There seems to be a lot of good games out there today that are getting skipped over for bigger titles. Let’s take games like Astal, the Wizards and Warrior series, Jetgrind Radio, and Kid Chameleon, for example. They were popular back then, but by today’s standards, unless you go to TheGameHeroes.com or Retrowaretv.com, you won’t know anything about these titles. Though it seems like more games are making a come back like Bionic Commando, Street Fighter, Punch Out, and etc., one of the games I was surprised to see have a sequel was the Nights series. Now, only two games have been made, and this review will be based on the second game called Nights: Journey into Dreams for the Wii. So, is this long awaited sequel well worth the wait? Or is it just a dream after all? Oh, I forgot to mention that there is another game, but it’s for one of those old cruddy Tiger Electronic handheld games, so it’s not worth mentioning in the series as a whole.
The basic story takes place between two kids, who for some reason are dreaming the same dream. They each end up in this hub world-like area that is similar to the one seen in Wario World. The kid, whoever you choose, meets a mystical jester named Nights as you two team up and take down the evil force of Wizeman who is destroying the dream world. The story is kind of confusing, but if you play with both kids then you will understand.
The game play style is similar to the last game for the Sega Saturn. The style of game play is that you take control of the jester Nights to fly around in the levels as you go through rings and other acrobatic stuff to get through the level and finish. This kind of reminds me of the old Sonic games, since it’s fast, but fun, except the game play is still intact, unlike new 3D sonic games. The only way to defeat enemies is by circling around them and they pop. The boss fights are also challenging, but there is a certain flair to them, which is fun, in my opinion. There are also different kinds of levels, like where Nights can turn into a roller coaster or something else to get through the challenges. Nights also gets three persona masks. The first mask is the rocket mask where Nights turns into a rocket to go faster. The second is the dolphin mask where Nights can swim faster and better in the water. The final mask is the dragon mask where Nights can withstand powerful winds.
The graphics are impressive and fun to look at. The world of Nights is full of colors, shapes, and amazingly well designed characters. One of my favorites is the second boss on the boy’s side of the dream. The whole design of Nights and his rival are well made, and are unique to many game characters. I personally like the design since it inspired me to make a character similar to Nights for an art project I had to do. The music is just phenomenal. It was made by Tomoko Sasaki, who has help compose music for games like Ristar, Super Smash Brothers, and Sonic Adventure 1 and 2, to name a few. I wish there was a cd for the soundtrack of Nights Journey into Dreams because for the first few days I was playing it, I couldn’t get the song out of my head. The game definitely has a charm, and it is a game you would play again and again. The difficulty is right in the middle. For the most part, it’s easy, but it can get a little tedious during some boss fights.
I might have to take the statement back, because there are some things that hold this game back. The game itself is pretty short. I mean, it will take some time to get through certain levels, but it won’t take you long to beat this game. The levels throughout all the stages get really repetitious, and it gets boring after you realize it. The only differences in the levels are the boss fights, since they all take different strategies. The voice acting isn’t bad, but it could have used some work.
All and all, it’s more of a hit than miss title. There are a lot more good points than bad points. I would say rent this game and see if you would play it over and over again. Though this game has some flaws, I would say it’s one of the better Wii games out there. Hopefully, they can make another sequel since I personally had fun with this game.
This game gets a 7 out of 10.
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