Recap / Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego? (1997)

Carmen Sandiego has stolen a Time Machine known as the ACME Chronoskimmer, allowing her and her gang of thieves to steal from the past. You, the player, are an ACME agent tasked with catching the villains, but along the way, you will have to correct the damage they have done to history.

Except for the last one, each case is set in a single time period. The game has nineteen cases in all, which take place in chronological order.

Case 1: The Ancient Egyptians (1490 BCE)

One of Carmen's thieves has stolen the Book of the Dead from Ancient Egypt, preventing Queen Hatshepsut from burying her recently deceased husband Thutmose II. With the help of the head priest, your job is to figure out how to make a mummy.

• Acceptable Breaks from Reality: The Egyptian gods are referred to by their Greek names. This is because they are known for being very difficult to pronounce.
• Adaptational Modesty: Hatshepsheut is depicted as wearing a dress despite mentioning she dresses as a man - which in ancient Egypt most often meant she would have walked around with no shirt. This is of course omitted for the sake of remaining kid-friendly since that's barely allowed in a game rated "M"/"PEGI 16" much less an edutainment title. However, they still have her wearing a fake beard, although this is something many male pharaohs did, since most Egyptian men were clean-shaven at the time.
• Bloodless Carnage: Thutmose's body, as he was prepared by traditional Egyptian means (that is organs taken out, body dried) doesn't need his insides ripped out or such. Justified in that clicking around has it explained to you that this has already been done - you're basically finishing the job.
• Don't Fear the Reaper: The priest of Anubis is a helpful guy who even cracks a few jokes while on the job.
• Justified Tutorial: As the first case, this one is something of a tutorial for the rest of the game. You're carefully walked through what you're supposed to do, complete with such things as Ann explaining how to use your mouse to pick up objects. In subsequent levels, it's assumed you already know these basics.
• Sadly Mythtaken: No Ann Tikwitee, Anubis is not the Egyptian God of Death. It's not terribly wrong (as Anubis oversaw funerary rites - this is why the priest of Anubis has the jackal mask on) but the closest to a "God of death" in the Ancient Egyptian religion was Osiris, who she only refers to as the God of the Underworld.

Case 2: The Romans (50 BCE)

It's Ancient Rome during the reign of Julius Caesar and Carmen's thief has stolen the Roman Forum. During his escape, he damaged Rome's revolutionary plumbing system, which you'll now have to repair.

• Anachronism Stew: The setting is frequently referred to as The Roman Empire, even though we're about twenty years before Augustus became the first emperor. The plumber is the only character to correctly call it The Roman Republic.
• Artistic License – History: The level is said to take place in 50 B.C.E., and you meet Julius Caesar in Rome. In real life, Caesar was in Gaul during that year, and he didn't return to Rome until the famous crossing of the Rubicon in 49 B.C.E.
• Black Comedy Burst: Ivan tells Julius Caesar to watch his back in one optional dialogue.
• Impossible Theft: The thief stole the entire city block that houses the Roman Forum. Despite this trope being a Carmen Sandiego trademark, this is actually the only instance of it in this entire game.
• Orphaned Etymology: There's some talk about Julius Caesar potentially becoming emperor, even though "emperor" ("imperator" in Latin) was just a military title prior to Augustus's Just the First Citizen shenanigans. Julius Caesar also refers to himself as "the Caesar," but "Caesar" wasn't an imperial title until there was a, you know, empire.
• Shout-Out: Julius Caesar is here, so of course, there's a reference to Shakespeare's version. It occurs when Caesar greets you with, "Hail, strangers, lend me your ears!" In the original play, the line was, "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears," and it was spoken by Mark Antony after Caesar's assassination.

Case 3: The Vikings (1002 CE)

Leif Eriksson's ship has been stolen, leaving him marooned in Vinland. Time to go through a series of Fetch Quests to bring his crew to the shore for a "Thing" (get used to that pun).

