Then there’s the music, which is partly a remix of the classic NiGHTS soundtrack and partly new tunes. This is the one area of the game that is consistent – there’s no duff music in Journey of Dreams, it’s all uplifting Sega-pop.
In spite of these redeeming features, and even when they’re tallied against some of the game’s major failings, the biggest sensation I get from Journey of Dreams is that it’s a waste.
If it wasn’t going to do it properly, Sega should have just dropped its idea of developing NiGHTS 2 for the Wii and shifted production to the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3, where it could have achieved more beautiful results with less hassle. If Sega decides to resurrect any more classic properties for the current generation of consoles, it should think twice before settling on the Wii as a destination.
SPOnG score: 73%
Conclusion:
A waste of the developer’s time, Journey of Dreams is NiGHTS 2 but it’s not really fit to be cited as a worthy sequel to the brilliant NiGHTS: Into Dreams. It’s not a disaster, and there are some great moments and cool boss battles, but Journey of Dreams is patchy and could have been so much better with a little more care and planning. Sometimes memories are best left as memories.
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Comments
Alexandre 24 Dec 2007 17:30
1/8
lol @ SPOnG reviews
I've been visiting the site for some time, and i find that is a shame to say things like this, "this game should not be in this console but in another one its better". "This console its best and bla bla". That is not a game review, its a sad comment by a reviewer and the game review loses all the credibility. Just an opinion...
I've been visiting the site for some time, and i find that is a shame to say things like this, "this game should not be in this console but in another one its better". "This console its best and bla bla". That is not a game review, its a sad comment by a reviewer and the game review loses all the credibility. Just an opinion...
DoctorDee 24 Dec 2007 20:05
2/8
How can you say what is, and what is not, a game review?
A review is the opinion of one person, and this person thinks that NiGHTS would be better on PS3 or 360 than on Wii. I am inclined to agree with him. Unless the developers make good use of the Wii's unique control interface, then what's the point?
You can't honestly believe that the game would not look better on PS3 or 360! Maybe you are a fan of the Wii... but you have got to admit that only when its unique qualities are used can it compare to the other two consoles. NiGHTS doesn't use those qualities.
A review is the opinion of one person, and this person thinks that NiGHTS would be better on PS3 or 360 than on Wii. I am inclined to agree with him. Unless the developers make good use of the Wii's unique control interface, then what's the point?
You can't honestly believe that the game would not look better on PS3 or 360! Maybe you are a fan of the Wii... but you have got to admit that only when its unique qualities are used can it compare to the other two consoles. NiGHTS doesn't use those qualities.
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StevieP 24 Dec 2007 21:41
3/8
If the reviewer (and one of the commenters) had some background knowledge on this game that is being reviewed, they already know a couple things. First off, at its conceptual stage, Nights 2 WAS originally slated as a PS360 game, but that was dropped quickly after they realized the sheer cost of a PS360 project. Yes, the game could certainly "look" better on those platforms, but at a much higher cost. I mean, the game could certainly look a lot better on the Wii, too, but clearly there are sections that look sub-ps2 (alongside the decent, x-box looking sections) so do you honestly think that Sega gave this team enough time and budget to make even a decent looking Wii game, through and through? Nevermind the extra cost, time and resources it would require to go HD.
While it's quite obvious that the team couldn't get a decent Wii-exclusive control scheme together, it's also pretty obvious that if this game weren't on the Wii, it might not have existed in the first place. Having a lower cost-of-entry is definately the blessing or curse of the Wii. Can't wait to read this reviewer's "review" on the upcoming Samba De Amigo Wii...lol.
While it's quite obvious that the team couldn't get a decent Wii-exclusive control scheme together, it's also pretty obvious that if this game weren't on the Wii, it might not have existed in the first place. Having a lower cost-of-entry is definately the blessing or curse of the Wii. Can't wait to read this reviewer's "review" on the upcoming Samba De Amigo Wii...lol.
ajmetz 24 Dec 2007 22:36
4/8
I had fears about this sequel. Sounds like most of my fears were well placed.
