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Nights Into Dreams

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: April 01, 2008
Author: Amazon User

It's fun making the character Nights fly through the stages.
I remember this game from Sonic Adventure DX when you go to the Casino stage as Sonic. The character is quite like Sonic only he can fly. The levels are stunning and very colorful. I hoped this game would come out so I could play it and make Nights fly.I can use my Gamecube controller on my Wii.

I give the game 5 stars!

3.5; as beautiful as it is flawed

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: January 16, 2008
Author: Amazon User

The original Nights for the Sega Saturn, like Panzer Dragoon Saga, was one of those cult classic games that many people still refer to when they talk about their favorite games but for the most part, most of us have only heard of it rather than actually played the thing. With massive demand and finally an announcement, players got excited that there was going to be as sequel, titled Journey of Dreams. But given Sonic Team's strange track record lately as well as the huge hype, could this really live up to the hype? Well it doesn't completely deliver so much as it delivers and then drops the ball then delivers again.

Story: Will, an aspiring soccer player, and Helen, a practicing violinist, are pulled into Nightopia, the land that's created when people dream. But the evil of beings called Nightmaren want to rid the world of Nightopia so it's up to Will, Helen and our favorite flying jester, Nights, to gather up Ideya, the components that make up Nightopia, and rid the dream world of Nightmaren.

Graphics: Recently I bought a component cable for the Wii which allows 480p resolution and Nights was one of the first to be tested and even without it, the game would still be amazing visually. With a bright color palette and lush looking levels, the game is a great example at how you don't need realistic skin tones to create great graphics and with 480p going, the game is even beautiful still. The cutscene graphics are okay but the opening cinema and the levels though are just vibrant and colorful.

Sound/Music: Normally in these kind of games, I just put on my own music but the music in Nights is very lively and filled with memorable, upbeat tones and is the kind of soundtrack that you'd very well consider buying. The voice acting, however, is not horrendous a la Sonic's 3D adventures but they're still unfortunate since the British accents are quite off and the readings are kind of stilted and awkward.

Gameplay: I had read several reviews where people found the Wii controls awkward so I thought I'd start right off the bat with a good-ol' Gamecube controller and controlling Nights wasn't even that much of a problem. While initially awkward to get the feeling for how it works, it soon became a breeze but when I thought I'd check out the Wii ones, I found them awkward as well and went back to the trusty Gamecube controller. The game also lets you use the Classic controller, Wii-mote by itself or standard Wii controls. Nights acts as a kind of rail shooter/Sonic the Hedgehog combo where Nights flies in the air and you control her direction from diving, climbing, doing loops (called Paraloops which act as a vortex sucking in important items within its radius) or dashing to gain speed and crash into stuff.

The big minus is the platform-style parts where you physically control Will or Helen (they "dualize" with Nights for the flying stuff) and with the normal controllers they're fine, the Wii controls just don't feel right, not to mention the very notion of having platforming in the game when it was doing just fine with being a rail shooter hurts it. The other negative is the checkpoint system or rather its lack of one as when you progress through the story levels, you get a cutscene, play a level than the stage boss but should you fail against the boss, you have to start the level over complete with cutscenes and the level you just killed. It's quite a buzzkill when you're playing and unless you're a pro that could get through the game without failing once, it's quite a downer when you have to replay what you just beat with no checkpoint in place.

Some are quite disappointed while others think its flawed but a good game overall. I'm in the second camp since I felt compelled to play again when I turned off the system but you kind of hope certain things are corrected for the hopefully-done 3rd game.

A Night-Mare

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: April 13, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Nights: Journey of Dreams is a dissapointment in many ways. I've never played Nights into Dreams Before, so I'm new to the series. There are two stories you can play in: Will's dream and Helen's dream. Both of them are pretty much the same. I hated both of them. Nights is a strange character who flies around in circles. All of the characters, especially Nights, had terrible voice covers.

Graphics: Don't be fooled by the pictures on the back of the box (the cutscene graphics)! At first you are introduced to beautiful, jaw-dropping graphics, but as soon as the cutscenes are over, the game takes a turn for the worse. The graphics in the gameplay aren't impressive at all. The graphics look like they'd be bad even for the Gamecube. That is unacceptable for a Wii game. Sometimes the game is blury. Sure, there are bright colors, but that is not enough.