• Anti-Frustration Features: This case features a Point of No Return. If you have not completed the Carmen Note by the time you successfully reunited all of the crew, the game will give you time to prepare.
• Blatant Lies: Rock claims, "But Leif, we are worthy Norsemen, um, in spirit." Leif catches onto this and quizzes the player about the days named for the gods.
• Brick Joke: You pick up a bunch of wild grapes, and they are in your inventory until the end of the mission. After the Chief thanks you, she is handed the bunch of grapes from an (offscreen) Rock Solid.
• Both Sides Have a Point: During the Viking Thing, the Vikings are split half in half in whether or not to reclaim their ship and sail back to Greenland, or give it up for lost and settle in the new country. One Norseman points out that Leif's father Eric the Red did such a thing, and founded Greenland. Leif and the Norseman on his side point out that they need to go back and report on what they've found.
• Crew of One: The Baron steals Leif's ship, which seems to require several people to operate. Indeed, as the game manual admits, the Viking crew portrayed in the case is too small to actually operate the ship.
• Decided by One Vote: Leif's crew is split on whether or not to reclaim the stolen ship. To break the tie, you have to prove to Leif that you and Rock Solid are worthy Norsemen by answering some trivia. Answer correctly, and Rock will be allowed to cast his vote for taking the ship back.
• Horny Vikings: Lampshaded. If you click on a Viking helmet, your guide will mention this trope is a myth, and a nearby Viking will scoff at the idea of horned helmets.
• Vikings In America: The third case is set during Leif Erikson's expedition to Vinland, where the player must help recover their ship to help Leif and his crew return home.
• When He Smiles: Leif Erickson has a cheerful look when all the crew is at the beach.

Case 4: Heian Japan (1015)

In Heian-era Japan, the first chapter of Murasaki Shikibu's as-yet-unfinished novel The Tale of Genji has been stolen, leaving her with a case of Writer's Block which can only be cured by the appearance of the moon. Cue Light and Mirrors Puzzle where you have to dress your guide in a series of seasonally-correct kimonos.

• Anti-Frustration Features: The case has you giving different colored kimono jackets and linings to Renee for her to wear to get the season rooms' guards approval. For colorblind players, the mouseover text shows what color each jacket and lining is.
• Deliberate Values Dissonance: Murasaki will not let you leave because your clothes would be too odd.
• Guide Dang It!: You have to find a Carmen note by talking to one of the guards who saw the thief run by and drop a piece of litter on the ground. There is nothing indicating that it's the guard of the winter room. To be fair, 1. the manual outright tells you this and 2. an adventure-gamer would assume that they can brute-force their way through until they find a guard who has seen the thief walk past.
• Japanese Ranguage: One of the guards pronounces "life" as "rife".
• Light and Mirrors Puzzle: This mission is in the year 1015, where Carmen's crook steals the freshly written first chapter of The Tale of Genji, and Murasaki Shikibu's inspiration along with it. Moonlight is her muse, so to get her writing again, you need to visit the four guardhouses in the area and position the mirrors within so it shines on her writing desk. In this case, positioning the mirrors is the easy part; the trick is that the four houses are themed after the four seasons, and you need to dress in a correctly colored kimono to be allowed to touch each mirror.
• Purple Prose: Murasaki's dialogue sounds like it was taken from one of her poems. This (along with her penchant for metaphor) often confuses first-time players.
  Murasaki: Only the face of the full moon answers my questions. Could you bring it here to my room? ^Translation Her room is too dark, and she would like you to fix this by reflecting moonlight into it.
• Shown Their Work: The Japanese guards do not use katanas. Katanas did not come until about the 14th century - this is in the 11th century.
• Virtual Paper Doll: You dress up Renee in different kimono jackets and lining. It's part of a puzzle in which she has to be wearing the correct kimono for different rooms in order to access them. To figure out which ones you need, the folding screens in each house as a specific image (lotus flowers for Autumn, a crane for Winter) and Murasaki's haikus for each season hints at the lining for each of them.
• Writer's Block: After the first chapter of her book is stolen, Murasaki is understandably discouraged from continuing.

Case 5: Feudal England (1086)

Carmen's thief has stolen the Domesday Book, causing the Saxons to ahistorically rebel against William the Conqueror in 1086. Looks like this situation can only be solved with a Fetch Quest which teaches you how the feudal system works.

