NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams

[Darkspine S]

Interesting stuff. Sega seem to be on a roll. First Monkey ball, then Dragonball Z (Is that a sega game? I think it is), then sonic, and now this. Hopefully this wil turn out to be great and stay as an exclusive.

[ShadowV7]

Interesting stuff. Sega seem to be on a roll. First Monkey ball, then Dragonball Z (Is that a sega game? I think it is), then sonic, and now this. Hopefully this wil turn out to be great and stay as an exclusive.

 

Nope,not DragonBall Z,that's Atari or Bandai,can't quite remember.

[mcj metroid]

Interesting stuff. Sega seem to be on a roll. First Monkey ball, then Dragonball Z (Is that a sega game? I think it is), then sonic, and now this. Hopefully this wil turn out to be great and stay as an exclusive.

 

you serious?

[SimonM7]

The single player game in Banana Blitz was great I thought too.

[Hellfire]

Well I never tried monkey ball, but my gut tells me it's a good game, just that the multiplayer is lacking and people were let down by that. And let's face it it's not the kind of game that's easy to make sequels. I still intend to buy it, I don't doubt it'll be a fun game.

[DiemetriX]

Nope,not DragonBall Z,that's Atari or Bandai,can't quite remember.

 

Thers a Bandai logo on the cover.

[Cube]

This looks lovely and sounds interesting. Lets hope it's more Sonic quality than SMBBB.

[ShadowV7]

Thers a Bandai logo on the cover.

 

So there is,but there's also an Atari symbol on the back

[DiemetriX]

So there is,but there's also an Atari symbol on the back

 

I think it's made by bandai and published by atari ^^

[mcj metroid]

Well I never tried monkey ball, but my gut tells me it's a good game, just that the multiplayer is lacking and people were let down by that. And let's face it it's not the kind of game that's easy to make sequels. I still intend to buy it, I don't doubt it'll be a fun game.

 

the multiplayer is not lacking. It is just really shit. They could have offered 100 mini games and they would still not work. It's a broken multiplayer game.. yes the single player is fun but it's a party game!

[James McGeachie]

I think it's made by bandai and published by atari ^^

 

It was made by "Spike" from what I recall.

[DCK]

I haven't read the entire thread, but listing

 

- that this is made by Sonic Team

- this is a sequel to an obscure Saturn game few properly understood

- the screens look like it's still a Saturn game (which likely will improve, but still)

- people are hyping when the game is still in early development without proper basis

 

am I the only one who is a bit doubtful on this one? I'm not expecting anything special really... Hope they use the Wiimote for some good ideas though.

[Teppo Holmqvist]

- that this is made by Sonic Team

 

But led by same person who directed the first one.

 

- people are hyping when the game is still in early development without proper basis

 

SEGA Germany's PR-Chief said that he has known about this project since last years may, which is probably true, as Famitsu started to rumour about this title at same time. So it has been under development for at least year, and they are aiming for Q4 release.

 

- the screens look like it's still a Saturn game (which likely will improve, but still)

 

Those screenshots are really strange in way that they have normal mapping (clown's head), bump mapping (various textures), but in the other hand, NIGHTS model is low poly, PS2 esque. BTW, here is few pictures of Saturn version to juggle everybody's memory...

 

 

I have always find it hilarious, when people say game X has PSOne / Saturn / N64 graphics. You probably had overclocked consoles.

[Shino]

What has science done!

[Hal_9Million]

Trolling, are we? But anyways... those screenshots are really strange in way that they have normal mapping (clown's head), bump mapping (various textures), but in the other hand, NIGHTS model is low poly, PS2 esque. BTW, here is few pictures of Saturn version to juggle everybody's memory...

 

 

I have always find it hilarious, when people say game X has PSOne / Saturn / N64 graphics. You probably had overclocked consoles.

 

You're absolutely right. When you upgrade to the next generation of consoles, you get so used to games looking better that you forget what they used to look like. Goldeneye always looks way better in my head. Then when I play it again, I have a chuckle, because, by modern standards it looks rubbish. The same goes for any othe Game from that generation.

