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JoD was (is) amusing...


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#1
trueBLUE

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Having only seen videos of NiGHTS Into Dreams, Journey of Dreams is my first real experience with a NiGHTS game. I was...amused, not amazed, but amused with what I played. Some reviews are a bit harsh (IGN anyone?) while others seemed to give it too much praise (Nintendo Power, obviously), but from my view point, I think Sega Studios USA still hasn't gotten their act together for the most part, as evidenced by some parts in this game.

Honestly, considering Sega Studios USA's track record (Shadow The Hedgehog *cough*), I wasn't expecting this to live up to it's legacy. JoD does live up to it's legacy... most of the time, I found the Chase levels fun. Being a huge fan of flying games, like Pilotwings 64, NiGHTS is right up my alley. Despite their only being four levels for Will and Helen each, I love to revisit them. Yet I found some of the missions pointless and/or lacking in quality control, I hated the platforming levels. Bosses were excellent, but some were a bit tedious.

The music is PERFECT! I think this is the first game were I am fond of the music more then a game itself.

So, people who have played NiGHTS Into Dreams, how does it really compare to this game? I'm quite curious, to be honest. It's hard to play the original NiGHTS because I don't have a Saturn and pirating is illegal. (I do not condone the use of ROMS and emulators.)

#2
TORiAS_the_fallen

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Having played the first game (4 times now, go me!), I have to say that it carries on the legacy quite well. Not many games can manage to convey the feel of flying so well. SEGA did very well this time, and, yes, Shadow the Hedgehog was a very bad game.

#3
viperxmns

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I think it's safe to say Sonic Team's did a better service to NiGHTS with JoD than they have to Sonic lately, that's for sure. Iizuka should not be proud of games like Sonic 360 and Shadow the Hedgehog. There are certain new things they tried with JoD, some better than others. I really hope if they do a NiGHTS 3 to look at fan feedback very closely, since that is the best advice they could possibly get in shaping another game, be with either NiGHTS or Sonic.

Again though, IGN's review was very hasty and I see myself how misleading game reviews can sometimes be.

The real test is seeing how much I want to play JoD after I get everything (still finding Dreamdrops). How well the new gameplay holds up over time compared to the original still concerns me, as some of what made NiD so replayable has been removed. The lack of an A-Life effect in the main levels, for one.

#4
MKTRanma

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This game amazed me for sure. I can't even find the words for it. XD I had so much fun playing it.

Sonic games have been a little meh...but at least the portable games and the new Riders game are really making up for it.

#5
Innotech

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it abso-f*!*ing-lutely is a worthy sequel.
Period.

#6
nightdreamer

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We definately need a third NiGHTS game! This one was certainly worth waiting for and followed the NiGHTS design. I'm already hoping for a sequal for JoD and that it will come out soon (a lot sooner than the ten + year that it took for this one to come out).

#7
Drannore

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Honestly? No, it was not. I generally love on this game, but have to say that it is not. They really have a ton of great ideas, as well as a decent presentation on top of decent graphics, but it was not stellar, and I think that many of the reviews hit it right on the head: they made it too complicated. They should really have kept the simple structure of the first game, but then have the other stuff as bonus.

#8
DAiLiGHT

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Shadow the Hedgehog was a very bad game.


Why does everyone say that? I personally love the idea of a 3-foot angry little spiny creature packing heat bigger than he is and exploding random things for the hell of it.

#9
trueBLUE

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Why does everyone say that? I personally love the idea of a 3-foot angry little spiny creature packing heat bigger than he is and exploding random things for the hell of it.


As long as there are workable controls and a decent storyline in said game, people would dig it in. However, Shadow didn't have both.

@ Drannore: Exactly, a lot of people still like NiD because it's a simple structure that has depth to it. JoD, while have amazing flying levels, just seems all over the place.

Not to mention that I found the cutscenes bad, but not an awful bad, a good kind of bad, like something that can easily be spoofed. You can spoof the original NiGHTS, but JoD has tons of matieral for an awesome spoof, Flash or not. (<- Which really has nothing to do with the topic.)