• Black Comedy Burst:
  • William mentions the Saxons hate him because he burned most of their land to the ground. "But will they let bygones be bygones? Noooooo." Polly Tix lampshades his cavalier attitude.
  • You can pour boiling water on one of the soldiers invading William's castle. You don't actually see what happens, but someone screams that you ruined his best siege uniform.
• But for Me, It Was Tuesday: William the Conqueror calmly talks about how he burned a lot of Saxon land to the ground, and accuses them of not wanting to let it go.
• Dancing Bear: In-universe, William the Conqueror has one, which looks miserable and unwilling to dance. When Polly unearths the crook at his hiding place, the bear grabs him and shakes him around before tossing him to Polly with a satisfied grin.
• Deliberate Values Dissonance:
  • William the Conqueror is so Conditioned to Accept Horror he seems very blasé when it comes to seeing Saxons revolting. Additionally, he mentions that he burnt a Saxon village to the ground. To a modern viewer this would be seen as a horrible act, but back then it was considered a viable form of warfare since the Geneva Convention didn't exist.
  • Baron DuPont talks down to you and asks why on earth he, a nobleman, would help you as you are, for all intents and purposes, a commoner. Mention King William, and his attitude changes (as the Baron also mentions that he has his status in Feudal England because he supported William's claim). He also comments that the Lord is obligated to help him, and refers to him as "Only a lord" in a stereotypically snooty way.
• Nominal Hero: Lampshaded with regards to helping out William the Conqueror.
• Politically Correct History: This trope and Historical Hero Upgrade get subverted and lampshaded. William the Conqueror casually mentions one time when he burned a Saxon village to the ground. Polly Tix will then chime in to remind you that just because you're interacting with people from history, it doesn't mean they were all angels. Your job as a time traveler isn't to pick sides, but to get history as we know it back on track.
• Unusually Uninteresting Sight: William the Conqueror is remarkably cavalier about his besieged castle.
  William: Oh, the Saxons are revolting. Again.

Case 6: Mongol China (1271)

Carmen's thief has stolen the oils which Marco Polo was going to give to Kublai Khan in Imperial China.

• Acceptable Breaks from Reality: Traveling back and forth across Imperial China should have taken weeks, if not months, but the player and Rock Solid seem to find everyone they talk to in the exact same spot they last conversed.
• Chekhov's Gun: The fireworks scaring Kublai Khan's cat isn't just for a funny, one-off gag. They ultimately prove useful in busting the criminal here.
• Shout-Out: The opening line of the Carmen note is paraphrased from the poem "Kubla Khan" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

Case 7: The Mali Empire (1374)

Mansa Musa's pilgrimage to Mecca has been delayed because Carmen's thief stole his caravan's only block of salt and he needs a replacement. Since salt was worth its weight in gold back then, Musa gives you his golden staff to trade with.

• Oh, My Gods!: Mansa Musa says, "sand blast it!"
• Worthless Yellow Rocks: Gold is plentiful enough in Mansa Musa's empire that he has camel-loads worth of them, and even gives the player his golden staff to trade for some salt.

Case 8: The Printing Press (1454)

Johannes Gutenberg has just had his Bible stolen by Carmen's thief. Luckily, his newfangled printing press is perfect for making Wanted Posters.

• Chicken Joke: The alchemist tells you the following joke if you try to drop the sooty chicken on his equally sooty oil lamp:
  "Why did the chicken cross the road? Because she did not want to get roasted on an oil lamp!"
• Developer's Foresight: You're supposed to help Gutenberg make a notice that says, "thief on the loose." If you fill in the blank spaces incorrectly, you can spell out humorous messages like "sheep on the loose" or "wheel on the goose," which annoy Gutenberg. Most memorably, you can make it say, "thief on the noose," to which Gutenberg remarks, "no, that's after we catch the scoundrel!"
• Disc One Final Case: You appear to have caught every crook... yet you're still in the 15th century, and there's another disc. Not to mention, Dee Cryption is still out—Oh wait.
• Gold Fever: The alchemist is, quite naturally, obsessed with gold. Fortunately for you and for history, it has caused him to neglect cleaning his oil lamp, which consequently now contains lampblack.
  Alchemist: Who has time to clean silly lamps? I am devoted to loftier goals — like changing all of my lead into gold, gold, gold!
• Joke Item: The soot-covered chicken, as mentioned below.
• Red Herring: You can take a soot-covered chicken from on top the chimney on the alchemist's shop, but despite the soot, Gutenberg will not accept it to help make his ink. In fact, the chicken has absolutely no purpose in gameplay beyond using up a spot in your inventory and triggering some unique dialogue.

