"But nobody came" meaning?

[Aetherius]

I understand that in the genocide run that this text appears, however I've noticed that the memory heads and other monsters in the True Lab say the same phrase. I feel like there's some kind of important meaning behind it, as it's even mentioned in the Flowey boss battle. Any thoughts?

[catgirlforeskin]

I don't know as far as any secret hidden meaning, but in the genocide run at least, it means that everyone (in that area, anyway) is dead, so nobody is left to come, so nobody came

[rog]

It's an Earthbound reference.

[dat_potatoe]

Sometimes in Earthbound enemies will call for backup and that message will display if they failed. Be thankful you don't know the pain of dealing with a never ending swarm of enemies as you're all out of resources...

Aside from that, it appears in a few different places throughout the game.

-Calling for aid during the Flowey fight.
-Trying to call Toriel's Cellphone after you, well, killed her.
-Genocide encounters.

[Aetherius]

Originally posted by Rog Fulace:

It's an Earthbound reference.

Ah, that makes sense, considering I've never played Earthbound.

[Dexcat]

While there isn't really a "deeper meaning", the phrase sort of serves as a connection between various overarching themes throughout the game.

[(Edgy) Asriel Dreemurr]

What's EXP?
It's an acronym. It stands for "execution points", a way of quantifying the pain you've inflicted upon others.
If you gain enough EXP, your LOVE increases.
LOVE too is an acronym, it stands for "level of violence".
The higher your LOVE increases, the easier it is to distance yourself from others. And the more you distance yourself, the easier it becomes for you to bring yourself to hurt others.

When you distanced yourself by hurting others, no one wanted to help you. So when you called out for help, nobody came to your aid.

And then when you sought out LOVE, you destroyed everything to the point where there was nothing. . . no one left. So eventually you looked for more EXP to gain, more monsters to kill. . .

But nobody came.

[Chara the Explorer]

As has been said, it's basically an small Earthbound reference. Enemies in Earthbound sometimes had the ability to "call for help" though it wasn't always successful, hence the phrase.

Toby obviously decided that the phrase sounded creepier than the simple mechanic intended. It certainly could with a change of context.

[Kevzy]

Toby obviously decided that the phrase sounded creepier than the simple mechanic intended.

[135dB of screaming cockatoo]

It's a literary device called an "arc phrase", which I think is pretty cool.

[Crystalitar]

It's scary for the fact it repeats and it always brings a feel of abandoned hope with it. I really like it, that it became so powerfull in meanings.

[Quaz]

Or it just means, nobody came.

[zmankal]

no body came because they are all dead.

[heisenpyro]

Tip:
Look at this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK0CTU_ThUM

[Helmic]

It contrasts the innocent nature of the phrase as its used in Earthbound with your actions in Undertale. In Earthbound, this happens when an enemy fails to summon help to defeat you. In Undertale, it twists that nostalgia, creating something incredibly disturbing for those that had happy memories associated with that phrase.

[Blessed Evelyn]

Originally posted by NCiv Helmic:

It contrasts the innocent nature of the phrase as its used in Earthbound with your actions in Undertale. In Earthbound, this happens when an enemy fails to summon help to defeat you. In Undertale, it twists that nostalgia, creating something incredibly disturbing for those that had happy memories associated with that phrase.

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