NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams

Sometimes you have to be reminded of your roots to realize that there is more to games than just flashy explosions and blood soaked chainsaws. I highly recommend getting this title the next time you have the chance. I seriously doubt you’ll be disappointed.

For buyers of the game, it is a great experience and incentive to replay again and again. For those who hated collecting all of the stars in Super Mario 64 or Super Mario Galaxy, however, this game could prove to be a wonderful rental and nothing more.

Nights: Journey of Dreams delivers a second dose of the classic, 2D meets 3D gameplay that made the original Nights a success. It has its share of flaws – the lack of innovation is surprising, and the motion controls are the worst of the bunch. But as a whole, Journey of Dreams is a great adventure.

NiGHTS really soars when it's in the air, maintaining the essence of the original game. Some of the crappier additions send it into a bit of a nose dive, but overall the game rights itself with its bold originality and a unique charm that's unlike anything else out there.

The presentation is excellent (for the most part) and the online functionality is an astonishing add-on, letting you compete against others in various activities.

If you look past the awful bits, there is still more inspired gameplay and interesting level design here than you'll find in many recent games. [Issue#18, p.64]

Sonic Team should really just ditch Sonic games. They are onto something much better with NiGHTS and with a little more polish and tightening up, this series could become something truly magnificent.

A few niggling control issues aside, Journey of Dreams is an enjoyable adventure. [Feb 2008, p.82]

It may not have the same magic as its lauded predecessor, but Journey of Dreams is still a fun, if inconsistent platformer that positively drips with style.

Overall, NiGHTS is not a bad game. Flying around is still as fun as it was the first time around on the Sega Saturn, though this time it is more because of the quality of world design as opposed to the tight controls of the last edition of this game.

Journey of Dreams isn’t for everyone and some will likely wonder what all the fuss was about. However, fans of the original will find plenty to adore here as Sonic Team has faithfully revived the franchise and given it just enough to make it feel new and fresh.

Magnificent, beautiful, well designed, yet cruelly flawed in its structure, Nights: Journey of Dreams is absolutely worth playing. Whether you’d want to pay full price for it or wait a little longer, though, is less of a certainty.

It'd be easy to write this one off as child's play, but it has a hidden depth that reveals itself over time. [Jan 2008, p.80]

I find this title more attractive for families and young crowds, rather than full-fledged gamers who are over seventeen years old.

For serious Nights fans, Journey offers a bittersweet reunion that reminds us of what was so singularly special about Sega's airborne dreamweaver. Unfortunately, attempting to evolve the formula creates a host of new problems and issues that ultimately diminish the game's overall appeal. That said, this still represents one of the finest original third-party games available for Wii, and younger players will find a lot to love in this gameplay-rich adventure.

Nights: Journey of Dreams draws much from Nights Into Dreams, and sometimes it reaches too far back. But even though it takes some concentration to build adequate flying skills, when you finally do ultimately Nights becomes a rewarding contest.

Taking flight as the NiGHTS character is once again an engaging gameplay experience.

It is probably designed for children more than anyone else, and they will get the most out of it and be less distracted by the poor acting and storytelling.

But for those of us who have never played the original NiGHTS, Journey of Dreams is a fun and cheerful game that fits perfectly within the Wii's casual gaming philosophy.

A short run-time and some middling levels used to pad out each of Nightopia's dream environments probably did the most to wear down my goodwill toward it, but there was nothing fatally dispiriting about the experience and ultimately it has more to fuel the player's affection than not, like skyscrapers bursting into balloons.

The most mixed bag on Wii. A few perfect moments make for an essential rent (especially at only five hours long), but the massive dips in quality will spoil it for many.

Total fan service. If you fell in love with the original all those years ago and are all right with more of the same then its content makes it worth your cash. If you have no attachment to the series then proceed with caution. The Wii controls are pointless, and the levels are short, but there’s no denying that there’s familiar fun to be had while guiding Nights through the sky.

They managed to make a nice sequel to one of the better titles of the Sega Saturn. It looks great and the end battles are a joy to play. Too bad it's so short.

It’s not a bad game, but it feels somewhat incomplete. It has good ideas for the Wiimote, but it fails to implement them. It has great sceneries but too many slowdowns...To tell the truth, we would rather have waited a few more months for a better result. [Feb 2008]

The final level, which should have been the deciding factor in a game constantly wobbling between pretty fun and mildly aggravating, became tarnished by the drudgework of forced repetition. NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams still ends up being a decent game, but it should have been so much better.

NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams could have been much better. There are some first-rate levels, but also a few frustrating designs. Fans of the original will be able to ignore the tribulations and enjoy the magic in this game.

Both impressive and befuddling. Too messy to recommend but too interesting to overlook. [Mar 2008, p.78]

Rarely has a game so clearly demonstrated that 'less is more'. There's a great game here for those who know what it's about, but you have to wade through to it.

While this revival is a dream come true as opposed to a nightmare, some newer elements are somewhere in-between.

If I were to take a pick, I’d say this game would be perfect to play with your son or daughter – you can play the actual levels, and go make a cup of coffee while they sit and watch the cutscenes.

NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams is by no means a total loss and deserves a flutter, just don’t get too carried away especially if you want a nostalgia trip.

To both its credit and its detriment, the gameplay remains almost wholly unchanged from the original. Luckily, Journey of Dreams also shares with its predecessor some beautiful art design and a stunning musical score that save it from mediocrity.

The control is too stiff, odd design choices will have players repeating full levels rather than incorporating a simple checkpoint system which would have saved both progress and sanity alike, and there's a huge amount of emphasis put on non-Nights gameplay, having players control the human children in very unrewarding sections, and incorporating sloppy alternate gameplay rather than just focusing on what made the original so captivating in the first place.

Regardless, whether you've been looking forward to this game for a decade or you're just now being introduced to Nightopia, this isn't NiGHTS. [Jan 2008, p.54]

Fans have been holding their breath for this sequel for 11 years, yet Sega answered their dreams with a game that feels like a Sega Saturn expansion. Only approach this game if you still love playing the original, otherwise your fond memories of this series will likely be tarnished.

Taking advantage of all the neat things the Wii technology has to offer should be applauded, but when the core gameplay itself is merely so-so, it all goes to waste.

Here again we find a third-party suffering next to the high bar set by Nintendo with the likes of Wii Sports - a game that no doubt had a much larger budget and longer gestation. At least in NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams we have a passable distraction until the day comes when we find out what exactly the Wii is capable of.

No exaggeration, a straight-shot playthrough of Journey of Dreams’ story mode yields about three parts fluff to one part legitimate gameplay, which is pitiful by today’s standards.

The tedious, unavoidable cutscenes and one-dimensional characters add little to the experience, regardless of the flashy graphics and vivid presentation.

What it adds to the original formula is essentially redundant, and everything it does that is successful was already in place in the original. [Feb 2008, p.93]

Much like the original, it's only a matter of days before you'll whiz through each of the acts on offer. Unlike the original, because the focus on score is by all accounts lost, the urge to keep coming back and improve scores is gone completely.

Moments that recall the sparkling brilliance of NiGHTS Into Dreams are, of course, scattered throughout this Wii sequel but they are buried beneath so much filler. [Feb 2008, p.126]

It's unbelievably short, not very fun, and quite unpleasant on the eyes. The potentially fun online play and solid soundtrack manage to save NiGHTs from total failure, but even these elements can't do much to improve the overall experience.

Gamers clamored for a sequel for years, but the follow-through may not be exactly what they hoped for.

Hardcore fans of the original will either be apologetic of NiGHTS shortcomings out of loyalty to the original, or be completely incensed with the shoddy production values.