#10
Kijuna

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Absolutely not. IMO, JoD is an abomination to the NiGHTS legacy. Don't read if you won't want the game's flaws pointed out.







-It completely ruined the NiGHTS character. He's not androgynous because he has no gender, he's androgynous because nobody KNOWS his gender. Because he's mysterious! If you shove his life story in the face of kids you've known for a few hours, it completely ruins that and just comes out terrible and forced! The whole story was like that really; the original NiGHTS left just enough to the imagination that everybody who played it had a unique experience. This shoved everything down our throats.
-The idea of the original NiGHTS was that the game was about flying in a dream. NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams does not feel free. It is sluggish. The movement speed is far too slow and dashing (which is a great deal more limited) is almost as slow. The camera angle is almost as bad about backtracking as Sonic and the Secret Rings, and part of freedom is being able to go backwards. Furthermore, you often can't see where you're even going or what rings/blue chips/whatever you're looking for.
-It was also about losing that freedom if you screwed up. NiD was so fun you wanted to keep playing until the timer ran out, and the game encouraged that. JoD I often finished levels on my first try with several hundred seconds left, and didn't mourn the time lost because the gameplay engine was so horrible in the first place. I was never pressured or anything.
-NiGHTS, and ****ing SEGA IN GENERAL, was about doing one thing and doing it amazingly well. JoD threw in like five gameplay engines, taking the flaws from Sonic Adventure 2 and magnifying them tenfold, except that the Sonic levels of the game, the chase levels, weren't that great for reasons mentioned and they were like, 20% of the game. The mission structure is an abomination. Side missions like the SA2 level select would have been great, like I would have enjoyed some of the missions if they were optional.
-The game just didn't feel... lively, y'know? The levels were too open, too organic, and the music IMO was great, but not...lively. Like it was too slow and there were only like two instruments playing at any given time.

#11
Hime Blue

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*winces at the post above her* Wow.

Anyways to my opinions. I believe that even though JoD did have its faults it was a truly good game. It kept me engaged all the way through and while the story wasn't perfect, I'm surprised that Sega did as well as they did on it. The cutscenes were a bit cheesy sure but I found them to carry the story. And yes I did find myself laughing at the really bad cutscenes so don't criticize me. As well, I'm very thankful they only had a couple kid-only missions and kept the main focus on being in NiGHTS (that didn't come out right) and flying. The missions were a nice touch, not all of them were perfect or fun, but I didn't mind them. What else...? I liked the music, the bosses were great fun ('cept Bomamba, annoying cat she was), and it was obvious a lot more heart was put into this game than other Sega titles as of late. My conclusion? Sega worked hard on this. They actually listened to us part of the time as well. Sure, it's not perfect. No game is. Nothing is. But yes, JoD is worthy to be called a NiGHTS title. It is.

#12
Ronnie

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Ronnies view!

WARNING LOTSA SPOILERS!


Well I played the game this weekend and completed it fully yesterday.

Lets start with NiD.

We all know why we loved NiD:

The freedom
The free style of acrobatics
The magic
The style
The visualisation
The music
The simple yet in captivating story
The fun boss fights
Exploration
A-LIFE

NiD if I could put it in word is:

Beautiful

It wasn't a masterpiece and it was no Mario 64, but its fan base understood what NiGHTS was all about thus why this sequel was created fully for the fans. NiGHTS really does speak to all of us as we can all relate to having dreams and the game really does suck you into its world.

As for JoD

Well it gave us what we wanted, it surely does deliver, but no one can review a SEGA game without saying "it has its flaws" -_-;

JoD promises us a magically journey into the Dream world and the freedom of flight.
Yes it does but it also binds us down to a lot of unnecessary play styles.

