enough when you put something relevant on the screen. Other than that, keep doing this, you're very good and you've seem to have many things to say! You have a new subscriber :) Also- theory-wise, I do think "the prince of dark" role COULD be replaced by Lancer. He is from what we know just as much a prince as Ralsei, if not more since all we have from Ralsei is his word while Lancer is literally the son of a king. It's always been weird to me how this role's drawing is the only that doesn't read like any character (Human and Monster look a lot like Kris and Susie) so I feel like that's going to be important eventually
thank you!! I was also concerned with that when I was editing the video, sometimes I would speed up the clips so the dialogue I was referencing could appear in time, but I was worried it would look noticeably faster from how the game usually plays and didn’t do it a lot. (It might be helpful for me to sometimes just use screenshots of the dialogue instead of footage). I edited this using capcut and on mobile you can’t mass select video/audio clips, which made moving stuff around a very tedious task. so I think I’ll try a different app next time. While functionally a prince, Lancer is only called one once and is otherwise just called the king’s son. since he has his own visual in the legend and turns to stone unlike ralsei, I don’t think he could actually be the prince from the dark but the possibility of him being it may be a plot point regardless. you’re right about the figure representing the prince being more vague, but I do think it’s ralsei. of course there’s the fact that he’s still wearing the hood when he delivers the prophecy, but I think the fireballs surrounding him are relevant too, with him being a boss monster, and toby saying in an old interview (the same one that alludes to susie’s healing getting better) that he originally wanted a certain character to have fire powers “but decided against that for chapter 1”. I do think the fact that the figure is so vague is important in the sense that it does cast doubt on who ralsei really is and also could represent how he lacks a sense of self outside of fulfilling this vague idea of a prince.
GOD this is such a breath of fresh air compared to all the other complicated theories i’ve seen recently, I don’t know why but I felt so relaxed watching this hell I barely like commenting on videos unless I have a question but I feel like I had to give my appreciation AND THIS IS YOUR FIRST VIDEO ESSAY TOO (I think?) this is really good work 👍
It's immensely refreshing to see a Deltarune theory that has nothing to do with that egghead son of a gun. And not just refreshing for the sake of it, you covered a really interesting subject that really whets my appetite for what's to come. Susie seems to be able to influence everybody around her very naturally; Berdley, Noelle, Ralsei, Lancer. And while it took a whole chapter, Susie has taken to the role of hero quite well, whereas Kris is only really a hero of any sort because we were forced into Kris against his and our will. How will Susie react when she finds out the truth about that? How will Ralsei and Susie's relationship change the more he garners his own identity? Really a great video dude, and from out of nowhere.
wowowow really good analysis!! ralseis always been my fav so i loved hearing abt how he fits in w themes of the game as well as susie and their relationship :3 the dtr/ut content drought is So real, it’s one of those series that i Love but only think about when i’m reminded of it, this vid was a wonderful reminder!
Have you played Undertale Yellow yet? The content drought is infinitely more bearable with all the fanworks coming out now haha, there were like 3 major releases in the past few months.
13:18 The pie thing had ALL the impact. If Kris hadn't eaten the pie, Susie wouldn't have been invited to bake a new one and Kris wouldn't have opened the fountain. My theory is that getting rid of our SOUL allows Kris to save and reset and that let them engineer that specific scenario through trial and error
12:09 not certain if this is important to this theory but i really love the implication that Kris is the one that "your choices don't matter" applies to. In a way it created a common goal between kris and the player, to make their choices matter. Kris is doing this by opening a dark world and keeping susie at their house, and the player is doing this through snowgrave
I haven't watched much deltarune related content in a bit and i kinda forgot why i liked the game so much but this analysis randomly got recommended to me and it was a nice reminder, good video
i'm so sorry but the statement "lancer clearly has a bad relationship with his dad otherwise why would he reverse-adopt this twink?" made me CHOKE on air omg otherwise this is an amazing analysis and brings out an aspect of the game most people do overlook and reframes the game in a wholesome way
nao yttd pfp spotted. and the homestuck bucket comment will not go unoticed either. ANYWAYS this is probably one of the best deltarune analysis videos i've seen its up there with the queen being a representation of each party members mothers theory (which was also referenced in this video wowie). I guess i just appreciate how much of this theory is grounded in what we already know instead of thinking too hard about future chapters. very good video i hope it gets a gazillion views.
I adore this! I've always noticed the differences between Ralsei and Susie's personal volition and agency, but you really shed a lot of light onto how these things could change- and maybe even clash -over time. This was a fantastic essay!
25:15 when kris gathered all the items it reminded me when noelle ask them both of what theyre doing because crime is one of the options it could be foreshadowing of what would happen if you recruit everyone in all the chapters?
Since Kris carried all those things by themselves without being noticed I think it’s something we’re meant to suspend our disbelief for and it won’t be plot relevant. But it would be really funny if it was… I wonder how them stealing things from their own home post chapter 3 is going to go
@10:14 to @10:20 is my favorite part of your analysis. Jokes aside though, it was a really nice video. I especially like all the art you inserted. I look forward to seeing how Susie & Ralsei's relationship develops, and I appreciate you pointing out how it could go wrong.
This was really well written and put together, I’ve only just finished chapter 1 and 2 a few days ago and the theory binge has been so addicting. More than that though it’s refreshing to hear someone talk on a lot of the subtler interactions between these two, that’s always the bit that I find the most fascinating (apart from their absolutely fckin hilarious dichotomies and funny moments). Great video!
@@ultraviolet_channelmaybe one day! I don’t have any specific ideas for yttd essays but it seems like the final part is coming out relatively soon (there was a steam announcement) so we’ll see!
I love this video because it feels like you have a fresh take and you’re acknowledging things that are actually relevant to the narrative. Really thorough and high quality analysis, can’t wait for more vids from you!
10:11 I like your take on this! I interpreted Susie's request for the deal again as her not wanting to/caring to make fun of Ralsei anymore and/or begin to be nicer/be a good friend, like for herself and the people around her.
This was great!! I was super surprised when you mentioned joining the fandom post chapter 2 , your analysis and understanding of the characters is super reminiscent of a lot of og fans. Hope you keep it up for future chapters! (Also really appreciate your respect of Kris’ pronouns ❤️)
Very good! Their relationship is the one I kinda want to see more of. I was sort of sad we didn’t get to go to the fair with them in Chapter 2, but y’know, more Queen so I can’t complain.
