Yume Nikki cover

Yume Nikki

First release
Jun 26, 2004
Developer
Kikiyama
Genres
Indie, Adventure · Horror

Yume Nikki is a 32-Bit freeware game created by Kikiyama, a Japanese solo game designer. The game was made using RPGMaker 2003. The game is regarded as one of the most original applications of RPGMaker 2003, and the start of a possible new genre of games. "Yume Nikki" means "Dream Diary" in Japanese, and the game follows a young girl named Madotsuki as she dreams. The goal is to seek out and acquire all 24 'Effects'. The game otherwise has no plot, and nearly the entire game is left up to speculation.

Also known as Dream Diary, Yume Nikki, 夢日記, RPG_RT.exe

Attributes

No Attributes added.

Details

Storyline, release dates, time to beat, age ratings, modes, links, keywords

Storyline
The story of Yume Nikki is mostly up to the player's interpretation. All we know for sure is that Madotsuki, the game's silent protagonist, lives alone in her apartment which she refuses to leave and which contains a desk, a single Famicom game console, a balcony, and, most importantly, a bed. Upon going to bed, Madotsuki explores her dreams, a surreal world full of illogically connected, smaller worlds to gather "effects." What exactly these dreams and effects represent in Madotsuki's personal life is, again, up to interpretation. Even Madotsuki's name, a name that isn't a real name in Japan, is entirely up to interpretation.Read more

The story of Yume Nikki is mostly up to the player's interpretation. All we know for sure is that Madotsuki, the game's silent protagonist, lives alone in her apartment which she refuses to leave and which contains a desk, a single Famicom game console, a balcony, and, most importantly, a bed. Upon going to bed, Madotsuki explores her dreams, a surreal world full of illogically connected, smaller worlds to gather "effects." What exactly these dreams and effects represent in Madotsuki's personal life is, again, up to interpretation. Even Madotsuki's name, a name that isn't a real name in Japan, is entirely up to interpretation.

Release dates
PC (Microsoft Windows)
Jun 26, 2004
Web browser
Jul 26, 2016
Time to beatIGDB · recorded
Main + Extras
4h
Completionist
5h
Game modes
Single player
Perspective
Bird view / Isometric
Keywords
ghosts, exploration, bloody, psychological exploration, minigames
… All 36, frog, maze, time manipulation, spaceship, female protagonist, insanity, steam, freeware, walking simulator, abstract, pixel art, snow, pixel graphics, dreams, free-to-play, surreal horror, dream world, darkness, digital distribution, anthropomorphism, cat, white noise, save point, fake glitch, vending machine interaction, video game characters that play video games, wraparound world, suicide, game console, severed limbs, dream sequence

At a Glance

Main + Extras (IGDB)
4h
Completionist (IGDB)
5h

How it plays

Languages

  • Englishinterface, subtitles
  • 日本語interface, subtitles
IGDB · recorded 19 Oct 2026

Language data: IGDB · recorded 19 Oct 2026