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Very fun follow up to the original masterpiece

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 17 / 19
Date: December 21, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Has it really been over a decade since the release of Sega's original Nights? Hard to believe, but yes, and what's even harder to believe is that it took Sega all that time before coming out with a follow up to their cult smash. Anyway, Nights: Journey of Dreams is here for the Wii, and the game is a very fun follow up to the original masterpiece, and despite it's flaws, is a blast to play. If you've played the original Nights, you'll feel right at home here with the flight-based gameplay, wonderful soundtrack, and brilliantly realized level designs that populate the Nights universe. The game's artistic style is by far it's greatest strength, giving Nights an undeniable charm that is hard to top. Where Nights disappoints is with some of the Wii-mote controls, which come off as too cumbersome, but this can be fixed thanks to the fact the game supports the Classic and Gamecube controlers. Where the game also falls is with some of the on-foot platforming elements, which just aren't much fun at all. Not to mention that just like the original game, Nights: Journey of Dreams is too short. It won't take you long to get through the game, and once you do, as before, you'll be begging for more. Despite it's flaws though, Nights: Journey of Dreams is one of the better third-party Wii titles to see the light of day this holiday season. The charm of the presentation makes it worthwhile for children, and the addictive gameplay makes it worth playing for older gamers with fond memories of the original. For those longtime fans of the original Nights, you'll be pleased to see many references and homages to the original game peppered throughout Nights: Journey of Dreams, but the game doesn't do this enough to put off new gamers either. All in all, Nights: Journey of Dreams may not be as memorable or as close to a masterpiece as it's predecessor, but it is a very fun follow up regardless, and worth checking out for gamers of all sorts.

Welcome back to Nightopia

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 13 / 15
Date: December 19, 2007
Author: Amazon User

It has been well over 11 years since the acclaimed cult classic NiGHTS into Dreams by Sega's Sonic Team debuted on the Saturn. And now after countless rumors, endless petitions, and a series of long waits, its official follow-up has finally arrived but this time on Nintendo's console Wii. Even with its glaring faults it can still manage to rekindle memories of the original and perhaps spark interest in those who have never played NiGHTS before. Two dreaming children, Will and Helen, have been having nightmares that have gotten in the way of their aspirations. They soon come across NiGHTS, a flying jester determined to rid the dream worlds of Wizeman and his henchmen, who wish to turn everyone's dreams into nightmares.

CONTROL
Players are given the option to choose from a few modes of play, either with just the Wii remote, Nunchuk style, Classic style, or with the GameCube controller (which I suggest using first, preferably the Wavebird). Your mission as NiGHTS is to fly through a series of rings and collect blue chips in order to break the capture chamber, which advances you to the bosses. You will also learn special attacks and moves that will aid you in your quests. Regardless of which control scheme you choose, the responsiveness of the controls feel glitchy at times. Controlling NiGHTS can occasionally be awkward and is missing the fluidity found in other Wii titles. Controlling Will or Helen in the platform levels can also be a bit quirky. However, no one should have any trouble adapting to any of the control schemes after a continuous amount of playtime.

GRAPHICS
When you first boot up the game you are treated to very well made full-motion-video opening cutscenes. The CG quality is definitely ranks among the best yet seen on the Wii. The graphics are also impressive in terms of level design. The designers over at Sega are definitely gifted when it comes to realizing dream worlds. Each level is quite creative. However, the framerate hitches on a frequent basis, especially during the real-time cinemas. There is also some considerable choppiness and blandness which becomes all too noticeable. Even though the whole presentation is incredibly colorful and dreamlike, it is all marred by annoying little blemishes. It makes you wonder why Sega's talented engineers could create such imaginative worlds yet not get over the technological obstacles. Still, the overall visual production is something to appreciate.

SOUND
Probably the best aspect of the entire game. The music tracks are fun to listen to. They are catchy and stick in your head most of the time, and they almost perfectly emphasize the gameplay. Fans of the original game will be happy to know that a few familiar tunes and jingles have made a return in Journey of Dreams. A lot of the same trademark sound effects have also come back. A new element added in the game is the use of voice acting. Yes, NiGHTS finally has a voice. It may be blasphemy to those who think the NiGHTS character should have stayed as ambiguous as possible and others may not agree with the voice that was chosen. But overall, the sound is still far away the most impressive part of the game and proves that Sega means business when it comes to quality sound.

CONCLUSION
The A-Life feature returns, allowing gamers to look after Nightopians/Nightmarens in their own personal garden, and a 2-player match where you can battle or race against a friend. Despite these additions, many inconsistencies prevent Journey of Dreams from being a solid title. A lot of components in the game interrupt the action, such as dialogue, cutscenes, bizarre objectives, and even platforming missions, which could turn off gamers who just wanted to enjoy the sheer sensation of flight. It's also fairly short in length. In the end, this is really a three-and-a-half star game (I thought rounding it to four stars looked overgenerous). Though not perfect, it doesn't mean it's not fun. There's more good than bad. It's not the masterpiece I was hoping for but it is still mostly a fun game nonetheless. My best recommendation is to simply play the game in any you can (whether buying, renting, etc.) if you are interested in it. Please do not let my criticisms discourage you from trying it. You may end up liking it more than I did, so just go give it a chance!