My biggest qualm my utter most largest disappointment with JoD is the Character Models and cut-scenes.
Helen and will look horrendous, they look lifeless marionettes propped up dancing on screen (look how they wave for god sake!) Their heads flop up and down and interact in the game like a circle being fit into a square hole. Since there’s very little need for Blue Chips in the actual game I had no desire to run around the Dream worlds and explore before I met up with NiGHTS which almost makes me feel like "Why even make me climb the chain? Why don't I just start as NiGHTS?" Besides they both run like they're got pins & needles in their legs.

I would of enjoyed the cut-scenes I enjoyed the story but why is my £200 next-gen console giving my a choppy frame-rate and a count-the-pixel contest every time a cut-scene is going on? It felt like I was playing an early PS2 game, god even Metal Gear Solid made its no face characters move smoother. Watching NiGHTS hover around the children’s was more sluggish than sand paper dipped in marmite. Owl wasn't even fully rendered and it was funny seeing his wings flap in 5 noticeable frames. And the voice-acting, god the voice acting, Will changed accents three times in one sentence every time he opened his mouth, Helen broke her lines up as if the VA just recorded one word a day. I could bare the rest of the VA's but I really didn't any of them to speak, I would of been happy with text or even if none of the Nightmarens spoke at all and left it up to my imagination.

Nightopians looked even more like cancer babies and there's not much interaction going in My Dream, wow I can pick them up and throw chips at them cool! and they can do a total of 3 actions:
Fly
Walk
Cry
Rinse
Lather
Repeat

Sad to say Chao are more engaging than these morons, I did like how the garden was affected, but I would have been just as happy looking at Christmas NiGHTS A-life collection screen.

And the weather control doesn't go any further than my Dream either -_-;

The level designs were great, lovely and colourful with plenty do and were twice as big as NiD it was a shame I was to busy chasing a chicken to stop and appreciate and take it all in. I do miss being able to do paraloops the size of a penny and having more moverabillity but hey at least I can turn into different sh!t right?

I was disapointed and felt like a little piece of NiGHTS was neglected when I realised that he only had 12 acrobatic stunts (instead of the original 22 or so) and doing acrobatics meant nothing towards your ranking :( It was kinda like "why bother then?" Just spiral dash, get the key QUICKLY QUICKLY NO TIME TO PLAY FINISH THE LEVEL ASAP!!! I loved doing somersaults and stunts in the free air it made me feel like I was doing my own unique moves and it was only something I could do and I looked beautiful and graceful playing.
And I enjoyed doing as many laps as I could around the course collecting lots of blue and star chips till time nearly ran out.

FYI SEGA - The games over when the kids wake up! Not when the timer runs out! If I'm out of time the kids fall to earth and the chase begins.

Ever since Mario 64's release Sonic Team has had this thing about having mission based games, can't I just have a difficulty setting on the game? Please don't force me to run around as the kids like a complete spanner just to get to the next level its like adding filler to meat. The link challenges were fun though, they did show you had to be good at playing the game to advance further.

Speaking of which I though Iizuka said the game would get more difficult as the player got better? Having me fight the boss again with more hits and a larger time isn't exactly a challenge.

Although the bosses were fun and varied and had a smuch imagination to them as NiD did so i can't complain about that, Ronnie liked the bosses. The stages were creepy to ^_^ As fun as Realas ball tag was, it didn't have the same thrill and excitement as paraloop smashing, nothing can beat going head to head with your alter ego clasping each others hands in full battle fury.

The music was outstanding SEGA JP knows how to make a musical score and giving us remixed classics was genius.... it captured the whole game perfectly and really set the mood, Hearing sowing seeds in Dolby 5.1 brought a tear to my eye when playing Bellbridge (i'll get to that later) it was just beautiful I can't wait to purchase the OST!

