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NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams Review for the Nintendo Wii

NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams Review for the Nintendo Wii

Go with the Flow – Scenic Nightopia is waiting!

NiGHTS, a Sega classic once released for the Sega Saturn, finally made its comeback to the video game world. Even though it’s been over a decade since NiGHTS Into Dreams came out, loyal fans will be happy and most likely pleased with this long-awaited sequel that just made its way to the Wii. Also, since the game seems to be intended for a younger crowd, a whole new generation will have to re-discover the charm of the franchise, which shouldn’t be a problem thanks to the effort and dedication put into NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams.

NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams screenshot

The story involves two twelve-year-old kids named Will and Helen. They each have their own separate lives and their own dreams and fears. Helen is a cute British girl living in the outskirts of London, and Will is a lively American kid. Helen has been brought up playing violin with her mom; she’s been going out with her friends a little more than usual lately, which manifests in her dreams as fears of letting her mom down and disappointing her. Will, on the other hand, is a devoted soccer player who makes his dad very proud. Unfortunately, the dad has to leave home and work elsewhere, which makes Will unhappy and translates into nightmares. When nighttime comes along, they both enter the World of Dreams and meet NiGHTS. NiGHTS is a startling character full of life, ready to go out and explore the Nightopia universe, while helping the kids find their “ideyas” of courage, intelligence, purity, growth, and hope; these will help them to overcome their fears and grow stronger. However, it’s not all fun and games; Wizeman, the creator of the world of nightmares, seeks to rule the Night Dimension. He’ll do what he can to get rid of Nightopia, with the help of other Nightmaren creatures. Reala, NiGHTS’ alter-ego, is the most loyal of them all, and will play a good part in destroying Nightopia and trying to lead the kids into the dark world of nightmares.

As a platforming adventure, NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams will have players traveling and exploring these new dimensions while overcoming obstacles, solving some simple puzzles, and fighting against some of the coolest bosses around, from a balloon-filled fish to a sneaky chameleon, a terrifying jester or a dark witch that throws evil cats at you. It’s your choice whether to enter Will or Helen’s dreams. Either way, the kid will merge with NiGHTS and travel around in that form, which gives them special abilities they could have never dreamed of. Even though the beginning of each kid’s dream may lead you to think the opposite, each of the kids will live their own fantasy, making the story twice as unique and spectacular. NiGHTS can fly around, glide, and dive its way through Nightopia, while leaving a glittery trail of stars wherever it goes. Players can trap enemies or obtain objects by performing “paraloops” around them, which is sort of fun, as long as you’re using the right controller. Going through the puffy, orange rings will increase the dash-power meter, which allows NiGHTS to perform the drill-dash, a power boost that makes it fly faster and even bump into enemies in order to catch them or bring them down. You’ll also find the “Persona” masks, which turn NiGHTS into a dragon, a rocket or a dolphin. When morphed into these forms, the player will be granted special powers like strength, traveling at supersonic speeds, and exploring the underwater world.

NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams screenshot

Thankfully, the game allows you to choose between four controller types: you can move the Wii-mote around and hold A to fly, which involves doing the proper motions to create paraloops, float upwards, downwards, or to the sides. If you decide to go for the Wii-mote and Nunchuk combination, the thumbstick will have you steer NiGHTS around in a classic fashion; motion-controls are voided when you use this setup. The classic or the GameCube controllers are the other two options. Whichever way you go, you’ll get used to it and you’ll mostly be pleased with it. Most people will tend to enjoy the experience more by using one of the three analog stick options, especially when it comes to making those tricky paraloops. However, the Wii-mote controls feel more “floaty” and realistic, and if you get good enough at it you might appreciate the freedom it provides; of course, you’ll also be more likely to find flaws in this control method, so you decide how far your patience goes. The beautiful thing is you can switch controls any time during gameplay.

