GENRE
	Action Adventure
	DEVELOPER
	Sonic Team
	PUBLISHER
	SEGA
	NUMBER OF PLAYERS
	1-2
	WI-FI ENHANCED
	Yes
	DS COMPATIBLE
	No
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NiGHTS into Dreams… gave players their first taste of NiGHTS, a flying jester who also is a Nightmaren. Over a decade later, gamers will be left with a bitter flavor regarding his return in NiGHTS: Journey Of Dreams. The title thrusts you into the roles of two children, Will and Helen, both of whom are experiencing relationship problems with their parents. These troubles land the kids into Nightopia, where they meet the titular character and elderly Owl. From here, Journey Of Dreams tries to recapture the magic of the first with a spark of freshness, but poor execution inhibits it from delivering a sweet dream.

visuals

As players enter Nightopia, you will immediately encounter a bizarre assortment of art design choices. The children sport realistic features, which come away jaggy but passable. On the flip side, the tutoring Owl shows off an awful, cartoonish body that contains terrible feather textures. This clash of art styles in the main characters strains the eyes. If that is not enough, the animation of the children in platforming sections comes across robotic and without a proper physics engine.

Even with these flaws, not all is lost. The game starts with an eye-pleasing cutscene, dripping of good production values. These sequences showcase quality cinematics and help move along the story. Bright and colorful landscapes build each level of Nightopia with variety -– ranging from a neon casino city to a vibrant undersea exploration. Players will notice eyesores along the way, but the environments come across better than the lackluster inhabitants.

audio

The soundtrack fits the dreamlike state of the title well. Familiar tunes from the first title are brought back, along with some pleasant additions. For example, the violin pieces in Helen’s dream demonstrate the power of orchestral music to evoke uplifting feelings. The voice actors, on the other hand, are downright dreadful. Apparently, NiGHTS is British and either uses a voice changer or is a robot. The children’s voices are suitable, but most others come across forced and painful to the ears, like Owl’s aged and distressed tone. On top of everything else, Wizeman, the evil overlord, is not comprehendible due to mumbling and low sound quality. All in all, Journey of Dreams would be better off taking Nintendo’s approach; that is, no voiceovers.

gameplay

The main mechanic of flying NiGHTS around quasi-3D environments returns. Players will take wing with NiGHTS, usually left to right, to fly through rings and craft circles (paraloops) to defeat enemies and save Nightopians. This foundation of gameplay is still solid and enjoyable, but the control scheme tries to mess up a good thing.

Players can choose from a variety of options: Wii remote, remote with nunchuk, Classic Controller, and GameCube controller. The Wii remote alone is despicable; the IR functionality is spotty at best, which makes guiding NiGHTS frustrating. While the Classic and nunchuk are satisfactory, the GCN controller is by far your best choice because of the comforting grip and analog placement. However, this setup stinks for players that never had Nintendo’s purple box.

More problems arise with a questionable mixture of gameplay types. Platforming levels are scattered through each child’s dream. These areas are slow, boring, and for some unfathomable reason, timed. This combination distracts from the more arcade gameplay of the classic, which is sad. In addition, sparse details and vague goals lead to boss battles bringing forth more aggravation. The final boss is ultimately rather simplistic to beat, but the lack of information provided will leave you with thoughts of hurling the controller through a wall.

The final strike against the game relates to the insipid story. The title aims to hit a very young demographic, but repetitiveness and clichéd plot elements will leave all gamers hitting buttons to skip ahead. But wait -- Journey of Dreams makes you sit through these sequences. There is no button to advance. This element becomes even worse thanks to an unpleasant check-save system, which will make you play large portions over instead of starting up where you lost.

multiplayer

The title contains a robust list of options for multiplayer portions. There’s a My Dream feature that you build through collecting enemies and Nightopians. This mode, which also uses the Forecast Channel for weather, aspires to create communities to visit between players. Unfortunately, there is no online community left for this seven-month old game and My Dream’s functions come across rather bare bones. Two-player battles and races also sport Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, but there is no one, once again, to race. The barren status of the online portions will leave many gamers thirsty for their multiplayer fix.

overall

Gamers clamored for a sequel for years, but the follow-through may not be exactly what they hoped for. The title attempts to rekindle the nostalgic flame of the first game, but the process winds up being a mishmash of gameplay styles and weird art design choices. NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams nails the dreamlike state the best with the arcade, flying sections that focus on hitting rings and beating timers. However, these classic gameplay appearances are buried underneath the garbage of a bland story, robotic voiceovers, and awful game design selections.

5.5/10