What's better than a Dream-Eating Yokai to talk of a game about dreams?
The year is 2004. RPG Maker isn't as normalized as it is nowadays; a practically nonexistent composer named Kikiyama decided to leave a brand, not elaborate, and then leave the Internet. Said legacy was a journal, or should I say... a Diary
Yume Nikki (Dream Diary) is a freeware... something game. I mean, it isn't an RPG since there is no battles, and it isn't a wide-open sandbox since you barely interact... It is an art game, according to TV Tropes, with lots of surrealism, after all, the setting is a literal dreamland, you star as Madoutsuki, a young girl that refuses to set foot outside her house, leaving the outside world a mystery aside from a small balcony, with only three things to do: explore the bare room, play an awful minigame called NASU... or open the real door.
ENTER THE NEXUS
The goal of the game is to simply explore a dreamland, so to do that, you can go to sleep, after a count that can be interrupted anytime, you are...back in your room, the balcony is still the same, but your Famicomn't is gone, the TV shows an eye, and you can finally leave and explore the outsiWHATINTHENAMEOFTHEHIGHERBEINGSISTHISPLACE
This place is the Nexus, a weird place with multiple doors, each door leads to one of the thousands of places Madotsuki can explore, said world can lead to another world, the game per se has no goal, no story, no big bad to defeat; just walk wherever you want... and that would be all, but wait, you can do something else.
THE EFFECTS
The game is bare; the few NPCs won't react to you no matter what (unless you do something, but we'll talk about it later), so you may think you are alone in a world with jack to do... but no.
Sometimes you will find be an NPC or a rare object nets you an effect, said effects, like the name implies, affect Madotsuki, in all fairness, most are useless (One makes you fat, another just gives you RGB like a gaming PC, one makes you a LITERAL HEAD that walks slower than regular) but some actually are useful, we have BIKE, a speed enhancer, CAT, will stop the few hostile NPC, aside of causing some effects, and KNIFE... oh, KNIFE
Madutsuki may not look like it, but she has an inner Chara that she can unleash in the denizens of the Dream World, granted, try it with a species of bird-like girls called Toriningen and you will end in a 2x2 grid with zero escape, forcing you to press 9 to wake yourself up, saving here takes the form of sitting in the waking world's desk, writing on a notebook in the desk, yes, that is the YUME NIKKI all along
Something curious is that if you get back to the Nexus and "Drop" the effect, it is left there, in a egg form (Worry not, you can get it back by picking it), maybe something good happens if i get them all and drop them :)
EVENTS
Aside of the already creepy minimalism of the Dream World, sometimes, be by blind luck or by fricking around with the effects, you may find some neat easter eggs, like the UFOs in Mars, whateverthefuckistheballonthing in the white desert, and the well known
THE ANOTHER MOST KNOWN THING OF THE GAME: THE ENDING
The review has a subtitle, and now you will find what it means
OBVIOUS SPOILER ALERT
You gathered all the 24 effects, you get back to the Nexus and place them all in there, looking like fittinly enough, Easter Eggs, all your effort went for a single stair appeareing in our department's balcony, you explore and...wait...Madotsuki what are you...MADOTSUKI NO!!!
With that, we "finished" the game, credits roll with music that ruins any sense of victory, you finished the game... now... ¿what?
With that, we "finished" the game, credits roll with music that ruins any sense of victory, you finished the game... now... ¿what?
ESPECULATION TIME
The game clarifies NOTHING AT ALL, after all, Kikiyama flatout declared the game is not a game but rather a study on our own dreamscapes, a interactive rorscharch test if you will, thus a flood or theories came to mind
Madotsuki was R word as a kid
Madotsuki is bullied (The eyes imply due to strabismus)
The world outside is inhabitable
Madotsuki is a sociopath
Madotsuki is simply addicted to her videogames
Madotsuki never woke up (Her eyes are closed even in the awake world)
And many more, honestly, i find the game is less a game to play like a game and more a sort of adventure with no point, everybody and their dog has made the comparison, but the game feels like a more limited LSD Dream Simulator Remake
MUSIC
How in the world i was goind to comment on the game without commenting the bangers? be by playign them or by their ambience on your favorite Iceberg video, the tracks are nice tracks, granted, barely any of them last 10 seconds before looping, so if ambience music isn't your kind of music, you may want to mute and get play some another music, otherwise the tracks are fine
SOME FLAWS
That said, the game, while revolutionary for its age, feels more nowadays like a theory generator rather than a game to properly play, Madotsuki... well, i've seen sedated snails walk faster than her, not a huge problem, but the worlds are either giant or loop, the maps can go the extra mile in frustration, becomeing less disturbing and more a chore, most of the effects do nothing, but worst of all, the game lacks a true Fast Travel thingy, so the exploration will eventually vecome a drag
FINAL THOUGHTS
The game... mostly obsolete nowadays, but the legacy of what it did can't be denied, nowadays that RPG Maker is as common as any other "indie" engine Fangames and spiritual succesors has come upgrading the game and polishing the flaws off, overall the game tends to be more recognized by its Lore rather than the gameplay, so if you like the setting but hate to walk gor hours going literally nowhere, you are better watching a longplay or reading some theories/fanfics
And that is what your friendly neighvorhood tapir has to say, those who played, ¿Whay you think of Madotsuki? if you had a Nexus, ¿What will its doors look like and led you where? until next time *A door connected nowhere appears behind him, he opens and crosses it, the door dissapears in a thin line*
Pros
- + Cool ambience music
- + A entire world filled of mini worlds to explore
- + The origin of games like OFF or Mad Father
- + A interpretative game for your imagination to go overdrive
Cons
- - Way too long levels, coupled with a relatively slow Playable Character
- - Rendered obsolete by both fansequels and the games it inspired
- - Not much to do aside of Effects and Event hunting
- - Dark mood is not for everyone
8
Gameplay
A walking simulator
9
Graphics
Horrific in a good sense, memorable settings and Madotsuki is a button
10
Story
No story per se, but you can create your own, so... ¿ten out of ten?
8
Sound
Madotsuki steps while making noises, those can get grating, but the music is a masterpiece, my favorites are Barracks Settlement and FC field
6
Replayability
Unless you want to see by yourself a Event you missed or simply want to fiddle around, once you "Finish" the game there is nothing else
7
out of 10
Overall
Empty and supprased as it is, It can be a unique experience if you enter with an open mind, otherwise, it is better being enjoyed as a longplay, by its music of by the fanfics and theories it created since 21 years ago