My favourite part of the entire game was Twin Seed...er I mean Bellbridge, By the time you've heard the kids bitch and moan about themselves but when they spiral out of the clouds and into the twinkling city and the music begins that was it for me! This was my NiGHTS believing in yourself and soaring through the night sky, the multi-coloured balloons the hovering buildings it had it all and even more! I loved the twinkling stars that created rings and opened up paths to aid you and just when I thought it couldn’t get better when the lights go out and Helen loses her courage and then it all comes flooding back and BAM IN THE NIIIGHTS DREAM DELIGHT I couldn’t help but smile this was where the magic was hiding! Even Wiseman’s old skool battle kept me determined and made me feel like I was in a real nightmare (I later learned I needed the masks to win) But hey I did it! And what a beautiful ending.

So all in all NiGHTS gives everything the fans wanted from the original even if its been snipped and pruned back a little, the game looks fugly in some places but once you complete the game you never have to see them again, if the game had been delayed and still in production it could of had the bugs ironed out and it would of been a game worthy of being in the Wii top 10 but I can see the problem was SEGA execs demanding something that needed to be treated like art and not rushed.

NiGHTS Journey of Dreams is what we've been waiting for but is mutton dressed as lamb and you have to ignore its flaws to see the true magic of NiGHTS.

Thank you.

#13
Kijuna

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FYI SEGA - The games over when the kids wake up! Not when the timer runs out! If I'm out of time the kids fall to earth and the chase begins.


This happens? >_<

My favourite part of the entire game was Twin Seed...er I mean Bellbridge, By the time you've heard the kids bitch and moan about themselves but when they spiral out of the clouds and into the twinkling city and the music begins that was it for me! This was my NiGHTS believing in yourself and soaring through the night sky, the multi-coloured balloons the hovering buildings it had it all and even more! I loved the twinkling stars that created rings and opened up paths to aid you and just when I thought it couldn’t get better when the lights go out and Helen loses her courage and then it all comes flooding back and BAM IN THE NIIIGHTS DREAM DELIGHT I couldn’t help but smile this was where the magic was hiding!


God, yes. This was like, the one part of the game that actually felt like I was playing NiGHTS. Epecially when Will popped up WITHOUT EXPLAINING EVERYTHING.

if the game had been delayed and still in production it could of had the bugs ironed out and it would of been a game worthy of being in the Wii top 10 but I can see the problem was SEGA execs demanding something that needed to be treated like art and not rushed.


Honestly, I felt like the problem was more time management than not having time. They should have focused JUST on the bosses and normal levels, and not screwed them up by rushing you.

#14
viperxmns

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Ronnies view!

Nightopians looked even more like cancer babies and there's not much interaction going in My Dream, wow I can pick them up and throw chips at them cool! and they can do a total of 3 actions:
Fly
Walk
Cry
Rinse
Lather
Repeat


Hey you forgot:
Sing
Play soccer
Play Saturn (rare action)
Make babies


Anyone else ever notice how Pians are also androgynous? And I wish the game explained what those badges in your journal mean in regard to My Dream. I can figure out the King icon, but I have no idea what the heart or anything else actually means.

#15
trueBLUE

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Bellbridge was awesome! It truly felt like a NiGHTS experience... but Will and Helen's whining at the beginning of the stage almost killed it.

NiGHTS isn't only the savior of dreams, but he's the savior of twelve-year old emo kids everywhere! =D

#16
Master D

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In my hones opinion, JoD is fun and everything, but NiD... i dont change it. Sega gave that game there all to try and save the Saturn, and even if they failed, NiD is forever rememberable. :lol: u guys wanna know something? JoD was RUSHED by the sega CEO (idiot) thus, many things were not finished. A-life was one of them. Originaly, nightopians took care of themselves. U dident have to feed them and if they were in a good mood they would wave at nights when he flew by. if time ran out it wasent a night over. U had to get to nights again and try again if u missed the ideya. a little comment before i go; How much do i like NiD? I made a PC powerfull enough to run the sega saturn emulator flawlessly cuz my Saturn's drive is dying :D I simply REFUSED to never play nights again. so i coughed up about $900 just so i dident have to give up Nid. so yeah, JoD is great and all, I like it, BUT it dose NOT replace NiD nor makes it a worthy sequel. It just don't feel the same, but is not bad eather.