This was a wonderful video, and I very much agree that Susie and Ralsei's relationship is interesting and important. They influence each other, mostly for the better, because not despite their opposing worldviews.
really good video. i especially like your description of susie as the game's "cosmic horror straight man." i think it's why a lot of people who are really deep into deltarune lore kind of neglect her somewhat (and i admit to being a bit guilty of this myself). but i really do think deltarune is, and will continue to be, her story. excited to see what you do next. good luck, and don't forget to have fun making videos! :)
This is fantastic, you really understand their characters in a way I dont always see in this fandom. I am now worried about the conflict coming for them though lol.
I really liked this analysis and it made me think more about the point of Ralsei more than I had and far more about Susie. Susie kind of gets lost in the drama regarding Kris being both a character as well as a player character and Ralsei being so tied to the plot. Susie does feel like the character the story revolves around at times, in particular in Chapter 1 with her character growth. I think one of her clearer roles is to serve as an audience surrogate, it's a way for questions to get asked (often to Ralsei) about how things work while maintaining Kris' role as a silent protagonist. As for your speculation, I like the idea that a conflict between Susie and Ralsei is coming alongside each of them taking issue with Kris/the player's actions. I very often see theories that Ralsei will turn evil or has secretly been evil all along. I find them pretty unpalatable because then Ralsei really runs the risk of being a retread of Flowey's character turn but taking multiple hours instead of the first few minutes. I think that the characters being driven apart due to different morals or goals only to reunite in the end is the far more satisfying angle for the plot to go and I hope that's what happens. I do hope we get some more focused Susie content in future chapters. She gets a little bit of development in Chapter 2 but we also spend a big chunk of the chapter without her present. I personally would love to see more of her and Kris around hometown but I don't know how much that will happen.
I don't really have anything to add but positivity come up but I really like your videos! The few that I've run across I play in the background while I draw!
it's interesting. In a way you could compare Susie and Ralsei's relationship to a DnD trope I call "The Barbarian and the wizard". Basically take a tank class (Usually a Barbarian from what I've seen personally) and a magic using class (Usually a wizard of some kind from personal experience) in the same party. At the start the two will fight, and argue, maybe even try to kill each other, but over time they'll become friends. If what you say does come to light (Pun intended) in chapter 3, then quite possibly we could be seeing a trope I call "Change of class, change of life" basically say a Warlock gives up on there false god, at some point to repent for there horrible deeds as a warlock, they change into..say...a paladin. In this case we could be seeing Ralsei becoming more of a fighter, and Susie more of a healer. But I'm just a nerd on the internet so what do I know?
Absolutely love this video. Everything from the script, to your articulation and the presentation deserves WAY more subscribers. Hope you make more stuff, I'd love to watch!
great video!!! i’m always so glad to see even-handed, well thought-out character analysis for utdr, as opposed to the endless, grand theory videos. it’s a surprisingly underrepresented venue despite toby’s character and relationship work being so solid! hope to see more from you!
awesome video! i really enjoyed it, the editing was very engaging (and i liked reading your little notes lol). i looove analysing character relations in deltarune, and you did a great job.i hadn't thought too hard about ralsei and susie in particular, but now i sure am! one thing i never thought about was just how differently ralsei treated lancer from the lightners in ch1- how he bends over backwards to make the lightners happy, but he doesn't "need" to do that for lancer, so he doesn't. that's so interesting!!!!
You did a damn good job on analyzing these two. I feel like Susie doesn't really have very many videos looking into her character more, and you just did so well. This video was beautiful, and I'm excited to see what you have next in store, you've earned a new sub!
This might be the most considered and well-worded UT/DR content I've seen! A lot of people's analysis and speculation seems centered around specific unanswered questions or ideas or bits of lore which leads to odd conclusions that, IMO, don't seem plausible from a storytelling perspective. Not that that's all there is to it, but.. Your analysis succeeds here, I think, because it's very much approaching things from that perspective -- character archetypes, plot beats, dramatic ironies, themes, all of the stuff that could actually tell us where the story's headed, at least in a broad sense.
I really loved this video, fun watch the whole way through! This topic genuinely deserves to be talked about a lot more. It’s very sweet to reflect on but also has a ton of potential insight to give which I just find super cool!
this is such a refreshing analysis of deltarune, thank you for making this! I love your format and your views are very clearly stated and well put. I def support you making more video essays if you desire to make more !!! ^.^
Fantastic. You used a truly fantastic sequence of building blocks to construct your points with. The fact that you cross-reference other existing material on the matter, use tons of in-game examples, and base your points off of established literary tropes shows that you have a good sense of a well-ordered debate. When Chapter 3 releases, I can't for you to dissect it too.
When I looked at your channel I was surprised to see this was the first analysis video (at least the only one visible). This is a really good video and if you plan more analysing content and theories then I would love to see it.
It's been a while since I adored an analysis on this game/franchise. I love your approach at inspecting the themes these chapters have shown us. I wish there were more analysis on games like yours. Keep up the great work!
I appreciate this video and all the hard work you put into it! I hope to see another Deltarune video from you in the future, but if not I understand, and wish you the best on your channel.
The idea of Noelle potentially replacing Ralsei also makes sense in terms of visual design. Together, Kris, Susie, and Ralsei are represented by Blue, Red(?), and Green light. These three colors are the colors of light. If you ever wondered what RGB refers to, there ya go. Those three colors, when combined in certain amounts, can create any other color, and all three together create bright white. HOWEVER, the same also applies to a different set of three colors; Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow. These three colors are often associated with Kris, Susie, and Noelle respectively. Even with Ralsei gone, the color palettes of everyone work together well. Notably, Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow (CMYK) all combine to make dark black. Maybe this represents Kris and Susie embracing the creation of more dark fountains? Hopefully we’ll see sometime soon!
Your commentary was really enjoyable to hear, you brought some good points and made them easy to follow as well, so i think you should definietly continue creating videos, especially about undertale or deltarune!❤
Just want to say well done!! This video is an amazing essay, after getting to the end i went to ur channel hoping for more theory or gaming reviews but no... I'm subscribed and can't wait until your next video!! X
This is such a great theory, loved it! Also, I was wondering, I know some of the music tracks in the video are sourced directly from Undertale & Deltarune, but there were also some other somber remixes in there. Where were those from? I'd love to listen to them!
@@astuffedalpaca5365 Thanks for the reply! I actually didn't know the track I was asking about was in the official soundtrack, being "Before The Story". But I appreciate you crediting your music sources at the end.
I really enjoyed this video, I've never really thought much about Susie and Ralsei's relationship and importance but it's so cool to hear you lay it out like this and theorise on it! Also "I will bake you entire cakes if you stop calling me gay boy please" at 10:15 made me laugh so much. I can't wait to see what you make in the future!
