History VideoGame / ShiningNikki

* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Jax (tomboy) a punk rock goth girl who wears studded leather and rides a motorcycle, is in a relationship with Yuka (girly girl) a [[ShrinkingViolet shy girl]] with glasses who works as a waitress, wears a sweater and gentle, lightly-colored clothing. The two of them have a close, imtimate friendship.

* FashionModel: Some stages focus on posing Nikki (or rather, waiting for her to pose) in a certain way in order to score; another type of stage requires the player to find the right angles to take pictures of her.
** The ''Decision of Dawn'' event introduced a new animation for it's cooperative battles, which had each Nikki walking down a(n interdimensional) catwalk; it even allowed the player to switch - complete with transition VFX and a "Live" tag - which Nikki they would watch. Player's positive feedback had this animation later applied to certain permanent co-op battles.

* PowerEqualsRarity: Clothes and reflections can fall into one of four different rarities[[note]]although reflections cannot be of the "Ordinary" rarity[[/note]], each one giving more points (and naturally, being harder to obtain and/or upgrade) than the next: Ordinary (purple), Rare (bronze), Extraordinary (silver), and Shining (gold).

!This page includes information about events and features currently unavailable in the global server.

!This page includes information about events and features currently unavailable in the global server.

!This page contains information about events and features currently only available in the mainland Chinese and Taiwanese servers.

''Shining Nikki'' is the fourth installment of the [[VirtualPaperDoll dress-up game franchise]] ''[=NikkiUP2U=]'', sequel to ''VideoGame/LoveNikkiDressUpQueen'', developed by Paper Games. It was released in Taiwan in April 2019 and mainland China four months later, with a Western release due to July 5, 2021. A Korean server was released by the end of October 2020, but then scheduled for closure in December of the same year due to controversy[[note]]An outfit meant to commemorate the server's opening sparked a huge wave of severe backlash by both the Korean and the Chinese playerbases, which caused it to be closed for new downloads or registrations in the beginning of November - after 8 ''days'' of operation[[/note]].

''Shining Nikki'' is the fourth installment of the [[VirtualPaperDoll dress-up game franchise]] ''[=NikkiUP2U=]'', sequel to ''VideoGame/LoveNikkiDressUpQueen'', developed by Paper Games. It was released in Taiwan in April 2019 and mainland China four months later, with a Western release due to July 2021. A Korean server was released by the end of October 2020, but then scheduled for closure in December of the same year due to controversy[[note]]An outfit meant to commemorate the server's opening sparked a huge wave of severe backlash by both the Korean and the Chinese playerbases, which caused it to be closed for new downloads or registrations in the beginning of November - after 8 ''days'' of operation[[/note]].

* DarkerAndEdgier: While Love Nikki addresses themes a bit more mature than expected of a dress-up game, with a main character dying near the end of the first volume, Shining Nikki has the protagonist deal with a decent amount of violence straight from ''chapter 2''.

** In the memories of Modi's ''Journey of Memory'', [[spoiler: Joy]]'s dark memories materialize as a swan feather.

''Shining Nikki'' is the fourth installment of the [[VirtualPaperDoll dress-up game franchise]] ''[=NikkiUP2U=]'', sequel to ''VideoGame/LoveNikkiDressUpQueen'', developed by Paper Games. It was released in Taiwan in April 2019 and mainland China four months later, with a Western release and localization yet to be announced. A Korean server was released by the end of October 2020, but then scheduled for closure in December of the same year due to controversy[[note]]An outfit meant to commemorate the server's opening sparked a huge wave of severe backlash by the Korean and the Chinese playerbases, which caused it to be closed for new downloads or registrations in the beginning of November - after 8 ''days'' of operation[[/note]].

The game follows Nikki and Momo as they travel back in time [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong in an attempt to avoid the catastrophic event that destroyed Miraland]]. With the help of a structure named [[OurTimeMachineIsDifferent the Ark]], Nikki returns 680 years in Miraland's past to solve the riddle left by the legendary designer Lierlide, a riddle that might contain the key to the world's salvation. And the first person she meets in this journey is... [[PlayerCharacter The player]], whose consciousness is merged into Nikki's mind in the Ark.

Upon arriving in past Miraland, Nikki meets Haizhe, the owner of a small clothing store in Apple Federation, who promptly explains to her about the Designer Shadows, a legendary power only the strongest stylists in Miraland can even hope to wield, and that Nikki seems capable of using. But after revealing such power while battling an angry boy over a dress the word was out, calling the attention of several people hungry for Nikki's power and the secrets she may be carrying with her.

''Shining Nikki'' follows roughly the same mechanics of its predecessors, where the player dresses Nikki up according to a specific context, the main differences lying on the Designer Shadows - pieces of designer memories Nikki can summon forth to aid her in battle and that cover the previous game's skills - and the "Shining Moment", a connect-the-dots puzzle that grants a score bonus midway through the battle. That said, the most noted difference between Shining Nikki and its predecessors (and, in fact, most of the mobile dress-up segment) is its 3D graphics, which makes the already realistic clothes that are a staple of the franchise look nearly life-like.

