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20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Welcome back to Nightopia, December 19, 2007
Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars
It has been well over 11 years since the acclaimed cult classic NiGHTS into Dreams by Sega's Sonic Team debuted on the Saturn. And now after countless rumors, endless petitions, and a series of long waits, its official follow-up has finally arrived but this time on Nintendo's console Wii. Even with its glaring faults it can still manage to rekindle memories of the original and perhaps spark interest in those who have never played NiGHTS before. Two dreaming children, Will and Helen, have been having nightmares that have gotten in the way of their aspirations. They soon come across NiGHTS, a flying jester determined to rid the dream worlds of Wizeman and his henchmen, who wish to turn everyone's dreams into nightmares.
CONTROL
Players are given the option to choose from a few modes of play, either with just the Wii remote, Nunchuk style, Classic style, or with the GameCube controller (which I suggest using first, preferably the Wavebird). Your mission as NiGHTS is to fly through a series of rings and collect blue chips in order to break the capture chamber, which advances you to the bosses. You will also learn special attacks and moves that will aid you in your quests. Regardless of which control scheme you choose, the responsiveness of the controls feel glitchy at times. Controlling NiGHTS can occasionally be awkward and is missing the fluidity found in other Wii titles. Controlling Will or Helen in the platform levels can also be a bit quirky. However, no one should have any trouble adapting to any of the control schemes after a continuous amount of playtime.
GRAPHICS
When you first boot up the game you are treated to very well made full-motion-video opening cutscenes. The CG quality is definitely ranks among the best yet seen on the Wii. The graphics are also impressive in terms of level design. The designers over at Sega are definitely gifted when it comes to realizing dream worlds. Each level is quite creative. However, the framerate hitches on a frequent basis, especially during the real-time cinemas. There is also some considerable choppiness and blandness which becomes all too noticeable. Even though the whole presentation is incredibly colorful and dreamlike, it is all marred by annoying little blemishes. It makes you wonder why Sega's talented engineers could create such imaginative worlds yet not get over the technological obstacles. Still, the overall visual production is something to appreciate.
SOUND
Probably the best aspect of the entire game. The music tracks are fun to listen to. They are catchy and stick in your head most of the time, and they almost perfectly emphasize the gameplay. Fans of the original game will be happy to know that a few familiar tunes and jingles have made a return in Journey of Dreams. A lot of the same trademark sound effects have also come back. A new element added in the game is the use of voice acting. Yes, NiGHTS finally has a voice. It may be blasphemy to those who think the NiGHTS character should have stayed as ambiguous as possible and others may not agree with the voice that was chosen. But overall, the sound is still far away the most impressive part of the game and proves that Sega means business when it comes to quality sound.
CONCLUSION
The A-Life feature returns, allowing gamers to look after Nightopians/Nightmarens in their own personal garden, and a 2-player match where you can battle or race against a friend. Despite these additions, many inconsistencies prevent Journey of Dreams from being a solid title. A lot of components in the game interrupt the action, such as dialogue, cutscenes, bizarre objectives, and even platforming missions, which could turn off gamers who just wanted to enjoy the sheer sensation of flight. It's also fairly short in length. In the end, this is really a three-and-a-half star game (I thought rounding it to four stars looked overgenerous). Though not perfect, it doesn't mean it's not fun. There's more good than bad. It's not the masterpiece I was hoping for but it is still mostly a fun game nonetheless. My best recommendation is to simply play the game in any you can (whether buying, renting, etc.) if you are interested in it. Please do not let my criticisms discourage you from trying it. You may end up liking it more than I did, so just go give it a chance!
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18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very fun follow up to the original masterpiece, December 20, 2007
Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars
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.
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A New Nights Fan, March 9, 2008
A Kid's Review
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
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)!
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