![[Vowel]물고기는 물에서 살아야 해🐟🤣Fish have to live in the water #funny](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/3G9MH063Cx4/mqdefault.jpg)
I’m really surprised by the support this video has gotten (people actually thought the jokes?? were funny???) thank you everyone so much! I’m working on a similar video about suselle right now.
Also, if you’re interested in more of my work I have an art instagram (stuffedalpacaa) and also post on twitter (stuffed_alpaca) and tumblr (saraanzu), including some Deltarune stuff.
The delta meaning 4 thing was kind of a joke but I have gotten a lot of comments about it so to clarify: yes I know the symbol is a triangle lol. Some have pointed out that it’s also the symbol for change which could be really interesting if it’s relevant! In regard to whether or not I think there’s actually a secret fourth delta warrior… if there is I think it’s more likely to be the player or smth than like, Noelle, since she’s already obviously relevant and I think it’d be more interesting if she were an outside force that’s still integral to the story.
Also, about Lancer being another “prince of the dark”: he does function as his dad’s successor but is consistently referred to as “the king’s son” and is only called a “prince” once. Furthermore, he isn’t born of the grand fountain and thus turns to stone in other dark worlds. I do think Ralsei having a very vague form in his visual in the legend relates to his vague identity, but people forget that he is still wearing his hood when he delivers the legend, and the figure being surrounded by fireballs indicates it’s him as he is a boss monster and Toby said he planned to give a certain character fire powers but decided against it for chapter 1. Still, I do think the possibility of Lancer replacing Ralsei could be brought up at some point in the story.
how did you not reference ralsusie OMCE
Was this the first video-essay-like you made?
Didn’t Undertale Yellow give a bit of a boost?
@@leafbladie if you’re referring to the intro where I talk about the fandom being in a drought, this video was in production for a while before uty released lol.
I'd like to mention that Lancer is the son of King Spade. Now, what royal position would that put Lancer in?
It would make him just as much of a Prince of the Dark as Ralsei.
Them showing up in the story around the same time I'm sure has no coincidence either.
There may be a conflict as to who truly is the prince of the dark in the prophecy.
One aspect I like to think about them is how they are opposites in their meta roles as well. Ralsei despite wanting to spare, will attack other Darkerns if the player wants, and he is very much worried about making the player experience as good as possible. Susie on the other hand is the resistance to the player will, going about her choices and only following the player when she wants to, down to even the items she wants to equip.
Was going to say that but this is much more eloquent
Being sarcastic is Susie's equivalent to Ralsei's healing. Literally, she has weaponized rudeness as her special attack
In fact, isn't it one of her in-game stats?
Rude buster hmm
@@gengarghastyeah actually I’m pretty sure her stats include “Rudeness” and it goes down by a bit at the end of Chapter 1 (character development real)
@@Idontknowwhattowrite150I never noticed that, I’ll have to look next time i play
Unrelated thought about Kris:
Based on the choices we make for the most part, I think Kris doesn't HATE us. Kris is able to make their own choices during cutscenes, and none of their actions when seperated from our control necessarily implies a negative relationship. Honestly I think chapter 1 was kris pranking us. Like they would totally wear a shirt that said "I Became A JRPG Protagonist And All I Got Was This Free T-Shirt"
yeah I wonder how much kris knows about why and who is possessing them? because if they know it wasn’t our choice they logically shouldn’t hate us THAT much, even if it does suck for them. I don’t think deltarune’s really going to fully go down a “the player is the villain for playing the game” route, undertale didn’t even make moral judgements about you for playing no mercy (I mean, the characters do, obviously) it more so just comments on how you’ve become emotionally disconnected from this world out of your desire to see more of it, no matter the cost.
My theory is that Kris needs the player for something (possibly closing fountains and/or perhaps something even more important).
But I'm also a staunch believer in Kris actually being way more in control than we think they are and that they're actually the mastermind behind many of the things that happen in the story. This includes Ralsei being an intentional creation of Kris.
@@TheGlenn8 On the topic of Kris being the mastermind, have you heard of the theory that they intentionally overslept at the start of chapter 1 specifically so they'd be partnered with Susie? Because the only reason Kris got paired with her is because everyone else had already picked a partner by the time they got to school.
ending wise, perhaps kris lets us have a last good bye with everyone, and we “disconnect”, and to restart, the saves all have to be fully wiped. like all three,
also we should consider this is an incomplete game, we should probably wonder why toby fox decided originally (even tho the plan changed) to do 3-5 and not 3-7 aside from we would get it sooner. like what of 6-7 are much different and require reworking save files in some way for the ending(s?). like perhaps across al three saves we have to do something for an ending. or just things changing for other reasons.
We the player don't have total control over Kris. When attempting to have Kris look into Asriel's Cyber World room Queen made, Kris forces his eyes closed as the door opens, so we don't see what's inside. When responding to Susie post Spamton fight, they choose how they carry out our desired response.
oh my god ralsei is going to have SUCH a hard time the moment he can't make light out of any given situation. the instant something really is bad and horrible, he will NOT know how to cope.
I have the feeling that Ralsei will BREAK if the player makes them kill too many people
@@MAXIMUMPOWER42 oh god. if we do end up cycling through monsters we manipulate into murder, ralsei will be the last, because either he will shatter into pieces or become an unstoppable force of Kicking Your Ass. I'm certain he's more powerful than he lets on, especially if he's comparable to Asriel.
actually, now that I'm thinking about it, do we know Asriel's powerful? His parents certainly are, but we've never seen him do magic without being aided by other souls or the like. Hm.
@@existenceispain_geekthesiren like you said Asriel’s a boss monster so he can’t be weak
@@existenceispain_geekthesiren dude i never realized how much of a mystery ralsei's power scailing was
holy crud this is setup isnt it
Ralsei really be having "Positive Affirmations for Inanimate Objects" playing in his head 24/7
real
Very clear and thorough video, I enjoyed it a lot. Reading into character dynamics tends to be a blind spot of mine so I always feel like I learn a lot from this kind of analysis.
Susie's rebellious nature is definitely having an effect on Ralsei, someone who was born with one specific purpose and is afraid to deviate from it. She's helping Ralsei become more confident, even a little sassy, which is a far cry from the subservient and shy goat boy from the first chapter.
If Ralsei's story ends with him defying the prophecy, it'll be because of Susie's influence.
