History Heartwarming / AHatInTime

* In the ending, Hat Kid is about to leave the planet when she is stopped by her former enemies, who have taken a liking to her after they worked together to defeat [[KnightTemplar Mustache Girl]] and want her to stay with them. Though she brushes them off her ship, she waves goodbye to them in a friendly way and seems happy to have met them, shedding a tear at having to leave them. TheStinger even shows her sleeping with some dolls of them.

* Both the DJ Grooves levels in Battle of the Birds both show the Hat Kid having a wonderful time parading around as a movie star (both figuratively and literally). Several of the stages put her in stressful situations, including the entire rest of Battle of the Birds. So it's nice to see her able to have fun and dream big like the kid she is.

* [[https://twitter.com/cyanatar/status/922870322843484162 This]] [[Website/{{Twitter}} tweet]], posted on October 24, 2017, by the art director of Gears for Breakfast, Jenna Brown, as a [[ThankingTheViewer thank you to fans]] of ''VideoGame/AHatInTime'', complete with a drawing of a smiling Hat Kid making a heart hand gesture with another heart to her right. She looks so adorable in this drawing and it's heartwarming to see the game's art director go through the trouble of creating this artwork to make the fans happy.

* In Rock the Boat, Hat Kid rescues the cruise ship's passengers and crew without expecting any apparent award. She even delves back into the ship to retrieve the captain, when she could've instead gone after the time piece.

* Against the final boss of Battle of the Birds, whoever lost the award ceremony will show up to help defuse the bomb that the boss attaches to you - particularly heartwarming if it's the Conductor, who has been a JerkAss to you the whole time and at one point said he valued the safety of his train over your own life, yet he chooses to come by and save your life without so much as a snide remark even though you're the sole reason DJ Grooves won.

* Overzealous as she is to fight the mafia, Mustache Girl and Hat Kid's friendship is rather adorable. While it lasts.

** One of the points on the Fridge subpage builds upon this by suggesting that they ''still'' have some level of friendship, and that the tip Hat Kid receives over the phone towards the end of the chapter isn't in the name of revenge, but an attempt to stop the winner from going drunk with power like Mustache Girl did.

** The Conductor claims that he and the others will leave the sinking ship in the lifeboats without Hat Kid if she isn't back in time from saving the Captain. Sure, you DO have a time limit, but when you pick up the Captain, The Conductor instead calls out for Hat Kid again, and more urgently. Of course, you get more time after this.

* Against the final boss of Battle of the Birds, :whoever lost the award ceremony will show up to help defuse the bomb that the boss attaches to you - particularly heartwarming if it's the Conductor, who has been a JerkAss to you the whole time and at one point said he valued the safety of his train over your own life, yet he chooses to come by and save your life without so much as a snide remark even though you're the sole reason DJ Grooves won.

* The Snatcher himself actually gets at least one moment before The Finale. In [[BreatherLevel Act 5]] of Subcon Forest the Snatcher, a monstrous spirit that has stolen hundreds of souls from those unlucky enough to enter his forest, reveals that he regularly sneaks into mailboxes belonging to those living in the outside world. Why? It's in order to steal mail from them and ''deliver it all to his minions''. The Snatcher's reason for doing this is that he makes it so "it's almost like someone cares about [the minions]", but this small act of genuine kindness makes it obvious that [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes HE cares about them]] and simply doesn't state/admit it.

* Overzealous as she is to fight the mafia, Mustache Girl and Hat Kid's friendship is rather adorable. [[spoiler: While it lasts.]]

* When you gather all the memory photos in the Dead Bird Studio time rift, you can see the Conductor and DJ's backstory: [[spoiler:They've been enamored with making movies ever since childhood, watching movies together. While it did turn into a bitter rivalry, they both stayed true to their dreams]].

* Against the final boss of Battle of the Birds, [[spoiler:whoever lost the award ceremony will show up to help defuse the bomb that the boss attaches to you - particularly heartwarming if it's the Conductor, who has been a JerkAss to you the whole time and at one point said he valued the safety of his train over your own life, yet he chooses to come by and save your life without so much as a snide remark even though you're the sole reason DJ Grooves won]].

* The Snatcher himself actually gets at least one moment before [[spoiler:The Finale]]. In [[BreatherLevel Act 5]] of Subcon Forest the Snatcher, a monstrous spirit that has stolen hundreds of souls from those unlucky enough to enter his forest, reveals that he regularly sneaks into mailboxes belonging to those living in the outside world. Why? It's in order to steal mail from them and ''deliver it all to his minions''. The Snatcher's reason for doing this is that he makes it so "it's almost like someone cares about [the minions]", but this small act of genuine kindness makes it obvious that [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes HE cares about them]] and simply doesn't state/admit it.

