History YMMV / TheSims2

** Is Bella Goth a gold digger who simply married Mortimer for the money? A fair share of Simmers believe this (it doesn't help she's Romance aspiration in The Sims 2...), while Bella fans heavily disagree. The former camp sometimes even goes as far as to say Bella wasn't abducted by aliens at all, rather she left the Goth family and moved to Strangetown herself. That's right; Between an alien abduction and a woman fleeing her family, the latter is considered the more outlandish theory in the Sims 2 story. Talk about bizarro. Anyway, Bella's true nature definitely creates a bit of a [[BaseBreakingCharacter rift between players]] and how they perceive the pre-made sims.

* ScrappyMechanic: [[ScrappyMechanic/TheSims Has its own page]].

* VindicatedByHistory: When the game launched in 2004, it was seen as a ''down''grade from ''VideoGame/TheSims1'' simply because ''VideoGame/TheSims1'' had seven expansion packs worth of content that weren't available in ''The Sims 2'', some of which were later [[FranchiseOriginalSin sold back as future expansions]]. Over [[TurnOfTheMillennium the 2000s]] and after ''VideoGame/TheSims3'' and the [[TroubledProduction infamously troubled]] ''VideoGame/TheSims4'' launched with even ''less'' content compared to ''The Sims 2'' at launch (Some of which weren't even replicated ''with'' all of their expansion packs!), people started to forgive The Sims 2 for its perceived lack of content at launch. As many people grew older, they also realised just how much trouble that releasing with all the content of about seven expansion packs would have been to develop and [[LoadsAndLoadsOfLoading load]].

* ValuesResonance:
** Same-sex relationships were allowed. In 2004? This was a huge ''HUGE'' thing.
** DoubleStandardAbuseFemaleOnMale is averted - which was a big ''big'' thing in the TurnOfTheMillennium when the effect of that trope was usually limited to this very wiki or PlayedForLaughs at the man's expense.

** This game basically popularised the "Remove features and mechanics from the previous ''Sims'' game and then sell it back to the players as another expansion"-practice that ''The Sims'' has been known for. Players largely forgave ''VideoGame/TheSims2'' for it because this game ''also'' started the trend of adding some unique mechanics for it, with ''its'' first expansion pack (''University'') being something far different than what was in ''VideoGame/TheSims1'' and ''Nightlife'' being seen as adding way more to the game than ''Hot Date''. Unfortunately later expansions seemed to add less and less...

* VindicatedByHistory: When the game launched in 2004, it was seen as a ''down''grade from ''VideoGame/TheSims1'' simply because ''VideoGame/TheSims1'' had seven expansion packs worth of content that weren't available in ''The Sims 2'', some of which were later [[FranchiseOriginalSin sold back as future expansions]]. Over [[TurnOfTheMillennium the 2000s]] and after ''VideoGame/TheSims3'' and the [[TroubledProduction infamously troubled]] ''VideoGame/TheSims4'' launched with even ''less'' content compared to ''The Sims 2'' at launch (Some of which weren't even replicated ''with'' all of their expansion packs!).

* EvenBetterSequel: Along with reduced difficulty, dramatically improved graphics, audio, and gameplay, additions of "true" life simulation gameplay elements such as aging, weekdays (including holidays), multiple-course meal, and in later games, seasons, were marked as the best points of the series and what sets it apart from the (already revolutionary, despite its flaws) first ''The Sims''.

** This game basically popularised the "Remove features and mechanics from the previous ''Sims'' game and then sell it back to the players as another expansion"-practice that ''The sims'' has been known for. Players largely forgave ''VideoGame/TheSims2'' for it because this game ''also'' started the trend of adding some unique mechanics for it, with ''its'' first expansion pack (''University'') being something far different than what was in ''VideoGame/TheSims1'' and ''Nightlife'' being seen as adding way more to the game than ''Hot Date''. Unfortunately later expansions seemed to add less and less...

** Like the first game, Sims with low nice points will autonomously use mean interaction on any Sim they come across, making their lives harder (especially when they decide to kcik garbage cans and steal newspapers and gnomes). [[{{Jerkass}} Albany Capp]] is a good example of this.

** Not only the cow mascots (which intended as the "evil" mascot) but heck, the mascots, the cheerleaders, and the coach (who influences your Sim to work out), all qualify because their apparent [[NoSenseofPersonalSpace lack of recognition of personal space]] in the college area. They'll happily goes in to not only your dorm, but your personal college home (if you manage to gain one or play a Sim already living in one) to not only do their business but also mess up with your things. Thankfully updates allow you to lock your doors, limiting access to only your Sim or your household.