Case 9: The Inca Empire (1460)

Carmen's thief has gone to the Inca Empire during the reign of Pachacuti and stolen the royal quipus necessary for keeping track of things. You'll have to help the head quipucamayoc restore the lost records and learn the Inca counting system while you're at it.

• Counting Sheep: The quipucamayoc mentions having to count llamas before he can fall asleep at night.
• Cuteness Proximity: In one optional dialogue, Ann coos at a guinea pig. Pachacuti then reveals that a guinea pig is called "Dinner" and is delicious with corn; Ann says "Ew! Sorry I asked."
• Deliberate Values Dissonance: Pachacouti refers to a guinea pig as "Dinner" because, yes, Incans did eat guinea pigs.
• Mad Libs Dialogue: In the Counting Frame puzzle, the quipucamayoc reads out your results in Mad Libs, but the correct answers have unique voice recordings.
• Oh, My Gods!: Pachacuti says, "by Viracocha!"
• Shown Their Work: Viracocha is in fact an actual Incan deity. And yes, they did eat guinea pigs.
• Wham Shot: Carmen busting out the crooks using the Chronoskimmer.
• You Fool!: Carmen calls her henchmen this when busting them out of jail.
• Your Princess Is in Another Castle!: At the start of Disc Two, you've caught every criminal, so that they're bickering in jail. Carmen then arrives and uses the Chronoskimmer to help them escape. The Chief is distraught at not only the need for recapture, but how Carmen used ACME technology against ACME. "It's embarrassing."

Case 10: Age of Discovery (1493)

Someone has stolen Christopher Columbus's charts, leaving him and his crew stranded in "China", i.e. the Caribbean. You arrive in the Spanish court, where Queen Isabella sends you on a mission to go across the Atlantic, find Columbus, and bring him back because that wouldn't change history at all.

• Acceptable Breaks from Reality: Queen Isabella probably wouldn't have been too keen on funding a second expedition across the Atlantic just to bail Columbus out of the first one (and even if she was, it would have taken you months to get there and back).
• Anachronistic Clue: The crook is given away because the map they're hiding behind shows places the Spanish didn't know about yet.
• Chekhov's Boomerang: The clue about starboard that was featured in Case 3 returns here, to help the player navigate across the Atlantic.
• Glory Hound: In an optional dialogue with Christopher Columbus on the way back to Spain, he admits that his love for the sea and exploration comes second only to his love of getting fame and glory.
• Historical Hero Upgrade: Averted insofar as the game doesn't claim that Columbus was trying to prove the Earth was round. In fact, the accompanying Chronopedia entry has an entire section dedicated to explaining that the Earth was already known to be round, and Rock Solid even mentions in one bit of trivia that Columbus was not even the first to propose the idea for sailing west in order to reach Asia. Also, the existence of an earlier case focused on Leif Eriksson eliminates any implication that Columbus was the first European to reach the Americas.
• Nominal Hero: Much like William the Conqueror, Christopher Columbus is not depicted in a very flattering light, being a narcissistic Jerkass and self-admitted Glory Hound who takes credit for discoveries made by others, but you're still required to help him sail from the New World and back to Spain in order to set history right.
• Whatever Happened to the Mouse?: The crook stole the Pinta in order to get away with the charts. Did anybody ever go and get it back?

Case 11: The Renaissance (1505)

It's The Renaissance and Leonardo da Vinci is painting The Mona Lisa. Or at least he would be if Carmen's thief hadn't stolen his notebooks and upset his model, preventing her from providing the famous Mona Lisa Smile.

• Bilingual Bonus: Da Vinci refers to the model as "Mona". He is essentially saying "Madam" to her.
• How About a Smile?: Your goal here is to get the model to smile so that Leonardo can paint it.

Case 12: The Aztecs (1519)

Carmen's thief has stolen the headdress of Aztec emperor Montezuma, just before he needs it for the Aztec Fire Ceremony.