The astounding presentation got me into this game more than everything else. When the game started, I was positively surprised by some of the most amazing visuals we’ve seen on the Wii. It seemed as if the Wii had turned, all of a sudden, into a 360 or a PS3. NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams will immerse you right away with its colorful and vibrant landscapes one could only dream were real. Not only are some of the levels unique and greatly detailed, but New York and London are soaked in a dream-world atmosphere we haven’t seen since the times of Disney’s Peter Pan. Unfortunately, the amazing visuals don’t continue throughout; multiple times we’ll be delighted with marvelous cutscenes and scenarios, but other times we’ll notice a visual downgrade that leaves us hoping for more (especially during the actual gameplay). It’s almost like Cinderella, where everything is smooth and perfect but when the clock hits twelve everything shrinks down to nothing. Of course, in this case it doesn’t exactly become “nothing,” but the smooth and crisp visuals of the initial presentation and many cutscenes will sometimes turn into the jaggy last-gen graphics we’ve seen on the Wii before. But enough with Disney metaphors; you get what I’m saying!

NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams screenshot

NiGHTS will have you travel through wonderful fantasy worlds, from the bubbly Aqua garden and lush Memory Forest to the colorful and amusing Lost Park or the mysterious Crystal Castle and shimmering Delight City. All of these environments look great, and some of them are especially well-detailed. If you remember the great classic Sonic games, you’ll feel there’s some sort of resemblance with the levels in this title. Of course it’s nothing strange, considering it’s a Sega game. Even NiGHTS looks somewhat like Sonic, although it’s not really a hedgehog. It’s more like the Joker in a card deck. The gameplay also feels like the speedy classic game, although the extreme speeds are replaced by flow and harmony. It’s not a side-scrolling adventure like Sonic, but it feels like it many times due to the automatic camera orientation that leads you the right way.

NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams screenshot

The soundtrack seems familiar. I can’t point at anything specific, but it’s definitely as good or better as the music found in many feature films out there. It evokes fantasy, adventure, magic, mystery, tension, and more. You can hear a masterful orchestra playing all these harmonious melodies with a brilliant classical touch. If you couple this with the magical sound effects and the professional voice-acting, you’ll agree with me in that NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams has a great, theatrical feel. The flow of the music along with the flow of the gameplay make a perfect couple in this title. Conversely, I have to say there were just a few times where dialogue repetition broke the charm; for some reason, not all of the dialogues are spoken – sometimes players will be delegated to read while the characters repeat expressions like “well,” “wonderful,” etc.

This game also offers multiplayer gameplay and, surprisingly, Nintendo Wi-Fi connectivity. If you wish to race against your friends or someone over the Internet, the game makes it quite easy. You can take a break from the story mode and visit the two-player mode, which adds depth to the formula. It’s not like a whole new party game but it’s still a nice addition, and the Wii needs more of that. Players will also have their own dream world stored into the “My Dream” section of the game. The Nightmarens and other objects they’ve trapped throughout the story mode will make up their “My Dream.” It will be different for every player, and the game offers the ability to travel to other people’s dreams or invite them to visit your own and even trade elements from it.

NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams screenshot

NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams is a quite solid title that will fill some homes with joy. However, one should know where to draw the line that defines their own taste. I find this title more attractive for families and young crowds, rather than full-fledged gamers who are over seventeen years old. The game is not very long though, and it brings to the Wii a fantasy worth living; if you can get past the “unskippable” cutscenes, are tolerant with childish-looking games, and enjoy platforming of the Sonic-kind, you should enjoy this adventure.

Features:

  • Utilizing the Wii controller, players will be able to physically maneuver NiGHTS’ every movement as he glides, weaves, dives, spirals, loops, and blasts in the air.
  • The world of NiGHTS, Nightopia is very unique in itself, featuring seven amazing environments filled with mystical creatures and terrible nightmarish monsters.
  • Play as either Will or Helen and unlock a different experience as each character takes on a different journey.
  • Rich storyline that inspires gamers by presenting challenges of inner strength and courage.
  • Supports all four controllers: Wii-Mote, Nunchuk, GameCube Controller, and Classic.
  • Use the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection to explore the “My Dream” worlds of other players and trade items with them, or compete in the two-player race mode.

    RATING OUT OF 5 RATING DESCRIPTION 4.1 Graphics
    Beautiful visuals make the initial presentation really promising. Cutscenes and graphics during gameplay are nice too, just not as impressive. 3.5 Control
    The Wii controls could be better, but the four controller choices make this not an issue. 4.4 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
    Fantastic music floods the dream worlds of Nightopia. Voice-overs are cartoonish, like they should be – they are a bit repetitive sometimes though. 4.0

    Play Value
    Entertaining game full of possibilities, especially for platforming aficionados and younger audiences.

    3.6 Overall Rating – Good
    Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.

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