History VideoGame / YumeNikki

* EndlessGame: NASU, the [[ShowWithinAShow Game Within A Game]] available on Madotsuki's console in the waking world, plays like something from the ''VideoGame/{{Action 52}}'' collection and has no real "end".

** For the rest of them, [[http://yumenikkifg.wikia.com/wiki/Yume_Nikki_Fangames_Wiki this wiki]] is a very comprehensive reference database, with screenshots, guides, download links and categorization by languages available.

* JumpScare: Invoked by several events. For example, encountering Uboa, getting eaten by Big Red, going through the door with FACE in it...
* JustOneMoreLevel: [[ShowWithinAShow Game Within A Game]] NASU.

* {{Mayincatec}}: A lot of things in Madotsuki's dreams seem to vaguely resemble Meso-American deals. So much so that some events are referred to as "Disco Aztecs" or The Aztec Rave Monkey. Specifically they are in the style of patterns embroidered on carpets, probably in part because the straight lines and simple shapes are easier to render in the game's graphics. Most of these are direct references to the Paracas culture in particular. [[http://uboachan.net/t/src/1340478169789.jpg One comparison here]].

In 2004, Japanese {{freeware}} developer Kikiyama created a game titled ''Yume Nikki'' (Japanese for "Dream Diary") in VideoGame/RPGMaker. The result was a surreal, abstract ArtGame about lucid dreaming which gained a dedicated cult following in its heyday. Much of the appeal comes from the fact that everything in ''Yume Nikki'', from the story to the imagery, [[DeathOfTheAuthor is left up to the player to interpret.]]

* LetsPlay: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMwDplGAI70 Here's]] one of the better-known ones. Since most of the fun of Yume Nikki is in the exploration, it's advised that potential players give the game a whirl before watching, or else only watch a little bit at first to determine if it's the right game for you.
** Another one is located on [[http://lparchive.org/Yume-Nikki/ the Let's Play archive]]. It uses subtitles in an attempt to retain the ambiance of the original game.
** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jnv2fsRNqTI&list=PLq7Wze90TsOpdJeFBVW3u-0fgd02t6Rfd Manly Badass Hero]] has completed a playthrough of ''Dream Diary''.
* LittleDeadRidingHood: [[spoiler: Madotsuki]].

* LongSongShortScene: While most songs in the game are short loops, [[https://youtu.be/D07lrtFkIaM the FC field music]] lasts over two minutes...in an area you'll probably only spend a few seconds in.

[[folder: Tropes Exclusive to Dream Diary]]

* ShoutOut: Super NASU looks and plays very similar to ''VideoGame/{{Pang}}'', and has Mt. Fuji in the background like in that game's initial stages. Additionally, having a bird of prey carry an eggplant was done before in ''VideoGame/IceClimbers''.

* BarefootSuicide: Some shoes can be found around where [[spoiler:Madotsuki jumps off the side of a building, before the credits roll with a blood splatter in the middle of the screen. While she doesn't actively take them off, the shoes being present from the beginning of the game hint that it's been planned for a while, at least before the beginning of the game.]]
* BizarroFiction: One of the few non-literature works that can definitely be called this.

In 2004, Japanese {{freeware}} developer Kikiyama created a game titled ''Yume Nikki'' (Japanese for "Dream Diary") in VideoGame/RPGMaker. The result was a surreal, abstract ArtGame about lucid dreaming which gained a dedicated cult following in its heyday. Much of the appeal comes from the fact that everything in Yume Nikki, from the story to the imagery, [[DeathOfTheAuthor is left up to the player to interpret.]]

* NonstandardGameOver: The normal way to end your dream session and wake up is to pinch yourself awake. However, certain events, such as FACE, the 8-bit game crash event, and [[spoiler:disembarking your broom during the witch event]] will involuntarily wake Madotsuki back up.

