NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams

"FLiGHTS: If only that was all to it"

NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams is a beautiful game to watch. Soaring through the dream realm of Nightopia is an experience matched by nothing else currently available on the Wii. As you gracefully dash through many series of rings, building up enough boost power to skyrocket yourself to the myriad of nightmarish minions, paralooping and tricking them into oblivion, all the while to an energetic, lovingly composed score - it's difficult to imagine any imperfections, especially with the excessively colourful bursts of light and sparkles that provide a flourish with every breath you take.

Do note, however, that playing it isn't always quite as "beautiful".

Will and Helen, the two Pommy protagonists (with terrible voice acting to match), seek to rid Nightopia of an omnipresent force led by WIzeman, the ruler of Nightmare (the Yin to Nightopia's Yang). They do so by fusing with a jester-like being known as NiGHTS, bestowing upon them the ability to glide through the skies. Each chapter is broken down into several courses, and each course is a fully 3D, yet entirely linear track whereby the goal is to obtain a set number of blue orbs in order to activate the exit and entrance to the next course. Rinse and repeat until you face a boss character, and then rinse and repeat until you're all spent.

Simplicity is what makes NiGHTS easy to pick up, even if you are unfamiliar with its prequel: the Sega Saturn classic NiGHTS Into Dreams. Manoeuvring NiGHTS is a breeze (opt NOT for the default Wii remote IR scheme) and replaying to nab higher scores, better ranks and bragging rights is what will make you come back time after time again. If you're looking for a true next-gen experience, look elsewhere.

But when you take flight, NiGHTS truly is a dream. However, this journey has also been stained by some rather mediocre platforming sections, and several gameplay decisions which are rather questionable - the worst of which are the unskippable cutscenes which aren't all that interesting, cringe-worthy in fact. There are some neat features such as the uploading of data from the Forecast Channel to alter in-game weather conditions, and a handful of online options (including 2 player races), too. The meat of NiGHTS is the on-rails flying, though, and there's no doubt you'll love it - especially the more you play. Just be forewarned of the excess baggage weighing it down.

Verdict - 6.5/10

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 03/10/08

Game Release: NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams (AU, 01/24/08)