NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams review (Wii)

Fans of the original NiGHTS have waited 12 years for a remake, and what better time to get one now that we have the Wii and its unique control system that, on paper, should be even better than the original controller.

12 years on, the Saturn game is still gleaming

Unfortunately once again that wily piece of paper has shattered fans dreams, as the control system in NiGHTS is a nightmare. Instead of using the motion-sensing controls to their maximum, SEGA has made the Wiimote control option absolutely redundant unless you like to see NiGHTS juddering about the screen, going the opposite direction to that which you have asked him to go and refusing to register a circular motion with your hand. Quite how it managed to implement the Wii’s motion sensing controls so badly is beyond me; I’ve yet to play a Wii game where the controls are worse than this! It was plainly obvious that SEGA never really got to grips with the controls, as they included another three control options. Along with the twitchy Wiimote control option, you also have the ability to use the Nunchuck (okay), Classic controller (better) or the original Gamecube controller (best of the bunch). Unfortunately with the introduction of these other control methods it means that NiGHTS is devoid of any gesture control and doesn’t make good use of the Wii’s capabilities.

But it’s not just the controls that have had a severe lack of attention given to them by SEGA. Production values across the board are incredibly poor, with one of the most tepid and confusing intros ever (which doubles up as a sort of tutorial), cut scenes that can’t be skipped, early PS2 quality visuals and voice-over work so abysmal that they’re almost funny.

NiGHTS has rushed written all over it and feels thrown together, which isn’t what fans of the original would expect. Apart from being laughably bad (we’re talking Honey Roasted voice-over work here, it’s that hammy), the voice-over work hasn’t even been normalised, resulting in some characters voices being clear and others being barely audible. Cut-scenes quickly turn into convoluted explanations of a new control method, and then you’re thrown into a level that bares little resemblance to that which was displayed in the cut-scene, especially in the case of boss battles.

12 years of hurt, this new NiGHTS is steaming

The gameplay is certainly diverse, with side-on flying levels, theme-based levels such as the roller-coaster level, and even traditional platforming levels where you control Will or Helena (NiGHTS two main characters). But diversity doesn’t automatically bring success and again here it all feels very rushed. None of the levels play particularly well, with even the main side-on flying levels suffering from controls that feel far from fluid, and the less said about the Will and Helena levels the better (chore is probably the best word to use to describe them). Instead of throwing so many different types of levels at the player, SEGA would have been far betting spending the time concentrating on the main flying sections of the game and getting them right, as if they were as good as they could have been NiGHTS wouldn’t have needed diversity to draw the player in.

There’s also an online multiplayer mode where you can compete against other NiGHTS players in either a battle mode or race mode. Again though, here it’s very much a mixed-bag, with the battle mode being ruined by slow-moving projectiles and the race mode being potentially great but marred once again by the sluggish controls. The online mode is hidden away in the ‘My Dream’ world that is also populated with creatures that you have captured while playing the game. The trouble with this Animal Crossing-esque sandbox mode is once again, while it sounds great on paper, it’s so poorly put together and devoid of any point whatsoever.

NiGHTmare

I suppose the most irritating thing about NiGHTS is that hidden away under this rushed mess of a game is an absolute classic screaming to be woken from its slumber. Some of the levels, from a level design perspective, have been put together superbly and with a more fluid control system could have been extremely enjoyable. It somehow also manages to be enjoyable at times, despite the game seeming to do it’s best to ensure that you don’t enjoy yourself.

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. Newcomers to NiGHTS (and let’s face it, that’s going to be the majority of the Wii audience) will see it as nothing more than a basic platform adventure, stuck uncomfortably between being a game for the younger audience whilst being too difficult to control even for adults, that lasts little more than three to four hours in a single play-through.

NiGHTS really could have been a great mascot for the Wii, and it really is a huge mishap on the part of SEGA to release such an unpolished product that is likely to do harm to the sales of any potential sequel. I sincerely hope however that we do get a sequel, and one that does justice to the original. Otherwise SEGA have sullied the memories of yet another one of their fantastic games from the era where the name SEGA on the box almost guaranteed quality.