* [[OverlyLongName Overly Long Fan Nickname]]: Seccom Masada's. "Seccom Masada" is the abridged form of [[TheWoobie Sentimental]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komuro_Tetsuya Komuro]] [[Music/MichaelJackson Maikeru]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryuichi_Sakamoto Sakamoto]] UsefulNotes/{{Dada}} Sensei. Fans mostly nicknamed him after several famous people he resembles.

* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: You can stab virtually anything with the Kitchen Knife effect, which sometimes gives you money. There's a reason some depictions of her are gleefully homicidal.

* CutAndPasteEnvironments: Some rooms seem like part of a larger area, but are actually entirely separate from it. Examples include the secret room Hell's Crossroads, which is smaller and simpler than its more major counterpart, and the second Wilderness area, which serves only to connect the Teleport Maze and the Famicom World. A case of [[TropesAreTools Tropes Are Not Bad]], as this trope is used to induce MindScrew and EmptyRoomPsych.

* TheCameo: [[spoiler:The titular monster from AoOni shows up in of the areas of the game, looking at the player through the window of his mansion. Not only that, but players can unlock an AoOni minigame by picking the cartridge in front of his mansion.]]

** [[spoiler:One of the unlockable minigames is an 8-bit version of AoOni with Yume Nikki characters.]]

** The [=NPCs=] in the Famicom world bear [[http://orig02.deviantart.net/6740/f/2015/363/0/1/bokosuka_wars_x_yume_nikki__gif__by_dexter_the_scorpio-d9lvmuw.gif a striking resemblance]] to those from ''VideoGame/BokosukaWars''.

* GenreShift: While the original was a free roam adventure game, this reimagining plays more like a 2.5d horror puzzle platformer similar to LittleNightmares. The game still has large open areas that you can walk freely, though.

The game [[http://store.steampowered.com/app/650700/Yume_Nikki/ got a Steam release]] on January 9, 2018, still free of charge, as a [[https://promo.kadokawa.co.jp/gamecountdown/ lead-up]] to the next ''Yume Nikki'' project. At the end of the countdown, a new 3D adventure game called [[http://yume-nikki.com YUMENIKKI -DREAM DIARY-]] was announced and would be supervised by Kikiyama. It was released on both Steam and Playism on 23 February, 2018. Here's the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZx47XHhmaQ teaser trailer]] and [[https://youtu.be/QLqIffOZI6s the gameplay trailer.]]

* BlackoutBasement: The Dark World and the Dense Woods' dark maze.

* DeconstructionGame: Gameplay-wise, the game takes non-linear exploration to its logical extreme, basing itself entirely on traversing BeautifulVoid and little else. While it may or [[IndecisiveDeconstruction may not]] have been the author's intent, it does prove a point to players with little patience.

* CrapsackWorld[=/=]CrapsaccharineWorld[=/=]EldritchLocation[=/=]SugarBowl: All the dreamscapes exist somewhere on this spectrum. From Hell, to the park at night time, to the world of blocks, to the forest, cheerful neon city. Some places are even in between like the refugee camp, the mall, or the train car.

* CuteAndPsycho[=/=]AxCrazy[=/=]KnifeNut: Another representation of Madotsuki seen in fanart, based on the Kitchen Knife effect and the fact that it is the only way to interact with many of the dreams' residents.

In 2004, Japanese {{freeware}} developer Kikiyama created an game titled ''Yume Nikki'' (Japanese for "Dream Diary") in VideoGame/RPGMaker. The result was a surreal, abstract ArtGame about lucid dreaming which gained a dedicated cult following in its heyday. Much of the appeal comes from the fact that everything in Yume Nikki, from the story to the imagery, [[DeathOfTheAuthor is left up to the player to interpret.]]

In 2004, Japanese {{freeware}} developer Kikiyama created an RPG called Yume Nikki (japanese for "Dream Diary"). The result was a surreal, abstract ArtGame about lucid dreaming which gained a dedicated cult following in its heyday. Much of the appeal comes from the fact that everything in Yume Nikki, from the story to the imagery, [[DeathOfTheAuthor is left up to the player to interpret.]]

