Game Debate #168: Nights into Dreams

[Reed Rothchild | 9,548]

[Gloves | 11,794]

Never touched a Saturn in my life.

[DefaultGen | 5,413]

7/10, it is the good version of Superman 64.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,548]

I played it for quite awhile on a Target kiosk.  But that was it.

I do own it after buying it from @MrWunderful , but buying a Saturn is one of those things I keep putting off.

[Brickman | 3,994]

6/10 seems about right. It's an ok game but nothing great.

[Webhead123 | 679]

I would love to own a Saturn and a handful of games for it as it's one of the rare consoles that I've never ever played for even a minute. Unfortunately, I think I missed the boat a decade plus ago when I passed on some reasonably-priced stuff and I doubt I'll ever rectify that.

But I've heard that Nights, while graphically quite impressive for its time, wasn't much more than an average experience. Certainly not at the top of my list for Saturn titles to collect.

Edited August 24, 2023 by Webhead123

[Sumez | 2,967]

I never understood this game. Maybe if someone made a good modern port of it I should give it another try. Not sure if they already did. 

[MrWunderful | 2,927]

7 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

I played it for quite awhile on a Target kiosk.  But that was it.

I do own it after buying it from @MrWunderful , but buying a Saturn is one of those things I keep putting off.

If i have an extra console in storage, ill send it to you. Not sure though. 

[Tanooki | 4,937]

The couple times I've owned/had access to a Saturn I've had this game.  I mean, it's pretty for a Saturn game, no doubt, and the unique controller was like Dreamcast v0.9 in feel too.  But once you get beyond the pretty and get into the mechanics, other than the flowing motion when/if you get really cozy with the mechanics, while flying, it's pretty fun.  In a way like how Sonic if you get so soiid on stages can be fast and like butter gliding along in those moments you can, that's Nights.  But the rest of it, it's clunky, didn't feel to magical to me even 20+ years ago, and aged worse.  It's a game of the time, a game of its fans, and I'm on the fence as you can do far better, but you can also do quite a bit worse too.  It's nice, but it's hard to recommend outside of it being a notable Saturn title if you have the hardware as I wouldn't even go as far as suggesting to emulate it.

There was a sequel to the thing the Wii got, since @Sumez asked about a modern port, and that's about as close as it gets.  I had this too on the original Wii era run of titles, and while it handles better than the Saturn did, it's still the same base mechanics they just added a bit more to and as such it did wear thin, just a bit slower.  The game really is a take it or leave it on your feelings about the game but it doesn't do enough to make it stand out as nicer than the original in mechanics.

[fcgamer | 4,729]

I never played a Saturn either, though I've heard of this title. Definitely would like to experience it at some point.

[RegularGuyGamer | 2,013]

I have great memories playing this game as a kid. I even got the Christmas demo from blockbuster which I still fire up almost every other year during December. The game really benefits from the 3D controller since the joystick adds a lot more control to the movements since it's a kind of 3d flying racer on rails. 

The boss fights are always fun and the flying mechanic is executed well but the game lacks an overall direction. One of the downfalls of the game is it could be a 3d platformer but never takes advantage of that aspect.

I'm a fan of racing and flying games so this has always been a game for me to go back to. It's easy to play in short bursts or try to complete in one sitting. Not a tough game to complete but the time aspect makes it difficult to master and gives replayability. 

8/10 with nostalgia factored in.

[TDIRunner | 2,744]

I tried it once, but it definitely wasn't for me.  With that said, if I had played it back when it came out during an era when  most people hadn't played many 3D games, I might have enjoyed it more.  I can understand why it might have a bit of a reputation today, but if you've made it this long without playing it, you aren't missing much.  It certainly isn't a "game you must play before you die."  

[doner24 | 1,197]

Never played it and never will mostly due to never having the system, always thought the box art made it look appealing though.

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,105]

11 hours ago, Gloves said:

Never touched a Saturn in my life.

