A Beginner’s Primer To Yume Nikki

Overview

A small article on the mechanics present within Yume Nikki

Why am I playing Yume Nikki?

First off, Yume Nikki is not a game that is to be won (or lost). Yume Nikki is an experience that should be undertaken with the motivation of exploration. This is the first step to understanding this game. If you are going to want to spoil yourself on what this game contains, that’s fine by me, but once knowledge is learned, it cannot be lost. Heed this warning carefully.

Now that my introduction is done, welcome to the wonderful community of Yume Nikki. This game was released in 2004 under the RPG MAKER 2003 engine. In this game, your primary objective (or goal) is to explore the dreams of a young woman, and to collect items within the game refered to as “Effects”, but more on that later. The game is split within by two unequal segments: the Real World and the Dream World.

The Real World

The real world is comprised of (mostly) your room. Within, you may write in your diary to save your game, play your game console (with the highly rated video game NASU included on it).

Home Sweet Home

Primarily, this segment of the game is like your “main menu” of other games, allowing you to save your progress.

You can also go out onto your lovely high-story balcony to get a breath of fresh air. I highly recommend that you come back here to save your game often, and take a fresh breath of air once and a while.

It looks like a thunderstorm’s a brewing. No need to go outside.

The Dream World & The Nexus

“Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.”

The Dream World encompasses the largest part of the game. By sleeping in your bed in the Real World, you will be transported to the Dream World, where you can enter the Nexus through your front door.

“What happens when I open all the doors?”

The Nexus serves as a kind of hub world, as well as a way to track your progress on the collection of effects. By entering any of the doors in any direction, you will be transported to another place within the Dream World. I highly encourage you to explore to your hearts content, and interact with as many things on your travels that you can find.

Effects

Effects are items that you gain throughout your travels within the Dream World by interacting with certain things. Note that they may only be used in the Dream World as well. These Effects are, well, effects! These alter and change your player character’s actions and apperance when used. I highly recommend interacting with what you find in the dream world with these effects. The results may be interesting!

There is a finite amount of effects, so I highly encourage you to collect them all.

The Status Screen & The Effect Screen

It’s important to know where you are and where you’re going.

By pressing the “Esc” key, you are able to bring up the status screen. Here, it shows you how many Effects you have, denoted by the giant “E”. Anything else on this screen is inconsequential, as it is there due to engine limitations. (Okay, Okay, so there is “Money” in the game that can buy you drinks to increase your health, but health is useless anyways so theres no point in doing such a thing).

Effects or Defects?

By selecting the “Effects” button and pressing the “Enter” key, you may look at all the effects that you have accumulated. You can also activate them by selecting them with the arrow keys and pressing the “Enter” key. Since this is the beginning of the game, the only Effect that you will have is Game Info. By selecting this one, you can re-read the start-of-game tutorial.

Tips and Tricks

• Pressing the “1”, “2”, or “3” keys may cause some interesting things to happen, especially with equipped Effects. Try it sometime!
• Pressing the “5” key will cause you to drop your equipped Effect. Just make sure not to lose it!
• If you press the “9” key, your player character with pinch her cheek. This is useful for waking up from the Dream World, especially if you get lost. This is also good for for a sore cheek.
• If something looks suspicious, interact with it! Remember, exploration is key to the game.
• Feel free to make friends. Play pranks on them!
• Sometimes, odd things can happen if you repeat certain things over and over. Try it out!
• You might find yourself in a dead end sometimes. If that happens, just pinch your cheek! You’ll wake up instantly.
• Don’t be afraid to just do something. Jump right into it.

Closing & Alternative Sources

With all of that said above, I hope that you enjoy playing Yume Nikki, as much as I have. If you believe that I have missed something important (that does not delve into the experience of Yume Nikki) please contact me.

If you are wanting to spoil yourself or need help finding Effects, the Yume Nikki wikia may help you find what you need here[yumenikki.wikia.com].

Good luck, and happy hunting!