Yume Nikki:Uboa: Difference between revisions

Uboa
Basic Info
Role	Traps Madotsuki in Uboa's Trap
Collectibles	None
Events	Uboa
Location	Poniko's House; Uboa's Trap
Other
Size	Standard
Killable?	No

Latest revision as of 19:54, 26 November 2024

Uboa (ウボァ) is a character that appears in Poniko's Room in the Pink Sea during an event.

Overview

Uboa is a round figure resembling a black mass with a white face. Its normal appearance consists of a smiling face with a squinting left eye and a resting right eye with a crack above it. Its facial appearance changes when interacted with and in Uboa's Trap, morphing into a distorted face will smaller eyes, nostrils, and what appears to be lips or rows of teeth.

Uboa's altered expression.

Uboa does not appear until the event associated with it is triggered. To activate the event, the player must travel to Poniko's House in the Pink Sea and turn off the lights in her room using the light switch found right beside the door. If the room simply turns dark and Poniko is unchanged, Madotsuki must leave the room, reenter, and turn the lights off again. Continuing this process has a 1/64 chance of changing the room into a distorted version of Poniko's original room, now replacing the blonde girl with Uboa.

Once Uboa is summoned, Madotsuki can not leave the room or flip the light switch back on, with the latter action only causing the screen to flash white. Interacting with Uboa will send the player to Uboa's Trap, a looping area in the White Desert filled with white liquid and a towering, bleeding creature grasping melting mountains in the background. Uboa can also be found here in its distorted appearance. The only way to leave this area is to either pinch Madotsuki awake or use the Medamaude effect.

Trivia

Due to the nature of Uboa's event and the disturbing appearance of the character itself, Uboa is often hailed as one of the reasons Yume Nikki grew in popularity in the West. Uboa saw heavy usage in Internet memes and edits during the early 2000s shortly after the character's discovery, typically depicting the character in a more humorous fashion.
- Due to its popularity, Uboa's character and event are commonly parodied or imitated in various Yume Nikki fangames. The character itself has also gone on to make cameos in various Internet media and appears to have inspired the designs of characters such as the Mystery Man from Undertale and White Face from IMSCARED: A Pixelated Nightmare.
The sound effect that plays when the player touches Uboa is the same one as when a Toriningen traps the player.

The empty Uboa event if Poniko is killed first.

Uboa will not appear if Poniko is killed. This forces Madotsuki to pinch herself awake or use the Medamaude effect.
The background noise that plays when Uboa appears is the same as the music for Guillotine World slowed down by half.
Uboa's name originated from a 2channel post describing how to activate Uboa's event. The initial post simply reads the instructions to activate the event before adding "ウボァー" to express the shock the event may give the player.
- The phrase or "scream" used to express the event in the post references a line of dialogue from the character Emperor Mateus from Final Fantasy II, with the phrase also being a 2channel meme at the time of the post's creation.
- Additonally, the characters that make up Uboa's name (ウボァ) do not normally go together in Japanese, with the effect of the name being similar to Cthulhu or Astfgl in its "wrongness".
Both the Alley Demon and Pier Monsters share a vague resemblance to Uboa.
In the manga, Uboa is given a ponytail and movable arms, likely to more closely resemble Poniko. Its body is also much more blanket-like, sporting visible ruffles on its body.

Theories

Due to the unique nature of the Uboa event, it is largely believed to hold some significance to an event that may have happened in the real world involving Madotsuki. The nature of being trapped in a room and being forced to interact with an unpleasant force has led some to believe the event may depict an assault or may be symbolic of Madotsuki isolating herself and having to face her thoughts within her dreams.

Another common interpretation of Uboa is that it may be an alternate form of Poniko, or Poniko may not exist at all and was simply a disguise used by Uboa for an unknown reason. This is evidenced by Uboa taking Poniko's place in her room, no matter where she has walked, and the absence of Uboa after Poniko has been killed, confirming they are the same entity. This interpretation could make Uboa based on the Nuppeppō of Japanese mythology, which is stated in some texts to play tricks on people by disguising as a human and then interacting with real humans to let their guard down, only to surprise them by revealing they are a yōkai. The common interpretation of the Nuppeppō's appearance, a pale creature with a large and wrinkly head, could also somewhat match Uboa in description, especially with their altered appearance in Uboa's Trap.