** The Landgraabs originally appeared as the main antagonists of The Sims 1 console port, but has become popular enough to appear in every game afterward.

* ValuesDissonance: With increased discussion of sexual assault against men in the TheNewTens and the underlying [[DoubleStandardRapeMaleOnMale social]] [[DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale biases]], the [[MrSeahorse male pregnancy]] mechanics where a male Sim was [[AlienAbduction abducted]] and had an [[FaceFullOfAlienWingWong alien baby]] [[MedicalRapeAndImpregnate implanted]] in them have aged ''very'' poorly, especially since the game seem to treat it as a light-hearted [[BlackComedyRape joke]] or as a cutesy event while glossing over the UnfortunateImplications. It's notable how female Sims don't get impregnated but men do.

*** The Free Time expansion pack does allow an option to age up child and teen {{NPC}}s, allowing them to grow up when your sims do. Aging Marsha will at least get rid of the odd 'never-aging child who obsessively stalks my household' problem. At least then she'll then be simply more of a clingy friend rather than a creepy forever-child Neverland nightmare. If you want to go a step further than that though, once she's a teen, send her to college on a lot without a phone. [[CoolAndUnusualPunishment Now she can't call anybody anymore.]]

* ValuesDissonance: With increased discussion of sexual assault against men in the TheNewTens and the underlying [[DoubleStandardRapeMaleOnMale social]] [[Main/DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale biases]], the [[MrSeahorse male pregnancy]] mechanics where a male Sim was [[AlienAbduction abducted]] and had an [[FaceFullOfAlienWingWong alien baby]] [[MedicalRapeAndImpregnate implanted]] in them have aged ''very'' poorly, especially since the game seem to treat it as a light-hearted [[BlackComedyRape joke]] or as a cutesy event while glossing over the UnfortunateImplications. It's notable how female Sims don't get impregnated but men do.

* ScrappyMechanic:
** Starting from Free Time, Mr. Humble will give you a new computer. Always nice - but he does this for ''every family'' you create. Needless to say, mods were instantly created to disable this since the very high end computer messes up "rags to riches" scenarios and many are annoyed at what is basically an ad for ''VideoGame/TheSims3'', which comes preinstalled with the computer.
** "It's raining!" "It's hailing!" "It's snowing!" Yes, it's raining and hailing... how is it possible to get the "It's raining!" off of your task queue?
** Put a computer in the house and the sims will always try and play it unless you have free will off. This gets ''very'' annoying when you try to make your sims stand out so they don't miss the school bus or the carpool... and they decide to go play the computer.
** Put a stereo in, and you better get used to the music - because it's ''not'' turning off (unless you turn off Free Will in the options menu, so they won't try to turn the blasted thing on again).
** If you make your Sims very Neat in their personalty, they will always make their bed when they wake up and you can't stop them once they have started.
** Pregnancy causes hunger and energy to deplete at such an acceleration that failure to juggle both adequately is quite likely to prove fatal unless you micromanage like crazy. (Giving birth is 100% safe in the Sims' world, but pregnancy cravings can be a literal killer.) Gets even worse with ''Nightlife'' installed, as you'll often find yourself in the extremely frustrating position of watching your pregnant Sim starve to death after she ([[MisterSeahorse or he]]) falls asleep face-down in a plate of food. Luckily, the pregnancy mechanic was overhauled comprehensively in ''The Sims 3'' to prevent this from happening.
** Hope you enjoy the gesturing in Bon Voyage because once you install it, that's all they'll do. Unless you get a mod.
** The Free Time expansion adds some cool new items and the hobby system into the game. The problem is, once you Sim gets some hobby enthusiasm, 90% of their wants will roll up to be hobby-related. Have a new baby? Trying to get up the career ladder? Making a best friend? No aspiration points from those, because your wants are all "talk about hobby," "read hobby page in the newspaper," "practice hobby," etc.
** On the subject of Free Time, each time your sim will reach a next "rank" in a hobby, an NPC affiliated with the hobby's club will contact your sim, either by calling them or ''walking directly into your house''. Hey, just because my sim earned one lousy cooking point by studying a cooking book doesn't mean a chef should break in and offer membership to some cuisine club.
** The nannies are notorious for being incompetent to a dangerous degree (as in, "set the kitchen on fire by being too busy force-feeding a non-hungry baby to look after the TV dinner she's cooking for a toddler even though toddlers can't eat those" dangerous) and very glitchy (refusing to leave after being dismissed, getting stuck on the lot or even ''[[NightmareFuel multiplying]]''), to the point they're seen as [[TheScrappy the scrappies]] of the NPC characters.

