43 replies to this topic

[TRiPPY]

If you could change just one thing about Journey of Dreams what would you consider the most vital thing and why?

Even if you 100% liked the game what do you think would have been even better improved on?


Remember, just 1 thing.



I'd have to say better graphics. Detail, high res textures... ACTUAL textures infact and all that glittery detailed shenanigans that made the first game so sparkly.

Why? Because a large majority of gamers take graphics as being the meat of the game. If it looks graphicly good, the gamer dense will buy it. The graphics should have looked as good as the game FMV in this day and age. So yeah, graphics.

[Minn]

A.] Agreed, the graphic in JOD were...somewhat dissapointing. But gameplay is what matters,yeah?

B.] I'd like it if there was a more classic 'ideya capture' misson like in NiD.

Or if the dash meter didn't depelt so freaking quick. Used to be like 20 secs of dash and now we get...what, 8 or so? Iwantmydashbackplzkthxsega.

[Murasaki Doku]

I'd change how My Dream works. It's a devolved version of the Chao raising system instead of an evolved one. You really can't personalize your Nightopians/Mepians to your liking, and for that reason it's hard to feel a personal connection with your dreamcreatures.

Of course, when I sit to think about it for a while, Chao were meant as virtual pets, while Nightopians...well, they're not so much virtual pets as they are...things that...live in your dreams...uhh...yeah.

[TRAViS]

As Minn said above, I would just change the initial mission in every stage from the chase-the-bird, get-the-key, 3 times, 3 minutes each to the traditional find-the-chips, get-the-ideya, 4 times, 2 minutes each style of gameplay.

Heck, if that kind of game mode was an (unlockable?) "Classic" mode with online high scores I would've forgiven every fault I found in the game from start to finish and probably never let my round-modded WaveBird leave my hands ever again (except to change the batteries).

[viperxmns]

I think we certainly find common ground here- graphics issues, Classic mode would be sweet.. for 2 player as well.. And Reala sooooo should have used his mask like NiGHTS does. They botched the chance to really up the ante where Reala is concerned. Mare balloons should have been simply placed as optional objects to use, like Shells in Mario Kart. Not the main battle method.

And oh yeah, omitting the Trick Ribbon= LAME

I so hoped there'd be a 2 player stunt competition.

[Diogothedreamer]

Well I actualy really liked the game and the direction that it took in terms of the level designs as everything came into place at the right time when you flew past it and the music is one of my favorite features. The only thing I would like is more dream levels after thinking it was four for each character and then a final level like through downloadable content.

But being serious an extra add on that I would have liked to have seen was have even more extras. It is hard to explain but it feels like the original had more to find out about and such is the scope of it that even after all these year I am still finding new info like how the name for the acrobatic links after you make 11.

It would have been nice to ge to unlock lots of hiden gems after the dream drops and all A ranks unless Im wrong and there is lots more to do.

[Deraj]

I'd change how My Dream works. It's a devolved version of the Chao raising system instead of an evolved one. You really can't personalize your Nightopians/Mepians to your liking, and for that reason it's hard to feel a personal connection with your dreamcreatures.

Of course, when I sit to think about it for a while, Chao were meant as virtual pets, while Nightopians...well, they're not so much virtual pets as they are...things that...live in your dreams...uhh...yeah.

Amen. ... That's all I have to say. XD

[Nemoide]

I would make it be made for original Xbox so that I could play it without having to buy a new console.

[phosphorus]

As Minn said above, I would just change the initial mission in every stage from the chase-the-bird, get-the-key, 3 times, 3 minutes each to the traditional find-the-chips, get-the-ideya, 4 times, 2 minutes each style of gameplay.

Heck, if that kind of game mode was an (unlockable?) "Classic" mode with online high scores I would've forgiven every fault I found in the game from start to finish and probably never let my round-modded WaveBird leave my hands ever again (except to change the batteries).

I mostly agree, except I think the Ideya capture should be the only game mode (It'd be the only one I'd play more than once). And the harder bosses weren't more fun, IMO. And Owl has got to go. Owl's dialog is so inane that you could delete him, and change nothing else, and only the first dream gate sequence, and a few of the more boring mission intros would be messed up. The other characters just ignore Owl most of the time. It's kinda funny.

Axe the dream gate as well, it's basically a menu with a plus-sized load time.

And this may sound like a strange complaint, but the chase mission levels are too big. When I first started playing the game, I thought the levels were way to scarce, but I realized that the stuff that's there is... diluted. It's not like set pieces are few, just far between. I could name some particular offenders, but the only level not guilty of it was Bellbridge (the only level that was an actuall improvement over it's analogue in NiD).

