The Underlord of the Strings: UNDERTALE Strings of Determination (Review)

I have a confession to make. I have never played Undertale, or heard any of its music until a couple of weeks ago when I was asked to review String Player Gamer’s Undertale: Strings of Determination.  String Player Gamer is also known as Diwa de Leon , a composer, arranger and musician based in Manila, Philippines. The album itself is labelled as the complete edition that collects four volumes of music that has ben published by Materia Collective.  The album features 46 tracks of exquisite arrangements of composer Toby Fox’s music for Undertale. Having listened to the album a few times now, you can read on for my full review which includes a series of must listen tracks from the album. If like me, you’ve never experienced anything Undertale here’s the perfect place to start.

The opening track on the album “Death by Glamour” literally sucked me in to this album. The song itself plays like a violin and guitar battle which culiminates in the two working together to truly create a wonderful sound. It’s easily my favorite track on the album and if you listen to just one track in this review, it’s the one to listen to.

After that, if you’re looking for a track that will hit you right in your Chrono Trigger, it’s “Waterfall”. The crystalline chiming throughout the track reminds me so much of  Yasunori Mitsuda’s “Schala’s Theme”. The music progresses into a more defined melody but its use of acoustic guitar is perfect.

“Spider Dance” plays like a wild roller coaster ride. The rapid drum set percussion is in line what you’d find in a solid up tempo rock song. It reminded me of playing racing game.

From my limited knowledge of Undertale “Dog Song Rondo” is supposed to be associated with an annoying dog in the game. The arrangement of this track is playful, and dopey which matches the original theme in the game.

“Temmie Village Acapella” is bacically the same melody as the previous track but performed by Tera Catallo whose vocals are a pleasure to sing along with. I dare you not to “Do do doooo”.

“Metal Crusher” was another stand out track for me, as it really is a hip swaying tune. The strings as played in the song sound almost like an alto saxophone, and reminded me of a tune from my brother’s band. I do love when I come across a track that I can connect with on a personal level. The song peaks with a wonderful violin climax at the end.

If I’ve learned anything from reviewing this album, it’s that I need to play Undertale. If you haven’t yet, listen to this album. It just might be that extra push you need! You can find purchase a copy of the album for $14 on Bandcamp.

Have you played Undertale? What do you think of String Player Gamer’s arrangements of the music?