Gameplay: Overall, the gameplay just wasn't set up well. I'm sure it wouldn't be as bad if the camera angle was better. The camera should have been from the back of Nights, instead of the side of her. Probably the worst part of the gameplay is the repetitiveness. Flying around in circles as Nights is very boring, and who wants to spend their time chasing birds around in circles anyway? The boss battles are frusturating and are much harder than they need to be. I had no idea what to do on many of them. You also have a time limit on all of the levels and boss battles, which stinks. If you fail a boss stage, then you need to start the whole level over again! Lame!

Controls: THe game gives you the option to choose from four control options (nunchuk, remote, Gcube controller, and classic controller). In a way this is good because you can choose which one you like the best, but I thought they were all confusing. Nights is harder to control than she should be.

To sum it up, Nights is a boring game that wasn't thought out very well with a dumb storyline and sloppy controls. I've never played the original Nights before, but I'm sure this must be a dissapointment.

On Rails Bird Chasing game

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: February 25, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Having enjoyed the first Nights the few times I was able to play it, and reading the considerable hype around the release (mostly from Nintendo Power who seem to be fully blind to this game's faults)I was excited for this release. What I found in this game was basically an on-rails bird chasing game... sure they throw in some other levels... like an on rails octopus chasing level or two...
Actually the boss levels are fun and unique, but they are over far too quickly and you are back to chasing birds around... The levels may look lush and fun... but you will be too busy chasing down birds to notice. There may be some neat places to explore and hidden items to find... but you won't get to them... you will be too busy chasing birds around...

If more of the game were like the boss fights, or some of the other unique and fun levels, It would be a great game... or if there was time to really have some free roaming fun in the lush environments... but there isn't... you just have to chase birds...
This game is too difficult for children and too tedious for adults... Those with an irrational nostalgia for Sega's hey day (yes... I'm talking to you Nintendo Power) might pretend this is a fun game... but I was disappointed. Rent before you buy... the boss fights are really fun.

Solid Sequel

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: December 21, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I dont know what the 1st 2 reviewers are talking about nights is a solid release there is options far as the controller scheme so you arent stuck with lousy wii controls i prefer the classic controller the graphics are good game play is smooth bottom line this game doesnt dissapoint go buy this game you will not be disappointed.

The Best Game Out of Sonic Team in Years -- An Old-School Classic

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: December 29, 2007
Author: Amazon User

First, the bad things about this game that nobody can seem to resist talking about. The Wiimote IR-cursor controls are a challenge to learn, although a Nunchuk; Classic Controller or Gamecube controller fixes that right up (my favorite's the nunchuk). Very occasionally, yes, the framerate does skip. Of course, the game has the crap-tastic dialogue and plot we've come to expect from Sonic Team. And yes, it does have platforming levels starring Will and Helen in there somewhere, although I've only played on such mission in three levels of play (where each level has four missions and a boss).

The levels themselves are works of art in graphics, music, and gameplay. Flying is fun and easy (even more fun and easy than my actual flight dreams, since those don't have dashes, paraloops, link rings, or blue chips), and variations on the theme add spice. This is a game of the old school of video games: you may pick the Wiimote up and learn to fly in two minutes, and you may beat each character's (there's only two) story in about a day of hardcore gaming, but this new entry to the "classics" shelf will keep you coming back time and time again to try to rack up higher link counts and high scores with complete disregard for its lack of moral philosophy a la Bioshock or overextended story a la Every Final Fantasy Game Ever.

My only real complaints are that it's too short and you can't skip cutscenes.

Rent before you buy

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: February 03, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I have never played any of the Nights games before, and maybe that's my problem, but I had no idea what was going on in this game. Unlike many Wii games that overdo the tutorials, this one explained how to fly and then left me very confused as to what else I had to do. This took the fun out of the game, as it's not really a strategy/puzzle game as far as I could tell. As other people have mentioned, it's frustrating to have to re-do a level if you fail to beat the boss the first time around. I gave up after a couple attempts at my first "dream" level (so glad I rented it!).

The controls for flying are a little off, but the graphics are excellent. I think giving it 3 stars is a little generous, but other people seem to like it. So I'd rent it before you buy it just to make sure you'll like it before you spend $[...].

Solid Game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: December 29, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Having never played the first NiGHTS on Sega Saturn, I was dying to know what all the hype was about. Right now I'm about 5 hours into NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams, and I'm enjoying it a lot.

- The controls take a few minutes to get used to, but after that, everything's fine. I can tell that it's not as fluid as it should be though, but still, the game is more than playable.

- The graphics are gorgeous and full of color throughout most of the game, although there are some uglier moments (which are few and far between from what I've seen).

- MUSIC... the music in this game is amazing. Everything is orchestrated, full and fits each dream world perfectly. My favorite would have to be the music on the results screen although there were a few good jazzier tunes that surprised me.