So basically, trim the fat, cut the crap. And make NiGHTS more lively, NiGHTS in this game seems almost sedate compared to NiD NiGHTS.

[iLLViLLAiN]

1)No ingame cutscenes. Just the CGI intro and ending.
2)No platforming.
3)No voices.
4)Include original NiGHTS game or Christmas NiGHTS as an unlockable
5)Make the game feel more mysterious and less whimsical.

That's about it. I actually have no problem with most of these things except for number 2 and somewhat number 1(just somewhat) but other than that it's a cool game.

[Cruithne]

Just one thing? D:

...

...

Star chips.

I want them.

NAO!!!! D:<

Seriously, they're shiney. :|

[charlie]

As Minn said above, I would just change the initial mission in every stage from the chase-the-bird, get-the-key, 3 times, 3 minutes each to the traditional find-the-chips, get-the-ideya, 4 times, 2 minutes each style of gameplay.

I completely agree with Minn and TRAViS, this is the one thing that I would change. The classic gameplay is so much more fun and addictive and it is the reason I still play NiD to this day.

In general the entire scoring system in NiD is superior, particularly the shorter laps that are jampacked with thoughtfully placed objects and can be repeated over and over again until time runs out. I much prefer this then the style of gameplay in JoD where the lap size is huge, the objects are sparse, and you only get to play through it once or twice before it is finished.

I hope I don't sound too negative, becasue I do like JoD, just not as much as I love NiD.

[Peter]

I.... don't like JoD, odd as I LOVE NiD.

The great thing about NiD was the subtle way in which it was done. At first it was confusing and frustrating, but as you figured things out it got deeper in a way that JoD does not. The story, the scoring system, the A-life.

It took me a few hours to realize the genius of the story - because you can interpret it to your liking.

It took me a few months to achieve excellent scores.

It took me a decade to hit a million points in one dream.

I am still trying to get a King Pian.

.... and in JoD, I have an Owl to tell me what to do and cutscenes that interpret the story for me, and I'll never, ever, ever get a link over 999.

[TRiPPY]

I completely agree with Peter. Which is sad because i really want to like JoD, but, it's missing the point entirely in places... like they removed what made it good in the first place.

Then all this news about the PS2 remake of NiD bombing in Japan... well wtf... the largest part of the fanbase is in the WEST... seriously bad marketing descisions.

[Tsunami]

Graphics.

Seriously, the graphics are the main thing that make me embarassed to show JoD to anyone else. They're so subpar that they have the potential to automatically turn away would-be gamers. That, and the kids' corpselike renders terrify me. I hate looking at their faces in the cutscenes... their staring, wide-eyed, drowned faces.

There are loads of other things I'd change about JoD if I had the chance, but the graphics are my #1 big issue with the game and one of its most obvious superficial flaws.

[TRiPPY]

I think it's an artist thing XD;

[Murasaki Doku]

I completely agree with Peter. Which is sad because i really want to like JoD, but, it's missing the point entirely in places... like they removed what made it good in the first place.

Then all this news about the PS2 remake of NiD bombing in Japan... well wtf... the largest part of the fanbase is in the WEST... seriously bad marketing descisions.

"Hey guys! Let's put all of our NiGHTS merchandise and the NiD remake only in Japan, even hough the NiGHTS fans in Japan only make up a very, very small portion of the NiGHTS fandom!"

u_u It utterly SUCKS for me because I really, really want to play NiD, but getting a Saturn and playing the original versus getting a modded PS2 and getting the remake...both methods are a pain in the ass for me. The best thing that would happen is if the original is made available on the Virtual Console.

[Meggiemaccat]

Why in the world, when I have never even played the game, do I want to suggest turning the 'mindsight' into an actual character named MiNDSiGHT??? O-----O;

The way I'm thinking is that, rather than having a set distance the mindsight could be from you, this character (ideally a firefly) could leave a trail of something-or-other for the visitor dualized with NiGHTS to follow (like light or sparkles, but then the sparkles would be smacking poor NiGHTS in the eyes all the time, so I prefer a trail of light that fades as it gets closer to NiGHTS, personally). I think this would take away the entire 'gawd, you can only get that dot so far in front of him before it goes all screwy!' problem, but then that would make it so the visitors may as well dualize with MiNDSiGHT instead of NiGHTS.