* ActionFashionista: Every designer capable of wielding the power of the Designer Shadows qualifies as such (the best examples being Qinyi, Mercury, Nikki [[spoiler: and A-Huan]]), with said power granting its users abilities ranging from summoning actual shadows to mass mind control.

* AllThereInTheManual: The Designer Shadows, being pieces of memories of said designers, each contain different data on them, the characters' views on some subjects, and the story behind said memory, which usually contains information that seldom if ever appears during the main stages. [[FictionalSocialNetwork In Time]] posts also give a little insight on the characters' daily routines when they are not trying to save - or destroy/take over - the world.

* AttractivenessDiscrimination: The principle driving Xingyu town's society, in which "beautiful" people are legally granted all sorts of advantages while people seen as ugly are lucky when ignored.

* BeautyIsBad: It's the conclusion Huihuicao comes to by the end of her story in chapter 2:
--> '''Huihuicao:''' If evil is beautiful, why don't I become evil?

* BrainwashedAndCrazy: Many characters fall victim of it throughout the story: Summer Sue and the Mayor in chapter 3, A-Huan in chapter 4 and [[spoiler: Nikki]] during the first half of chapter 7. Chapters 8 and 9 reveal that [[spoiler: A-Huan was this all along, courtesy of her own father]].

* ChekhovsGun: Lierlide's Manuscript, the artifact [[spoiler: Nikki spends most of the first dozen chapters trying to recover and]] that supposedly contains the key to save Miraland, [[spoiler: is used by Yehai to summon the Goddess of Desire.]]

* ClothesMakeTheSuperman: Some outfits in the game - specifically those with a designer's shadow associated with them - are said to give the user the styling power of the memory imbued in the outfit.

* CrapsaccharineWorld: While Miraland itself is this to some extent, Xingyu town takes the cake: it's a cutesy city with the fairy-tale aesthetic characteristic of Ninier Kingdom where everyone you can see in the streets is gorgeous. Although it might have something to do with its people actively favouring "beautiful" people towards money and political power while casting "ugly" people into isolation in the lower classes of Xingyu society... It's no wonder why Huihuicao burned down its theater during the Xingyu Swan Tournament.
** Several other material reveal the mindset isn't exclusive to Xingyu, but it applies to Ninier as a whole to a lesser extent.

* FictionalSocialNetwork: In Time is the most used social network in Miraland, where characters post about their routines every now and then (usually upon important game updates, events or certain story milestones). Thanks to Ruin technology, it's advanced enough to be a virtual world physically accessible by its users as well.

* LivingMemory: The designer shadows are pieces of a designer's memories imbued on certain clothes of their design. They usually manifest themselves inside mirrors in the Ark, but remarkably strong shadows are able to leave their mirrors and walk freely around the Ark or even the real world.

* MineralMacGuffin: The Origin Crystal, housed beneath the Light Cathedral in the Pigeon capital, is the main source of energy for the light elves. [[spoiler: It is stolen by Yehai as the "unlimited power" part of the process for summoning Desire.]]

* MoreThanMindControl: The end of chapter 6 has [[spoiler: Nikki]] fall victim of it by the hands of Mercury, who spent the second half of said chapter toying with her mind through his shadow. The following chapter deals with her attempt to break free of Mercury's grasp; even then, by the time of chapter 8 she's still in doubt whether she was indeed being controlled or it was herself acting on her own repressed desires.

* MultipleChoiceFuture: Unlike Lierlide, Nikki doesn't believe the future is written on the stars; this is the reason he accepts to send her back in time to try and prove him wrong.

* OurTimeMachineIsDifferent: The Ark is an ensemble of [[AlienGeometries surrealistic structures]] floating on the Sea of Memories - a collection of the memories of every person in existence - somehow capable of physical travel between timelines.

* PaletteSwap: A majority of the suits ingame have one that can be obtained by upgrading its corresponding Designer Shadow (provided that you own the original-colored version first, of course). A portion of them also have additional recolors obtainable by playing the "Ranking Ocean" game mode. And that's not getting into all the common gacha and stage drops that only differ in color scheme...

* PlaceBeyondTime: The Sea of Memories and, by proxy, the Ark. As such, anyone in there can travel to the past, present or future of any civilization.

* PowerEqualsRarity: Clothes and Shadows can fall into one of four different rarities[[note]]although Shadows cannot be of the "Ordinary" rarity[[/note]], each one giving more points (and naturally, being harder to obtain and/or upgrade) than the next: Ordinary (purple), Rare (bronze), Extraordinary (silver), and Shining (gold).

* PowerUpFullColorChange: As in Love Nikki, some pieces of clothing have their recolors. In Shining Nikki, the recolored parts of the outfits associated with designer shadows are always more powerful (higher score) than their original versions; the Ranking Ocean recolors even more so.

* SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong: The reason why Nikki travels to the past is so that she can stop the Sea of Memories from submerging Miraland in Love Nikki's timeline.

