History YMMV / ToTheMoon

* HarsherInHindsight: When you discover that Johnny's mother [[spoiler: wasn't just calling him "Joey" as a cute nickname]], it frames the entire first half of the game in a different light. [[spoiler: Johnny's seemingly-pathological desire to stand out and be different suddenly makes a lot more sense when you realise his own mother favoured Joey so much, she forced Johnny to become a copy of him - right down to Joey's love of Animorphs and Pickled Olives - after Joey's death.]]

* ViewerGenderConfusion: Some players are apparently confused whether John's medical doctor is a man or a woman due to somewhat gender-neutral sprite and clothing.

[[folder:''To the Moon'']]

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* JerkAssWoobie: [[spoiler: Neil.]] Although it all depends on how you viewed his character and how you interpreted TheStinger.
* MagnificentBastard: The reactions of quite a few players to [[spoiler: Eva's BatmanGambit that, by removing River from Johnny's environment, that ''both'' would be motivated enough to qualify for NASA]].
* SceneryPorn: The ArtShift and scene in general at the game's climax.

* TheWoobie: [[spoiler: Joey.]] Also River. And depending on how you interpret the implications, [[spoiler: Neil.]]

[[folder:''Finding Paradise'']]
* CounterpartComparison: Faye draws similarity to [[spoiler:[[WesternAnimation/InsideOut Bing-Bong]]]], by virtue of being an imaginary friend who can be interacted with by those who went on the JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind.
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* CounterpartComparison: Faye draws similarity with [[spoiler:[[WesternAnimation/InsideOut Bing-Bong]], by virtue of being imaginary friend who can be interacted by those who went {{journey to the center of the mind}}.]]

* TheWoobie: [[spoiler: Joey.]] Also River. And depending on how you interpret the implications, [[spoiler: Neil.]]

* FridgeBrilliance: Why didn't River just tell John about [[spoiler: their first meeting, without going through the whole rabbit ordeal]]? At first it seems that it's only due to her [[spoiler: Asperger's]], but revisiting the first part of the story, it becomes apparent that she wanted, in her own way, to bridge the gap between them by [[spoiler: reminding him of the only time when they truly connected]], and that wouldn't work unless he remembered on his own. When you realize that River made the [[spoiler:rabbits to try and remind Johnny of their first meeting. And that when the white rabbits didn't work, she tried a yellow one, because the moon is yellow. And that when the yellow one didn't work, she managed to make one with a yellow belly (for the moon) and blue head and feet (for the sky and stars). To add an extra layer to it... Her wedding dress was yellow and blue.]]

** [[spoiler:Izzy describes Johnny as "neurotypical," which is not a word that's thrown around much outside of people who know a few things about the ASD spectrum]]

* FridgeBrilliance: Why didn't River just tell John about [[spoiler: their first meeting, without going through the whole rabbit ordeal]]? At first it seems that it's only due to her [[spoiler: Asperger's]], but revisiting the first part of the story, it becomes apparent that she wanted, in her own way, to bridge the gap between them by [[spoiler: reminding him of (arguably) the only time when they truly connected]], and that wouldn't work unless he remembered on his own. When you realize that River made the [[spoiler:rabbits to try and remind Johnny of their first meeting. And that when the white rabbits didn't work, she tried a yellow one, because the moon is yellow. And that when the yellow one didn't work, she managed to make one with a yellow belly (for the moon) and blue head and feet (for the sky and stars). To add an extra layer to it... Her wedding dress was yellow and blue.]]

