NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams

By Liam O'Connor

NiGHTS Into Dreams is one of the greatest games ever made: the perfect execution of a simple and pure idea. The crown jewel of the Saturn’s library, it has also been something of a conundrum for Sega fans: should a sequel be made, or should it remain as a blissful moment in gaming history?

That question, however, is now moot, as 10 years later, Sega has finally decided to create a sequel: NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams for the Nintendo Wii.

“Nintendo Wii?” I hear you say. “Surely that means we are doomed to a collection of obnoxious mini-games and tacked on waggle controls?” Not so – not only is NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams a true sequel to the original, but it also appears that a traditional control scheme has been offered as well.

Once again, players will assume the role of a small boy or girl who visit the world of Nightopia in their dreams. In this dream world, they will be able to assimilate the persona of a mischievous harlequin known as Nights and acrobatically fly throughout various levels.

The game itself features 3D graphics, but once again takes place on a 2D plane. Players are limited to a certain path that wraps around the level in a closed shape, such as a circle. The analog stick will control movement, with the buttons being used to perform various tricks and attacks.

The original NiGHTS was a short game, and there are fears that the sequel could be just as short, but this length is alleviated by the nature of the game. Like the original NiGHTS, the true point of the game is to collect various orbs in succession without break, racking up large chain combos. The larger the combo, the higher the score.

NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams is also set to include some innovative new features. One such feature is the use of masks, which will allow Nights to perform various tasks such as swimming under water. The game will also make use of the Forecast Channel to influence the game’s world. The A-Life features of the original will also return.

NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams has been delayed until next year, but make sure you keep it locked to NZGamer for more updates about this exciting title as we get them.

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