* SwansASwimming: Swans are a recurring motif in Ninier as a whole, with its coat of arms consisting of a crowned swan with a ribbon under it.
** Special mention goes to Xingyu; the lakeside town's entire culture circles around the myth of the star-feathered (''xingyu'') swan, a mythical swan with feathers sparkling like shooting stars that names the town's famous beauty tournament.
** Ninier queen Lilith has the swan as her personal symbol, with swan feathers spread on her default dress. Her arena outfit ''Galaxy's Falling Feathers'' has a swan theme all over it, with the waterfowl's feathers adorning the dress, hat, gloves and shoes and swan-shaped earrings - even the thumbnail arts for its make-up parts keep the motif, with swans and feathers decorating the packages.
** In the memories of Modi's ''Song of the Light'', [[spoiler: A-Huan]]'s dark memories materialize as a swan feather.
** Although not Ninier, Loen's outfit ''Brilliant Promise'' has a discrete swan motif in its parts, with crystal swans on the necklace and tiara.

* BeautyIsBad: It's the conclusion [[spoiler: Huihuicao]] comes to by the end of her story in chapter 2:
--> [[spoiler: '''Huihuicao:''' If evil is beautiful, why don't I become evil?]]

* BrainwashedAndCrazy: Many characters fall victim of it throughout the story: [[spoiler: Summer Sue and the Mayor]] in chapter 3, [[spoiler: A-Huan]] in chapter 4 and [[spoiler: Nikki]] during the first half of chapter 7. Chapters 8 and 9 reveal that [[spoiler: A-Huan was this all along, courtesy of her own father]].

* CrapsaccharineWorld: While Miraland itself is this to some extent, Xingyu town takes the cake: it's a cutesy city with the fairy-tale aesthetic characteristic of Ninier Kingdom where everyone you can see in the streets is gorgeous. Although it might have something to do with its people actively favouring "beautiful" people towards money and political power while casting "ugly" people into isolation in the lower classes of Xingyu society... [[spoiler: It's no wonder why Huihuicao burned down its theater during the Xingyu Swan Tournament.]]

* DealWithTheDevil: The constant mistreatment of [[spoiler: Huihuicao]] by her adoptive family ([[AttractivenessDiscrimination and the rest of the city]]) leads her to set Xingyu's theater on fire during the Xingyu Swan Tournament, which is [[WowingCthulhu enough to impress]] [[DevilInDisguise Yehai]] into offering her a deal: her soul, years of her expected lifespan and any satisfaction she could possibily have in exchange of inhuman beauty and the love of everyone. [[spoiler: Thus, Lilith is born.]]
** [[spoiler: The Goddess of Desire]] later spots a flaw in the deal - anyone who falls for her either disappears or dies - and exploits it to offer [[spoiler: Lilith]] a bigger deal: her free will for everlasting love.

** Ninier queen Lilith has the swan as her personal symbol, with swan feathers spread on her default dress. Her arena outfit, Galaxy's Falling Feathers, has a swan theme all over it, with the fowl's feathers adorning the dress, hat, gloves and shoes and swan-shaped earrings - even the thumbnail arts for its make-up parts keep the motif, with swans and feathers decorating the packages.
** Although not Ninier, Loen's Brilliant Promise dress has a discrete swan motif in its parts, with crystal swans on the necklace and tiara.

* BrainwashedAndCrazy: Many characters fall victim of it throughout the story: [[spoiler: Summer Sue and the Mayor]] in chapter 3, [[spoiler: A-Huan]] in chapter 4 and [[spoiler: Nikki]] during the first half of chapter 7. Chapters 8 and 9 reveal that [[spoiler: A-Huan was this all along]].

* BrainwashedAndCrazy: Many characthers fall victim of it throughout the story: [[spoiler: Summer Sue and the Mayor]] in chapter 3, [[spoiler: A-Huan]] in chapter 4 and [[spoiler: Nikki]] during the first half of chapter 7. Chapters 8 and 9 reveal that [[spoiler: A-Huan was this all along]].

* BrainwashedAndCrazy: Many characthers fall victim of it throughout the story: [[spoiler: Summer Sue and the Mayor]] in chapter 3, [[spoiler: A-Huan]] in chapter 4 and [[spoiler: Nikki]] during the first half of chapter 7.

** The open beta in the Taiwanese server had the very first chapter start with Nikki waking up in jail; with mainland China server's opening, this was retconned to Nikki waking up in a hospital.

* FictionalSocialNetwork: In Time is the most used social network in Miraland, where characters post about their routines every now and then (usually upon important game updates, events or certain story milestones). Thanks to Ruin technology, it's advanced enough be a virtual world physically accessible by its users as well.

''Shining Nikki'' is the fourth installment of the [[VirtualPaperDoll dress-up game franchise]] ''[=NikkiUP2U=]'', sequel to ''VideoGame/LoveNikkiDressUpQueen'', developed by Paper Games. It was released in Taiwan in April 2019 and mainland China four months later, with a Western release and localization yet to be announced. A Korean server was released by the end of October 2020, but scheduled for going offline in December of the same year due to controversy[[note]]An outfit meant to commemorate the server's opening sparked a huge wave of severe backlash by the Korean and the Chinese playerbases, which caused it to be closed for new downloads or registrations in the beginning of November - after 8 ''days'' of operation[[/note]].