NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams

 Wii
  • Publisher: Sega
  • Release Date: Dec 18, 2007
Metascore
69

Mixed or average reviews - based on 47 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 47
  2. Mixed: 33 out of 47
  3. Negative: 2 out of 47
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  1. Boomtown
    40
    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.
  2. Gaming Age
    33
    This eeks out the suspicion that Sega may have cared about NiGHTS at one point in its development, but by putting it on the Wii they sacrificed its strongest points-a good solid control scheme, and what could have been an even prettier and better-sounding game-for something much weaker as a final product.

Awards & Rankings

37
#37 Best Wii Game of 2007
28
#28 Most Discussed Wii Game of 2007

User Reviews

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User Score
8.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 76 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 61 out of 76
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 76
  3. Negative: 5 out of 76
  1. NitemareDT
    Jul 19, 2011
    10
    First thing's first. I HATE the majority opinion of this game. As far as I'm concerned, it's one of the greatest games on the Wii. I'm a SonicFirst thing's first. I HATE the majority opinion of this game. As far as I'm concerned, it's one of the greatest games on the Wii. I'm a Sonic fan more than anything and this beats every Sonic title on the Wii for me. Secondly, just because I disagree with your opinion or I'm not as old as you, doesn't mean you should completely disregard my opinion, at least hear me out.

    Right, starting with the story. It features two children, William Taylor and Helen Cartwright, and follows their journey through the magical world of Nightopia, a world created by dreaming humans who travel to the Night Dimension while they are asleep. There they meet a wise owl, creatively named "Owl" who tells them about the Night Dimension and the Ideya every human possesses when traveling there. Every visitor to the Night Dimension has a total of 5 Ideya and these are usually stolen by Nightmaren from the evil counterpart of Nightopia, Nightmare. They then meet NiGHTS, a genderless, carefree, jester-like being who allows visitors to Dualize with him/her and fly. From there, they discover that Will and Helen still possess the Red Ideya of Courage and this creates a door to Nightopia, a world created as a reflection of the visitor's heart. This means that Nightopia is different for every visitor. Once entering this Nightopia, NiGHTS is imprisoned by Reala, a henchman Nightmaren created by Wizeman, ruler of Nightmare. Will and Helen can use their Ideya of Courage to temporarily Dualize with NiGHTS and unlock the cage he/she is trapped in. I won't say anymore as it would ruin too much but all in all, this game has a very original storyline and, based on what you've read, you can come to a conclusion on whether or not this is your sort of thing or not.

    As with most Wii games, the control scheme can be very....awkward. I, personally, don't enjoy the strange control schemes the Wii usually has to offer although most games do provide either Classic Controller or GameCube Controller support as backup and this one is no exception. The full list of control schemes for this game are: Wii Remote alone, Wii Remote and Nunchuck, Classic Controller and GameCube Controller. This means there's a choice for everyone to become comfortable with the one they choose and nobody can complain about not having the correct peripheral to play the game. There is, however, a problem I should address with all the control schemes using an analog stick...8 directions only. The analog stick only lets you move in 8 directions which feels incredibly restricting compared to the 360-degree movement of the original Saturn analog stick. However, hardware limitations aside, the game is still more than playable and there's also the Wii Remote control scheme available (though I wouldn't recommend it).

    Additionally, addressing the hardcore NiGHTS fans, I want to explain something. The original NiGHTS into Dreams... was a fantastic game and, don't get me wrong, it IS better than Journey of Dreams although not by a huge amount. However I do think that, seeing as the original came out when we, or you, were much younger, we saw it as a much more magical and immersing experience as opposed to being newly introduced to something as an adult. The original, even with it's hardware limitations, still managed to create a beautiful and magical world and I think that Sonic Team have done their best with the hardware the Wii has to offer to do the same with Journey of Dreams. The slowdowns are a downside but you have to sympathize, the game was moved over from the Xbox 360 and PS3 to the Wii late in the development of the game so they did what they could, keeping a nice balance between aesthetics and performance. Moving onto the voice acting, it's...good...but it's not great. Not terrible, but not great. It's certainly got a cheesiness to it. I mean, this IS partially to do with the writing but still, I suppose they did what they could with the fact they had to take a game with no major story and no dialogue and turn it into a game driven by storytelling and dialogue filled cut scenes. Owl and Reala have to be my favorite voices purely because of how convincing they are as both a wise owl and an evil jester...thingy...respectively. As for NiGHTS' voice, while I think I would prefer it if he/she didn't have one, the one they chose wasn't too bad, and I suppose they HAD to chose one given the story driven nature of the game. Personally, I would have preferred it if Sonic Team took the "Nintendo" approach and let all dialogue be text based and all character emotions be visual.

    I would definately recommend those who haven't played the first NiGHTS to check it out and for those who have, give this a try, I'm sure you'll like it. If you've already played this game, play it again and give it another chance. C'mon, it's not that bad. :D    … Full Review »
  2. pookie
    Jun 29, 2012
    9
    Short and sweet - NiGHTs: Journey of Dreams is the long awaited sequel to the 1996 Saturn's underrated gem; NIGHTs into Dreams. Honestly, it'sShort and sweet - NiGHTs: Journey of Dreams is the long awaited sequel to the 1996 Saturn's underrated gem; NIGHTs into Dreams. Honestly, it's quite surprising they even developed a sequel. An HD update or remake of the original might have been better, but a sequel is good enough. Those who played the original will appreciate this sequel the most. Others might have mixed opinions. The gameplay is basically the same concept as the original, but with a few twists and gimmicks. This is a good game and like the original the sequel is just as underrated.… Full Review »
  3. JRcade
    Nov 15, 2010
    6
    No where near as magical as the original, the entire game feels rushed. The Graphical presentation aside from boss encounters feels and looksNo where near as magical as the original, the entire game feels rushed. The Graphical presentation aside from boss encounters feels and looks like that of Sonic Heroes and Shadow the hedgehog, both of which were developed by Sonic Team USA. It's a very heartwarming game to go through the lives of these children and enter the world of dreams where they can escape it all. But engaging in pointless and uninteresting platforming with children that move more like robots in-game is nothing short of disappointment. It surely isn't the classic, but it's still very playable, and a small breather for hopefully a new installment that can play the worthy successor role.… Full Review »
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