I think this might be my favorite video on Ralsei. His line about "a darkner's purpose is to serve lightners" is his most telling one, but it feels like few people bring it up. Personally, I didn't notice a lot of the sus stuff like him knowing Kris and Susie's name without being told, his name being an anagram for Asriel, or even that the perspective shifts Susie being initiated by him until after other people pointed it out. But what did set off my radar is his attitude about subservience. It feels vindicating to see your video approach it.
A lot of ppl assume Ralsei is bad cuz he makes the player not listen to their convo. But I don’t think wanting to talk to Kris alone without the player’s influence (a force that is possessing Kris, limiting his bodily automomy) is a bad thing. We don’t know enough to assume as such.
@@BelBelle468unknown is scary.
realizing susie will have to have a time when she is confronted with the fact that darkners "arent real" and are objects is
...oh i can imagine quite a large argument happening, a big confrontation on ralsei
perhaps she'll even be the one who asks ralsei what he is, if hes even a darkner...
"untapped potential" *shows picture of a tap* Peak comedy right here folks.
To make it better; the cup should be next to the tap but empty, then in a newer video, show the untapped cup, tapped. "Tapped potential".
1:32 because even though delta is the fourth letter of the greek alphabet, the capital form is a triangle, and thus delta is associated with triangles (e.g., the nile delta.), therefore three.
And the deltarune symbol has three triangles at the bottom. It makes so much sense.
@@dogachanunsaldk9115 trying to defeat the 'angel's heaven' the symbol itself is literally the prophecy
This analysis is HUGELY underrated. I’ve seen some theories that make large leaps in logic and are essentially more headcanon than theory/exploration. Your video essay is compelling, well-worded, and overall great content to consume during our current fandom drought.
It's funny how so many people post-ch.1 were deadset on thinking Lancer was the real prince of the dark and Ralsei couldn't be because he had no subjects. I mention this in regards to the point about the monster in the prophecy not having a well-defined role like the human soul sealing the fountain or the darkner guide. It's a very interesting part of Susie that's yet to be explored fully (though I definitely think likewise for a long time now that she seems like even more of a classical protagonist than Kris).
I still think Lancer being the prince is possible. Or at least something is off with that part. The music even changes when he mentions the dark prince being a part of the prophecy.
Turns into Mario rpg where you can switch party members that fit that role.
We already have the monster dynamic for noelle now to see if Ralsei can be replaced
this video is incredible oh my god! you articulated so many of the thoughts ive had about their dynamic so well! this fandom is kinda lacking in good character analysis videos and you have filled the void in my ralsei and susie obsessed heart
also incredibly based nao pfp
@@ceriisuyttd fan spotted in the wild
100% agree! Also I didn’t notice the Nao pfp until you pointed it out and I cannot express how happy it makes me
I'm so glad people are talking about Ralsei's lucifer references to Noelle's angel/jesus references, even in passing. That is something I am obsessed with which no one seems to acknowledge.
More relevant to the video, Ralsei and Susie have this fascinating dynamic where they have this kind of... Law/Chaos thing? Ralsei is all about following the prophecy, about set roles, and about what a hero should be. Susie is about questioning things, and is this force which undermines your expectations.
The interesting part is that this extends to the battle systems and game mechanics: Ralsei gives you the tutorial, he puts agency in the player's hand, he'll equip just about any item, he has an obvious party role as a white mage, etc. These are quite normal things in most games - to be a tutorial person with an obvious role - but some aspects of this end up suspicious here as it's pointed out that other characters do not have this meta-knowledge. He corrects other tutorial guys on the battle system, he knows stuff he probably shouldn't, etc. And, given Undertale is a game where the Pacifist Route is the obviously-correct route, most people are coming into Deltarune with the assumption of pacifism.
Susie is the opposite - She persistently and actively undermines the mechanics of the game for her own purposes. Susie ignores your commands and acts on her own in chapter 1. She is the one who imposes herself on the game system and does things like forcibly change her own class and impose new ACT options in the battle system. She has by a wide margin the largest amount of equipment she just refuses to interact with. Susie will make decisions you have no say in, often undermining your own choices in favour of hers, which is largely unique among the current party members. And even within battle, Susie's Rude Buster deals extra damage with a timed hit - making her somewhat unusual, as no one else has this mechanic thus far. And, in a game where violent options are still largely optional, here very role as the party's tank and DPS is a little niche and in need of a role at times.
So it's like... Ralsei establishes game concepts and rules. Susie tears those same rules down. And that's really interesting to me.
Really curious how it all plays out. Like, maybe these two will balance each other, and Susie will become less rebellious and Ralsei less rigid. Or, maybe they will meet at an impasse and you will be forced to go with one or the other in some kind of route split that breaks the party.
do you know of any more of ralseis lucifer references?
im curious now i dont think i remember
Sure. So like...
- First, the standard Boss Monster aesthetic in this series is something which seems intended to evoke demon imagery. You know - Bipedal goats, magic-users, fangs, often reddish eyes, etc. Ralsei himself even has a more androgynous presentation, which is a often trait of Baphomet and Lucifer in particular (Especially depictions of Lucifer in Anime)
- He is, at various points, called permutations of "Dark Prince." One of Lucifer's titles is the Prince of Darkness, especially in Paradise Lost
- This one is subtle, but the location of his castle. You drop down from below the closer into a creepy, empty dark world and keep going lower and lower through it. At the very bottom - below even the town around it (the game is specific that the castle is below Castle Town and not overlooking it as you would expect) - is Ralsei's Castle. So he exists at the very bottom of this weird alternate world which seems to itself be 'below' the earth.
- It's more directly aimed at Kris, but the king calls us "Lightbringer." This is what "Lucifer" means literally.
- If you equip the Jevilstail to him, he rather curiously says "I'm a GOOD Devil, okay?"
- He actually Be Not Afraids you when you first meet, like an angel. And you first meet him standing on a Deltarune symbol. Some of his other weird traits - the seemingly impossible-to-acquire knowledge, his weird multi-winged motif in the castle, for example - may also evoke angels. Lucifer, of course, is a fallen angel who led a rebellion against heaven
- His primary goal is to banish the Angel's Heaven which will appear at the end of the world. His adversary being Heaven is obviously rather notable.
- This isn't really a parallel, but sorta relevant. If you give him a HeartsDonut, he's the only character to be kinda ambivalent towards it despite it being full of blood
That's off the top of my head. What does this all mean?