Another half-realized game from the folks at Sonic Team

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 19 / 33
Date: December 20, 2007
Author: Amazon User

What is it with Sonic Team lately? First they dump on us the most embarassingly awful high-profile game in years with Sonic the Hedgehog for Xbox 360 and PS3. Now they've gone and managed to pretty much screw up the game that people have been waiting 11 years for: the sequel to Nights Into Dreams for the Sega Saturn.

I don't know if Sonic Team just gets pressured by SEGA to hurry the programming on their games so they get released in time for Christmas, or if they just cannot make a fully-finished, polished game no matter how much time they're given. The flying sequences in the new Nights game are fantastic. My question is, why aren't there more of them? Why limit the one feature of the game that people have lauded for the last decade? Why the insistence on poorly thought-out, tedious platforming levels? I don't want to walk around as Will or Helen; that does not make for exciting game play. With the myriad of possiblities available for a flying character, why limit the number of chances you get to use him/her/it? I simply don't understand Sonic Team's reasoning for this. Wasn't there any programmer in the room who said, "you know guys, maybe we should stick to our strengths on this one and give the fans what they want." I don't think there was a single Nights fan out there who was hoping that the new game would include more WALKING.

Then there's other issues like the non-skippable cutscenes that ruin any momentum the game might have. There's the ultra-confusing boss battles where, if you fail, you need to do the ENTIRE campaign over again. And there's the par-for-the-course cringe-worthy dialogue that Sonic Team has been known for since Sonic Adventure came out.

Why, Sonic Team, why? Why mix really good flying levels (with just ok controls this time around) with platforming and Tamagotchi-style features that only took your semi-talented programmers away from the task of MORE flying levels? I will never understand you, and that is why I may never purchase another Sonic Team-produced game again. For shame.

A New Nights Fan

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 9
Date: March 10, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I am a 13-year-old girl who has been a Sonic fan for six long years. I loved Sonic every single day. Now all that's changing. When I started playing Nights: Journey of Dreams, I had to admit that Nights is better than Sonic. Please be considerate; this is the very first review I've ever written on Amazon.

Having never played the first Nights (I was only one or two when it came out, anyway), I wanted to find out who Nights is. I wanted it just to try it out. Nights: Journey of Dreams was a Christmas present from my aunt. I was so glad I wanted it just to try it! This is the best game I've ever played!

First, flying Nights is fun and easy (only because I use the GameCube controller). I still haven't tried out the Wii remote yet. Defiantly use the GameCube controller first because the Wii remote can be tricky (according to Owl) due to the "Mindsight". Having different missions on each level is kind of like the game Sonic and the Secret Rings but these missions are a lot easier and more fun.

Okay, now for the voice acting. Nights has a very funny jesterlike voice. It suits well for any jester like Nights. I find myself giggling every time he talks. Why am I calling Nights a "he" instead of a "she," you ask? To tell you the truth, Nights does kinda sound like a female, but it doesn't mean he is female. When I first started playing, I thought that Nights is a girl, too. But I've made a mistake. One time, I was playing as Will (one of the sleeping children). In the cutscene right before the bird-chasing level in Lost Park, Reala (a Nightmaren that looks like Nights) grabs on to Will. Nights tries to save him, and Reala orders Nights to stay put. Nights obeys, muttering a sound of frustration. Then Reala says, "That's a good boy". That really convinced me that I made a mistake. And for those of you who still think that Nights is female, don't worry, you'll eventually get the picture (I know I did). Oh, and Helen (the other sleeping child) is voiced by Victoria Ashby, the daughter of one of my piano teacher's friends. Great job, Victoria! You had a cute girly voice (my mom agrees). My piano teacher even took my game case and had Victoria sign her name in the cover. Now my piano teacher is planning to arrange a time when I can actually meet Victoria in person. How cute! And the rest of the voices, well, all of them did a great job, but you don't have to agree with me.

The soundtrack is beautiful! The music for all the end credits is pretty catchy. My mom is even trying to sing it. SPOILER ALERT!: If you get straight A's in every single mission (including the extra Bellbridge mission that appears after every mission has a C or better) the soundtrack for the first Nights game is unlocked in Will's sound library and the Dream Gate has a snowy appearance. I've already unlocked the soundtrack. Both games did a great job on the music (I still haven't played the first Nights yet). END SPOILER ALERT!

SPOILER ALERT!: In the extra Bellbridge mission, the ending is different, but it's sad, too. After Wizeman, the king of the Nightmarens, is destroyed, Nights dies! Afterwards, I saw Will and Helen wake up and cry! I was really sad. If I have written this review earlier, I would have given this game four instead of five stars. But eventually, I felt better because I wrote a story where Nights survives and reunites with Will and Helen. If you enjoy writing stories and you feel sad about the ending, write a story like mine about Nights. You'll feel a lot better! END SPOILER ALERT!

Sorry this is a long review. I promise I'll stop writing, but if you want to know everything else, read the other reviewers. Anyway, this is a great game. Buy it! You'll surely be stunned (in a positive way)!

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.

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.)

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.

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.

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