• The End Is Nigh: Montezuma thinks the world will end if he doesn't have his headdress for the Aztec Fire Ceremony. He's surprisingly calm about it.
• Game-Breaking Bug: It's possible to trigger a glitch that will make this mission unwinnable. You have to assemble a headdress for Montezuma, and when you complete it and add it to your inventory, a Carmen note appears. However, if you give the headdress to Ann Tikwitee when taken from your inventory, another one will spawn on the wall, meaning you have to take it again to get the Carmen note. You give it to Montezuma... but you still have it in your inventory and you're not allowed to leave the room, making the game unwinnable. Oops.
• Politically Correct History: The line "We make no sacrifices in the marketplace" is uttered. Of course, you don't actually hear or see any of the sacrifices that they were known for, but if you know what they are this is somewhat amusing.
• Reality Is Unrealistic: Lampshaded. The player can give Anne Tikwitee a bird whistle that corresponds to a bald eagle. What plays isn't the high pitched screech many people expect—it's actually a realistic sounding eagle chirp. Anne then says "whoa! For a big bird that's one small call!"
• Unintentionally Unwinnable: It's possible to accidentally duplicate the headdress, and become unable to beat the level as you cannot leave the room with a headdress in your inventory.
• Your Days Are Numbered: Clicking on one of the gold nuggets the first time will cause Ann to remark that, thanks to its surplus of gold drawing unwanted attention, the Aztecs will fall to Hernán Cortés "in just a few more months" from the time of the case. Yeesh.

Case 13: Elizabethan England (1599)

William Shakespeare's plays have been stolen and at a most inopportune time. The Lord Chamberlain's Men are in the middle of rebuilding the Globe Theatre on the other side of the River Thames. How can they finish the Globe and relearn all their lines in time for a performance in honor of Queen Elizabeth I?

• Anachronism Stew: This case is supposed to take place in 1599. For the sake of its puzzle, the game ignores when individual Shakespeare plays were written, instead pretending that all the major famous ones existed by that date. Granted, we don't know exactly when each play was written, but Macbeth was definitely written for James VI and I, who came to the throne in 1603. In fact, the game's dialogue alludes to Macbeth not being written yet when Shakespeare describes Medeva by saying, "The thief looked rather like a witch. Hmmm, maybe I can use that in one of my next plays."

Case 14: American Revolution (1776)

It's the time of The American Revolution. Carmen's thief has made like Nicolas Cage and stolen the Declaration of Independence. After going through a Chain of Deals to get parchment, you'll have to help Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin redraft the Declaration.

• Acceptable Breaks from Reality: The case starts with Polly Tix announcing that it's July 4, 1776 and ends with the signing of the Declaration of Independence, so the whole level apparently takes place within one day. You do a rather ridiculous amount of travel within this one day, especially considering you're in an era in which the horse is the fastest mode of transportation.^note According to Google Maps, going from Charlottesville, Virginia to Boston, Massachusetts just once takes about nine hours, and that's with a car on modern roads. And let's not even get into the fact that the Declaration was actually signed on July 2.
• Anachronism Stew: The Boston Tea Party is repeatedly referred to by that name. However, the event was not actually called "the Boston Tea Party" until the 1800s. In the 1770s, it was simply called, "the destruction of the tea."
• Conspicuously Light Patch: Why are two of the background delegates not drawn as part of the background? Because at the end of the level, they step forward to sign the Declaration.
• Dumbwaiter Ride: The level has the crook hiding in Thomas Jefferson's dumbwaiter. Or as Polly puts it, "the dummy was waiting in the dumbwaiter."
• Guide Dang It!: You have to fish tea out of the Boston Harbor. You are supposed to deduce that a minuteman fishing means you should click on a box of Jetsam (that specific box that doesn't look too different than the other pieces of jetsam floating around) floating in the harbor. Fortunately, Polly Tix will point out that you fished out a box of tea, as someone who's not familiar with the Boston Tea Party may not realize a crate is full of tea.
  • Putting the Declaration of Independence back together can fall under this too. The game doesn't make it all that clear what order the passages are supposed to be in, and to make matters worse the English dialect is both antiquated and more complicated than the targeted audience should be familiar with. More than a few kids found it easier to just grab an encyclopedia and reference the actual document.
• Historical Hero Upgrade: Where Thomas Jefferson is concerned. You go to his house in Monticello but you don't see any slaves nearby, though you do see a dumbwaiter.
• Lowered Recruiting Standards: A 16-year-old minuteman explains that he is "not really" allowed to join the army, but in practice it will accept him because the war is so dangerous and important.
• Orphaned Etymology:
  • At one point, Thomas Jefferson refers to himself and the other revolutionary leaders as "the Founding Fathers," a term they were obviously not known by during their own era, least of all before said founding had even taken place. Indeed, the term "Founding Fathers" wasn't applied to them until the 20th century.
  • Also on this level, the redcoat leader says that the colonists have "boycotted" tea. The word "boycott" was coined in the 19th century, in reference to Charles Boycott. For the record, the American colonists' refusal to buy British goods was called "non-importation" at the time.
• Punch-Clock Villain: The Redcoat leader is little more than a homesick employee. He even sympathizes with the Americans a little- though he doesn't switch sides because "it's my job, you know" and a lot of English believe the Americans are making a fuss over nothing.
• Unintentionally Unwinnable: Due to a bug, it's possible to actually create duplicates of certain passages when putting the Declaration of Independence back together, which will replace other ones and make them impossible to recover. Since the puzzle was already difficult to begin with, it wasn't that uncommon for this stage to be the stopping point for a lot of people.