...Well. Maybe it's some Deepest Lore and Ralsei is some kind of fallen angel and this all ties in with the Roaring
...Or, you know, maybe he's also just Kris' childhood red-horned headband. Which is, you know, probably one of those Devil Headbands you see sometimes. This would explain why Ralsei looks like a Dreemur, and seems unerringly patient and kind even with his Satan allegories.
@@i010001 oh wow thats super fascinating!!! thank u!!
"Alright gang, let's see what this game REALLY is!"
*Shin Megami Tensei: Undertale edition*
"Welp. Guess I'll have to kill Ralsei.
@@i010001 Chapter 2’s “villain” gives off the sense that this isn’t even out of the tutorial stage yet.
…I don’t know what that has to do with this comment, but I typed that several minutes ago and have no idea what prompted it.
A lot of relationship dynamics in deltarune (and Undertale... and other media) are very underrated. I'm so glad someone talks about it!
And I also want to see more Lancer/Ralsei interactions
I used to have a headcanon that the reason Ralsei’s ch2 outfit has a spade when it didn’t before is because Lancer helped him make a new dress… it doesn’t actually work since Lancer doesn’t come to Castle Town until Kris takes him the next morning but oh well
@@astuffedalpaca5365 omg that's so cute 😭
That is canon for me, i don't care
Or like he just has a closet full of slightly different dresses/cloaks lol
Whoo, finally a video on the absolute SHITSHOW hanging over our harem protagonist dragon's head completely unmentioned!
I feel like she'll get hardcomboed by the info about about darkners, kris, and ralsei himself once she realizes how much she doesn't know, and spend a stint around chapter 5-6 just plain not having a good time as a result.
Good reading of the relationship in general, though, highlighting her importance as the only person who asks ANY questions in the entire gang and giving ralsei's suspiciousness an even-handed look.
God wtf why do you have such small reach??? I’m incredibly autistic about deltarune and your theory crafting and video quality are some of the best on the platform???
this is my first video essay (and first video in 7 months) and I only had 64 subs prior to this, so I’m honestly surprised by the reach is HAS gotten. but thank you that’s all very flattering!!
Great unique analysis, and great humor :D Very good job making this
As to why it's the "delta warriors", I imagine it not as symbolizing Four, but instead the mathematical usage of delta: Change. That means the game is literally called "symbol of change" (delta -> change, rune -> symbol), which is strange if our choices aren't supposed to matter. That, or we the player are that symbol of change in a world that cannot make choices for itself. Or the angel is the symbol of change, that certainly seemed to be the case in Undertale. Some might even say those are the same, idk.
maybe I should do more theory/analysis videos too...
my sister overheard me recording that part out of context and told me it was probably because the delta symbol is a triangle (still doesn’t explain why it’s the greek letter for 4…) but I kept it in since it was just a one-off bit. But the change thing is actually a really good point! I imagine toby fox had a little bit more reasoning in mind than “there’s three of them” when he decided to name it “the legend of deltarune”
@@astuffedalpaca5365 With the insane levels of symbolism Toby manages to imbue things with, I wouldn't be surprised if the change idea and the triangle idea were both intentional.
@@astuffedalpaca5365 Only 1 min and 30 seconds into the video but I lost my mind when you pointed out the delta=4 part because my thoughts basically were "Noelle's going to be the 4th one" or something idk but that's a really good point that kind of blew my mind.
@@astuffedalpaca5365 I'm not totally sure, but I think part of the reason it's called the "delta rune" is because it depicts 4 people: Kris, Ralsei, Susie, and the angel, who is most likely us, the player.
The two pointing up are the Lightner Heroes, Kris and Noelle, the single one pointing down is the Darkner Hero, Ralsei, and the Angel is Noelle.
The player is the heart surrounding all four of them, symbolizing our control.
ive always found ralsei and susies contrast to be interesting. susie always does what she wants and she constantly goes against the rules. she is her own person, knows it, and makes that abundantly clear. but ralsei kinda hangs onto this idea that his entire existence is just to serve others. it kind of made me sad honestly, (since i very much relate to just doing things asked of me with no question, _especially_ with friends) and heavily concerned about what hes willing to let people do to him in the name of "fulfilling his purpose."
i think itd be nice if, later on in the game, susie made ralsei question his ideas more. made him wonder if serving others is _really_ his purpose, or if he wants to finally figure out who he is. mainly because i am getting gradually more attached to these characters and i will be legitimately devastated if anything happens to their friendship lmao.
11:30 I always thought of it as Flowey's "IT'S KILL OR BE KILLED KIDDO!"
9:44 you bring up a good point about the dad. I’m not 100% sure Ralsei spawned recently, since he says he’s been around for a while (and I kinda believe him?), it’s more that he has never had much of a life to begin with. Being alone for so long has likely made him desperate and wants to focus on the good things. Hence why he seems more ready to let Lancer’s dad out if he promises not to hurt anyone. Meanwhile, Susie likely had a bad home life and as such completely distrusts the king as a father figure.
I actually don’t think the king is a bad guy. Lancer speaks of him without malice, mentions certain rules he’s set in place that are typical parenting stuff (don’t make a mess, get home before dinner, etc.). But I do think he’s neglectful and takes out his hurt from the lightners onto others. Seeing what they each decide to focus on is interesting
haha yeah the ralsei spawning 3 days ago thing was more of a joke castle town is probably several years old at least. I imagine we’ll learn about its creation at some point?
Okay so what’s Kris is deal? Do they just think like Ralsei or also kinda distrust them for reasons unclear? I feel like him being grabbed by the king would probably be traumatizing by thinking your adventure ended right then and there
I don't understand why the entire Undertale/Deltarune community decided to randomly wake up and start theorizing again, but I missed it so much! We only got 2 chapters of Deltarune so far, but it already seems to be one of the most complex story I have ever seen. There i so many topics to cover up, so I'm glad that we are rolling!
ok sorry this is my fifth time rewatching this and im just amazed because your jokes dont get old they consistently make me chuckle. this combined with the newsletter will help fuel the ut/dr special interest part of my brainhole
same. i use this video to fall asleep to lol.
My pretty wholesome prediction for the ending is that Susie will demand to keep the item that Ralsei is in the light world (my bets are on green crayon) for herself because of how much she cherished the friendship with him.
OH MY GOD. YOU'RE SO SMART. I LOVE THIS ANALYSIS SOSO MUCH. I LOVE THE CHARACTER FOCUSED ANGLE ESPECIALLY YOUR ANALYSIS OF RALSEI. Also i laughed outloud at you saying susie is a straight man not in the sexuality sense but in a cosmic horror sense thats such a good way of looking at it.
remy spotted (thank you
@astuffedalpaca5365 you never know when you're going to find me
When queen captured everyone but ralsei i thought i was gonna have an epic solo battle with our favorite floofy boi
Delicious character analysis! Being constantly subjected to awful understandings of the characters is so painful, I'm so glad to see someone with such an understanding of the characters.
