DAY 130 / GAME 130
Nights into Dreams...
Shortly after the the Sega Saturn console was released, Sonic Team, the in-house dev team responsible for the Sonic games came out with a new IP. Nights into Dreams was an on-rails adventure where you switch between controlling two children and a dream creature, Nights.
Though not as successful as Sonic the Hedgehog, it was really the flagship title for the Saturn as Sonic X-Treme got scrapped and Sonic 3D Blast wasn't released until later that year. Not to mention, as neat as it was, 3D Blast felt like more of an offshoot of the Sonic series rather than an innovative continuation of the series.
Nevertheless, Nights was a good stab at a flagship game for a new system. It came bundled with a new controller featuring an analog joystick and analog shoulder triggers in order to compete with Nintendo's new N64 controller that comes standard which also featured an analog joystick. This controller worked especially well with a select few games and especially with Nights. Giving it you more fluid control as you fly through the Night-mare dreamscape.
Nights into Dreams was a fairly unique game at the time. With the latest console systems rolling out -the Saturn, PlayStation and Nintendo 64- a lot of developers were now playing around with the capacity to render in full 3D with little issue. So as they started to experiment we started to see new takes on old designs and new views of old locations. Players could now travel in more inventive ways than previous and enjoy new freedoms in their virtual worlds. Nights may not have always been fully 3D when it comes to travelling within the world, but it certainly worked well with the design of the game.
Kind of a bridge between 2D and 3D, Nights has you flying along predetermined paths at a decent pace, trying to loop your way through beautiful circuits within a time limit. The world felt like you were trapped within a dreamy snow-globe, some levels more like the inside of a jack-in-a-box. Nights pushed to use colourful, high-end textures that really helped sell the whole design.
I never did beat this game. Add it to the huge pile of games I owned and never completed. Of course, it certainly didn't help that it didn't have a savegame structure and needed to be run through in one go. That and at the time at least, it seemed pretty tough, especially with the time limit on each level.
I got this game, I think around Christmas time back in 1996. I remember playing it at my Grandmother's house in Toronto when I first got it. I guess I hauled my Saturn all the way out there in anticipation of getting a game or two as a gift and wanting to play it immediately. They finally made a sequel down the road for the Wii, which was actually a big draw for me to finally buy one, even though in the end I never did get around to buying it. (The game, not the system.) They've also released an HD version of the original for PC and Xbox 360, which I only found out about just now and I think I'll have to pick up ASAP.
Nights into Dreams...
Shortly after the the Sega Saturn console was released, Sonic Team, the in-house dev team responsible for the Sonic games came out with a new IP. Nights into Dreams was an on-rails adventure where you switch between controlling two children and a dream creature, Nights.Though not as successful as Sonic the Hedgehog, it was really the flagship title for the Saturn as Sonic X-Treme got scrapped and Sonic 3D Blast wasn't released until later that year. Not to mention, as neat as it was, 3D Blast felt like more of an offshoot of the Sonic series rather than an innovative continuation of the series.
Nevertheless, Nights was a good stab at a flagship game for a new system. It came bundled with a new controller featuring an analog joystick and analog shoulder triggers in order to compete with Nintendo's new N64 controller that comes standard which also featured an analog joystick. This controller worked especially well with a select few games and especially with Nights. Giving it you more fluid control as you fly through the Night-mare dreamscape.
Nights into Dreams was a fairly unique game at the time. With the latest console systems rolling out -the Saturn, PlayStation and Nintendo 64- a lot of developers were now playing around with the capacity to render in full 3D with little issue. So as they started to experiment we started to see new takes on old designs and new views of old locations. Players could now travel in more inventive ways than previous and enjoy new freedoms in their virtual worlds. Nights may not have always been fully 3D when it comes to travelling within the world, but it certainly worked well with the design of the game. Kind of a bridge between 2D and 3D, Nights has you flying along predetermined paths at a decent pace, trying to loop your way through beautiful circuits within a time limit. The world felt like you were trapped within a dreamy snow-globe, some levels more like the inside of a jack-in-a-box. Nights pushed to use colourful, high-end textures that really helped sell the whole design. I never did beat this game. Add it to the huge pile of games I owned and never completed. Of course, it certainly didn't help that it didn't have a savegame structure and needed to be run through in one go. That and at the time at least, it seemed pretty tough, especially with the time limit on each level.
I got this game, I think around Christmas time back in 1996. I remember playing it at my Grandmother's house in Toronto when I first got it. I guess I hauled my Saturn all the way out there in anticipation of getting a game or two as a gift and wanting to play it immediately. They finally made a sequel down the road for the Wii, which was actually a big draw for me to finally buy one, even though in the end I never did get around to buying it. (The game, not the system.) They've also released an HD version of the original for PC and Xbox 360, which I only found out about just now and I think I'll have to pick up ASAP.
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