Gallery

Uboa in Poniko's House.
Uboa as they appear in the manga.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{infobox character
+{{NPCBox
-|name = Uboa
+|headercolor = #000000
-|image = File:Uboa.png
+|headerfontcolor = #ffffff
-|caption = ウボァ (Uboa)
+|image = Uboa.png
-|location = • [[Pink Sea|Poniko's Room]]<br/>
+|role = Traps [[Yume Nikki:Madotsuki|Madotsuki]] in [[Yume Nikki:Poniko's House#Uboa's Trap|Uboa's Trap]]
-• [[Uboa's Trap World]]
+|Collectibles = None
-|role = Traps Madotsuki in an inescapable world
+|Events = [[Yume Nikki:Events#Uboa|Uboa]]
+|location = [[Yume Nikki:Poniko's House|Poniko's House]], [[Yume Nikki:Uboa's Trap|Uboa's Trap]]
 |size = Standard
-|effect reaction = Standard reaction to Cat Effect.
+|killable = No
-}}If you turn off the light in [[Pink Sea|Poniko's Room]], there is a 1 in 64 chance that the [[Events#Uboa|Uboa event]] will occur. Whether the event will occur is determined when the player enters the room (leave and enter again for the next chance) or waits five seconds after trying. Uboa was added along with the Pink Sea in Ver.0.08.
+|species =
+|notes =
+}}
+'''Uboa''' (ウボァ) is a character that appears in Poniko's Room in the [[Yume Nikki:Pink Sea|Pink Sea]] during an [[Yume Nikki:Events#Uboa|event]].
-==Appearance==
+==Overview==
-[[File:Uboa.jpg|thumb|140px|Uboa as they appear in the manga]]
+Uboa is a round figure resembling a black mass with a white face. Its normal appearance consists of a smiling face with a squinting left eye and a resting right eye with a crack above it. Its facial appearance changes when interacted with and in Uboa's Trap, morphing into a distorted face will smaller eyes, nostrils, and what appears to be lips or rows of teeth.
-'''Uboa''' appears as a black blob or shadow-like creature with a white oval covering most of their front. The oval resembles the traditional [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noh#Masks ''Noh''] theatre masks, as well as the Greek comedy/tragedy masks that depict extreme joy or sadness. However, in regards to the Greek masks, Uboa's expression seems to be a blend of both, as their left eye is squinting, while their right eye is resting. Accordingly, the left corner of the mouth is turned up, while the right corner is turned down.
+[[File:Uboa2.png|right|thumb|Uboa's altered expression.]]
-In the right upper part of the oval, the black colour invades it slightly, making the "mask" appear "cracked".
+Uboa does not appear until the event associated with it is triggered. To activate the event, the player must travel to Poniko's House in the Pink Sea and turn off the lights in her room using the light switch found right beside the door. If the room simply turns dark and Poniko is unchanged, [[Yume Nikki:Madotsuki|Madotsuki]] must leave the room, reenter, and turn the lights off again. Continuing this process has a 1/64 chance of changing the room into a distorted version of Poniko's original room, now replacing the blonde girl with Uboa.
-In the manga, Uboa was given a ponytail and arms, probably to resemble [[Poniko]].
+Once Uboa is summoned, Madotsuki can not leave the room or flip the light switch back on, with the latter action only causing the screen to flash white. Interacting with Uboa will send the player to [[Yume Nikki:Poniko's House#Uboa's Trap|Uboa's Trap]], a looping area in the White Desert filled with white liquid and a [[Yume Nikki:Bloody Touching Monster|towering, bleeding creature]] grasping melting mountains in the background. Uboa can also be found here in its distorted appearance. The only way to leave this area is to either pinch Madotsuki awake or use the [[Yume Nikki:Effects#Medamaude|Medamaude]] effect.
-==Event==
+==Trivia==
-[[File:Uboaroom.jpg|thumb|170px|Uboa in Poniko's room.]]
+*Due to the nature of Uboa's event and the disturbing appearance of the character itself, Uboa is often hailed as one of the reasons ''Yume Nikki'' grew in popularity in the West. Uboa saw heavy usage in Internet memes and edits during the early 2000s shortly after the character's discovery, typically depicting the character in a more humorous fashion.
-There is a chance that the event is triggered when you turn off the light. When the event happens a bright flash fills the screen, then the entire room changes and Uboa replaces Poniko. The background music changes to an alarming filtered "aah" noise. You cannot leave the room, and flipping the light switch only causes another flash.
+**Due to its popularity, Uboa's character and event are commonly parodied or imitated in various ''Yume Nikki'' fangames. The character itself has also gone on to make cameos in various Internet media and appears to have inspired the designs of characters such as the [[wikipedia:W._D._Gaster|Mystery Man]] from [[wikipedia:Undertale|''Undertale'']] and White Face from [[wikipedia:Imscared|''IMSCARED: A Pixelated Nightmare'']].
+*The sound effect that plays when the player touches Uboa is the same one as when a [[Yume Nikki:Toriningen|Toriningen]] traps the player.