Honestly I’m starting to wonder something, if over the story Ralsei will start getting so attached to his friends that he’ll never want them to leave again. Not because he’s evil but because he loves them so much, as the say the path to hell is often paved with good intentions. He see how much his friends love the Dark World, so he tries to make it even more inviting making stuff for them to make them want to stay longer and possibly forever at one point.
For the Ralsei POV shift
I am 100% sure that in chapter 2, if you don't watch the Suselle Wheel Cutscene, there's no loading screen. Susie just geronimo's herself onto Ralsei, without his explanation. So, this implies that Ralsei altered the perception of time so that he can chat with Kris. Is it a crack theory. Yes. Do I believe in it? Also yes.
This is one of the most insightful reads I've seen yet about Ralsei's characterization and motives; you're absolutely right in that people underestimate Susie as a lens through which to understand him. You do a fantastic job sticking to the known facts, and I would love to see more analyses from you in the future :)
17:58 she does have a stat labeled “rudeness”
Great editing, well-timed humor, and some really interesting character analysis forming a perspective I haven't considered before. This was a great watch!
The dynamic between these too has a lot to offer. I'm glad to see someone shinning some light on it.
This is a very good video! I have so many thoughts about Ralsei, all of them bundled up in my own little theory about him. He's such a funny little guy
HEY DETERMINATORS MENTION!!!! also great video :D also also gosh yeah despite everything i hope that theyre friendship remains intact by the end. the thing about ralsei avoiding negative things is a bit funny considering thats also just an aspect of escapism, or it can be. its escapism in the full sense, and despite how noelle and susie and berdly and maybe kris all seem to enjoy the dark worlds using escapism to well. escape the light world and everything that comes from it, the fact that ralsei uses that mindset but it has the opposite effect almost (post spamton neo?) just showcases the Layers to it. uhh i hope ralsei becomes more of his own person i hope susie gains more self love and yeah! i was going to say somethhing on the fandom before chapter 2 but i forgot. also in general thanks for making a ralsei and susie video, one because susie is overlooked in theories in general and two finally not a ralsei is evil or kris is evil video. every day i wake up. ALSO I DIDNT NOTICE THE HEAVENLY LIGHT THING + THE DEVIL AND ANGEL SYMBOLISM? also susie making that her own thing is super super cool and im glad you saw that
Rip determinators miss you everyday king/queen/monarch 😔🕊
Amazing work!
I'd say you're probably right about quite a bit!
Personally, I think that it's going to come down to you having a choice, and while the ending is the same, what comes next / the context behind it is different.
Eg, the roaring happens and you beat it regardless, but what happens next is way more darker if you've done, say, nothing but snowgrave-esque routes, etc.
Banger video essay. Nice edition and superb script.
You just made me realize that the characters actually have a ton more layers than I actually thought. And that Ralsei is actually not evil just doesn't have any social abilities xd
“I order you to stop taking orders.”
“Okay!”
“WAIT STOP!”
“Okay!”
Fantastic video, your ideas are so well articulated! This relationship is almost never talked about online and it is quite puzzling.
I'll have to reluctantly admit that these two are a personal favorite and I ended up shipping them together at some point, but that's just how my mind likes to mess around with characters like dolls. Thing is, that's obviously never going to be canon, but when it comes to online discussions around character relationships and pairings, no one ever brings these two up (whatever the implied nature of their bond is given each discussion), because everything you mentioned here goes criminally overlooked by the fandom.
Susie and Ralsei's dynamic is full of interesting details, themes and juxtapositions. Their friendship feels genuinely earned when we consider how it started, and they complement each other delightfully well. It's intriguing to think of how that could play into the overarching plot of deltarune in the long run, and what it's already reflecting from the core ideas in the game. Thanks for sharing this, it was a joy from start to finish!
This video was so good, i will never complain about more people making deltarune channels, Keep it up!
This is amazing for your (from what I can see) first video essay/analysis! I love how this is paced, and your script is very good to follow :D
My only recommendation is to let things on the screen a little longer as you're mentioning them, since I've had to go back on the video a dozen times because I couldn't pause fast enough when you put something relevant on the screen. Other than that, keep doing this, you're very good and you've seem to have many things to say! You have a new subscriber :)
Also- theory-wise, I do think "the prince of dark" role COULD be replaced by Lancer. He is from what we know just as much a prince as Ralsei, if not more since all we have from Ralsei is his word while Lancer is literally the son of a king. It's always been weird to me how this role's drawing is the only that doesn't read like any character (Human and Monster look a lot like Kris and Susie) so I feel like that's going to be important eventually
thank you!! I was also concerned with that when I was editing the video, sometimes I would speed up the clips so the dialogue I was referencing could appear in time, but I was worried it would look noticeably faster from how the game usually plays and didn’t do it a lot. (It might be helpful for me to sometimes just use screenshots of the dialogue instead of footage). I edited this using capcut and on mobile you can’t mass select video/audio clips, which made moving stuff around a very tedious task. so I think I’ll try a different app next time.
While functionally a prince, Lancer is only called one once and is otherwise just called the king’s son. since he has his own visual in the legend and turns to stone unlike ralsei, I don’t think he could actually be the prince from the dark but the possibility of him being it may be a plot point regardless.
you’re right about the figure representing the prince being more vague, but I do think it’s ralsei. of course there’s the fact that he’s still wearing the hood when he delivers the prophecy, but I think the fireballs surrounding him are relevant too, with him being a boss monster, and toby saying in an old interview (the same one that alludes to susie’s healing getting better) that he originally wanted a certain character to have fire powers “but decided against that for chapter 1”. I do think the fact that the figure is so vague is important in the sense that it does cast doubt on who ralsei really is and also could represent how he lacks a sense of self outside of fulfilling this vague idea of a prince.
GOD this is such a breath of fresh air compared to all the other complicated theories i’ve seen recently, I don’t know why but I felt so relaxed watching this hell I barely like commenting on videos unless I have a question but I feel like I had to give my appreciation
AND THIS IS YOUR FIRST VIDEO ESSAY TOO (I think?) this is really good work 👍
It's immensely refreshing to see a Deltarune theory that has nothing to do with that egghead son of a gun. And not just refreshing for the sake of it, you covered a really interesting subject that really whets my appetite for what's to come. Susie seems to be able to influence everybody around her very naturally; Berdley, Noelle, Ralsei, Lancer. And while it took a whole chapter, Susie has taken to the role of hero quite well, whereas Kris is only really a hero of any sort because we were forced into Kris against his and our will. How will Susie react when she finds out the truth about that? How will Ralsei and Susie's relationship change the more he garners his own identity? Really a great video dude, and from out of nowhere.
