Braid/YMMV

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


  • Alternative Character Interpretation: All of them. Tim is a stalker, or is one of the scientists in the Manhattan Project. The Princess is the stalker's victim, or an atomic bomb. Interestingly, there appears to be maybe five people in the world who believe Tim is a person who has the ability to reverse time, and the Princess is somebody whom he cared for but was simply too overbearing a presence with.
  • Genius Bonus: Those flags are nautical flags. They have messages that are pretty interesting when directed at Tim and especially at the idea that the goal is developing the atomic bomb.
    • World 2: N (No).
    • World 3: U (You are (standing into/approaching) danger).
    • World 4: L (Stop instantly).
    • World 5: X (Stop carrying out your intentions).
    • World 6: K (You should stop, I have something important to communicate).
    • Some parts of the Epilogue contain references that the average consumer might miss. The quote "Now we are all sons of bitches" is probably the more recognizable, being a famous quote attached to the creation of the first atomic bomb. A little more esoteric is the concept of a magnetic monopole that is mentioned in one of the alternate texts. A magnetic monopole would be a magnet with only a north or south pole... an impossibility.
  • It's Short, So It Sucks: Of course, that's only if you don't go get the stars. One of them requires the player to just wait for an hour, jump onto a slow-moving cloud, then wait another hour.
    • Naturally, it's also only if you don't want to play the game again. If you loved it the first time, however, you probably will (again, because of its short length, it's not that difficult to do a complete run-through in one sitting, once you know what you're doing).
  • Memetic Mutation: This trope page is a metaphor for the atomic bomb!
  • Scrappy Mechanic: That cloud in The Cloud Bridge. It takes over two hours to reach a secret area. The Let's Play may salve some of that irritation using a combination of time-skipping, poetry, and a brief bit of rock.
    • You can't put the game on background and do something else, by the way, if you don't want those two hours to become something like eight...
    • Sophisticated As Hell: The second of said poems starts as a normal poem and then degrades into a hilarious Cluster F-Bomb.
  • Surprise Difficulty: Considering, that it's one of the most forgiving games out there.
  • That One Level: Opinions may vary regarding many of the gimmicks, but there is one consensus: Fickle Companion is BULLSHIT. And of course, there's a star there...
  • That One Puzzle: Numerous, depending on your playstyle, but there tends to be a consensus on both of the pieces in Fickle Companion, as well as the rightmost piece in "Crossing The Gap", due to them requiring you to use tactics and gimmicks you've never seen or used before. Almost all of the secret stars count as well.
    • The second half of World 6 can probably count as well. Most of the puzzles, while logical, are extremely complex and require a great deal of out-of-the-box thinking.
  • That One Sidequest: Collecting the eight secret stars can be frustrating, especially if you don't use a guide.
  • True Art Is Incomprehensible: The princess likes you, and you have to save her. No, you're a stalker, and you've scared her away. No, she's a representation of oppressed or desired women everywhere? No, she's a constellation. No, she's an atomic bomb.