#17
viperxmns

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In my hones opinion, JoD is fun and everything, but NiD... i dont change it. Sega gave that game there all to try and save the Saturn, and even if they failed, NiD is forever rememberable. :rolleyes: u guys wanna know something? JoD was RUSHED by the sega CEO (idiot) thus, many things were not finished. A-life was one of them. Originaly, nightopians took care of themselves. U dident have to feed them and if they were in a good mood they would wave at nights when he flew by. if time ran out it wasent a night over. U had to get to nights again and try again if u missed the ideya. a little comment before i go; How much do i like NiD? I made a PC powerfull enough to run the sega saturn emulator flawlessly cuz my Saturn's drive is dying :( I simply REFUSED to never play nights again. so i coughed up about $900 just so i dident have to give up Nid. so yeah, JoD is great and all, I like it, BUT it dose NOT replace NiD nor makes it a worthy sequel. It just don't feel the same, but is not bad eather.

:(

ONLINE DOWNLOAD PATCHES PLS

#18
Jester

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I thought was alright. <being nights deprieved anyway and not having a GOOD game on the wii> Was it perfect? No. Did it need more work? Yeah.However it was still an enjoyable experience none the less. Just kind of sad that reala got demoted to a sub boss. XD

#19
temjin

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Simply put: It's my game of the year.

I enjoyed it immensely, even the silly, in-game cutscenes I enjoyed. I enjoyed the story telling, which I think opened up the NiGHTS Universe to us a lot more and on a whole new scale.

Characters were fantastic:

-Reala, amazing. Typical bad ass.
-Wizeman, played PERFECTLY. Awesome voice acting for Wizeman.
-NiGHTS, voice acting was a bit meh, but there were time I enjoyed it.
-Owl, OH OHH!!! Love it lol.

The chase missions were great, and I appreciate the way they've changed up the score attacks now, which I find pretty fantastic. I even enjoyed the other missions and platforming with the kids, all fun to me.

The nostalgia factor was huge and I LOVED it. Absolutely LOVED it.

Fantastic game, fantastic sequel.

Obviously, there were shortcomings, and I hope, that if we do get a sequel, that they take the time to polish it.

#20
Master D

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:(

ONLINE DOWNLOAD PATCHES PLS

what patches!? it has patches!!?!?!? where do i get?

#21
animejosse

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what patches!? it has patches!!?!?!? where do i get?

There's no patch, viperxmns just wished they existed.

#22
Tsukasa

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It's not a worthy sequel at all in my eyes. They changed up the scoring system and its too simplistic now.
The new dreamers are devoid of personality. Oh and the way they've redesigned NiGHTS and Reala is horrible.
They needed to spend a LOT more time in production and those missions needed to be thrown out.
I'll stick to my Saturn methinks.

#23
Aroxys

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It's threads like this that make me wish I could've played the original.
I agree that it needed more work though.

-Virtually no incentive to eplore those wonderful levels, mid-level pian feeding almost impossible on all but one level due to an extremely limited supply of blue chips.
-Awakers are cheap. They should stay slow, no speed up. Especially since it's possible for hordes of them to show up in a matter of seconds.
-Reala is... Mid-boss? Poor guy gets no respect whatsoever. (Anyone who gets this could probably imagine the crossover pics. X3)
-Even if pians were supposed to feed themselves, I think a compromise would've been to make a blue chip resivoir for the garden, that way when you had 500+ blue chips you don't just loose them and can put them to use.
-Missions need to be refined some (Read: alot), mostly because of the targeting system. I know they're throwing the chips, but when it's right in front of you, it should lock on to that.
-Acrobatic flight needs to supply more than a ten-point bonus when you're collecting stuff.
-I agree about the Night Over bit. The levels shouldn't be made so that only NiGHTS can complete it.
-Visitors should be able to transport pians to my dream without NiGHTS.




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