Case 15: Westward Expansion (1805)

Carmen's thief has stolen Lewis and Clark's journals. To find a new route through the Rocky Mountains for the Corps of Discovery, you'll have to learn Indian sign language from Sacagawea.

• Artistic License – Geography: This case takes some interesting liberties with American geography by having the Pacific Ocean visible from just over the Rocky Mountains, which would seem to erase the entire states of Oregon and Washington. Obviously, this was done to create the sense that Lewis and Clark's journey is wrapping up.
• Bears Are Bad News: The final obstacle is a bear blocking your path.
• Dawn of the Wild West: You're helping out Lewis and Clark in the Pacific Northwest of 1805. After you complete the mission, the Chief specifically mentions that this began the more familiar Old West era.
• Native Guide: Sacagawea is serving as one for Lewis and Clark, as per Real Life.
• One-Shot Revisionism: You need to learn Indian sign language to communicate with the local Shoshoni Indians, who presumably don't know English. But why then is Translation Convention played straight throughout the rest of the game?
• The Voiceless: Aside from Sacagawea, none of the Native American characters speak onscreen. Instead, they only communicate with you through sign language.

Case 16: An Age of Music (1808)

Ludwig van Beethoven's fifth and sixth symphonies have been stolen, just before they were set to debut. You'll have to rehearse the openings to those symphonies with the Vienna orchestra by arranging pieces of sheet music in the correct order.

• Anachronistic Clue: You spot the crook in Beethoven's orchestra because they're playing an instrument (a sousaphone) that hadn't been invented at the time.
• Anti-Frustration Features: Since this case requires players to listen to music, there is an option for hard-of-hearing players to make it easier for them to complete the case.
• Hidden in Plain Sight: Jacqueline chose to hide in Beethoven’s orchestra by bringing an instrument with her and playing it during the symphony. Unfortunately for her, Beethoven notices the strange instrument Jacqueline brought with her through its sound and tips it off to Renee and the player, leading to Jacqueline’s arrest.
• Reality Has No Soundtrack: This is the only level which has no background music. Not for added realism, but because the level has a musical puzzle which depends on you being able to hear the Source Music clearly. When you revisit Beethoven during the final chase, background music (specially, "Für Elise") is added.
• When He Smiles: Beethoven gets one notable moment where he smiles after performing his symphonies.

Case 17: Era of Invention (1879)

Carmen's thief has stolen Thomas Edison's light bulb. To make a replacement before dawn, Edison needs a cotton thread for the filament, but the local cotton factory is closed for the night and the guard will only listen to the sound of one man's voice.

• Anachronism Stew: The crook is hiding behind the battery that Edison invented to start the new Ford Model T. Of course, the level takes place in 1879, and the Model T wasn't introduced until 1908.
• Anachronistic Soundtrack: The background music is ragtime, a musical style that didn't exist until the 1890s. The level is meant to take place in 1879. Close enough, right?
• Both Sides Have a Point: Edison wants to get a spool of cotton thread to recreate the lightbulb that he just invented. Considering how important lightbulbs become, and your mission involves setting history back on course, you need to go to the cotton factory and get that thread. The guard won't give you thread because the store is closed, "it's the middle of the night," as the boss Joe points out, and you don't have money to pay for it anyway.
• Impact Silhouette: Dee Cryption leaves one in a door after she flees from you.
• Manipulative Editing: In-universe example—you have to obtain a spool of thread from a factory, but it is closed. What you have to do is record the factory's owner with a phonograph, then play only parts of it back to the guard in the darkness.
• NOT!: If you try to fry Dee Cryption's force field with the test bulb, it will cause the test bulb to burn out, and she'll taunt you with, "Nice bulb you have there. Not! Hahahaha!"
• Recorded Spliced Conversation: As part of a puzzle, the player has to use a phonograph to record and play back a factory owner's voice to a guard.
• Your Princess Is in Another Castle!: Dee Crypton after you find her hiding place runs into the next room, and sets up a force field to protect her from Ivan's attack. You have to disable the forcefield using Edison's lightbulb.

