Talk:Frisk/@comment-27610064-20160115165030/@comment-5106615-20160120164138

I think it's to create a sense of dread in the player when you learn how cruel & manipulative the first human was in the True Lab tapes (i.e. laughing off poisoning Asgore with buttercups and taking the same poison to kill themselves etc.). When falling on the bed of flowers in Waterfall, flashbacks of Asriel meeting the first human for the first time suggests that you might actually be that human, even though you've played the Pacifist throughout the game. You start to wonder about how you could be that same kid, why did you return? Or perhaps you're not the same, but what is your connection, then? It pulls you deeper into the story and provides some tension, an imperative to learn the truth.

That tension is broken after the fight with the god of Hyperdeath when Asriel notices you're someone else, namely Frisk. That makes an already liberating moment even better.

In the same way, it provides a beautiful way to lure curious players into the Genocide route. If it was made clear from the start that there's no connection between the two humans then it wouldn't have worked nearly as well, and swapping the names interferes with the flashbacks.