NiGHTS into Dreams #BestOfSaturnGold

“I wanted to make a game about the sensation of flying…” so said then-Sonic Team head Yuji Naka. After pumping out Sonic hit after hit on the Genesis / MegaDrive, the team’s herculean task was to bring a mascot to the SEGA Saturn to compete with the promising-looking Crash Bandicoot and juggernaut Super Mario 64. NiGHTS into Dreams was the team’s answer.

The game’s story sees the player take control of either Claris or Elliot, teenagers who find themselves in the dream-like Nightopia, caught in the struggle between the forces of good and evil. Wizeman the wicked has sent his nightmaren to steal dream energy, and NiGHTS needs the kids’ help to stop him.

Presenting colorful, imaginative and solid 3D worlds, the game takes players on a gentle on-rails quest to retrieve dream energy and stop Wiseman… or, take up the absolutely hypnotic score-attack aspect of the title and blast the gameplay to all-new levels of awesome. While at it, take a moment to appreciate the A-Life — an entire ecosystem written into the game that exists alongside the main quest. Watch and listen as your Pians affect the in-game music so that no two playthroughs are ever exactly the same.

The game is notable for showing what the Saturn can do visually, and for introducing analogue control to Saturn gaming via the all-new 3D pad. The title has all the bells and whistles of a killer app and all the subtlety and hardcore gameplay that the Saturn’s audience increasingly gravitated to.

Crash Bandicoot was great for Sony — it was colorful and flashy and gave the PlayStation the mascot it wanted. Mario 64 was great for the industry — it showed what a 3D game was supposed to look and play like, and helped bring 3D into the mainstream. But NiGHTS? NiGHTS was great for the players — those interested in challenging, addicting, and deep gameplay above all else, and it managed this beautifully, all while wreathed in artistic visuals, surreal themes, and tight controls. NiGHTS into Dreams is the definition of gaming gold.

	Peter Malek
		A Saturn fan since the beginning, Peter plays Saturn almost exclusively. For Peter, Saturn represents a moment in time where 2D games were at their best, 3D was just rising, and fascinating gaming 'firsts' were commonplace.  There are very few Saturn games that Peter cannot find some enjoyment in!