Was contemplating getting a Wii just for NiGHTS:JOD, but will probably wait for some other reasons to buy one, and go downstairs and switch my Saturn on, for another blast of Christmas NiGHTS. =)
P.S. As for the Wii/360/PS3 debate, NiGHTS would work best on PS2, let's face it. Despite high-score point collecting being a traditional hardcore gamer's persuit, nowerdays, the hardcore gamer is into FPS or Racing mainly, and this is what PS3 and 360 audiences are into. Nintendo audiences are more open to Sonic, Mario, NiGHTS, etc, and PS2 audience is the mainstream/majority/most matured market that caters for all tastes. The point about the controls is reasonable to make, but target demographic should also be taken into consideration. Let's hope the original NiGHTS comes out on Virtual Console though, or that the Japanese only PS2 remake gets a western release. More people need to experience the original magic of NiGHTS...or even Christmas NiGHTS, which I think was slightly better than NiGHTS.
Was contemplating getting a Wii just for NiGHTS:JOD, but will probably wait for some other reasons to buy one, and go downstairs and switch my Saturn on, for another blast of Christmas NiGHTS. =)
P.S. As for the Wii/360/PS3 debate, NiGHTS would work best on PS2, let's face it. Despite high-score point collecting being a traditional hardcore gamer's persuit, nowerdays, the hardcore gamer is into FPS or Racing mainly, and this is what PS3 and 360 audiences are into. Nintendo audiences are more open to Sonic, Mario, NiGHTS, etc, and PS2 audience is the mainstream/majority/most matured market that caters for all tastes. The point about the controls is reasonable to make, but target demographic should also be taken into consideration. Let's hope the original NiGHTS comes out on Virtual Console though, or that the Japanese only PS2 remake gets a western release. More people need to experience the original magic of NiGHTS...or even Christmas NiGHTS, which I think was slightly better than NiGHTS.
DoctorDee 25 Dec 2007 10:10
5/8
StevieP wrote:
While it's quite obvious that the team couldn't get a decent Wii-exclusive control scheme together, it's also pretty obvious that if this game weren't on the Wii, it might not have existed in the first place.
That's a fair point, and I know that for many people that in itself is enough. But it's only fair to let those people know that instead of the NiGHTS experience they know and love with a stunning new control method, they are going to get another Wii game that takes an established game mechanic and grafts Wii controls onto it in a rather awkward manner. While that's understandable (if not acceptable) on ports, Journey of Dreams was written from the ground up for Wii, and we could reasonably have expected more.
As for the 360 Version being too expensive - I personally do not believe that every game has to fall into the spiralling production costs trap. This happens frequently because of expensive motion capture and voice acting costs. Sonic Team would not have incurred these costs on Journey into Dreams. And production costs are irrelevant if you write a successful game, and sell the numbers. Are we saying that NiGHTS could never be a successful game?
Absinthe-Review.net 26 Dec 2007 15:42
6/8
Sure a 360 version could have been made, but a lot people would have seen it as heresy, especially given the buddy-buddy relationship of Sega and Nintendo the past year.
But yes, I agree with you that this new Wii iteration is lacking. Personally I kept hoping from the bottom of my heart that it would live up to the original, but after playing it...:(
But yes, I agree with you that this new Wii iteration is lacking. Personally I kept hoping from the bottom of my heart that it would live up to the original, but after playing it...:(
TimSpong 28 Dec 2007 12:35
7/8
The Absinthe Review Network wrote:
www.Absinthe-Review.net
Brilliant - an absinthe review site.
Back on topic though... I am always open to alternative reviews from readers. So, if you've really got a (wish)bone to pick and want to see your review published, please send it to feedback@spong.com
Cheers
Tim
headcasephil 30 Dec 2007 19:29
8/8
i think sega have made a good choice of console if you look at money. ok so if it was on 360 or ps3 it would be in hd but that's more cost to sega. the fact that its on the wii makes development costs less wich meens more profit and as the wii is selling like hot cakes (when in stock) sony will make a lot of sale with people wanting to reply a classic and people looking for somthing new and the control problem if you look back to the original on the saturn if you did not have the 3d pad it was horrible to play and the 3d pad was not nice to use so i dont care as i still to this day love playing nights on the saturn