NiGHTS into Dreams...

NiGHTS into Dreams... is a video game that consists of 3 releases
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NiGHTS into Dreams... is a 3D flying game made by Sonic Team for the Sega Saturn. You play as NiGHTS in order to stop the evil Wizeman and his minions

Overview

NiGHTS was born out of a simple concept: capturing the sensation of flight. Released the same month as Super Mario 64, some viewed it as Sega's answer to Nintendo's mascot superstar. In reality, NiGHTS shares more in common with a traditional arcade game, complete with high score tables displayed at the end of each level.

Elliot at the Ideya Palace
Elliot at the Ideya Palace
After choosing between playing as Elliot Edwards (the boy) or Claris Sinclair (the girl), you are dropped in to a fully 3D environment where your most immediate task is to reclaim the four "Ideya Spheres" that have been stolen from you and hidden within the level. While you can go searching for them on foot, you are incredibly vulnerable in your human form, so your best bet is to approach and enter the Ideya Palace and transform in to the flying purple jester known as NiGHTS.

As NiGHTS, the gameplay perspective shifts from full 3D to 2.5D, as you fly along a track defeating enemies and collecting items for bonus points. Once you collect 20 chips (the blue orbs), you can release the Ideya Sphere and bring it back to the Ideya Palace, where you are then awarded a grade based on your score and sent on your way down the next track to get another Ideya Sphere. You are only afforded a limited amount of time as NiGHTS, so being quick and efficient is the key to success. Once all Ideya Spheres are returned to the Ideya Palace, you are awarded an average grade for that level and are whisked away to fight the stage boss. Defeat the boss, and your final score tally for the whole ordeal is calculated and you're awarded one final overall grade and sent back to the game's main menu.

For Christmas of 1996, SonicTeam and Sega released a special extended demo called Christmas NiGHTS. In 2007, eleven years after the original NiGHTS was released, Sega remade NiGHTS for the Playstation 2, with enhanced graphics and bonus extras.

Plot

NiGHTS and Claris
NiGHTS and Claris
The evil Wizeman, King of the Nightmaren, is no longer satisfied with simply controlling the dream world of Nightopia. He seeks more! Wizeman hatches a plot to use Ideya Dream Energy to shake off the shackles of the dream world and enter our reality, where his power to shape and create nightmares will leave him unstoppable. To help him accomplish this task, he crafts two special first-class Nightmaren: a pair of jesters by the names of NiGHTS and Reala. He commands the pair to seek out and capture any Ideya they can find, especially the rare red Ideya, representing the emotion of Bravery.

Ungrateful to its creator, NiGHTS rebels against Wizeman's orders. As punishment, Wizeman seals NiGHTS in an Ideya Prison; the only way he can be freed is if somebody uses their Ideya energy to temporarily unlock his cage, and with his Nightmaren collecting all the Ideya for themselves, it is not likely NiGHTS will ever be released. However, two special dreamers - a pair of children named Elliot Edwards and Claris Sinclair - have an abundance of Red Ideya energy and find themselves very near NiGHTS' holding cell...

Levels


Claris

  • Spring Valley  ~the IDEAL~ (Boss: Gilwing)
  • Mystic Forest  ~the POSSIBILITY~ (Boss: Gulpo)
  • Soft Museum ~the CONFUSION~ (Boss: Jackle)
  • Twin Seeds ~the GROWTH~ (Boss: Wizeman)

Elliot

  • Splash Garden ~the AFFECTION~ (Boss: Puffy)
  • Frozen Bell ~the CONSCIOUSNESS~ (Boss: Clawz)
  • Stick Canyon ~the REVIVAL~ (Boss: Reala)
  • Twin Seeds ~the GROWTH~ (Boss: Wizeman)

Playstation 2 Re-Release

"Brand New Dream" mode
"Brand New Dream" mode
NiGHTS: into Dreams... was released for the Playstation 2 exclusively in Japan in 2007. Initially thought to be part of Sega's " Sega Ages 2500" releases, it did not bear the budget line's branding and was instead a full-priced product. The Playstation 2 version of NiGHTS features all of the content from the original Sega Saturn release as well as a visually remastered "Brand New Dream" mode. A number of bonus features from Christmas NiGHTS were also incorporated, including image galleries, the Nightopian viewer, and the Christmas version of Spring Valley. However, other features, like Link Attack, Karaoke Mode, and Sonic into Dreams remain exclusive to the Sega Saturn version of Christmas NiGHTS. The Playstation 2 version of NiGHTS also adds four new calendar-related events, which imbue Claris and Elliot with special bonus costumes:

  • July 20th: Play Splash Garden as Claris in a summer outfit.
  • August 31st: Play Splash Garden as Elliot in a summer outfit.
  • October 1st-30th: Play Mystic Forest as Claris in a witch costume.
  • October 31st: Play Mystic Forest as Elliot in a vampire costume.