[Hellfire]

Ahah, yeah it totally looks like a Saturn game. People really like to say "it looks lika a DS/PS1/PS2/DC/N64 game with every Wii screenshot they see. It's granted that most games have weak graphics but people like to exaggerate and they think they know more about graphics and hardware than they actually do.

[pedrocasilva]

I haven't read the entire thread, but listing

 

- that this is made by Sonic Team

- this is a sequel to an obscure Saturn game few properly understood

- the screens look like it's still a Saturn game (which likely will improve, but still)

- people are hyping when the game is still in early development without proper basis

 

am I the only one who is a bit doubtful on this one? I'm not expecting anything special really... Hope they use the Wiimote for some good ideas though.

Hmmm, thing is... although NiGHTS had great graphics back in the day, it was never a graphics-centric game; you felt it in the team's interviews (particularly Naka's) they just don't gave a damn about graphics, I remember Naka even going as far as telling a interviewer who was pressuring him that he really didn't cared about graphics and that was not the way he wanted people to see this game; children and general gamers don't know (or give a damn) about polycounts and such, so he'd rather talk about the game.

 

That was way ahead of it's time, when everyone was focusing the power of the equipment alone (bits, polygons, etc), NiGHTS was all about gameplay.

 

That said the game doesn't look like a Saturn (or Dreamcast game) the only flaw I can appoint there is that NiGHTS model is a little on the low-polygon side, could be a placeholder but even if it's left as is I think it could look very nice in motion.

 

Obscure? it was a system seller for Saturn, sure that it didn't save the system and was overshadowed by Mario 64, but it still wasn't obscure, it was a game done for the masses and it shows, even Miyamoto said one if there was a game he'd like to have developed, it had to be NiGHTS. That says a lot about the game.

 

The best thing about NiGHTS was the design of the game itself, it was "perfect" for what it was and the audience it reached was pretty broad too; from the characters Elliot and Claris who were easy to relate to teenage boys and girls, without a edgy "cool" attitude like sonic teams own Sonic, and of course NiGHTS who is actually a multi-gendered being on purpose, the team actually did a lot of research on dreams and how psychology, myths and common knowledge interpretation of them, taking the best elements of all these interpretations and theory's (and facts) and omitting the worse parts.

 

It was really a game made for the inner child in each one of us, a game Sonic Team actually dreamt of doing... and considered perfect and were afraid to spoil to the point of canceling sequels if they brought nothing new to the game; it's a really cherished franchise for them; with Yuji Naka even going as far as stating NiGHTS into Dreams as his masterpiece and being perfect.

 

As for me, even as I don't own a Saturn (played it in friends house) I loved the game, and it still brings me nostalgia to this day, ranging from the music to the feeling of flying through the dreamworlds. It's really one (if not) my most wanted game. Not even Saturn graphics could change that

But led by same person who directed the first one.

Yuji Naka who thought of the idea before a flight in a plane and Naoto Oshima (Big Island) who were driving forces of the concept are not actively involved though.

 

Here is few pictures of Saturn version to juggle everybody's memory...

Hmmm, not taking power from your argument (because I fully agree), Nights actually looked better than that back then because those images are not in the definition it was being rendered:

 

 

 

It was one of the rare 32-bit games who actually had 16:9 support... Still looks good to me considering it's age.

[Tyson]

He said there will be more freedom of movement in NiGHTs 2. Sounds like something which could break the game. I don't know how they're going to maintain the atmosphere and mystique of the game.

 

Oh, and that felt really good to read for some reason Pedro.

[Hellfire]

He said there will be more freedom of movement in NiGHTs 2. Sounds like something which could break the game.

 

He didn't say anything like that he just said there would be new moves.

[SimonM7]

I agree with all of your points, Pedro, except the game not bein graphic-centric.

 

I mean sure that wasn't why it was so loved, but it was a huge part of it. Not having a saturn it might not have been as obvious, but at that time, there were barely any proper 3D saturn games to speak of in a "free roaming" environment. When that came out - or specifically when you selected a stage and the camera came spinning down around Claire/Elliot - jaws dropped.