* TooLongDidntDub: The English FanTranslation leaves some effect names untranslated, such as Medamaude ("Eyeball Hand/Eye Palm"), Nopperabou ("Faceless") Ghost, Buyo Buyo ("Squish-Squish"), and Yuki-onna ("Snow Woman"). All of them except Medamaude say what they do in the description, however.

[[quoteright:358:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/30_591.png]]
[[caption-width-right:358:Madotsuki in the [[HubLevel Nexus]].]]

In 2004, Japanese {{freeware}} developer Kikiyama popped open the VideoGame/RPGMaker 2003 game application and thought to herself, "Hey, wouldn't it be an ''awesome'' idea to make something that'll confuse and creep a lot of people out?" Such is the origin of ''Yume Nikki'' (Japanese for "dream diary"), a bizarre adventure game that's been described as "''VideoGame/{{EarthBound}}'' meets ''Franchise/SilentHill''" or "''Film/{{Eraserhead}}'' in VideoGame/RPGMaker" and does not fail to bring on the weirdness factor.

The plot is simple: as Madotsuki, a young lady that seems to have an obsession with a single, incredibly depressing video game, all you can do each day is sleep - during which you must travel throughout her [[DreamLand dreamscape]] to collect "effects" and reach new areas in the world. It's extremely open-ended, with few hints as to how to actually progress; really, it's more about exploring the strange and disturbing things that go on in her mind than anything else.

The current version of the game, 0.10, was released in October 2007 along with an English translation of the effects and menus. [[http://archive.uboachan.net/media/src/Yume_Nikki.rar Download]], and [[NightmareFuel/YumeNikki have fun playing this in the dead of night!]]

* AcidTripDimension: Her dream world certainly qualifies.

* BlackoutBasement: The Dark World and the dark maze.

** A lot of the things you find around the dreamworld could apply. Like those horrifying portraits you find in the sewers.

* CatGirl: The Cat effect, naturally. It draws [=NPCs=] to you -- even Uboa, who doesn't move on his own!

* CrapsackWorld[=/=]CrapsaccharineWorld[=/=]EldritchLocation[=/=]SugarBowl: All the dreamscapes exist somewhere on this spectrum. From Hell, to the park at night time, to the world of blocks, to the forest, cheerful neon city. Some places are even in between like the refugee camp, the mall, or the monster bar.

* FanSequel: Interestingly, Yume Nikki seems to have spawned a sort of 'genre' referred to as Yume Nikki Fangames. However, knowledge of the original game is seldom required - if anything, they are more like 'games in the same style', and the resemblance to the original game wavers between fangame to fangame. A list of fangames with their own pages can be found [[FanWorks/YumeNikki here]].

* {{Foreshadowing}}: One may notice a recurring bloodstain on the ground in the dream world.
** Which is located near the recurring Mouth Monsters. [[EpilepticTrees Could it possibly mean that... ?]]

* GagPenis: Kyukyu-kun resembles a column-sized multicolored dildo with a perpetual smile on it.

* GrotesqueGallery: you'll find a lot of ugly stuff in her dreamscape...

** Some events that stand out are FACE, the Glitch event in the Famicon World, finding Mars-san, and if it weren't for [[EnsembleDarkhorse how popular Uboa is]] then everything involving it would qualify too.

* HitPoints: You start with one. You gain more by drinking soda you get for money. [[GogglesDoNothing They serve no purpose whatsoever]] ...seemingly.

** One of the areas of the game is rendered in an 8-bit style reminiscent of ''VideoGame/EarthBoundBeginnings''. Even the Effects menu transforms to fit the motif. Furthermore, the Pink Sea and its buildings resemble that game's {{Magicant}}.