- The best part of this game (besides the music) would have to be the boss battles (which there are a lot of). I won't spoil anything, but they are pretty creative.

- Voice acting overall is decent, although one of the kids seems like he talks like an American part of the time and British the other part (?).

- Multiplayer is another well-done aspect of the game. You can either Race or Battle your opponent, both locally (split-screen) and online (via Nintendo WFC). Since the controls are so simple to pick up (once explained), anyone can play and stand a chance against an experienced player.

If you have an open mind and are able to overlook a few things, then you'll have a great time with NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams.

My Score: 8/10

-PrarieD0G

Follow Up (1/20/08): Well I have just completed the game (with all 4 endings), and I have to say that it is my favorite Wii game so far. It's just so full of style--a level of its own really. If I could, I would edit my rating to 5 stars. I can't wait for a 3rd sequel (and a re-release of the original would be awesome, too.)

Please ignore those who are being downers!!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: January 15, 2008
Author: Amazon User

NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams is absolutely wonderful game. I can't believe there are people that say it's dumb and not worth picking up!!! Someone even judged it by just looking at it's strategy guide (he even gave the guide a one star rating)and says that it shouldn't even be picked up! Journey of Dreams is a spectacular game with a wonderful soundtrack, great storyline and spectacular gameplay! What ever short commings the game has doesn't distract from the fact that this is a wonderful game and great sequal to the original Saturn game. I'm actually hoping for a third NiGHTS game to follow this one.

Will You Have a Nice NiGHT? (by Laura)

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: March 25, 2008
Author: Amazon User

*Pelted with tomatoes over punned title* I'm sorry, but there are a lot of puns I can use with this game. Some things in this game are just flat out ridiculous, but I'll get to that later. I recently got this game for Easter, but I have my facts straight on it by now. I'm new to the NiGHTS series, meaning I've never played one of her (I'll tell you why I think she's a she later) games on Sega Saturn, but that doesn't mean I don't know the character well. How NiGHTS herself is related to Mobius (Sonic the Hedgehog's world) is still a mystery. Is she, perhaps, part of Mobius' dreamworld? Either way, she's made several appearances throughout the Sonic games (I'm refrencing Sonic Adventure DX and Sonic Riders for those who are curious); one of them claiming she's a nightmaren (In Sonic Riders, it says her board is made specifically for a nightmaren). At the same time, she seems to defend Nightopia and be a Nightopian; but with REALA looking a lot like her (and being a Nightmaren), and the fact that the manual says she doesn't have a strong sense of righteousness... I'm confused on who exactly she is, and who she is fighting for. I ramble too much with her mystery; I'll do the cons and pros, in that order for this actual game. Since I've never played a previous NiGHTS game, I will be unable to do comparison. These are the cold hard facts as I see them.

Cons:

1. Repetitious, Tedious, and Awkward gameplay. This knocked my fun rating down to a three. For a game that promotes dreams and flying, both things having to do with freedom, it puts a lot of shackles on you. Missions, that you are graded strictly on, and time limits all inappropriately bog down gameplay. There's a time limit on every level; and if you don't do what you're supposed to do by then, you get a "Nightover" (equivalent to a gameover. I assume your character wakes up). If that wasn't bad enough, other conditions (such as failing to rescue a Nightopian in time) causes the same result. I was really looking forward to an expanse world where you could explore freely; but this is a game that just forces you to go from point A to point B. The repetition is broken up a little by the different missions; but many missions are similar causing you to fly around seemingly endlessly. When you're controling a human (Helen or Will) you can't defeat enemies; you can only stun them with blue chips and run! There are ghost like things (which look suspiciously like Boos from the Mario series) called Awakeners that further frustrate the human end of the gameplay. When the little clock runs out of time, they come after you in a herd (like ten to twenty of them). If three catch you, your character wakes up, and you get a "Nightover" AGAIN! Ugh, I should feel free in this game; but instead I feel like NiGHTS when she's captured by those dumb birds. I'm in a prison cell and I can only escape from my prison temporarily before I'm locked up again; unlike NiGHTS, though, I can't find my keys to escape...

