NiGHTS into Dreams...

NiGHTS into Dreams is a meaningful game wrapped in a package of challenging yet thoroughly enjoyable gameplay.

Get reacquainted and it's easy to convince yourself that perhaps NiGHTS is Sonic Team's real masterpiece.

The design remains as potent as ever. [Christmas 2012, p.87]

NiGHTS is like the dreams it's based on: it's easy to dismiss as silly nonsense, but when you dig deeper into it, you'll find something beautiful and revelatory.

If you want to see what Nights is like, or revisit this SEGA classic, this seems like a perfect way to do so.

If SEGA can continue to produce re-releases of this quality, then they are on to a winner. NiGHTS is a dream, it plays as you remember and thanks to the HD enhancement, it invokes your best memories of the original. It is complete fan service, possibly not one for newcomers, but certainly for those who enjoyed the experience in 1996.

The concepts and challenges of NiGHTS into Dreams HD make it a game that not everybody will be able to appreciate-but for those that do, this is a great way to once again experience one of Sega's most curious yet creative moments in game development.

As a visually-renovated trip down memory lane, NiGHTS into Dreams largely succeeds. Unfortunately, the game design has two competing forms: one is breathless, invigorating, and fluid, while the other is lumpy, broken, and boring. However, in the moments when the game's flight, flow, and nostalgia combine, it's difficult to think of a more satisfying experience.

A race against time with a whole lot of charm. [Christmas 2012, p.93]

I actually found myself enjoying it slightly. Granted, not enough to play it for a very long stretch, but it's certainly eye-opening when compared to everything else available, and a title worth playing at least once just to see what everyone was going on about when the game debuted in 1996.

One of the much beloved Sega Saturn flagship games comes back from memories to hold our hand in an awesome journey through dreams. Nights into Dreams HD is an original one, a very peculiar platform game... without platforms! This new porting is good in every aspect except controls: the fluid movement of Nights now feel less accurate and joyful, but they are still good enough to not affect the gameplay for newcomers.

The game hasn't aged perfectly, but it still provides a memorable experience that players should enjoy even if this newest edition serves as their introduction to Nights, Claris, and Elliot. Flying through magical worlds is still fun, much like you probably dreamed it would be.

Nights into Dreams HD is a great entry point for gamers who've read about the series over the years, but might be curious what all the fuss is about. In some regards, it comes off as a tad simplistic, but it's easy to see where the qualities of the game lie, and why it gained such a cult following over the sixteen years.

Even today, NiGHTS into Dreams is one of the most interesting titles you can download onto your console. But in light of some of the fundamentally flawed design decisions the game has retained from it's 32-Bit days, 'interesting' alone just doesn't cut it anymore.

Many people will like the repetitive challenge and the racing-styled, score-based progression. Others will enjoy playing a game from their past, reliving the sights and sounds of a revered, almost mythical console, the Saturn.

In the end, the XBLA port of NiGHTS is basically a poor man's version of the original. While it's technically the same game, the lack of proper analog control makes the HD version a historical curiosity rather than a must-play experience. If you have the means, track down a Saturn copy along with the analog controller. You'll be glad you did.

Nights is an interesting piece of history from Sega's most polarizing period as a first party, of the attempt to find a new mascot in the long-term absence of Sonic. It's just not a very good game.