Nights Journey of Dreams

10 Review to this product

• 

  Daniel H.
  September 17th, 2010 on 7:33 am

  Rating

  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.)
• 

  Marijane Weitensteiner
  September 17th, 2010 on 11:05 pm

  Rating

  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.
• 

  pharcyde
  September 20th, 2010 on 1:18 am

  Rating

  Excellent seller but the game sucks Nights is horrible creation it’s a kids game darn you Sega lol, but the seller has perfect reviews the game itself made me cry.
• 

  K. Suttles
  September 20th, 2010 on 4:00 am

  Rating

  Its no secret that I’ve been a huge fan of the Sega Saturn classic, Nights into Dreams. Since its release back in 1996. Finally after an eleven year hiatus. The game has received a long over due sequel. Titled Nights: Journey of Dreams

  Might as well get to the worse first. Since the entire delay with a sequel has been because the desired control methods were not available until recently. It is a bit of a let down that the developers let this slide in favor of the classic controls. When playing with a GCN or Wii classic controller the game controls are perfectly ported from the original. Yet the new single handed remote controls is poor for fluid flight. Unless you’re just wanting to go straight forward or back. When trying to make para-loop by flying in a circle. It doesn’t register the commands half the time and proves to be more a pain than pleasure. Just do yourself a favor and play the game old-school style. Sega should be ashamed of not really taking advantage of the Wii’s full control capabilities.

  The game features an in depth story for each of the main characters. That inter-winds into a single main plot. The main human characters, dubbed “visitors” in the game. Always arrive at the Dream Gate. Which focuses around a fountain surrounded by door frames. Each visitor eventual has access to four door ways a piece. That lead to the three character exclusive dream worlds, and the My Dream garden, Which I will get to later. There is also a stairway that forms later for the visitors to share the final dream. There is a total of five stages per world. Consisting of 32 stages in all.

  The graphics presented here are clearly among the best seen on the Wii so far. Sticking with the main art style and themes of the original. With submersive cut scenes and fine level details. The entire experience is cinematic in essence. Supporting decent voice acting all through. As well as one of the finest game soundtracks in years. Which was to be expected with the original composers return for the sequel. It all blends so perfectly this game could have been a movie.

  This title includes a host of extra features. Including a multi-player battle, and race modes. The later of which can be played online with friends registered on the games FC list. If you’re not in the mood to battle or race. There is also the option of just relaxing with friends or strangers in the “My Dream” garden. This area is a collection of various objects found in the game. All based on the players last play in story mode. You can also collect A-life (Nighto)Pians, or (Night)Maren. Which affect the environment by building or destroying stuff. You can feed them the blue chips earned in the game. Which keep them healthy. I can’t forget to mention all the other hidden content the game has to offer. All being optional and depends on your efforts. One of which is unlocking playable character models of the children featured in the original title.

  In all I highly recommend this game to everyone. Especially fans of the original. It has all the stuff that made the original so great. With plenty of expansion and new content as well. Just don’t expect much in the way of control innovation. This game really is a rare gem that will likely be remembered by fans for decades to come.
• 

  T. Shields
  September 20th, 2010 on 9:41 pm

  Rating

  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!
• 

  N. Durham
  September 20th, 2010 on 11:31 pm

  Rating

  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.
• 

  Female Spy
  September 21st, 2010 on 8:32 pm

  Rating

  *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.
• 

  nanokoex
  September 21st, 2010 on 9:37 pm

  Rating

  This game is wicked fun. I never played the original so I cant make a comparison. The game is fun and beautiful, you’ll find yourself wanting more.
• 

  Anonymous
  September 22nd, 2010 on 7:21 am

  Rating

  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)!
• 

  Paul Martin
  September 23rd, 2010 on 9:53 am

  Rating

  I was skeptical of this game at first, but had heard all of the acclaim around the original game that was released for Sega Saturn many years ago. I wanted to be convinced, though, and after reading about the game in Nintendo Power magazine, I was intrigued.

  I bought the game, and the first thing I noticed when starting the game was the great graphics and the music that belongs on a soundtrack album.

  Then I started to run around the games’ gateway of dreams, getting a handle on the controls, which were incredibly simple to master. I then took to the skies for flight training. They give you the option of either leading with the Wii Remote, by pointing at the screen, or using the Nunchuck’s control stick. The control stick is the only way to fly.

  Flight in this game is incredible and exhilirating. It’s not completely free, as the game lets you move on a 2D plane, kind of like being on tracks. That is a blessing, however, as going through the levels would be pretty difficult if you could go anywhere.

  Getting better at flying takes time, so don’t get discouraged if you’re not that good at it when you first start playing. My first time through some levels, I was running into walls and things that I really shouldn’t have been. I kept going, though, and while I’m still not the best, I’ve been able to blast through some stages without much trouble at all.

  Speaking of the levels, they are diverse and fun. Some, you are Nights, and you have different time limits and goals that must be accomplished, and others you are either the boy or the girl, who each have different missions to accomplish. (And finishing the game with both of them gives you a different ending.)

  The end bosses are varied as well, with different techniques used to defeat each of them. The very first one I fought was kind of like a big pinball game, where the boss was the pinball and I was throwing him through it. That one was difficult to get used to, as the level switches from a vertical plane to a horizontal one, just for that.

  While the game is a little short, that is sort of a blessing, as some of the levels are huge and would take a long time to learn. I constantly go back through old levels, though. I can always get better at the game, and it’s really fun to re-play.

  Level design is truly inspired, as there are many various level types and game play styles.

  It makes me wish they’d either create a sequel, or update the original Sega Saturn game for Wii.