* In Alpine Skyline, specifically The Birdcage area, you can find a pair of Crow fellows happily enjoying each other's company. [[spoiler:If you wait a bit, you might even see little hearts pop up around them!]]
* Before the fight with [[spoiler:Mustache Girl, you can choose to run away in fear. The game asks you if you really want to run away and if you choose to leave, a little animation is played showing Hat Kid running away in tears. She trips on the stairs and just lies on the ground feeling sad while the "credits" roll. After a few seconds though, her former enemies, now friends cheer her on and basically tell her to not give up. After hearing this, she gets up and goes back to the castle feeling confident.]]
* After the FinalBoss, [[spoiler:despite her attempting to use your fuel source to fuel her crusade, you can risk not being able to return home by giving Mustache Girl a Time Piece to use against the Mafia, especially when you find out from one of the DLC Time Rift Story Books that [[FreudianExcuse Mustache Girl used to live on the island in peace before the Mafia came along and ended up ruining her home, leading her to fight back...]] [[TearJerker/AHatInTime All alone.]]]]
* [[spoiler:In the ending, Hat Kid is about to leave the planet when she is stopped by her former enemies, who have taken a liking to her after they worked together to defeat [[KnightTemplar Mustache Girl]] and want her to stay with them. Though she brushes them off her ship, she waves goodbye to them in a friendly way and seems happy to have met them, shedding a tear at having to leave them. A post-credits scene even shows her sleeping with some dolls of them]].
* [[spoiler: In Rock the Boat, Hat Kid rescues the cruise ship's passengers and crew without expecting any apparent award. She even delves back into the ship to retrieve the captain, when she could've instead gone after the time piece.]]

* As some of the DLC Time Rift photos reveal that [[spoiler: the Moon Penguins wanted to protect DJ Grooves from overly harsh critics who'd throw tomatoes at him.]]
** In another one, [[spoiler: we see that after Vanessa's ice plague turned the children of Subcon into Dwellers, Snatcher was nice enough to give them bodies (after signing contracts, of course), and that was how the Subconites were born.]]
* In the Nyakuza Metro DLC, [[spoiler:Rumbi gets his own Purple Rift storybook! It shows him being first assembled by Hat Kid, with the two forming a bond from the start, as well as recounting events of the game from his perspective (the Mafia breaking into Hat Kid's ship, Mustache Girl's betrayal and theft of the Time Pieces, Hat Kid's stardom, Hat Kid's soul being stolen, a purple plant brought onto the ship, and the eventual retrieval of all the Time Pieces). It's heartwarming to know that through thick and thin, the two remain as best of companions.]]
* More Snatcher stuff. [[spoiler: In Queen Vanessa's manor, you're forbidden from using (most) hats and from using your weapon. Although it's more likely that he wants to make things hard for Hat Kid for the fun of it, one [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation interpretation]] suggests that deep down, after everything that's happened between the two, Snatcher still cares about Vanessa and doesn't want her getting hurt. Also a small SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome for Hat Kid; Snatcher believes Hat Kid could take her in a fight.]]

* Before the fight with [[spoiler:Mustache Girl, you can choose to run away in fear. The game asks you if you really want to run away and if you choose to leave, a little animation is played showing Hat Kid running away in tears. She trips on the stairs and just lies on the ground feeling sad while the "credits" roll. After a few seconds though, her allies cheer her on and basically tell her to not give up. After hearing this, she gets up and goes back to the castle feeling confident.]]

* Peace and Tranquility offers encouraging, reassuring messages to go with the calming music, with the narration trying to make sure the player doesn't feel bad for toning down [[NintendoHard the Death Wish]]. In today's age, many players and games provide anxiety from EasyModeMockery. This is a welcome change in attitude.

*** When the boat capsizes and starts to sink, you need to rescue the Conductor from the Playpen area, even though he was above deck when the chaos started; he must have run back inside the sinking ship to rescue his grandchildren.

* More Snatcher stuff. [[spoiler: In Queen Vanessa's manor, you're forbidden from using (most) hats and from using your weapon. Although it's more likely that he wants to make things hard for Hat Kid for the fun of it, one [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation interpretation]] suggests that deep down, after everything that's happened between the two, Snatcher still cares about Vanessa and doesn't want her getting hurt. Also a small CrowningMomentOfAwesome for Hat Kid; Snatcher believes Hat Kid could take her in a fight.]]

* After you save the Mafia Town from lava, they throw a celebration in your honor, thank you heartily and give you the time piece as a reward. They even make two golden statues on the Hat Kid!

* More Snatcher stuff. [[spoiler: In Queen Vanessa's manor, you're forbidden from using (most) hats and from using your weapon. Deep down, after everything that's happened, Snatcher still cares about Vanessa and doesn't want her getting hurt. Also a small CrowningMomentOfAwesome for Hat Kid; Snatcher believes Hat Kid could take her in a fight.]]

* After the FinalBoss, [[spoiler:despite her attempting to use your fuel source to fuel her crusade, you can risk not being able to return home by giving Mustache Girl a Time Piece to use against the Mafia]].

** As are the Conductors itty-bitty toddler grandchildren. It's true that he left them in the playpen for the entire cruise so he could spend it all at the bar, but the fact remains that he brought them all on this expensive vacation with him.