YMMV / Carmen Sandiego: Treasures of Knowledge

• Alternate Character Interpretation: Both in-universe and out. Jules thinks Carmen intentionally led them to the lost city and its treasures so they could be donated to a museum while Shadow thinks she's irredeemable; a thief through and through. While no answer is explicitly given, it's ultimately up to the player to decide who is right.
• Harsher in Hindsight: One of the places you visit in the United States is New York, complete with the World Trade Center prominently displayed outside a window the two stand near. It doesn't help this game was released a month after 9/11. It also doesn't help that Shadow brings up the time when a plane accidentally crashed into the Empire State Building back in 1945.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: The game's Limited Animation, character designs, and secret agent motif bring a certain animated series on FX to mind.
• Les Yay: It is really easy to see Jules and Carmen being ex-lovers, considering how Jules is trying so hard to have Carmen go back to ACME being like having a lover back.
• Nightmare Fuel
  • The aforementioned Jump Scare on the main page.
  • The VILE henchman in Thailand. He's hiding in the shadows of a Buddhist temple and has no eyes or mouth whatsoever, even when he's out in the open. The creepy music doesn't help either.
• Paranoia Fuel: Occasionally, "suspicious" sound effects will play when looking around, creating a sense of uneasiness to your surroundings. One of them even sounds like an ethereal choir holding on one note.
• Tear Jerker: Jules' backstory. She and Carmen were considered some of ACME's greatest agents. At some point, the two had a falling out, which eventually led Carmen to quitting ACME and turning to a life of crime by starting VILE. Apparently the other ACME agents blamed her for Carmen's Face–Heel Turn and overall loss of one of their top agents. Her heartfelt speech begging Carmen to turn a new leaf is very genuine, almost like someone trying to reconnect with a childhood friend who fell into the wrong crowd.
  • It gets even worse when Carmen begins leaving mementos from her time at ACME around crime scenes for Jules to discover, possibly trying to bring back painful memories in a cruel attempt to Kick the Dog.