Yume Nikki is an atmospheric and very creepy adventure game. As you may have deduced from my other blogs and my thread in general, I really dig this sort of thing. If you do too, it's definitely worth checking out.
I'm probably late to the show, in fact I know I am because there was a blog about this about two years ago. The blog got only 7 measly replies and as TL has had a great influx of new members and a large group of people who probably missed it, I'll point it out yet again.
In Yume Nikki, you play as Madotsuki, a young reclusive girl who lives alone in her apartment. You cannot leave the apartment, unless you are dreaming. You can play her one videogame (which is rather creepy in and of itself) but otherwise the only significant interaction you can have with her room is to fall asleep in the bed. The bed will throw you into the dream version of her apartment where things work a bit differently.
When you leave the dream apartment, you enter the Nexus. From the Nexus, you can enter various dream worlds and interact with their inhabitants. The point is to get 25 different effects, which are basically powers.
The Nexus
Each world is very unsettling and creepy in its own way. I am personally most disturbed by the Numbers world, but it is likely different for each person. The symbolism in each world is important, as they reveal hints about Madotsuki's thoughts and past. Many believe he is a victim of rape, a girl who witnessed a tragic car accident, or an MTF transsexual. Either way, Madotsuki is not normal or sane in any way.
The music is the best part of the game, in terms of delivering the unsettling atmosphere. Distorted an discordant, the music is a constant reminder that something is not quite right here. I played this game for a while last night and it made me very uncomfortable, just the way i like it.
You can get effects by interacting with various things in the world. Interact with any objects of interest or NPCs and you may get a new effect. For instance, a frog in the forest world grants you the frog effect.
I will teach you how to get one effect, the bicycle effect which makes you move much faster. At the bottom of the nexus there are two doors. One is white, the other is purple. Enter the purple door. This is "The Graffiti World"
Enter the door at 5 o clock and start moving left/right immediately. You will eventually come across a bicycle. Interact with the bicycle. That's it. From here in out, you're on your own in gathering effects and exploring the worlds. There are multiple worlds within the worlds, interacting with objects can transport you to even stranger worlds that are otherwise inaccessible.
LOVE this game. If you are worried about getting stuck, play it with a guide. There are some you can find on google images, and also a gamefaqs. Even if you just go from place to place with a guide it is worth the trip. I find it very Lynchian if you are familiar with his style. Also, I'm starting to work on a game heavily inspired by this one so yay.
yeah i played this a while ago and watched an entire playthrough on nico nico the part in the little island house with the girl's reaction to you turning off the lights was fucking INSANE
I just beat it. I found it intensely odd. Dark, perhaps, but that's about it; the game content is fairly shallow and simply involves immersing one's self in the different themed worlds.
Frankly it felt like a garbage version of earthbound with a semi-ironic homage slapped in.
On February 23 2010 13:11 L wrote: I just beat it. I found it intensely odd. Dark, perhaps, but that's about it; the game content is fairly shallow and simply involves immersing one's self in the different themed worlds.
Frankly it felt like a garbage version of earthbound with a semi-ironic homage slapped in.
On February 23 2010 15:45 Amnesia wrote: Fuck, I am really sorry but can anyone upload to megaupload with the entire game folder? My installer is having problems...
No problem. Just got done with my second run through and I got 5 or 6 effects. Taking a break as the numbers world was starting to seriously creep me out.