What is Yume Nikki?

Yume Nikki is a 2004 adventure game. The player controls a girl named Madotsuki and explores her dreams, collecting 24 effects that change her appearance and equipment.

Random events also occur throughout the game in the form of cutscenes and unique gameplay sequences. The game has received critical praise for its surreal visual style and emphasis on open-ended exploration; its non-linearity led some critics to describe it as a precursor to walking simulators.

Its pixel art visual style and horror elements inspired numerous fangames and influenced later indie games. In 2018, Yume Nikki was published on Steam by Playism. The game has received various manga and light novel adaptations, as well as a 3D reboot called Yume Nikki: Dream Diary

Gameplay

Yume Nikki is an exploration-based adventure game with no dialogue, combat, or plot. The game begins inside her apartment, which the player is initially unable to leave. The player can save their progress by sitting at Madotsuki's desk and writing in her dream diary. Sleeping in her bed causes Madotsuki to start dreaming.Her dream begins in a room closely resembling her apartment.

On leaving the room, Madotsuki enters an area commonly referred to as the Nexus, which contains 12 new doors. Each door leads to a different area in the dream world, each having a distinct environment and design. The player's objective is to explore these areas and collect 24 different effects, which change Madotsuki's appearance or equipment when used.

Effects can be collected by interacting with certain objects and non-player characters (NPCs). Other objects and NPCs can send Madotsuki to different areas, but there is no way to encounter a game over. Throughout the game, random events occur, which can be cutscenes or have interactive elements. The game's ending, unlocked after the player collects all 24 effects, shows Madotsuki jumping off of the balcony of her apartment.

Gameplay by Jedo94 on Youtube

Develpoment and realise

Yume Nikki was independently developed and published by Kikiyama, a pseudonymous Japanese developer about whom very little is known.They created the game using the RPG Maker 2003 engine. Kikiyama first shared a build of the game on June 26, 2004, on the Japanese textboard 2channel.

They continued to update the game until 2007, stopping at version 0.10. After its initial release, it received a fan-made English translation. From 2011 to 2018, Kikiyama's status was unknown as they were unresponsive to all contact. A popular theory proposed that they could have died, possibly in the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake. On January 10, 2018, Yume Nikki was released on Steam by publisher Playism, and Kadokawa Games, the developer of the RPG Maker software, confirmed that Kikiyama was still alive and involved with the project.

Locations info

Forest world

The music consists of bells playing at varying pitches, giving the world a suspenseful and dreadful feel. The Aztec Rave Monkey can be seen in the scrolling parallax background, one of the many appearances of it in the game.

listen

Graffiti world

Graffiti World is one of the 12 original locations accessible directly from the Nexus. It is a large, openly-looping world with few solid obstacles, but the floor is covered with colorful tiles that look like graffiti artwork. Each of the different types of tile make a unique noise when stepped on.

Together, the tiles make up a huge floor pattern, resembling a strange smiling monkey and a seemingly worried face, with an appendage similar to the lure of an anglerfish. The background hum that plays here is the same as the one in Hell and Mini Hell.

listen

Snow world

Snow World is one of the twelve original locations accessible directly from the Nexus. It is a rather large openly-looping world themed around a snowy taiga, featuring a gentle snowfall, a few clusters of coniferous trees, and a few groups of igloos.

It is notable in the fact that it's the only Nexus location to have a visible floor, rather than a scrolling background, making it seem more vivid and realistic. The music has a very prominent and calming melody, making it stand out from a lot of the other original locations as well.

listen

Characters

Intractable characters

Frog

Interacting with a Frog the first time gives the player the Frog effect. After receiving the effect, they ignore the player with the exception of their normal reactions to the Cat, Knife, and Stoplight effects.

Yuki-Onna

Interacting with her for the first time gives you the Yuki-onna effect. Otherwise, she will normally walk away from Madotsuki, with the exception of the standard reaction to the Cat, Knife, and Stoplight effects.

Medamaude

Medamaude is an effect NPC that resides within the Eyeball World. It is a grasping arm, as are some of the other body parts, with the exception of the ey embedded in its palm. It spawns slightly northwest from the Eyeball World door, southeast of the Severed Blue Head.

Strober

Strober (also known as Sotoburu or Fatsoto by some fans) is an effect NPC that can be found in the Docks B.

Dwarf

The Dwarf is an effect NPC found in Candle World. His appearance is of a colorful gnome carrying a sword. He constantly runs to the east at the same speed that Madotsuki moves with the Bicycle effect, so is tricky to catch without either the Bicycle or Stoplight effects.

If the player blocks his path, he will simply stand still, making this the easiest way to catch him. Interacting with him gives the player the Midget effect.

Neon Parrot

The Neon Parrot is an effect NPC from whom the Neon effect can be obtained.

Another Characters

• Alley Demon
• Batsu
• The black cat
• Body parts
• Closet creature
• Cube Guru
• Dave spector
• Deikishi-san
• Drop fish
• E-man

See more characters and information!

Reception

Yume Nikki received positive critical reception for its unique, surreal visual style. Its visual style has been compared to the 16-bit graphics of EarthBound. Ryan McSwain, writing for Hardcore Gaming 101, remarked that the game created surprisingly good visuals by using layering effects and "eye-catching animations". He also praised the game's music and sound design. Giada Zavarise of Rock Paper Shotgun said that the game's pixel-art style influenced a movement of indie horror games like Ao Oni and Ib. She also attributed some of the game's popularity to the fact that its "dreamy" imagery invites speculation about its meaning. Wired's Julie Muncy also pointed to the game's surreal imagery and said that it appeals to those interested in dream interpretation.

The gameplay and atmosphere were also well-received by critics, who identified the game's emphasis on exploration as a major appeal. Some critics called it an early example of a walking simulator. Muncy described it as being "rich in atmospheric dream worlds" and said its surreal world-building logic creates uneasiness in players. McSwain and Zavarise agreed that the game's world was enjoyable to explore and had distinct and interesting locations They both criticized the lack of any guides or maps, which made it too easy for the player to get stuck. McSwain also criticized the game's random events for being too difficult to encounter due to their rarity. Zavarise specifically said the early parts of the game, before the player is able to memorize paths and landmarks, were the most likely to drive new players away.

Related Media

Yume Nikki has seen semi-official adaptations into a manga and light novel. The manga was illustrated by Hitoshi Tomizawa, and was serialized in Takeshobo's web magazine Manga Life Win+ beginning in May 2013. The light novel is titled Yume Nikki: I Am Not in Your Dream, and was written by Akira and illustrated by Aco Arisaka.It was licensed for digital distribution in English by J-Novel Club.

PC Gamer reported that the manga and light novel were criticized for providing explanations for things the game had left open to interpretation, and the Yume Nikki merchandise distributor stated that the adaptations were not created as canonical extensions of Kikiyama's original ideas.

Gallery