So what I'm going to say is 'I agree with TRiPPY and everyone else that the graphics really needed to be better'. The entire phenomenon of this game, from what I remember hearing, was that it was one of the first with a heavy basis in artistic visuals, rather than blasting or stomping the brains out of enemies. SEGA really needed to let this game live up to its past innovation of one of the first examples of a video game crafted as a work of art and gave the graphics developers more time than they had. --; Seriously, as other people said, they didn't need to get this thing out by Christmas, most certainly since it had so many more popular titles to contend with. They needed to act like they were releasing a completely new game, not an old one where they can depend on the fanbase to gobble it up like hotcakes, and really put some time into making this as good as they possibly could. Granted, there were probably behind-the-scenes factors we never hear about that made them have to rush it out the door as it was, but still, I hope they try as hard as they possibly can not to make the same mistake twice if NiGHTS does get a second (erm... third...) chance.

I hope NiGHTS does get that chance like we've heard it's supposed to (been talking about NiGHTS the game, here, not the character), because I can see some real potential here. After all, it still holds the unconventional territory of dream-flight, as far as I can tell, but I'm rather clueless when it comes to the realm of video games. ^^;;;;

[trueBLUE]

TRiPPY, the one thing part of the thread has seemed to die. Journey of Dreams seems like a battleground on this forum, and damn it, it's a fun one!

Here's something that would (or should) have changed the quality of JoD: CHANGE THHE DAMN DEVELOPER!! Seriously, smart Nintendo fans like myself (that's debatable, lol) know that people ONLY bought Sonic Heroes and Shadow because they were only supporting Sonic. Sega Studios USA, and Takashi Iizuka for that matter, must open their eyes. Just what the hell is going on in that development house? According to Sonic-Cult, Sonic 2 for the Mega-Drive was half-developed in America. So, why oh why have they become such an embrassment?!

*trueBLUE smacks his head aganist the many trees in the Canadian rockies*

And pretty much change what everyone else said about the game... =S

[AYRiES]

Hmm... I probably would have made the game a lot less... real. As in, everything feels very solid, logical, not enough bright colours and I would have made it so you almost have the sense the kids just 'know' things. I mean, that's what it's like in a dream right? Things contradict and make no sense but they do to you. I think with the increased story they had a great opportunity to do that and kind of failed.

Also, nicer textures, Helen's voice and the ability to lap more on the chase sections. I miss my laaaaps D=

ALSO NO BOMAMBA. Was that the cat tilty boss thing's name? ARRGH.

[Meggiemaccat]

What, you mean Sega can't develop its own games, even though it owns the rights to it? Oo; Or are you suggesting a different person working in Sega. ..... Okay, scratch my confusion; you probably mean a different person, not an entirely different company. I personally rather like what he did with the design of NiGHTS, and Reala looks rather badass when animated (though holds too much fruitiness in still-images to be taken seriously on those alone, but I've come to like him, too, since actual moving footage has been released, but then I haven't been a fan that long and am therefore not as attached to the old design as most others here). I have to agree that he could've done better at handling it, but how much experience exactly does he have in being head developer (and not just developing in general)?

EDIT: I have to agree with the Bomamba thing; it's a wonderful concept on paper, but the execution is difficult to pull off effectively. I wonder if anyone's tried that particular boss level with the Wiimote, though, because for some very strange reason I think that might somehow make it easier. Oo;

[trueBLUE]

@ Meggiemaccat: SEGA can develop it's own games in it's own in-game development houses, that I completely understand, I just don't like Sega Studios USA at all. Iizuka-san was also the driving force behind Sonic 360/PS3 and Shadow The Hedgehog, and (I think) the Sonic Adventure games. From what I remember, Iizuka was on the original NiD development team.

I have nothing aganist in-house development groups, but we Nintendo fans feel Sega's more-talented development houses (IE: Amusment Vision, Overworks, Hitmaker, AM2) are being underused. There are too many disappointmenting Sonic Team/Sega Studios USA titles on GCN/Wii.

...I am a hypocrite when I say I enjoyed Billy Hatcher more then JoD? =(
I just don't know if poor Billy was developed more in Japan (with Yuji Naka's supervision) or America. Damn it, Sega, you're making my mind confused! D=>

UGH!! *smashes more trees in Canadian rockies*

[Moonlighttrill]

Change one thing, hmmm, REMOVE BOMAMBA! I can go on for hours at how that **** has *** and **** my ****** while ******** and ******* with a bucket of ******** served with ***** flavoured ice cream and place Jackle on his throne in the Crystal Castle where he belongs. (hopes he doesn't get in trouble for excessive ****) *runs into a corner and hides*.

[AYRiES]

Oh, oh, you mean it wasn't just me being really awful at JoD when it took FOREVER to beat that boss? Oh good, I thought I was going insane. Sega need to learn that if something needs a physics engine they should make one that's LOGICAL and doesn't cause thinks to jump over holes if it so much as twitches going in. JQWHJKSQKH HATE.

