Masahiro Sakurai, the legendary video game developer responsible for the Super Smash Bros. series, posted a tweet to celebrate the anniversary of Undertale's release. It featured a screenshot of Sans, Undertale's most iconic character, who is playable in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a customizable Mii Costume.This is par for the course, as Sakurai updates his Twitter near daily with unique screenshots from the game and draws attention to titles on the dates of their releases. However, this particular tweet caused such a stir because Sans is depicted alongside Ness, a pairing which may reference a popular meme originating from YouTube.
The two characters have been associated with each other ever since YouTuber MatPat, best known for his theory crafting video series Game Theory, uploaded a video on Sans and Ness. MatPat theorized that the comedic skeleton was, in fact, the main character of EarthBound.
The argument was based mainly on the contents of a secret room in the game, whose descriptions MatPat claimed were in line with various belonging of Ness, and also cited Undertale creator Toby Fox's history with EarthBound. Fox previously created a romhack of the RPG known as Halloween Hack, which took place in an alternate timeline where Ness and his companions never returned from their final battle. According to the hypothesis, Undertale takes place in the alternate universe of Halloween Hack, where Ness ended up.
The video was incredibly successful and has come to garner over 12 million views since its release. At the time, Undertale was already immensely popular and had an endless stream of posts, fan art and memes circulating online. As the title's most universally recognizable figure, Sans was on the receiving end of most of the attention, especially the memes. Jokes about seemingly every aspect of the character, from his catchphrase, "You're gonna have a bad time," to his boss song Megalovania were abundant. MatPat's video only added fuel to the fire, inspiring a new wave of Sans and Ness edits parodying the theory.
For years Sakurai has been known for always lending an ear to his massive fanbase, and it shows in the games he develops. The Smash Bros. series initially started as a party game but was molded by fans into something much bigger thanks to its competitive options, as well as a character roster filled with heavily requested members, both of which were fostered by Sakurai. This is what makes the inclusion of Ness in his tweet so amusing. It's a very cheeky nod at the endless memes and shows just how in touch he is with the gaming community.