Shining Nikki is a mobile game developed by Papergames. A sequel to Love Nikki, it was released in China on August 6, 2019, Japan on March 18, 2021,[1] globally on July 5, 2021, and Vietnam on October 24, 2023. It was also released in Korea on October 29, 2020, but was discontinued on December 6, 2020 due to controversy.
| Shining Nikki | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Papergames |
| Platform(s) | Android, iOS |
| Release | |
Gameplay
editShining Nikki is a dress-up game that is played through styling. In its battle mode, there are five attributes: Sweet, Fresh, Elegant, Sexy, and Cool. The player has to choose clothing with the highest scoring attritbutes to increase their Styling Power in order to win against the opponent. After choosing, the player is directed to select a Designer's Reflection, artwork of different set designers, which each have different skills. After selecting a Designer's Reflection, gameplay of Nikki's outfit is shown, where the player has to press buttons on the corresponding outfit piece that the player has selected. If the player fails to click the button in time, they cannot click it again.[2]
To increase the Styling Power of a Designer's Reflection, the player can go to the Ark. To level up a Designer's Reflection, the player can go to Clock Workshop, where a certain number of exp can be collected depending on the level. A Designer's Reflection also has Stars that correspond with its rank, which can be increased through the use of Memory Keys, which can be collected through Neverfall; Passive Skills, which can be increased with Outfit Crystals, obtained by decomposing extra pieces of clothing the player already owns; and Call of Reflection, a Designer's Reflection's personal skills increased through a specific Designer's Reflection. Designer's Reflections can also be increased through the use of Concepts. Using Concepts from the same series creates resonance.[2]
Styling Power can also be increased by developing a player's bond with Nikki through watching events in the Home and using gifts. In order for Nikki to use gifts, the player has to buy her snacks to increase her vigor.[2]
To obtain clothing, the player can collect from Apple Apparel, where the clothing can be purchased with Gold or Pink Gems; the Gate of Heart, which houses Sea of Fantasy, requiring Fantasy Tickets or Pink Gems, and Sea of Mystery, requiring Mystery Tickets or Gold; and Workshop, where the player has to collect materials from different story stages to craft certain items.[2]
Development
editLiu Cong Vasiliy, art director of Papergames considers the material of the clothes to be the most important aspect of the game. After studying physical fabrics, they use Adobe Substance Designer to digitally recreate the textures, a process they find worthwhile given the results. They consider modelling Chinese style embroidery to be the most difficult due to its exquisiteness.[3]
Bro Seal, director of 2D art for the game, describes Shining Nikki as having a vast collection of costume styles and explains how each set is the representation of a character's memory and dedication towards their creation. To make the sets, they settle on a theme, then hire multiple illustrators to decide the details that make up the design. The team picks the best design and translates it into 2D art, eventually being processed to become assets. Along with costume details, fabric texture, and decorative patterns, they are submitted to 3D artists to be adapted as models. Wanting to prioritize creativity, illustrators are provided with the utmost freedom. As Shining Nikki is the first 3D game they have created, the development team found it difficult to create a 3D model and took a whole year to do so. They also found it challenging to model costume designs, picking the Out the Phoenix Palace set as an example due to its intricate details making it difficult to process into a model. Thus, they had to spread the assets into multiple layers.[4]
Animations were added to the game to grant Nikki, who has previously always been a 2D character, a much livelier presence. The team also does research to ensure that Nikki acts as a realistic 19-year-old girl and to let the players know of Nikki's thoughts behind her actions.[4]
3D animations are created through motion capture and post-production. Motion capture actors are provided scripts and given an idea of the actions they should portray for the animations, but are given the freedom to interpret the actions on their own. Papergames originally had 18 actors for Nikki, which they eventually reduced to a single actress who they believe best represents the character.[4]
The game was released in Japan on March 18, 2021[1] and globally on July 5, 2021.