* EsotericHappyEnding: Johnny fulfills his wish; But... because they're only changing memories, not the past, [[spoiler: the real Johnny dies never knowing what his wife was trying to tell him, and the real River dies knowing Johnny never understood/remembered what she kept trying to hint at. Well, assuming ''any'' of it was ever real to begin with]]. [[{{YMMV}} Somewhat]] dulled [[spoiler: by the final sequence prior to the credits rolling and after Johnny flatlines. We see him approach River against a plain white background, both as children, and hand her the platypus before sitting down next to her, strongly implying that they're at least TogetherInDeath.]] But still...
* FridgeBrilliance:
** Why didn't River just tell John about [[spoiler: their first meeting, without going through the whole rabbit ordeal]]? At first it seems that it's only due to her [[spoiler: Asperger's]], but revisiting the first part of the story, it becomes apparent that she wanted, in her own way, to bridge the gap between them by [[spoiler: reminding him of (arguably) the only time when they truly connected]], and that wouldn't work unless he remembered on his own. When you realize that River made the [[spoiler:rabbits to try and remind Johnny of their first meeting. And that when the white rabbits didn't work, she tried a yellow one, because the moon is yellow. And that when the yellow one didn't work, she managed to make one with a yellow belly (for the moon) and blue head and feet (for the sky and stars). To add an extra layer to it... Her wedding dress was yellow and blue.]]

* EsotericHappyEnding: Johnny fulfills his wish; But... because they're only changing memories, not the past, [[spoiler: the real Johnny dies never knowing what his wife was trying to tell him, and the real River dies knowing Johnny never understood/remembered what she kept trying to hint at. Well, assuming ''any'' of it was ever real to begin with]].
** Thankfully this is somewhat dulled by the final sequence prior to the credits rolling [[spoiler: and after Johnny flatlines. We see him approach River against a plain white background, both as children, and hand her the platypus before sitting down next to her, strongly implying that they're at least TogetherInDeath.]]

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: Johnny's mom is subject to this with her limited appearance. What we know is [[spoiler:after Joey died, she underwent SanitySlippage and deliberately gave Johnny the Beta Blockers to block the trauma of his death]]. From there two interpretations arise. The first is [[spoiler:that she is abusive, forcibly editing her surviving son's memory, and tricking herself into believing he was Joey, her preferred son, in a twisted case of ParentalFavoritism]]. The other is [[spoiler:that she gave Johnny the blockers to save him from the trauma of losing a twin, and her calling him Joey down the line is just her own fragile mental state confusing the two]].

* {{Tsundere}}: Eva. She, on the surface, seems kinda cold and methodical, but is shown to be much more kindhearted than what is [[SugarAndIcePersonality readily apparent]].

** Part of the code in the background when you prepare a memento says, "Step twice into the river of life." If you're familiar with philosophy, this is based on a quote from Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher who said, "No man ever steps in the same river twice."

* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: "Everything's Alright" is very similar to [[FinalFantasyVIII "Eyes on Me"]], especially the chorus.

* {{Tsundere}}: Eva. She, on the surface, seems kinda cold and methodical, but is shown to care a lot more.

* {{Glurge}}: Even if the story aims to be an uplifting tale, there are still the issues of the real pain and suffering undergone by the real people, and the fact that the happy ending was only experienced by only three people.

* Glurge: Even if the story aims to be an uplifting tale, there are still the issues of the real pain and suffering undergone by the real people, and the fact that the happy ending was only experienced by only three people.

* FridgeBrilliance: Why didn't River just tell John about [[spoiler: their first meeting, without going through the whole rabbit ordeal]]? At first it seems that it's only due to her [[spoiler: Asperger's]], but revisiting the first part of the story, it becomes apparent that she wanted, in her own way, to bridge the gap between them by [[spoiler: reminding him of (arguably) the only time when they truly connected]], and that wouldn't work unless he remembered on his own.
** FridgeLogic: On the other hand, [[spoiler: Didn't River in all those years, ever learned of Johnny's past and the reason he never remembered?]]
*** Johnny [[spoiler:couldn't remember his past, and his mother either intentionally hides it or has snapped and thinks Johnny is Joey. In light of this, there's no way for River to have ever learned about it.]]
** When you realize that River made the [[spoiler:rabbits to try and remind Johnny of their first meeting. And that when the white rabbits didn't work, she tried a yellow one, because the moon is yellow. And that when the yellow one didn't work, she managed to make one with a yellow belly (for the moon) and blue head and feet (for the sky and stars). To add an extra layer to it... Her wedding dress was yellow and blue.]]