A review copy for Xbox 360 was provided for the purposes of this review.
Back in 1996, the Sega Saturn was still waiting impatiently for a Sonic game that wasn’t just a racing game. Sonic Team, however, were not working towards this at all. Instead, they were exploring dreams, and expressing Jund’s dream theories in the form of a game. Here in 2012, you can experience the result all over again, with remastered graphics and widescreen.
Ever have a dream where you’re flying? Ever have a dream where you’re flying through a fantastical world collecting orbs? Ever have a dream where you were a purple androgynous acrobat who is the embodiment of dreams? It’s fine if you haven’t, that’s what NiGHTS into Dreams is here for.
The basic premise is that these 2 kids, Claris and Elliot, are struggling with real life problems. Elliot is struggling to make friends on the basketball court and Claris wants to try out for a singing role but is too nervous to audition. As a result, they have nightmares, but they can resolve these issues by dreaming of inspiration through the avatar of NiGHTS, who comes to them because it believes they have a rare energy of Bravery, which it is attracted to. Each area the children explore is meant to explore a different area of their psyche. Each area is named and subtitled, such as Spring Valley ~The Ideal~. The subtitle generally alludes to the meaning. In this case, Spring Valley is Claris’ ideal place, and a comforting area to be in.
The creators studied dreams heavily, and this shows in the area design. There’s a certain whimsy to the locations of Nightopia, even when they’re dark. This channels the feeling of freedom that is associated with flight and indulges the eyes with fantastical scenery. It also transfers to the musical score, which has a light, almost ethereal quality that provides the final link to unlocking the dreamscape.
The gameplay is fairly simple. At the start, you can control the children. They have Mario-like triple jumps and can wander around the world on the ground. As soon as they walk towards NiGHTS in the Ideya Palace, they will become NiGHTS and fly around the stage, collecting blue chips. Your task is to take 20 of these chips in each “mare”, of which the level is split into 4, to the Ideya Capture, which is a floating capsule, and then go back to the Ideya Palace. Each mare has a time limit of 120 seconds, and it is worth using all 120 seconds to boost your score.
The action flows beautifully, allowing to be as acrobatic as you feel, moving in any direction on a 2D plane, collecting chips and making links. Links are the main scoring element of the game, and make no mistake that it is designed as a score attack game. By collecting chips and other items as well as flying through rings and hoops, you can make links, which are basically a combo. By continuing a combo, the base score you obtain from each of these actions multiplies. If you’re good, some mares can be linked infinitely, making the sky the limit for scoring. There are also Trick Rings. These rings give you a ribbon with which you can perform tricks to gain points, done by pressing the triggers or by making loops.
Once you have completed the mare, you will be confronted by a boss, one of Wizeman’s Nightmaren. These fights are extremely varied and unique to each stage. They range from bouncing a busty opera singer ball which you throw through walls towards a cage, a magician who continually throws cards your way, and a doppelganger of Nights known as Reala.
It would be remiss for me not to acknowledge the nostalgia and memories I have associated with Nightopia. They definitely influence my opinion, but playing this game again on a new platform and with a new controller (both 360 and PS3 controllers may actually be more suitable for the game than the original Saturn 3D Pad) has been a refreshing experience, with the journey through dreams just as exhilirating as ever. And anyway, if I was to be a stickler about the conversion, there is a Saturn mode where one can play with the original Sega Saturn graphics on a 4:3 bordered screen, which will be a welcome addition for those not necessarily as accomodating as myself.
We all have Christmas traditions, be it crackers or Christmas dinners or Christmas movies. Mine is Christmas NiGHTS, which happens to be included in this package. In it, you can fly through a festively decorated version of Spring Valley, including a brand new course layout for Elliot, with some holiday jingles and a redesigned NiGHTS. Unfortunately, the Christmas Presents feature of the original Christmas NiGHTS does not show up, but presents are still offered in the forms of concept art, a theater gallery and the sound test. You could be forgiven for thinking a simple reskin of a simple game can’t breed a special connection with a holiday, but I assure you it does. It conveys the majesty that surrounds the concept of Christmas as a child, and lets me be 8 years old again, just for a little while.
NiGHTS Into Dreams is a completely unique experience still to this day. It should be noted that it is not a long game. If you finish each level first time around, there are only 7 unique ones, so it could be a quick game for you. However, there is definite replay value in score attacking the levels to get A ranks, some of which are really quite challenging. The controls are also liable to feel twitchy at first, due to the sheer speed and flexibility of NiGHTS’ movement through the world.
Really, NiGHTS is to the air as Sonic is to the ground. Always moving forward at breakneck speed, collecting tokens and demolishing bosses, Sonic Team essentially gave 2D Sonic wings. If that doesn’t entice you to give this a try, I don’t know what will.