-Some of the items in the room change. The dresser gets a "face" with googly eyes that may remind players of those of [[Masada]] and a smile. The two pictures change, the one over the desk turns from what looks like a mouse to a face which has googly eyes as well, and what could be either a moustache or another smile. The one over Poniko's bed changes from one shape to another. The window gets eyes and the rug's design also changes, showing a pattern with eyes as well. The lamp on the desk turns on, showing a light beam.
+[[File:UboaEventEmpty.png|thumb|right|230px|The empty Uboa event if Poniko is killed first.]]
+*Uboa will not appear if Poniko is killed. This forces Madotsuki to pinch herself awake or use the Medamaude effect.
-If you interact with Uboa, their face will become warped and you will be sent to a looped area highly similar to the [[White Desert]] (with even its soundtrack playing). The area shows a monochrome background and [[Bloody Touching Monster|a large decorative NPC]] that interacts with the white part of the background. This white part is shaped in a bubbly way and drop shapes are drawn on top of it, making it seem wet.
+*The background noise that plays when Uboa appears is the same as the music for [[Yume Nikki:Guillotine World|Guillotine World]] slowed down by half.
-[[File:Uboaspace.jpg|thumb|150px|left|Uboa in the monochrome area.]]
+*Uboa's name originated from a 2channel post describing how to activate Uboa's event. The initial post simply reads the instructions to activate the event before adding "ウボァー" to express the shock the event may give the player.
-When walking, Madotsuki's footsteps make the same "water" sound effects also heard when adventuring through the [[Pink Sea]], so the white, wavy ground can be interpreted as the same sort of substance. Using the Frog Effect here will increase Madotsuki's movement speed as well. Uboa themself is seen motionless with the warped expression in the right down part of the area. It is impossible to interact with them. Despite this location's many similarities to the White Desert, there are no routes that lead away from this area and into the White Desert itself. The only way to escape this area is by pinching [[Madotsuki]] awake or by using the [[Effects#Medamaude_.2F_Eye_Palm.EF.BC.88.E3.82.81.E3.81.A0.E3.81.BE.E3.81.86.E3.81.A7.29|Medamaude]] effect.
+**The phrase or "scream" used to express the event in the post references a line of dialogue from the character Emperor Mateus from ''Final Fantasy II'', with the phrase also being a 2channel meme at the time of the post's creation.
+**Additonally, the characters that make up Uboa's name (ウボァ) do not normally go together in Japanese, with the effect of the name being similar to ''Cthulhu'' or ''Astfgl'' in its "wrongness".
+*Both the [[Yume Nikki:Alley Demon|Alley Demon]] and [[Yume Nikki:Pier Monsters|Pier Monsters]] share a vague resemblance to Uboa.
+*In the [[Yume Nikki:Yume Nikki (manga)|manga]], Uboa is given a ponytail and movable arms, likely to more closely resemble Poniko. Its body is also much more blanket-like, sporting visible ruffles on its body.
-==Sound Files==
+==[[Yume Nikki:Theories|Theories]]==
-Sound associated with Uboa.
+Due to the unique nature of the Uboa event, it is largely believed to hold some significance to an event that may have happened in the real world involving Madotsuki. The nature of being trapped in a room and being forced to interact with an unpleasant force has led some to believe the event may depict an assault or may be symbolic of Madotsuki isolating herself and having to face her thoughts within her dreams.
-{| style="width: 80%;" border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="4"
-| style="text-align: center;" |'''Sound File'''
-| style="text-align: center;" |'''Description'''
-|-
-|[[File:BGM 013-50.ogg|noicon]]
-|The background music that plays when Uboa is in [[Poniko]]'s room.
-|-
-|[[File:SYA_sfx.ogg|noicon]]
-|The ''White Desert'' soundtrack that plays after you get teleported into the new area.
-|}
-==Reception==
+Another common interpretation of Uboa is that it may be an alternate form of Poniko, or Poniko may not exist at all and was simply a disguise used by Uboa for an unknown reason. This is evidenced by Uboa taking Poniko's place in her room, no matter where she has walked, and the absence of Uboa after Poniko has been killed, confirming they are the same entity. This interpretation could make Uboa based on the [[Wikipedia:Nuppeppō|Nuppeppō]] of Japanese mythology, which is stated in some texts to play tricks on people by disguising as a human and then interacting with real humans to let their guard down, only to surprise them by revealing they are a yōkai. The common interpretation of the Nuppeppō's appearance, a pale creature with a large and wrinkly head, could also somewhat match Uboa in description, especially with their altered appearance in Uboa's Trap.