 

It was absolutely and utterly beautiful at the time, and details like "Soft Museum" having these bouncy surfaces that deform when you walk/fly into them still stand out today.

 

So yeah, to amplify all of the great points you make I wanna add that at the time, the game was a gobsmackingly beautiful bit of software, too.

[pedrocasilva]

I agree with all of your points, Pedro, except the game not bein graphic-centric.

 

I mean sure that wasn't why it was so loved, but it was a huge part of it. Not having a saturn it might not have been as obvious, but at that time, there were barely any proper 3D saturn games to speak of in a "free roaming" environment. When that came out - or specifically when you selected a stage and the camera came spinning down around Claire/Elliot - jaws dropped.

 

It was absolutely and utterly beautiful at the time, and details like "Soft Museum" having these bouncy surfaces that deform when you walk/fly into them still stand out today.

 

So yeah, to amplify all of the great points you make I wanna add that at the time, the game was a gobsmackingly beautiful bit of software, too.

The game was gorgeous no doubt of that (it still looks awesome for it's age), and they sure polished it in that front but it was really all done in name of the gameplay experience and artistic direction. A graphics-centric game for me would be a game that was mostly worth it for the graphics and the graphics being it's biggest selling point; that wasn't the case for NiGHTS or at least that wasn't what they were trying to achieve at all.

 

I still have a bit of the Interview I was talking about before:

 

SSM: In what way does NiGHTS make use of the Saturn's capabilities where other games do not:

 

Yuji Naka: That's dificult, on all the various publicity occasions there have been, we haven't said much about the 3D routines, the computer graphics or NiGHTS technical ability. We don't really want to talk about this point to sell the game. We wanted the game in order to express the reality of the dream worlds.

 

It's the way in which we have been able to express this, that we've succeeded in doing. If in doing so we used polygons so be it. No matter how we did it the reality is that the feeling of the dream worlds is beautiful and that's sufficient. "these polygons are amazing" and that kind of thing but, that isn't what we want to talk about at all.

 

So many game programmers talk about how many 100's polygons they're using, trying to sell the game on that point but, we don't want to. If you can enjoy the game worlds, if it's a wonderful feeling flying inside those worlds, if being in those worlds is fun, then really is that fundamental point is enjoyable then that's sufficient.

 

SSM: Does NiGHTS use the Saturn's 2D power as well as it's 3D capabilities? can you give us some kind of examples?

 

Yuji Naka: I don't know; I don't particularly want to talk about Nights from a technical aspect, if you really want to write that kind of article that's fine with me but, writing about the feeling of the NiGHTS worlds would be much better.

 

The average user doesn't understand all these technical points. Magazine people understand but, the children who buy the games don't. Words like polygon and 3d have no meaning to the children. So even if these things aren't there it's still enjoyable. Recently these kinds of words have become commonplace and talking about pleasure and enjoyment has become less and less in magazines.

 

I love their attitude back then, shows a lot of what NiGHTS meant to them. They could brag on it technically but still didn't, way ahead of their time.

 

I remember those select level menus though, with all the light sources around Elliot/Claire truly impressive for the time.

[Jamba]

Has anyone actually looked at the date recently? Any big news at around this time of year needs a hell of a lot of back up to not be an April Fools. In fact i was thinking of avoiding the gaming sites for the next two weeks or so.

[Hellfire]

Has anyone actually looked at the date recently? Any big news at around this time of year needs a hell of a lot of back up to not be an April Fools. In fact i was thinking of avoiding the gaming sites for the next two weeks or so.

 

Yeah a portuguese mag made 3d renders and a fake interview for which they could be sued just for april fools. We, the portuguese mafia have things under control

[Teppo Holmqvist]

Yeah a portuguese mag made 3d renders and a fake interview for which they could be sued just for april fools. We, the portuguese mafia have things under control

 

Not to speak that so far this complex april's fools conspiracy is spanning six countries, four respectable gaming magazines, one wholesaler and group of SEGA's representatives.

[DCK]

You shouldn't have taken me that literally Point is, so far I see no reason whatsoever why this game should be hyped. At all.