Yesss more kindle for the deltarune brain rot
ah i love relating to youtube comments
i was always weirded out by the "were made to serve lightners" line, and i wonder why not many ppl have talked abt it
I've been a fan of deltarune sence oct 31, And this is the best analysis of ralsei ive Watched, good job man you did good
wowowow really good analysis!! ralseis always been my fav so i loved hearing abt how he fits in w themes of the game as well as susie and their relationship :3 the dtr/ut content drought is So real, it’s one of those series that i Love but only think about when i’m reminded of it, this vid was a wonderful reminder!
Have you played Undertale Yellow yet? The content drought is infinitely more bearable with all the fanworks coming out now haha, there were like 3 major releases in the past few months.
@@woopi8003 I HAVE SEEN IT YEAH i cant play it myself i dont have a pc
13:18 The pie thing had ALL the impact. If Kris hadn't eaten the pie, Susie wouldn't have been invited to bake a new one and Kris wouldn't have opened the fountain. My theory is that getting rid of our SOUL allows Kris to save and reset and that let them engineer that specific scenario through trial and error
12:09 not certain if this is important to this theory but i really love the implication that Kris is the one that "your choices don't matter" applies to.
In a way it created a common goal between kris and the player, to make their choices matter. Kris is doing this by opening a dark world and keeping susie at their house, and the player is doing this through snowgrave
I haven't watched much deltarune related content in a bit and i kinda forgot why i liked the game so much but this analysis randomly got recommended to me and it was a nice reminder, good video
i'm so sorry but the statement "lancer clearly has a bad relationship with his dad otherwise why would he reverse-adopt this twink?" made me CHOKE on air omg
otherwise this is an amazing analysis and brings out an aspect of the game most people do overlook and reframes the game in a wholesome way
nao yttd pfp spotted. and the homestuck bucket comment will not go unoticed either. ANYWAYS this is probably one of the best deltarune analysis videos i've seen its up there with the queen being a representation of each party members mothers theory (which was also referenced in this video wowie). I guess i just appreciate how much of this theory is grounded in what we already know instead of thinking too hard about future chapters. very good video i hope it gets a gazillion views.
tbh I read the first 10 pages of homestuck years ago and then dropped it I just learned about the bucket thing through internet osmosis haha
There's no way that's your first video essay
I adore this! I've always noticed the differences between Ralsei and Susie's personal volition and agency, but you really shed a lot of light onto how these things could change- and maybe even clash -over time. This was a fantastic essay!
25:15 when kris gathered all the items
it reminded me when noelle ask them both of what theyre doing
because crime is one of the options
it could be foreshadowing of what would happen if you recruit everyone in all the chapters?
Since Kris carried all those things by themselves without being noticed I think it’s something we’re meant to suspend our disbelief for and it won’t be plot relevant. But it would be really funny if it was… I wonder how them stealing things from their own home post chapter 3 is going to go
@@astuffedalpaca5365
kris stealing chairel and the TV is going to be wild.
@10:14 to @10:20 is my favorite part of your analysis.
Jokes aside though, it was a really nice video. I especially like all the art you inserted. I look forward to seeing how Susie & Ralsei's relationship develops, and I appreciate you pointing out how it could go wrong.
This was really well written and put together, I’ve only just finished chapter 1 and 2 a few days ago and the theory binge has been so addicting. More than that though it’s refreshing to hear someone talk on a lot of the subtler interactions between these two, that’s always the bit that I find the most fascinating (apart from their absolutely fckin hilarious dichotomies and funny moments). Great video!
I also cant help but notice the Nao PFP, with your Humor and writing style any sort of character analysis/essays on YTTD would be incredible
@@ultraviolet_channelmaybe one day! I don’t have any specific ideas for yttd essays but it seems like the final part is coming out relatively soon (there was a steam announcement) so we’ll see!
@@astuffedalpaca5365 yesss I can’t wait to see how it ends, but honestly I hope my heart can handle it
I love this video because it feels like you have a fresh take and you’re acknowledging things that are actually relevant to the narrative. Really thorough and high quality analysis, can’t wait for more vids from you!
fuck it we ball
10:11 I like your take on this! I interpreted Susie's request for the deal again as her not wanting to/caring to make fun of Ralsei anymore and/or begin to be nicer/be a good friend, like for herself and the people around her.
Shenpai Jumpscare 19:50
dude this video is so good!!! i loved the editing, the narration and the script ofc. hope to see more!! 💗
Great video. Glad to see more character dynamic analysis.
This was great!! I was super surprised when you mentioned joining the fandom post chapter 2 , your analysis and understanding of the characters is super reminiscent of a lot of og fans. Hope you keep it up for future chapters!
(Also really appreciate your respect of Kris’ pronouns ❤️)
This puts to words a lot of thoughts I had about Deltarune that I couldn't really express. Thanks so much for making this video.
Very good! Their relationship is the one I kinda want to see more of.
I was sort of sad we didn’t get to go to the fair with them in Chapter 2, but y’know, more Queen so I can’t complain.
This was a wonderful video, and I very much agree that Susie and Ralsei's relationship is interesting and important. They influence each other, mostly for the better, because not despite their opposing worldviews.
really good video. i especially like your description of susie as the game's "cosmic horror straight man." i think it's why a lot of people who are really deep into deltarune lore kind of neglect her somewhat (and i admit to being a bit guilty of this myself). but i really do think deltarune is, and will continue to be, her story.
excited to see what you do next. good luck, and don't forget to have fun making videos! :)
This is fantastic, you really understand their characters in a way I dont always see in this fandom. I am now worried about the conflict coming for them though lol.
I really liked this analysis and it made me think more about the point of Ralsei more than I had and far more about Susie. Susie kind of gets lost in the drama regarding Kris being both a character as well as a player character and Ralsei being so tied to the plot. Susie does feel like the character the story revolves around at times, in particular in Chapter 1 with her character growth. I think one of her clearer roles is to serve as an audience surrogate, it's a way for questions to get asked (often to Ralsei) about how things work while maintaining Kris' role as a silent protagonist.
