#Yume nikki madotsuki monoko series

That her only real hobby is playing games makes a pretty big statement about the medium itself, particularly when itвЂ™s a statement made in a game. A person without friends, without any usual healthy activities. Immediately, the outlook is thoroughly depressing. SheвЂ™ll write at her desk, sheвЂ™ll sit on the balcony, sheвЂ™ll play games, or sheвЂ™ll sleep. If we try to open the latter door, Madotsuki shakes her head. The other door leads out of the apartment. One door leads out onto a desolate balcony. ThereвЂ™s a bookshelf, a broken television, a games console, a desk, a bed and two doors. So, knowing this unsettling truth about Madotsuki, we can begin to take a more educated look at the preceding game. As the medium matures, perhaps weвЂ™ll see more developers вЂ“ not just the tiny independents вЂ“ taking risks in this area. But it can also be an invigorating experience, one we can learn a lot from. WeвЂ™re all guilty, to some extent, of assuming games should be played for fun. Yume Nikki is incredibly sad, an emotion IвЂ™d really like to see games incorporate with more frequency. This bleak inevitibility struck a particular chord with me. If someone like Madotsuki is so unhappy, so isolated and so alone, is there anything anyone could have done? If thereвЂ™s nothing you could have done to prevent such a tragedy, why were you even playing the game in the first place? But here, the sense of hopelessness carries with it an extreme weight. ItвЂ™s often an approach that leads to complete frustration, something that serves to remove you entirely from the experience. ItвЂ™s a brave decision to end a game with the primary characterвЂ™s demise. ItвЂ™s all very abstract and psychedelic, and some may be turned on by that alone, but itвЂ™s not really poignant in any way until you realise that this is the story of a deeply troubled young lady who ultimately goes on to commit suicide.

#Yume nikki madotsuki monoko series

Otherwise, all you have is a series of explorable dreams, which make little or no sense out of the context of MadotsukiвЂ™s mind. The thing is, itвЂ™s a game that doesnвЂ™t really lend itself to any meaningful discussion until you start to analyse its central character, and gaining that insight is only possible when you view Yume Nikki back to front. Writing about it, then, is going to involve a pretty severe spoiler, and if youвЂ™re completely ademant that youвЂ™re going to see this incredibly strange adventure through to its conclusion, you should almost certainly do so before reading another sentence of this analysis. ItвЂ™s almost impossible to talk about with any authority without this knowledge, and without making numerous references to the finale. UnderstandingYume Nikki really involves knowing what happens at the end.

Find it at the Dream Diary website or by searching Dream Diary on iTunes. 2018 update: I went on to make a podcast series about Yume Nikki, which is currently ongoing.