YMMV / VVVVVV

The YMMVVVVVV page, for VVVVVVery opinionated tropes.

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• Angst? What Angst?: The most Captain Viridian gets sad is when the crew is lost, and that's only for the first five minutes of the game. Later, when the dimension is destabilized, Viridian is momentarily alarmed... but then quickly chippers up and runs through the funky-colored rooms as if nothing happened.
• Awesome Music:
  • ''Presenting VVVVVV'' is a chilling title theme that gets more epic nearly halfway through.
  • "Pushing Onwards", the music for the Space Station levels, is very fun and catchy: a perfect introduction to this game's style of chiptune music.
  • "Potential for Anything" is a bit slower than the other level songs, but just as determined-sounding. It really makes you feel like you have to potential to do anything.
  • "Positive Force", which is hands down THE best theme in the whole game. It's a medley of every other theme in the game, with Pushing Onwards as the main soundfont. And it. Is. AWESOME. And the reverse version sounds as good!
  • "Pressure Cooker", the music for the Warp Zone, is a groovy chiptune/dance fusion that is sure you to make you at least bob your head or tap your feet to the rhythm.
  • "Popular Potpourri", the credits theme, is an upbeat and celebratory theme that is fitting for the end of a journey.
  • "Piercing the Sky", which was introduced in the 2.0 update, takes the determination of some of the tracks and takes it several steps further, making it a contender for one of the most awesome songs in the game. It doesn't play in the main game, so you'll have to play one of the custom levels or create one yourself to hear it in-game.
  • "Paced Energy", also from the 2.0 update, combines the standard catchy chiptune goodness of the OST with a heavy, almost industrial beat.
  • The 3DS version introduces a remix of "Predestined Fate", which takes the original's mellow vibe and turns it bright and catchy. It was later added to other versions of the game.
• Big-Lipped Alligator Moment:
  • An elephant can be found in a small area of the map. It takes up four rooms and flashes disco colors. There's no explanation as to why it's there, and you can't interact with it.
  • When the characters are initially stuck in the Secret Lab, they all shout "Combine!" and form a giant character, then smash through the wall. Then they disband as if nothing strange happened.
  • In the fan level "Soul Searching," one trinket room is designed to look like a YouTube video. Completely out-of-place.
• Fanon: Captain Viridian's gender is never specified, but many fans lean towards them being male, largely due their cyan color scheme contrasting Violet's pink. There are female headcanons to even things out, however. And Word of God says that it's up to the player to decide.
• Good Bad Bugs: An exploit was found by speedrunners that allows both intermission scenes to be skipped entirely, thus greatly reducing the amount of time required to speedrun the game. Terry Cavanagh has acknowledged this, saying that "This is the result of a bug that I'm so glad I never fixed."
• It's Short, So It Sucks!: Probably the complaint made most by reviewers about the game, especially given its "high" initial retail price of $15 - depending on skill, a blind run-through takes around two to four hours. Price drops and extra content have nullified this complaint to an extent.
• Memetic Mutation:
  • Oh shit, I'm sorry./Pushing Gaywards ^note A memetic clip of Steve Rambo's adult film Boy Band remixed to "Pushing Onwards". The video has caused quite a bit of association, so whenever you look in the comments section of YouTube uploads of "Pushing Onwards", expect someone to quote the video, especially the opening line, "Oh shit, I'm sorry".
  • The number 37. ^ExplanationA player level titled "Overdose" by user Allison Fleischer tells a story of Viridian overdosing on drugs and hallucinating a museum of thirty-seven people who died as a result of Dimension VVVVVV collapsing. In the last section of the level, this number is repeated to ludicrous extents, leading to it becoming an instant meme.
  • High-res Viridian ^ExplanationIn early 2019, a user drew sprites of Viridian in high- and low-resolution◊. People found the high-res sprite's face to be particularly unsettling, and the popularity sparked fake creepypastas, fanart of the hollow-looking Viridian, and even a multi-chapter fanfic about the concept. It's safe to say it has reached meme status.
  • VVVVVV 2 is cancelled. ^Explanation Also in early 2019, one user accidentally pinged Terry Cavanagh on the VVVVVV Discord server; since this is heavily frowned upon, other users started sending edits of Twitter posts by Terry where he says that the sequel to VVVVVV (which never existed to begin with) had been cancelled. This prompted the real Terry to respond with the exact same thing as a joke, much to the dismay of the community. The statement is now usually the response to any mention of a VVVVVV 2.
• Parody Displacement: In at least some corners of the internet, the "Pushing Gaywards" parody of "Pushing Onwards" is better-known than the original song.
• Play the Game, Skip the Story: The game is recommendable for its unique premise, great soundtrack and difficulty, the story is more of an afterthought.
• The Scrappy: Victoria, due to being a massive crybaby.
• That One Level:
  • Obtaining one of the trinkets requires you to go through about 6 consecutive screens filled with nothing but spikes, which on its own is extremely difficult. Then the game requires you to turn around immediately (or get impaled) and complete the same six screens in reverse order. More than one player has missed the (rather easy) landing at the end, after successfully navigating Hell itself...
    • Lampshaded in that there is a message at the beginning stating "Ha! Nobody will ever get this one."
  • Several of the trinkets. Veni Vidi Vici is the most infamous, but Prize For the Reckless and Edge Games are also candidates. Thankfully, these are optional.
  • Not optional, however, is the Gravitron. 60 seconds of crazy, confusing dodging that's trying even in normal mode. Even worse in No Death Mode, since the checkpoints every 5 seconds are also gone. Normally, being hit also clears the screen of all the obstacles while knocking the timer back to the most recent multiple of 5 seconds, giving you a brief lull during which you have a chance to reposition yourself and prepare for the upcoming wave. But since getting hit once in No Death Mode ends the game...
  • "...Not As I Do" is difficult because it involves an Escort Mission. You need to cross a room via three vertically moving platforms in one go (spikes forbid you from standing and catching a breather) to reach an alcove, then guide your companion through the room (hoping the finicky AI will actually start and stop walking when you want him to), then go back to the start (again in one go), and finally cross the room yourself. The level of continued precision required to get through this level... let's just say there's at least one player out there who's still stuck there, having never seen the rest of the game due to it.
  • The "A New Dimension" level featured in the 2.0 update has "Remember Me?" It's "Veni, Vidi, Vici," made to be harder... and mandatory. "Weep Like a Widow" from the "Golden Spiral" level is harder still, though like the original it's not mandatory.
  • Souleye's other bonus level, "The Dual Challenge," is no slouch, either. "Cetology Gone Wrong" requires incredibly precise jumps, and before that is a five-room shaft similar to Veni Vidi Vici except (thankfully) only going one way but you have much less room to maneuver. Also, one part of the shaft has a gravity inverter and hitting it pretty much spells death.

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