NiGHTS: JOURNEY OF DREAMS Review (WII)

Because the NiGHTS…

The original NiGHTS is a game that certain games journalists have been gushing over since its release ?way back when?? on a console that most people did not own: The Sega Saturn. Personally I thought of my self as a kind of Sega Fanboy, as I owned a Master System, Megadrive & then the greatest console ever (in my estimation anyway) the Dreamcast (mmmmmm).

if you are after a top draw platformer on the Wii, then apart from Super Mario Galaxy and Zack and Wiki, then you will not get much better than this

For reasons I cannot actually remember, I never owned (or knew anyone that owned) a Saturn. Ever since the favourable reviews of the original NiGHTS everyone has waited with bated breath for its sequel (almost as long as they have waited for Duke Nukem Forever!). Ok, so not everyone. My only experiences with the character NiGHTS was for the Sega Superstars eye toy game on the PS2, where you had to assume a position with your arms held out and used your arms t make you fly through hoops and making your arms tire very quickly (just like playing on the Wii!)

So, finally a sequel to Nights has been released, on the Nintendo Wii. Apparently the Wii remote was the reason for this sequel, as the makers were desperate to find a control method that would compliment the ?flying on rails? gameplay.

NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams has 4 different control methods. This does not bode well, since it allows you to use just the remote, remote & nunchuck, classic controller and the Gamecube controller. Ws under the impression tat the whole reason for this game coming out was to utilise the motion sensor and pointer of the remote. If you play this game with the remote, you will think it is broken and take the damn thing back to the shops. As far as I can see, this game is unplayable just using the Wii remote. Luckily Sonic Team has added the other control options to cover their blushes.

Right, as far as the story itself goes, you play as 2 main characters, a boy who loves football and a girl who plays the violin. You pick whom to play as first and are whisked from a city that looks a lot like London, via some FMV, to the land of Dreams. Basically some dude called Wizeman has decided to take over the Night Dimension. To do this he enlists the help of Reala who is a Nightmaren (who is like NiGHTS but loyal to Wizeman). Reala has the job to destroy Nightopia.

Playing as either William or Helen you have some average platform levels to trudge through before you can dualise with NiGHTS (once you get to NiGHTS you can become NiGHTS) and this is when the game comes into its own. Even though you are technically on rails, a la Sonic and Secret Rings, you can travel up, down, forwards and back while you glide, swoop and loop around Nightopia.

Graphically the levels are bright & detailed, as a good platformer should be and their seems to be no slowdown even when the screen gets at its busiest. The sound is excellent too, with an excellent core- all things you expect when you pick up a Sonic Team game. Boss battles are great fun, and mix up the action as all essential games do. As well as the story mode, you can create your own “My Dream” garden featurng some of the items from the story mode, and go online and visit friends gardens too.

To be fair, if you are after a top draw platformer on the Wii, then apart from Super Mario Galaxy and Zack and Wiki, then you will not get much better than this. The feeling of speed when you zip around the levels actually rivals Sonic, and that is praise indeed.