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,105]

2 hours ago, TDIRunner said:

I tried it once, but it definitely wasn't for me.  With that said, if I had played it back when it came out during an era when  most people hadn't played many 3D games, I might have enjoyed it more.  I can understand why it might have a bit of a reputation today, but if you've made it this long without playing it, you aren't missing much.  It certainly isn't a "game you must play before you die."  

My thoughts exactly. It's worth a try if you get a chance, but you're not really missing out on much otherwise.

[G-type | 2,482]

I think I might have played it for 1 minute at the demo-station of an EB games.

[CodysGameRoom | 2,008]

10/10. 

I fucking LOVE this game. I consider it to be an achievement, and it also has my #1 spot for favorite video game soundtracks of all time.

Short story here: In the fall of 1996, I had just turned 12, and desperately wanted a new Nintendo 64 for Christmas. It was hard to hide my disappointment on Christmas Day when I opened my "big gift" and it was... a Sega Saturn. 

I had pretty little experience with Sega at that time, and was not stoked. I didn't tell my mom though, she worked hard and we were pretty poor and apparently the story goes that wherever she went to buy my gifts, the salesperson sold her on the Saturn instead. What a sucker she was.

I got the console with the 3 games packin, and a few other games, one of them being NiGHTS. So I played Virtua Fighter 2... and it was pretty damn fun. Better than Mortal Kombat that I had for my SNES. Then I played Virtua Cop... I didn't have a gun yet but it was still super fun. Then I played Daytona USA and I was never a big racing fan but it was pretty damn fun and the graphics were great on all of these. 

Finally I played this weird ass game NiGHTS. Holy shit. What a strange, unique and wonderful game. I had so much damn fun. I couldn't stop playing it. I HAD to get "A" grades on every level. I was obsessed. 

I love it to death. It's literally the game that made me fall in love with the Sega Saturn. I got a Nintendo 64 a while later anyway. But if I had got one at Christmas, I probably would never have gotten a Saturn. So I always tell my mom thanks whenever I remember that story or it comes up. 

NiGHTS to me, is magical. It's representative of a moment in time in gaming, one that is special to me and unique to everyone. The transition period from 2D to 3D. It's so charming and fun, and I'm hard pressed to think of another game like it. 

So yea, 10/10 for me. I play it once a year, at least.

[DefaultGen | 5,413]

15 hours ago, Sumez said:

I never understood this game. Maybe if someone made a good modern port of it I should give it another try. Not sure if they already did. 

A port of a Saturn game?? But then it would lose all of its exclusive mystique.

[Gloves | 11,794]

9 minutes ago, DefaultGen said:

A port of a Saturn game?? But then it would lose all of its exclusive mystique.

Wasn't this game released on PS2 in PAL regions? For him it'd be a port of a ps2 game, totally normal! 

[DefaultGen | 5,413]

Just now, Gloves said:

Wasn't this game released on PS2 in PAL regions? For him it'd be a port of a ps2 game, totally normal! 

I mean sure I guess you could release Panzer Dragoon Saga on the moon but no one in the real world is going to care.

[Gloves | 11,794]

4 minutes ago, DefaultGen said:

I mean sure I guess you could release Panzer Dragoon Saga on the moon but no one in the real world is going to care.

You right you right. First release, America first, all that! You and me, same page. Same page. 

[MrWunderful | 2,927]

19 hours ago, Sumez said:

I never understood this game. Maybe if someone made a good modern port of it I should give it another try. Not sure if they already did. 

What part was confusing? You are obviously pretty good at games (I read your reviews) This game was pretty simplistic to me. Or was it the concept?

[CMR | 520]

7/10 It's fun, but a bit over rated IMO.

[Sumez | 2,967]

8 hours ago, DefaultGen said:

A port of a Saturn game?? But then it would lose all of its exclusive mystique.

The game came out in a HD remaster in all regions on both ps3 and x360

[rdrunner | 422]

Haven't played enough to vote, but I have the x360 remake and it's definitely on my todo list.