* GeniusBonus: The majors and each year's descriptions is chock full of this. For example, one of the Physics' class titles is "The Strange Charm of Quarks". The other descriptions have similar humorous names.

** Brandi Broke, having recently lost her husband and with soon to be three mouths to feed at the start of the game, is ''made of'' this trope. So much so that many players take pity on her and give her a SecondLove.

* DracoInLeatherPants: Downplayed. While [[TheCasanova Don Lothario]] and [[GoldDigger Dina Caliente]] are clearly based on stereotypical Soap Opera villains, there's several several players that prefer to portray them in a more positive light in their machinimas or gameplays.

* MostAnnoyingSound: Can anyone say '''salsa'''? That's right, turn on a random stereo and the first thing you'll hear will always be the Salsa music. They may not be bad songs per se, but you'll get really, really sick of it after a while. Thankfully you can put your own songs, and turning off the ones you didn't want to listen.
** When your sim gets cranky about one of their moods being low, expect their typical whining. [[SarcasmMode Favorites]] include "SHOO FLEE?" by some female adult sims, "PELO-PELO!" when elder male sims complain, and then there's, well, [[TheUnintelligible whatever the hell the elder females are saying.]]
** Even worse is, unsurprisingly, [[CuteButCacophonic when kids complain.]] This applies to both babies, toddlers and children.
** Back from Sims 1 with a vengeance is the carpool's irritating honking. It will not stop going "HONK HONK" until your sim gets in. The helicopter carpool doesn't have this issue, but for a share of players the helicopter is a big annoyance on its own (didn't help that it causes surrounding Sims to stop in place and covers their ears due to the rotor noise and wind)
** If your Sims gesturing ALL THE TIME in Bon Voyage doesn't drive you insane first, the sounds they make when they do will.

** The Ottomas and Crittur premade family, which, if played, causes game-breaking bug that extend to corrupt the neighborhood they was in to the point that the fix is to either remove the neighborhood or to reinstall the game. Thankfully the Ottomas has been patched since around 2006 although Crittur didn't. And you can't simply delete them as it caused corruption. Instead use [[http://modthesims.info/d/520751 this]].

** The cow mascots in universities are downright jerks who cause a lot of mischief. The worst though is that they will randomly hit on your sim; now (assuming you play with game-shipped jealousy mechanics instead of a mod like ACR) if another sim who's in love with your sim happens to be in the same room when it happens, the sim will take it to heart and perceive it as your sim "cheating" on them, even when your sim rejects the flirt! These cows have undoubtedly lead to a lot of heartbreaks, in the dumbest way possible.

** Vidcund Curious might also have been the unfavorite to his brothers. Compared to Pascal and Lazlo, Vidcund was never helped with his homework by his parents, and his girlfriend dumped him for Loki Beaker, which according to his memories is implied to be because of a bladder accident.

** Marsha Bruenig, the child NPC who occasionally comes home from school alongside one of your child sims. Expect to get phone calls from her every subsequent day, and it will never, ever stop. Even once your child sim has moved on and aged into teenager, adult, elder,... little Marsha will still call you, asking if you're still friends.

** The cow mascots in universities are downright jerks who cause a lot of mischief. The worst though is that they will randomly hit on your sim; now if another sim who's in love with your sim happens to be in the same room when it happens, the sim will take it to heart and perceive it as your sim "cheating" on them, even when your sim rejects the flirt! These cows have undoubtedly lead to a lot of heartbreaks, in the dumbest way possible.
** Not only the cow mascots (which intended as the "evil" mascot) but heck, the mascots, the cheerleaders, and the coach (which influences your Sim to workout), all qualify because their apparent lack of recognition of personal space in the college area. They'll happily goes in to not only your dorm, but your personal college home (if you manage to gain one or play a Sim already living in one) to not only do their business but also mess up with your things. Thankfully updates allow you to lock your doors, limiting access to only your Sim or your household.

** Vidcund Curious might also have been the unfavorite to his brothers. Compared to Pascal and Lazlo, Vidcund was never helped with his homework by his parents, and his girlfriend dumped him for Loki Beaker, which according to his memories is implied to be because of a bladder accident.