Overview
Yume Nikki (jap. Dream Diary) is an exploration-based game made with RPG Maker. The gameplay consists of exploring the dreams of a young girl, Madotsuki.
The game begins in Madotsuki's room, with little to do except for going to bed. Once Madotsuki goes to sleep, she ends up in her "dream world". It is made up of many areas connected with doors and teleporters, filled with surreal, unsettling imagery, strange landscapes and bizarre creatures, most of them completely harmless. The areas are quite diverse, and reaching some of them requires lots of searching.
The main objective of the game is to find and collect 24 "effects", objects which can be obtained by talking to the strange dream denizens. Each "effect" gives some ability, usually a purely cosmetic one - e.g. "long hair" turns Madotsuki's hair long, "towel" wraps her in a towel (and gives her the ability to sneeze cutely), and "knife" allows her to kill creatures.
Madotsuki can pinch her cheek at any time to wake up and go back to her room, where she can write an entry in her dream diary (a way to save the game) before going back to sleep.
