History YMMV / Braid

%%* ItWasHisSled: [[spoiler: The princess is an atomic bomb.]] Explanation?
%%* MemeticMutation: [[spoiler: This trope page is a metaphor for the atomic bomb!]] Explanation?
* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: Whilst its overly simple gameplay has always faced criticism, Braid's heavy emphasis on symbolism and statements on life is what helped it stand out and receive a lot of praise. Today though with so many other games who handle their heavy themes and allegories much more effectively, Braid's attempts at symbolism now come across as clumsy and even tacked on.
%%* ThatOneLevel: Fickle Companion. [[spoiler:And of course, there's a star there...]] Cpntext?

* TrueArtIsIncomprehensible:
** The game initially follows a very simple premise, in which the princess likes you and you have to save her. Later chapters make the narrative much more confusing by implying that she is actually [[spoiler:either a victim of Tim's stalking, a representation of oppressed or desired women everywhere, a constellation or an atomic bomb.]]
** Jonathan Blow [[WordOfGod has gone on record saying]] that you can't take one element of ''Braid'' and say that that's what the game's all about. He even said that he was more trying to share "a set of feelings and situations" than a story.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: All of them. [[spoiler: Tim is a stalker, or is one of the scientists in the Manhattan Project, who is implied in in-game text to have left his wife for this conquest. 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.]]

* DifficultySpike: Halfway through World 6. [[spoiler: It drops back down for World 1, which is actually the final world.]]

* ItsShortSoItSucks: Of course, that's only if [[spoiler: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).
* ItWasHisSled: [[spoiler: The princess is an atomic bomb.]]
* MemeticMutation: [[spoiler: This trope page is a metaphor for the atomic bomb!]]

* ScrappyMechanic: [[spoiler:That cloud in The Cloud Bridge.]] It takes over ''two hours'' to reach a secret area. The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_ogSEiNPu0 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''...
*** If you're playing the Steam version, you can at least use Steam's in-game browser to pass the time, though.
* SurpriseDifficulty: Considering that it's one of the most forgiving games out there.
* ThatOneLevel: Opinions may vary regarding many of the gimmicks, but there is one consensus -- Fickle Companion is BULLSHIT. [[spoiler:And of course, there's a star there...]]
* ThatOnePuzzle: Numerous, depending on your play-style, 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 [[spoiler:secret stars]] count as well.
** [[DifficultySpike 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.
* ThatOneSidequest: [[spoiler:Collecting the eight secret stars can be frustrating, ''especially'' if you don't use a guide.]]
* TrueArtIsIncomprehensible: The princess likes you and you have to save her. [[spoiler:No, you're a stalker and you've scared her away. No, she's a representation of oppressed or desired women everywhere? No, wait, she does like you, but you were too overbearing?! No, she's a constellation! ... No, she's an atomic bomb. Maybe?]]

* FauxSymbolism: Let's face it. The creator just pulled a bunch of random nonsense together, and any actual story people see in it is simply their own interpretation of it, which says way more about the player than the actual game.
** The twist regarding the atomic bomb does feel tacked on, so it is likely that Jonathan Blow just made something normal then threw in a suggestion that there might be an alternate interpretation just to make ''Braid'' seem deeper. His comments don't exactly deny this.

** The ShockingSwerve regarding the atomic bomb does feel tacked on, so it is likely that Jonathan Blow just made something normal then threw in a suggestion that there might be an alternate interpretation just to make ''Braid'' seem deeper. His comments don't exactly deny this.

* [[spoiler:SophisticatedAsHell: The second of said poems starts as a normal poem and then degrades into a [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments hilarious]] ClusterFBomb.]]

* AwesomeMusic: The utterly beautiful and haunting "Maenam" theme that plays in the overworld.

* [[spoiler:SophisticatedAsHell: The second of said poems starts as a normal poem and then degrades into a [[CrowningMomentOfFunny hilarious]] ClusterFBomb.]]

** [[spoiler:SophisticatedAsHell: The second of said poems starts as a normal poem and then degrades into a [[CrowningMomentOfFunny hilarious]] ClusterFBomb.]]

** Jonathan Blow [[WordOfGod has gone on record saying]] that you can't take one element of ''Braid'' and say that that's what the game's all about. He even said that he was more trying to share "a set of feelings and situations" than a story.

** Jonathan Blow has gone on record saying that you can't take one element of ''Braid'' and say that that's what the game's all about. He even said that he was more trying to share "a set of feelings and situations" than a story.

*** And of course, that "a set of feelings and situations" can be interpreted as the author pulling it out of his ass...

* AnAesop: There are pages and pages that could be written on this. The most popular one seems to be "you can't undo the past".

*** And of course, that "a set of feelings and situations" can be interpreted as the author pulling it out of his ass...
* WordOfGod: The cloud at the end of the Epilogue does nothing and is there for [[http://www.digitalspy.com/gaming/news/a284605/braid-ending-explained-by-jonathan-blow.html aesthetic purposes.]]

*** And of course, that "a set of feelings and situations" can be interpreted as the author pulling it out of his ass...

* ScrappyMechanic: [[spoiler:That cloud in The Cloud Bridge. It takes over ''two hours'' to reach a secret area. The [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_ogSEiNPu0 Let's Play]] may salve some of that irritation using a combination of time-skipping, poetry, and a brief bit of rock.]]
** [[spoiler: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''...]]

** Jonathan Blow has gone on record saying that you can't take one element of ''Braid'' and say that that's what the game's all about. He even said that he was more trying to share "a set of feelings and situations" than a story.

* TrueArtIsIncomprehensible: The princess likes you and you have to save her. [[spoiler:No, you're a stalker and you've scared her away. No, she's a representation of oppressed or desired women everywhere? No, wait, she does like you, but you were too overbearing?! No, she's a constellation! ... No, she's an atomic bomb. Maybe?]]

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: All of them. [[spoiler: 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.]]

** World 5: X (Stop carrying out your intentions)
** World 6: K (You should stop, I have something important to communicate)

* SurpriseDifficulty: Considering, that it's one of the most forgiving games out there.

* ThatOnePuzzle: 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 [[spoiler:secret stars]] count as well.

* TrueArtIsIncomprehensible: The princess likes you and you have to save her. [[spoiler: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.]]

** Some parts of the Epilogue contain references that the average consumer might miss. The quote [[spoiler: "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.]]

* ScrappyMechanic: [[spoiler:That cloud in The Cloud Bridge. It takes over ''two hours'' to reach a secret area. The [[http://www.mr-b.org/lp/braid/finallq.html Let's Play]] may salve some of that irritation using a combination of time-skipping, poetry, and a brief bit of rock.]]

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: All of them. [[spoiler: 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.]]