As for your speculation, I like the idea that a conflict between Susie and Ralsei is coming alongside each of them taking issue with Kris/the player's actions. I very often see theories that Ralsei will turn evil or has secretly been evil all along. I find them pretty unpalatable because then Ralsei really runs the risk of being a retread of Flowey's character turn but taking multiple hours instead of the first few minutes. I think that the characters being driven apart due to different morals or goals only to reunite in the end is the far more satisfying angle for the plot to go and I hope that's what happens.
I do hope we get some more focused Susie content in future chapters. She gets a little bit of development in Chapter 2 but we also spend a big chunk of the chapter without her present. I personally would love to see more of her and Kris around hometown but I don't know how much that will happen.
I don't really have anything to add but positivity come up but I really like your videos! The few that I've run across I play in the background while I draw!
it's interesting. In a way you could compare Susie and Ralsei's relationship to a DnD trope I call "The Barbarian and the wizard". Basically take a tank class (Usually a Barbarian from what I've seen personally) and a magic using class (Usually a wizard of some kind from personal experience) in the same party. At the start the two will fight, and argue, maybe even try to kill each other, but over time they'll become friends. If what you say does come to light (Pun intended) in chapter 3, then quite possibly we could be seeing a trope I call "Change of class, change of life" basically say a Warlock gives up on there false god, at some point to repent for there horrible deeds as a warlock, they change into..say...a paladin. In this case we could be seeing Ralsei becoming more of a fighter, and Susie more of a healer. But I'm just a nerd on the internet so what do I know?
Absolutely love this video. Everything from the script, to your articulation and the presentation deserves WAY more subscribers. Hope you make more stuff, I'd love to watch!
great video!!! i’m always so glad to see even-handed, well thought-out character analysis for utdr, as opposed to the endless, grand theory videos. it’s a surprisingly underrepresented venue despite toby’s character and relationship work being so solid! hope to see more from you!
awesome video! i really enjoyed it, the editing was very engaging (and i liked reading your little notes lol). i looove analysing character relations in deltarune, and you did a great job.i hadn't thought too hard about ralsei and susie in particular, but now i sure am!
one thing i never thought about was just how differently ralsei treated lancer from the lightners in ch1- how he bends over backwards to make the lightners happy, but he doesn't "need" to do that for lancer, so he doesn't. that's so interesting!!!!
You did a damn good job on analyzing these two. I feel like Susie doesn't really have very many videos looking into her character more, and you just did so well.
This video was beautiful, and I'm excited to see what you have next in store, you've earned a new sub!
This might be the most considered and well-worded UT/DR content I've seen! A lot of people's analysis and speculation seems centered around specific unanswered questions or ideas or bits of lore which leads to odd conclusions that, IMO, don't seem plausible from a storytelling perspective. Not that that's all there is to it, but..
Your analysis succeeds here, I think, because it's very much approaching things from that perspective -- character archetypes, plot beats, dramatic ironies, themes, all of the stuff that could actually tell us where the story's headed, at least in a broad sense.
This is great, matter of fact I was kind of astonished when I saw the sub count. You deserve way more for this, like seriously.
Always love deltarune deepdive vids, Even if the fanbase is a little loopy rn I love the creativity, good stuff! :D
I really loved this video, fun watch the whole way through! This topic genuinely deserves to be talked about a lot more. It’s very sweet to reflect on but also has a ton of potential insight to give which I just find super cool!
this is such a refreshing analysis of deltarune, thank you for making this! I love your format and your views are very clearly stated and well put. I def support you making more video essays if you desire to make more !!! ^.^
Fantastic. You used a truly fantastic sequence of building blocks to construct your points with. The fact that you cross-reference other existing material on the matter, use tons of in-game examples, and base your points off of established literary tropes shows that you have a good sense of a well-ordered debate.
When Chapter 3 releases, I can't for you to dissect it too.
When I looked at your channel I was surprised to see this was the first analysis video (at least the only one visible). This is a really good video and if you plan more analysing content and theories then I would love to see it.
It's been a while since I adored an analysis on this game/franchise. I love your approach at inspecting the themes these chapters have shown us. I wish there were more analysis on games like yours.
Keep up the great work!
This is really well made. You deserve more subscribers.
I appreciate this video and all the hard work you put into it! I hope to see another Deltarune video from you in the future, but if not I understand, and wish you the best on your channel.
The idea of Noelle potentially replacing Ralsei also makes sense in terms of visual design.
Together, Kris, Susie, and Ralsei are represented by Blue, Red(?), and Green light. These three colors are the colors of light. If you ever wondered what RGB refers to, there ya go. Those three colors, when combined in certain amounts, can create any other color, and all three together create bright white.
HOWEVER, the same also applies to a different set of three colors; Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow. These three colors are often associated with Kris, Susie, and Noelle respectively. Even with Ralsei gone, the color palettes of everyone work together well.
Notably, Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow (CMYK) all combine to make dark black. Maybe this represents Kris and Susie embracing the creation of more dark fountains? Hopefully we’ll see sometime soon!
Your commentary was really enjoyable to hear, you brought some good points and made them easy to follow as well, so i think you should definietly continue creating videos, especially about undertale or deltarune!❤
Just want to say well done!! This video is an amazing essay, after getting to the end i went to ur channel hoping for more theory or gaming reviews but no... I'm subscribed and can't wait until your next video!! X
AMAZING VIDEO! I really liked the editing. It kept me laughing while also learning new things :)
Came from cerise's recommendation, really well structured video! Underrated as hell. I'm a huge deltarune fan and hungry for good content
came up as Watch Next and im very glad i did, this video ruled
this is such a good video omfg, i love the visuals and the subject matter!! i never really thought about it before !!
This is such a great theory, loved it! Also, I was wondering, I know some of the music tracks in the video are sourced directly from Undertale & Deltarune, but there were also some other somber remixes in there. Where were those from? I'd love to listen to them!
I don’t think I used any remixes, all of them should be directly from the game. If I use remixes in the future they should appear in the credits.
@@astuffedalpaca5365 Thanks for the reply! I actually didn't know the track I was asking about was in the official soundtrack, being "Before The Story". But I appreciate you crediting your music sources at the end.
14:38 your understanding is very accurate
Great video, very well written, excited to see your next project
I really enjoyed this video, I've never really thought much about Susie and Ralsei's relationship and importance but it's so cool to hear you lay it out like this and theorise on it!
Also "I will bake you entire cakes if you stop calling me gay boy please" at 10:15 made me laugh so much. I can't wait to see what you make in the future!
Oh yeah! I forgot that Susie and Ralsei had ZERO RIZZ.