[Meggiemaccat]

Oh dear god I was asking that question assuming they got the physics engine right. D: They really should've scrapped Bomamba's level and replaced it with something else if they weren't going to put the time needed into getting the physics correct; the game that's based off is hard enough to play in real life as it is without physics going nuts on you. That has got to be the absolutely most frustrating thing I have ever heard of; I would personally have been pulling my hair out if I were trying to play it, and probably still will despite the fact I know to expect the jumpy kitties. *shakes a fist at SEGA in frustration*

[AYRiES]

Oh dear god I was asking that question assuming they got the physics engine right. D: They really should've scrapped Bomamba's level and replaced it with something else if they weren't going to put the time needed into getting the physics correct; the game that's based off is hard enough to play in real life as it is without physics going nuts on you. That has got to be the absolutely most frustrating thing I have ever heard of; I would personally have been pulling my hair out if I were trying to play it, and probably still will despite the fact I know to expect the jumpy kitties. *shakes a fist at SEGA in frustration*

It will kill you. Seriously, it doesn't even let you pull towards you, it isn't even a fun kind of brain-killing hard, the music isn't even that amazing...

You know what, screw my other suggestions, I just want that boss GONE. XD;;

[Meggiemaccat]

They really could've done something with mirrors, like had the boss stuck in the mirrors/confusing you to where it was with mirrors and you have to break the mirrors with paraloops until you find them, but that would be too much like Mr. Chameleon-man (and harder than that). XPPPP

[Feniiku]

What would I change?

I'm so sorry to say this, but what I need is replayability. Graphics, story, unlockables... as far as I'm concerned they can all go second to that important feature that people seem to over look-> the urge to replay the game.

I don't know, there's just something about this game. I've been wanting to turn on the Wii and play it again, but... I just don't -need- to.

What was the magic that the first one had? The thing that kept everyone playing it for eleven years? I want that back...

Don't get me wrong, I like JoD, in fact, I like it more than most people expect me to. This is because I can see past flaws. But it makes me sad that something is missing.

The game is beautiful, in my opinion. The story, the heart is there, but something is blocking it from me.

All I want is to be able to replay the game obsessively. If they can find what -that feature- was, that, I think, is what will revive it.

Was it the originality? Mayhaps they could make it a 3D game? I've played a game called 'Dragon Rage', the graphics are PSone standard for a PS2 game, the storyline isn't exactly original, but I simply adore the 3D flight and the stunts that Cael (the dragon) can pull mid air. It has loads of little bits and pieces that I like about it, which shows that the game doesn't need to be graphically advanced to be good. (seriously, if you have a PS2, try find it)

Dragon Rage's difficulty level was too high though, and there was no way to change it. In reverse, JoD's was too easy (at least for me). So maybe a changable difficulty setting? Even better, with rewards for playing at higher difficulties?

Different online features? I dunno about this one, I haven't tried them out fully, but maybe that might help. People love playing online from what I gather.

How about finding their niché? *sigh* that's the problem, I think SEGA try too hard to please everybody. Fact is that doing things like that, means you lessen the focus on what fans may appreciate, and this may aversely affect the quality of gameplay. Of course, that's not to say 'don't try', because that won't get you anywhere either. It's more a thing of getting the balance right. Try to get others interested, but don't detract from what made it special in the first place just to make it more accessible. Add to it.

This isn't a helpful post, but it's the best I could say :/

Edit- Geez, why did that feel so painful to say? :/

[Murder's Last Crow]

I'd definitely have changed it so that you can keep going through the course at high speeds to get a better score rather than having to quit when you get the key. Even if it serves no purpose, it didn't serve a purpose in the first game, either. Just a thought.

The game's storyline didn't facilitate there being five ideya in every stage, anywho.

[Lost in Dream]

Get rid of the platform levels and increase the dreaminess (I guess that is the closest word I can think of) of the dreamscapes.

[Hysteric Polaris]

I actually liked the platform levels...^^"""

Aside from the obvious "wtf where's Jackle" 1 thing, I'd have to say they should've given Reala a proper ending.

They capped off everyone's stories pretty well, except his. His just kinda...stopped. You fight him at Bellbridge and he's no where to be seen in the resulting cutscene. It's like he just disappeared. Nightmaren don't just evaporate into thin air when you beat them... wtf

From what I heard about the original game, he wasn't all that special, but they really made him a big part of JoD, and therefore, he should've been given a better ending.