** The turtleneck-wearing Seccom Masada and his minimalist spaceship with its large view port are quite possibly [[https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/75/d7/08/75d708838dee0afcf4bb49fb362e351b.jpg inspired]] by ''Creator/CarlSagan'' and ''Series/{{Cosmos}}''.

* JumpScare: Could be evoked by several events. For example, encountering Uboa, getting eaten by Big Red, going through the door with FACE in it...

* LongSongShortScene: While most songs in the game are short loops, [[https://youtu.be/D07lrtFkIaM the FC field music]] lasts over two minutes... in an area you'll probably only spend a few seconds in.

* ParentalAbandonment: Where ''are'' her parents? Or at least any existing caretaker? How young is she, anyway?

* SurrealHorror: bizarre dreamscape? Check. Scary? [[NightmareFuel/YumeNikki CHECK!!!]]
* SurrealSymbolicHeads: With the Eye Palm effect on, Madotsuki dreams that her head is a hand with an eye in the palm. (Blinking returns her to the central hub.)

* VideoGameCrueltyPunishment: Stabbing a sane Toriningen will make her demented and turns her into a [[GoddamnBats Goddamn Bat]]. Stabbing one of the sane ones in the number world might cause the area where you get the Severed Head effect to be larger, with more Toriningen chasing you. Also, if you make one Toriningen mad, they '''all''' get mad, and will stay mad until the next time you wake up.

* WideOpenSandbox: the game is very large and very open.

* QuicksandBox: Since there is absolutely no dialogue or anything vaguely resembling a hint, getting completely lost is a very real possibility.
** Fortunately, getting out of a dream is as simple as the single press of a key.

* GhostlyGape: Uboa, who resembles the mask from Franchise/{{Scream}}.

In 2004, Japanese {{freeware}} developer Kikiyama popped open the VideoGame/RPGMaker 2003 game application and thought to themselves, "Hey, wouldn't it be an ''awesome'' idea to make something that'll confuse and creep a lot of people out?" Such is the origin of ''Yume Nikki'' (Japanese for "dream diary"), a bizarre adventure game that's been described as "''VideoGame/{{EarthBound}}'' meets ''Franchise/SilentHill''" or "''Film/{{Eraserhead}}'' in VideoGame/RPGMaker" and does not fail to bring on the weirdness factor.

* AlienBlood: [[AvertedTrope Averted]]: when Madotsuki stabs a [[OurMonstersAreWeird creature]] it doesn't matter what it is --a bird girl, a giant foot-Martian who cries green tears, a poop monster, a horrified face on the wall-- they will always bleed red blood.

* AmbiguousTimePeriod: The [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem Famicom]] in Madotsuki's room suggests that the game could take place as far back as TheEighties (though one of the {{dream world}}s is a clear {{homage}} to ''VideoGame/{{Mother|1}}'', which was released in 1989), but it could otherwise be set anywhere between then and the TurnOfTheMillennium (when the game was made).

* AmbiguousTimePeriod: The [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem Famicom]] in Madotsuki's room suggests that the game takes place at least as far back as TheEighties (though one of the {{dream world}}s is a clear {{homage}} to ''VideoGame/{{Mother|1}}'', which was released in 1989), but it could otherwise be set anywhere between then and the TurnOfTheMillennium (when the game was made).

* AmazingTechnicolorPopulation: Mainly the people in the Mall, but there are strangely colored people in other areas too, like Shitai.
* AmbidextrousSprite: [[AvertedTrope Averted]] with the Kitchen Knife effect. Madotsuki always holds the knife in one particular hand regardless of what direction she's facing. You can change the hand she holds the knife in by pressing '1'.

** The opening has Madotsuki encounter a pool of blood on the ground before the screen fades and a "thud" is heard. [[spoiler:A nod to Madotsuki's suicide at the end of the first game.]]

* MultipleEndings: The normal ending has [[spoiler:Madotsuki finally leave her bedroom to enjoy a sunny day]]. The secret ending is simply [[spoiler:finding Seccom Masada's home and sleeping there]].