-Uboa is likely a major factor for the success of the game, especially in the English version. Many non-Japanese players were introduced to Uboa through YouTube. Uboa itself may very well be the number one inspiration to download and explore Yume Nikki by most fans.
-===Fan Speculation===
+==Gallery==
-'''Isolation''' - Due to being trapped after making Madotsuki interact with Uboa, and the following area playing the dreary [[White Desert]] soundtrack, it could relate to the game's recurring theme of [[Theories#Themes_of_Isolation|isolation]].
+<gallery orientation="none" spacing="small" captionalign="center">
+Uboaroom.jpg|Uboa in Poniko's House.
-'''Poniko's True Form''' - A common interpretation is that Uboa is Poniko's true form, mostly because they replace her sprite.
+Uboa.jpg|Uboa as they appear in the manga.
+</gallery>
-'''Revenge''' - Uboa could be an annoyed Poniko getting angry with Madotsuki, as she keeps switching the lights off and on, which could be seen as a prank.
+[[Category:Yume Nikki Characters]]
+[[Category:Yume Nikki Events]]
-==Trivia==
-*This is lost in English, but the syllables that make up Uboa's name (ウボァ) do not normally go together in Japanese, with the effect of the name being similar to ''Cthulhu'' or ''Astfgl'' in its "wrongness".
-*Uboa is one of the most popular characters from the game and has made cameos or was inspiration for other characters in other (indie) video games.[[File:Uboa_flow.png|thumb|Uboa's marking (.flow)]]
-**'''Yume 2kki''' - In the [http://yume2kki.wikia.com/wiki/Sky_Kingdom Sky Kingdom] world there is a dog-like character that resembles Uboa. This character has been called "Dogboa" by fans. Additionally, in the [https://yume2kki.fandom.com/wiki/Extraterrestrial_Cliffside Extraterrestrial Cliffside] area, there is a part of the ground which resembles Uboa.
-**'''.flow''' - Uboa makes a cameo as a marking in the dead end room in the [http://dotflow.wikia.com/wiki/Underwater_Temple Underwater Temple].[[File:Memask.png|thumb|67px|Mask Effect (Me)]]
-**'''Me - '''the ''Mask ''effect is a clear reference to Uboa's face, and the location it's found in is quite similar to Poniko's room.
-**'''Undertale''' - [http://undertale.wikia.com/wiki/W._D._Gaster W. D. Gaster] (Or, more accurately, the Mystery Man) bears a striking resemblance to Uboa. The creator has referred to Uboa in other works as well.
-**'''Imscared''' - [http://imscared.wikia.com/wiki/White_Face White Face] shares some similarity to Uboa, notably due to looking like a "cracked" mask (Although White Face's seems to be more akin to a tear).
-**'''LISA the Joyful''' - [http://lisa-rpg.wikia.com/wiki/Mr._Beautiful Mr. Beautiful] has a mask that appears similar to Uboa once cracked in battle. However, Dingaling, the game's creator, stated on [https://twitter.com/NitroRad/status/636395722099814400 Twitter] that the similarities weren't intentional, and that the character was instead based on [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoko_Asahara Shoko Asahara.]
-**'''Nightmare House 2''' - Uboa appears as a [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9Q-cXRnMyw hidden easter egg].
-**'''BoxxyQuest: The Gathering Storm''' - [https://i.imgur.com/cu2R0MS.png A creature resembling Uboa] appears in an abandoned shack. Also, a full recreation of Poniko's house and the Trap World can be found in the game's unused code, possibly intended as an easter egg.
-*According to some, Uboa's design (that of their initial sprite) was likely inspired by '''Spirited Away'''s No-Face.
-**No-Face is in turn inspired by ''Noh'' theatre and could also be based on the ''kōken'', the stagehands dressing in all black, moving the scenery and props.
-*Uboa's name originated from a type of scream in Japan. Originally pronounced 'uhoa' ''(ooo-hwha)'' when said in a manner resembling a scream, the name certainly suits its appearance and situation.
-*Going along with the previous statement, the scream Uboa was popularized by [http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Emperor_Mateus Emperor Mateus] from Final Fantasy II, who screamed Uboa when he was defeated in the NES/FC Japanese version and English prototype. This was likely part of the inspiration for the name.
-*The origin of Uboa's face design prior to its distortion when the player touches it may have come from a 1997 Treasure game called ''Mischief Makers''. This may be coincidental however. In ''Mischief Makers'', the denizens of the planet Clancer as well as most objects on the planet all have black, hollow-looking eyes similar to Uboa's that may be both curved inward or one curving outward. These creatures also possess gaping black mouths and white faces, much like Uboa.
-*In the walfas'  [http://walfas.org/flash/create.swf create.swf] (despite being Touhou in origin but because of Uboa's meme status) Uboa's face is an option to use on a character.
-*Uboa makes a cameo appearance in the Abyss location of the webcomic ''Awful Hospital.''
-[[Category:Characters]]
-[[Category:Events]]

Uboa

Basic Info
Role	Traps Madotsuki in Uboa's Trap
Collectibles	None
Events	Uboa
Location	Poniko's House Uboa's Trap
Other
Size	Standard
Killable?	No