I think the Dream Theory is the best.

[fireflyprince]

Before I kept thinking this was a kind of a ghost story set place in a supernatural world like Silent Hill, but some things seem very unrealistic compared to even Silent Hill, such as the use of candy to heal yourself, the dog coming back to life when killed, and the ending where Jennifer becomes a child again.

Now it makes more sense to be a dream because it's told in a fairy-tale type way. Everything is not in order and the characters couldn't possibly be ghosts because some were still alive(or at least we don't know if they died).


Now this is my conclusion of the story.

I think whenever Jennifer dies or gets the bad ending in the "dream" it means that when she wakes up she's going to kill herself. Hence the "And they lived happily ever after...." that appears as the Game Over. Meaning that Jennifer thinks everyone would be happy if she died. Plus the main song is about suicide.

Now I have realised the things in this game are based on how Jennifer sees things. None of this is explained well because it's a memory, not a document. Jennifer remembers things the way she interpets them.

The "Good Ending" could possibly mean that Jennifer decides to move on with her life and leave her guilt behind, but will always keep Brown's memory in her heart. That's why the end of the game shows her in a fuzzy black-and-white vision of her younger self. Lots of times people dream black and white.

I think Jennifer is a mentally disturbed person. She could possibly have delusions such as the various monsters seen in the game that appear to her. You can't blame her after all she's been through. It also explains her weak childish behaviour. Has anyone noticed how Jennifer doesn't act her age even when she tries?

There's lots of hints of the game being just a dream, such as the intro of Jennifer sleeping on the bench and her sleeping on the bus at the start of the game.

I think the visions of the Intro that weren't seen in the game were just parts of another dream she had, looking for the 4 Leaf Clover(remember Brown found the 3 Leaf Clover?) because she considers herself "unlucky".

Basicly I think the game is about going inside the mind of a disturbed traumatic girl who's facing her past. I know this all sounds complicated, but basicly I think the whole game was just a dream. It makes the most sense.

[PrinceJoshua]

I agree. Though I dont really think of Jennifer as a disturbed person. A little traumatized is what I would say.

[jackdyce]

Definitely traumatized... Being the only survivor of two horrendous tragedies will do that to you.

[fireflyprince]

But Jennifer does appear to be delusional (she sees a lot of dolls as people and monsters). Plus she seems to mentally still be a young child inside.

It's just what I think from what I've heard about the game, so I don't know 100%.

But anyways, the game defenetly takes place inside Jennifer's dream. Her search for the 4 Leaf Clover Key symbolizes her wanting to find happiness in luck, because she is very unlucky.

[PrinceJoshua]

fireflyprince said:

But Jennifer does appear to be delusional (she sees a lot of dolls as people and monsters). Plus she seems to mentally still be a young child inside.

It's just what I think from what I've heard about the game, so I don't know 100%.

But anyways, the game defenetly takes place inside Jennifer's dream. Her search for the 4 Leaf Clover Key symbolizes her wanting to find happiness in luck, because she is very unlucky.

Not everything is what it seems in a dream. For Jennifer, dreams and memories of the past are a dangerous mix.

[fireflyprince]

Well, you got me there.


I guess all the things like seeing Brown and herself as dolls and the mermaid doll as a monster was just a part of her dream. Not all dreams make sense.

[PrinceJoshua]

Mine never do.

[+.Morbid.Marionette.+]

fireflyprince said:

But Jennifer does appear to be delusional (she sees a lot of dolls as people and monsters). Plus she seems to mentally still be a young child inside.

It's just what I think from what I've heard about the game, so I don't know 100%.

But anyways, the game defenetly takes place inside Jennifer's dream. Her search for the 4 Leaf Clover Key symbolizes her wanting to find happiness in luck, because she is very unlucky.

But at the end of the game depending on what you do you get the 4 Leaf Clover. Does that mean Jennifer has finally found love and happiness?

[fireflyprince]

Yes, she gets it in the good ending.

[domriver]

SOunds interesting but the whole idea on Jennifer killing herself - I am not so certain - Yes she is a bit traumatized going through two horrible events but - eh I don't know.

[spookythings]

on a slightly off-topic, self-centered note, my dreams have become somewhat psychic. they still don't make a lot of sense, but certain things that happen during them seem to happen several hours later in real life.

back on topic: its really hard to say whether or not the game is just a dream or a memory, because it never really explains anything. i've had to rely very heavily on the people at this forum and gamefaqs for help understanding what happened.

the monsters/imps/animals seemed to have been devices used by wendy and hoffman during jennifer's stay at the orphanage, and while she obviously never saw them then, she probably still believed in them, for a time at least, so her subconscious may have dredged them up and brought them to life during her little trip down memory lane (which could possibly support your dream theory). i'm not sure this indicates mental illness so much as an overactive imagination and a crappy childhood. losing your parents in an airship crash, getting kidnapped by a headcase who thinks you're his son, running away with your little girlfriend to an orphanage where all the kids and even the headmaster treats you like garbage, having your dog beaten to death at the command of someone your only friend, and then, just as things are turning around and you've begun making friends, they all get murdered by your friend and your kidnapper, who kills your friend and then himself would definitely be high on MY list of things to block out.

all in all, jennifer seemed pretty sane. scared, timid, unlucky, and lonely, sure, traumatized, definitely, but there were never any indications that she was insane. at the end of the game, when we reach the climax (jennifer seeing brown dead, wendy smiling down at her from behind her bouquet of roses, jennifer laying the smackdown) all the monsters disappear for good, leaving us one final battle with gregory, and then she is able to move freely about the mansion in her child form, remembering and forgiving everyone. i think if she were delusional, the monsters would have still been there, but when her memory fully awakened, all that was left was her in the empty orphanage, brown in the shed, and gregory on a bench.

i just don't know. your theory is good and it makes sense, but for all the game bothers to explain, maybe jennifer was in therapy, agreed to hypnosis, worked through all of her anger and hatred, and learned to pity her tormentors because they never knew any better. and then she woke up and went outside and it was actually 2006. wait, what?! the orphanage: coming soon to a theatre near you.

[Gregory Wilson]

maybe because jennifer is somewhat autistic that's why she had invented that kind of an imaginary world of her

[spookythings]

now that would be a twist, a psychological horror surrounding a *CENSORED*. one of the unlockable costumes should have been a helmet and a wheelchair.

wow, i'm mean.

where have you been gregory wilson, i missed you.

[PrinceJoshua]

That would be REALLY messed up. 0_0

[spookythings]

i know. i deserve a smiting.