Case 18: The Space Race (1961)

In Soviet Russia, Carmen Sandiego finds YOU! She also meddles with the history of The Space Race by grounding Yuri Gagarin's rocket.

• Acceptable Breaks from Reality: Yuri Gagarin probably wouldn't have been too eager to help a couple of Americans who decide to help him launch into space—you and Ivan would have been arrested in a heartbeat in addition to Carmen due to the Cold War hostility between the U.S.A. and U.S.S.R. at the time.
• The Backwards Я: No, Ivan, СССР does not stand for Central Committee of the Communist Party. The manual even admits as much.
• Creator Provincialism: A notable aversion, with the entire Space Race represented by a mission in which you help launch Yuri Gagarin's rocket into space. In fact, this is the only mission set in the twentieth century.
• Developer's Foresight: In-universe. The space flight simulator considers all the possibilities when you put the punch cards in the wrong order.
• Emergency Temporal Shift: The player and Ivan Idea have the sheer luck to walk in on Carmen herself in 1961, right before the launch of Yuri Gagarin's first manned spaceflight. After a spirited attempt at apprehending her by Ivan, Carmen exits via a time tunnel; it soon turns out that she's hidden the Chronoskimmer somewhere on the base, trusting that you'll be too busy trying to find it to pursue her. She's actually hidden it inside the rocket, and you don't find out until you've helped Gagarin clear it for launch - meaning that Carmen might have been victorious if you hadn't managed to retrieve the Chronoskimmer in time.
• Epic Fail: Ivan Idea sees Carmen in the USSR space hanger, and makes a clumsy tackle. She dodges him without even lifting a finger and gives a quick monologue before vanishing into a time tunnel.
• Take Your Time: Carmen has locked the Chronoskimmer inside Yuri Gagarin's rocket, which you find out just as it's about to take off. No matter how long you spend in the rocket, it will never blast off until you actually find it.
• Wham Line: Ivan's Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap! moment after reading a note from Carmen when he realizes that Carmen hid the chronoskimmer in Yuri Gagarin's rocket. Which means you have to find it before liftoff.
• Wham Shot: You and Ivan emerge from the Time Tunnel... and Carmen's standing right there.

Case 19: Present Day

A Final-Exam Boss in which you chase Carmen Sandiego back through all the time periods you've visited. This level is essentially a throwback to the classic Carmen Sandiego format that the rest of the game Genre Shifted away from, except you don't need a warrant because you already know that you're going after Carmen herself.

• Anachronism Stew: When you run into Julius Caesar again, he says that Carmen reminded him of Cleopatra. This is 50 B.C.E., and Caesar didn't meet Cleopatra until the Siege of Alexandria in 48 B.C.E.
• Developer's Foresight: Should you decide to travel to the present, there are numerous scenes of the Chief telling you that Carmen hasn't arrived yet.
• Donut Mess with a Cop: You may catch the Chief having a donut break if you visit her office before catching Carmen. Her reaction is hilarious as she shoos you away while guarding her snack.
• Emergency Temporal Shift: After the previous mission, you have access to the Chronoskimmer and can travel anywhere in history, while Carmen can only use the time tunnels to access places she's previously visited. Consequently, she's constantly travelling to stay one step ahead of you until she can finally reach her ultimate goal... and unfortunately, you're still delayed by your need to actually find clues to her next destination in line.
• Trash Landing: In the ending cutscene. When fleeing ACME headquarters in the present day, Carmen jumps into a dumpster that quickly turns into a car, but Rock Solid grabs hold of it before she can drive off. She's then promptly handcuffed and locked into a jail cell.
• Wham Line: Delivered by the Chief: "Carmen Sandiego was once an ACME agent!"
• Wham Shot: When Carmen appears at ACME headquarters...and steals a file with her name on it. Later on the Chief reveals that it was because Carmen was once an ACME agent!