2. Repetitious themes. The first mission of every world (so far it seems) is to rescue NiGHTS, who doesn't even do the slightest thing to defend herself from her captors. Awakeners also appear too much and look a lot like Boos to boot. Owl (who, yes, is an owl) likes to talk your leg off and slow down gameplay. What owl doesn't these days? This Owl also has the terrible tendency to say "well" and "visitor" far too much. It reminded of Blathers from animal crossing. While Owl's information is normally useful, a blubbering owl named Owl is nowhere near an original idea Sonic Team!!! The least they could've done is give the poor bird an appropriate name (although a name like Blathers really isn't THAT much better...). While were at it, look at NiGHTS' personality and compare it to Sonic's. They're exactly the same! Laid back, and likes freedom. Sonic Team, if you must "borrow", don't do it from your own characters! That's not all: the first area you go to is a fountain. The Fountain of Dreams? Sounds a lot like Kirby to me.

3. Weird things... Small things can annoy me. This probably isn't a new issue; but why in the name NiGHTS are all the letters capitalized except "i"? As previously stated, a talkative owl named Owl is far from original. On top of that, if you walk away while he's talking to you (if that's even possible) he STALKS you while finishing his thoughts... That's creepy. The concept behind dualizing is also creepy and reminds me of Dragonball Z's fusion thing (I'm not a fan of DBZ I just hear things). Both human kids have the ability to merge with NiGHTS separately and become one with her; how this helps her temporarily escape her prison, I have no clue. Speaking of which, you have to unlock three cages before NiGHTS escapes from one, and then you always have to battle a boss. Why?! Oh, and for the heck of it: WHAT THE BLAZES IS NiGHTS' GENDER?! I tried reading the manual and it just uses her name in instances where he, she, or it ought to be used. I used to think NiGHTS was a he (well, she never had a voice before now; and videogames usually favor male characters), but, by the sound of her voice, I have to assume she's a she or be a little creeped out. REALA's gender isn't announced either, but his voice seems to be masculine; insinuating that he's a he. If I haven't stressed it enough, the Awakeners bug the heck out of me. Oh yeah, have you heard of the visible forces of your heart (like courage)? There called Ideyas. No, I'm not joking. Everyone apparently has Ideyas. You know what's worse? It's pronounced very close to "Idiot". I laughed.

4. My Dream isn't as good as I though it would be. I'm just confused by it; and it seems like all you do is put things in it to rot or spare the lives of five creatures you like (you'll have to feed everyone else blue chips to keep them alive). Apparently, time passes there while you're playing elsewhere... If that's true, everything I haven't been feeding is probably gone.

5. The bosses are too easy. Once you know what to do, it won't take long to beat them.

Pros:

1. Interesting storylines. Two kids, a girl named Helen and a boy named Will are having trouble in their lives. Helen usually practices playing the violin with her mother. Helen's dream entails playing in front of large audiences one day. Lately, however, she's been more interested in hanging out with her friends. Not allowing herself to feel the guilt of leaving her mother out, she begins to have nightmares at night; eventually finding herself in NiGHTS' world. Will is a great soccer player who was taught by his dad. He and his dad were always together, until his father had to take off in business affairs. Now terribly lonely, Will started having nightmares; and he found himself in NiGHTS' world as well. Both kids made it with the Ideya of courage, but lost all other Ideya to the nightmarens; who cause nightmares and are trying to destroy Nightopia. With Wizeman as supreme evil overlord, and REALA as his loyal servant; can NiGHTS and the kids prevent good dreams and Nightopia from being destroyed forever?

2. Beautiful and various graphics both in and out of cutscenes. It really does look like a dreamworld: the water and ice are clear and sparkly, the woodlands are well textured, and the beaches are pretty.

3. Enchanting music. Sweet tunes emphasize you are in a dreamworld. While possibly the best feature of the game, be warned that much of this music can stick in your head.

4. Colorful characters. No matter how rip-offish and genderless they appear to be, you have to admit at the very least that they have depth. They also have various personalities.

5. The controls aren't bad. You can play in your favorite style; meaning you have a choice of wii remote and nunchuck, wii remote alone, or gamecube controller. If you're just starting out, I wouldn't recommend the wii remote alone. The controls seem complex and difficult at first, but there surprisingly easy to get used to; and you have a tutorial by Owl. Controling the humans alone is also easy once you know what each button does. The characters also move fairly fluently

Conclusion:
Five cons, and five pros. Whether the pros outweigh the cons I'll leave to you. There are two player and Wi-Fi capabilities with this game, but I don't normally use those; so I can't comment on whether or not they're good. Regardless of my vents, please note that I don't think bad of the Sonic Team; nor do I think they they violated any rights. They've made many exceptional games; they were just having a wierd day when they made this one... Overall, I think this game is worth a look at; you can get some potential fun and enjoyment out of it. It's a gamble, however, and you might want to wait for the price to drop around thirty-five bucks, or rent it first; just to make sure it's a game you really want. I, myself, have no regrets asking for it.

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