The game has had collaborations with Neon Genesis Evangelion,[5] Cardcaptor Sakura,[6] Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast,[7] Frozen[8] and Sanrio through the use of the characters My Melody, Cinnamoroll, Kuromi, and Pompompurin.[9][10]
Reception
editShining Nikki had been downloaded 100 million times worldwide.[11]
TheGamer considers the game to be better than its predecessor, Love Nikki, owing to its newer features and better UI.[12] However, TheGamer has also criticized the game for having too many currencies.[13] Hardcore Droid states the game is rather generous with its free rewards and that despite being a mobile game with lots of spending, it manages to be enjoyable.[14] 4Gamer.net praises the detailed quality of the game's clothing and the story for being more serious than its cheerful appearance would suggest.[15]
Controversy
editFollowing the launch of the game's South Korean servers, Papergames added wardrobe items based on the hanbok to the game, leading to complaints from Chinese audiences who argued that the hanbok was actually of Chinese origin. Papergames released a statement siding with these claims, causing further upset among Korean players and leading to the Korean servers' closure on November 6, 2020. South Korean politician Lee Sang-heon criticized Papergames' actions in response to their withdrawal from South Korea, stating that they "showed unscrupulous behavior by pouring criticism against Korean users and ending its services in Korea." Lee additionally claimed that Papergames' lack of monetary compensation following its withdrawal violated Korean fair trade laws.[16][17]
Legacy
editA sequel to the game, Infinity Nikki, has been announced.[18]
References
edit- ^ a b "3D着せ替えコーデRPG『シャイニングニキ』がサービス開始。美麗な3Dモデルやディティールまでこだわり抜かれた衣装はもちろん、壮大なストーリーや豪華な声優陣も魅力". Den Fami Nico Gamer (in Japanese). March 18, 2021. Archived from the original on July 8, 2023. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
- ^ a b c d "【PR】「シャイニングニキ」を初心者向けに解説！ 誰よりもおしゃれになるためのコーデバトルのコツ教えます始". 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). March 18, 2021. Archived from the original on August 14, 2021. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
- ^ "Shining Nikki: Creating and Scanning Elegant Fabrics for China's Most Popular Mobile Dress-Up Game". Adobe. Archived from the original on December 21, 2023. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
- ^ a b c "SHINING NIKKI BEHIND THE SCENES EP 3 - Art and Animation" (video). youtube.com. Shining Nikki. December 19, 2021.
- ^ "《閃耀暖暖》x《新世紀福音戰士》IP 聯動活動今日開啟 與初號機聯手作戰". GNN News (in Chinese). Archived from the original on September 7, 2023. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
- ^ "《閃耀暖暖》x《庫洛魔法使》聯動確定 同步公開宣傳 PV". GNN News (in Chinese). Archived from the original on December 2, 2022. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
- ^ "《閃耀暖暖》聯名迪士尼《美女與野獸》《仙履奇緣》綺光夢旅再現公主的美好瞬間". GNN News (in Chinese). Archived from the original on December 3, 2022. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
- ^ "3D着せ替えコーデRPG『シャイニングニキ』4月28日（水）より「アナと雪の女王」イベント開催！ロマンチックな「雪フェス」でエルサのセットコーデをゲットしよう！". PR Times (in Japanese). 24 April 2021. Archived from the original on December 30, 2023. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
- ^ "Papergames、『シャイニングニキ』でサンリオのキャラクターコラボイベントを開催！ シナモロールとマイメロディをイメージした限定コーデが登場！". gamebiz (in Japanese). Archived from the original on December 7, 2022. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
- ^ Palmer, Lauren (November 23, 2023). "Shining Nikki Gets Second Sanrio Event Featuring Kuromi and Pompompurin". Siliconera. Archived from the original on November 30, 2023. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
- ^ "全世界累計1億ダウンロードを突破した着せ替えコーデRPGのシリーズ最新作『シャイニングニキ』2021年に国内配信へ。クローズドベータテストの参加者募集も開始". Den Fami Nico Gamer (in Japanese). March 18, 2021. Archived from the original on January 28, 2023. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
- ^ Shearon, Andrea (July 11, 2021). "Shining Nikki May Be Even Better Than The Original". TheGamer. Archived from the original on September 7, 2023. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
- ^ Shearon, Andrea (July 11, 2021). "Shining Nikki's Currency Systems Are Far Too Greedy". TheGamer. Archived from the original on August 16, 2021. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
- ^ Olson, Neil (September 26, 2021). "Shining Nikki Review". Hardcore Droid. Archived from the original on January 18, 2024. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ^ "3Dモデルの着せ替えが楽しい「シャイニングニキ」のクローズドβテストインプレッション。重厚な物語とのギャップも熱い". 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). March 18, 2021. Archived from the original on January 31, 2024. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
- ^ "Irate Chinese commenters turn on hanbok and Blackpink". Korean JoongAng Daily. November 9, 2020. Archived from the original on December 24, 2022. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
- ^ "Chinese Game Developer Sides with Chinese Netizens to Attack Korean Culture". The Korea Bizwire. November 9, 2020. Archived from the original on December 24, 2022. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
- ^ Romano, Sal (November 29, 2022). "Open-world dress-up adventure game Infinity Nikki announced for PS5, PS4, PC, iOS, and Android". Gematsu. Archived from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
External links
edit- Official Shining Nikki website (in English)