Uboa 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 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 design 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.
- Uboa is one of four characters in the game that cannot be killed, along with the Jellyfish, Toriningen, and Pain Blob.
- Uboa and the Jellyfish are the only ones who have no reaction to the Knife effect at all.
- Despite this, Uboa will not appear if Poniko is killed, even if the event is activated. This forces Madotsuki to pinch herself awake or use the Medamaude effect if the Uboa event is triggered after killing Poniko.
- The background noise that plays when Uboa appears is the same as the music for Yume Nikki Wiki:Guillotine World slowed down by half.
- Uboa's name originates from a type of scream in Japan. Originally pronounced 'uhoa' (ooo-hwha) when said in a manner resembling a scream, the name matches the roaring sound heard when the Uboa event is triggered.
- The characters that make up Uboa's name (ウボァ) also 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.
Gallery
Uboa in Poniko's House.
Uboa as they appear in the manga.
