Christmas NiGHTS into Dreams (Sega Saturn) with Journey into Dreams (Wii)

Christmas NiGHTS into Dreams (Sega Saturn)

 Getting into the Christmas spirit with Christmas NiGHTS

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Another year and each time, I feel like the Christmas special gets a little more special. We were bound to review the Christmas NiGHTS into Dreams demo at some point and to celebrate 20 years of Sega Saturn and to show my appreciation for one of Sega’s greatest franchises, NiGHTS into Dreams.

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This demo disc was distributed (in the UK at least) through the Official Sega Saturn magazine and wasn’t hard to track down through eBay. I paid about $15 in 2013, and it’s been a really popular title among other internet reviewers at this time of year, simply because it’s packed to the brim with Christmas imagery, it’s a solid, fun experience and there’s a wealth of unlockables (or presents) you can earn through a mini-game at the end of the demo stage.

 

So Christmas NiGHTS succeeds in bringing some amazingly festive imagery, and something I didn’t share in the video was that leading up to Christmas, once the Sega Saturn’s clock hit November, the snow starts to fall before you start seeing all the Christmas decorations closer to the 25th.

I thought this demo was a little bit interesting because by the time it was released, the NiGHTS into Dreams game was already on store shelves. This was really much more of a promotional tool than a ‘work-in-progress’ demontsration… That means all the enemies, music and cut-scenes are in-tact (with some special variations made just for the Christmas NiGHTS stage) and even the A-Life system and Nightopian/Nightmaren ‘breeding’ feature can be found.

Keep an eye out on Christmas Eve and you can even catch a glimpse of Santa Claus himself… I just didn’t want to spoil the magic, but that still makes it worth checking out for yourself… But for me, there is still only one real reason to check it out on the Sega Saturn versus a HD re-release.

Sonic into Dreams

One of the primary reasons to check out Christmas NiGHTS on the Sega Saturn (opposed to one of HD re-releases) is the chance to unlock Sonic into NiGHTS. This is the first ever polygonal 3D appearance of Sonic on the Sega Saturn and for a simple re-skin, it’s got its issues but was still very cool to see.

The Sega Saturn was certainly a tumultuous period for Sega and one of the biggest holes in the library is a dedicated Sonic the Hedgehog platform game. There’s plenty of stories from the era, including internal issues at Sega such as the Japanese team (Yuji Naka) forbidding the American team to use the NiGHTS into Dream engine. Check out Sonic Retro here to see the hurdles, trials and numerous attempts at Sonic X-Treme.

All things considered, the 3D engine found in NiGHTS into Dreams was rather impressive,this demo gave me a great reason to check it out and it was easy to see (especially with Burning Rangers using the same engine years later) how a 3D Sonic game could have been totally fleshed out if the circumstances within Sega aligned better.

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NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams

So for the review, Santa left one (still pitiful) present, NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams. I love adding a little extra to my Christmas reviews and this felt like a good time to tackle the current and only sequel to NiGHTS into Dreams; NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams for the Nintendo Wii.

Even though Sonic team handled this sequel, a lot of things have changed since 1996. Yuji Naka wasn’t involved with Journey of Dreams, having left the Sonic Team the same year production started, 2006. It is interesting to note that the same team that produced Shadow the Hedgehog worked on this game including some core members from the original NiGHTS into Dreams game.

So how does NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams stack up? To be honest, it’s a lot less focused and more padded out with story, characters and plot. While the original focused on guiding NiGHTS through a course and taking down bosses, Journey of Dreams has 4 different game play variations.

The chase stages play just like the original, guiding NiGHTS around a course, aiming for a high-score and good time. Easily the highlight of the game and the best reason for a NiGHTS into Dreams fan to check this game out.

Chase stage

The Boss stages also play very closely to the original, and I (mostly) enjoyed them. A lot like the original game, each boss requires a different approach, including mastering the in-game physics, looping and speed.

Possibly the weakest link in the entire game are the platforming stages. Initially, I thought it was a little interesting exploring the dream worlds, and there is a bit of imagination at play (especially in the walking underwater stage) but on the whole they get boring, don’t add much to the game and aren’t particularly good.

Platforming stage

The Mini-game stages, at least that’s what I’m calling them, are basically everything else. Whether you’re pushing drops of water into bubble, saving Nightopians from being sucked into a portal, crashing on a roller coaster or drowning, there’s plenty of variety but I don’t feel like it was all necessary. In the original game, there were times when the route required you to bobsled through the snow or swim underwater and I felt like it worked being better integrated in the stages.

Water rafting stage

Obviously there’s a lot of changes and in the process of adding more to the game, a lot of pieces in NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams are lacking. The game-engine cut-scenes make the characters look dead and lifeless, the platforming stages are monotonous.

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Christmas’ Past

And since Christmas is the perfect time to reflect on the past year(s)… This is the Leftover Culture Christmas playlist.

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