Soundtrack

NiGHTS Original Soundtrack
NiGHTS Original Soundtrack
Music for NiGHTS was composed by Naofumi Hataya, Tomoko Sasaki, and Fumie Kumatani. The soundtrack was released in Japan by PolyGram on July 10, 1996. The game contains one vocal track, with two variations: one version is sung by children (presumably Claris and Elliot themselves), with a second version playing over the credits as a reward for completing the game with all A ranks. 
 

NiGHTS Original Soundtrack

Total length: 57:30 

  1. NiGHTS
  2. Gate of Your Dream
  3. Paternal Horn
  4. The Dragon Gave a Loud Scream
  5. Take the Snow Train
  6. The Mantle
  7. Message from Nightopia
  8. Gloom of the N.H.C.
  9. E-LE-KI Sparkle
  10. The Amazing Water
  11. Deep it Lies
  12. Dreams Dreams ~In Silent Memory~
  13. Suburban Museum
  14. She Had Long Ears
  15. Under Construction
  16. Nights and Reala
  17. Growing Wings
  18. Nights and Reala ~Theme of a Tregedic Revenge~
  19. D'Force Master
  20. After the Dream
  21. Know Thyself!
  22. Sowing Seeds
  23. DREAMS DREAMS
  24. Fragmented Nights
   

Development History

Shortly after completing work on Sonic the Hedgehog 2, future Sonic Team president Yuji Naka had a flash of inspiration on the plane ride back to Japan: What if a game captured the thrilling sensation of flight? This idea was shelved for many years as he continued work on games in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. After completing Sonic & Knuckles, the team revisited the concept of flight for Sega's new Saturn game console, hoping technology had advanced to the point where a game based around the concept would be feasible and enjoyable.

Initial concepts involved a newborn baby bird who was just learning how to fly; over the course of the game, this character would grow stronger and learn how to fly more gracefully. This concept was scrapped after deciding it somehow resembled Sonic the Hedgehog too much. Eventually the concept of a graceful jester called NiGHTS in the dream world of Nightopia was decided upon. Hundreds of animations were created to convey the acrobatic sense of grace NiGHTS had, easily gliding through the air, defying the laws of gravity. To help control NiGHTS, SonicTeam simultaneously launched a new Sega Saturn analog joystick with NiGHTS into Dreams..., allowing players full control over NiGHTS' speed and direction.

To flesh out Nightopia, Sonic Team designers actually studied dream psychology for many weeks, reading and comparing the works of psychologists like Carl Jung and Frederick Holtz for inspiration. Each level in NiGHTS was carefully constructed to reflect the apparent memories and emotions both the main characters had growing up. 
 
Yuji Naka frequently likened his feelings about NiGHTS: Into Dreams... to Steven Spielberg's own regarding E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial - that it is his "perfect" game. Much like Spielberg's aversion to making a sequel to E.T., Yuji Naka repeatedly stated that it would be difficult if not impossible to improve on the game's formula without tarnishing what made the original NiGHTS so unique and special. He maintained this position all the way up until quitting Sonic Team in 2006 to go start PROPE. Within less than a year of Naka's departure, Sonic Team announced they would be developing a sequel, called NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams.

Trivia

  • The genders of NiGHTS and its evil twin Reala are never openly mentioned; they are purposely left androgynous. 
  • A boss against a character called "Selph" was cut. Reportedly, Selph would be a mirror image of NiGHTS. The unused orchestral track "Know Thyself!" on the official NiGHTS Soundtrack is said to be the music for the deleted Selph boss.
  • Despite NiGHTS existing only in a singular Sega Saturn game for many years, Sonic Team made damn sure nobody could forget the character: NiGHTS had a cameo in nearly every Sonic Team game produced following the release of the original Sega Saturn title, with appearances in Sonic Adventure, Sonic Adventure 2, Phantasy Star Online, Sonic Shuffle, Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg, and more. 
  • NiGHTS was the debut of Sonic Team's ill-fated "Artificial Life" (A-Life for short) system. Each level in NiGHTS is inhabited by small pixie-like creatures called Pians. Pians freely move about the level, doing various activities on their own accord; singing, socializing, and generally having fun. NiGHTS can interact with Pians one of several ways: Killing them (which makes all Pians witness to the event very upset), or helping them to mate: by touching a Nightmaren, Pians lay special eggs, and from these eggs hatch hybrid Pians with characteristics of the enemy their parent contacted. Pians also have a secondary function: Depending on their mood, the tone of the music for that given level will change, with 20 total music variations present for each level in the game. If undisturbed, Pians naturally grow happy over time. However, if a Pian witnesses another being killed, they grow sad or angry.
  • Many of the concepts included in Christmas NiGHTS were intended for this version of the game, and numerous features in Christmas NiGHTS can be used to pointlessly analyze save files from the full version.
  • A sequel known as "Air NiGHTS" was planned for the Dreamcast, but never came to fruition. Reportedly, the game would have used a gyroscopic motion sensor that slotted in to the Dreamcast's VMU port.
NiGHTS into Dreams... 162 images
General Information Edit
Game Name NiGHTS into Dreams...
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Action
Adventure
Themes
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Fantasy
Original US Release Aug. 31, 1996
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Original US Release know the real date?
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CERO
CERO: A
ESRB
ESRB: K-A
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