[Nymph]

A thing I'd change for Journey of Dreams would probably be either improve the graphics or give a better conclusion to after you fight Reala in Bellbridge. Also maybe some Owl abuse...

Other than that I pretty much enjoyed the game.

[Aroxys]

Only one thing?
Nah. There are just too many things I want to see improved.

1) Make the Nightopians able to feed themselves, and populate the levels more evenly with them and allow a higher maximum per level. Seriously, did Sega put any effort into this?
2) I agree that Bomamba should not exist to begin with. I want Jackle there, cackling his insane head off!
3) True 3-D flight, and the option to turn off the timer once you've beaten the flight stage with an A. I want to explore the landscape more.
4) The visitors, despite how creepy they are in-game, sould be able to interact with the level more. Like the desert level with all the roller coasters, and actuall swimming, and the ability to kill those stupid awakers.
5) No awakers!
6) Put more stuff on the ground, like blue chips. If we have to start as the kids, give us a good reason for it.

As you get more Nightopians, you should be allowed to release them back into the wild in the level of your chosing to populate it.
I can't be the only one who wants to see pians fully interacting with their enviroment, right?

[Musashi_HUmar]

Where do I begin? Let's see...

I would have removed ALL dialog

No pointless cutscenes. In fact, I would have removed almost all cutscenes except the beginning and ending ones! Oh, and the boss ones I would have kept as well. They shouldn't have to spoon feed you everything. In NiD, one of the whole points of the game was to observe everything and piece it all together yourself. Figure out on your own what each dream represents. You know what I'm saying?

Better graphics, like TRiPPY said. They should have put more effort into the regular game play and cutscene graphics instead of just the beginning and end.

Improve the physics, especially in online racing mode

Chase missions only

Get the harder version of the boss the first time on the chase mission

Being allowed to make multiple laps without the Goodle being present

While persona are an interesting concept, I feel they have no place in NiGHTS. The only time when you really need them is at the end.

Give Nightopians longer life span in My Dream. I'm tired of coming in every time and finding like 15 of them KO'd and having to revive them.

During the credits, instead of just replaying beginning and ending cutscenes, why not put up some nice artwork like in NiD's credits?

Keep the same character looks. NiGHTS and Reala looked fine the way they were.

During both of the Reala fights, keep to the concept of paralooping each other instead of throwing balls at each other. It makes more sense.

For online, why can't we have Battle mode as well?

Symbol chat is annoying! Let's see some text!

Have an address page that you can see without having to go to Remove Friend.

When you run out of time, you only drop down and go around the dream on foot. It shouldn't be automatic Night Over. Only being able to walk around during the beginning of the dream isn't good enough.

And it's an ALARM CLOCK that is supposed to get you. Not a bunch of weird little critters.

Do both kids have to be blond? Whatever happened to blue and red hair?

Have the music change in the dreams depending on how you interact with the Nightopians and Nightmaren. Like in NiD.


So all in all, there is a lot of things that could have been better. I'm sure I didn't even think of everything either. I'll be sure to post it if I do though.

[Drannore]

Let me see...one thing.

I would have to say they should have shrunk the levels down vertically, and tightened the controls a ton more.

OK, that was two things. So I'll pick the second one. Better controls. There.

[YamiLover13]

More advanced Nightopian system. I would rather take care of chao as opposed to the Nightopians now. :/

[andersam]

(can only think of 2 for now)
1. A more myterious storyline
2. Fix Reala's evil laugh (WTF!?)

[DAiLiGHT]

BOMAMBA NEEDS DEATH. It's bad enough NiGHTS gets to defy gravity with no repercussions. Bosses aren't allowed to do it. It's not damned fair.

[Leonhart]

BOMAMBA NEEDS DEATH. It's bad enough NiGHTS gets to defy gravity with no repercussions. Bosses aren't allowed to do it. It's not damned fair.

I second that........WITH A VENGEANCE!!!


But srsly, i think the graphics are the only thing i wanna see upgraded.

That and My Dream.

O.o

[^_^ Go Dreamer]

BOMAMBA NEEDS DEATH. It's bad enough NiGHTS gets to defy gravity with no repercussions. Bosses aren't allowed to do it. It's not damned fair.

I agree completely!! Down with Bomamba! Put my crazy Jackle back! >=( Seriously Sega he's Special Awesome!

I wish they would have stuck with the CG throughout the game. Its scary when Helen stares at the screen! *cringes* Also I want the clock egg back. The awakers are annoying! I hate that when your trying to get away from them, they appear right in front of you, and you end up running straight into one. And I didn't like the fact that you Night over as soon as time runs out on the chase missions. *sees that shes complaining to much* ok I'm done. *hides*