Nights Into Dreams HD review

[yesteryeargames]

Tried the trial really liked it brought back soem memories

do you this this, jsr and sonic ad 2 will be coming out on disc too ?

[DANGEROUS-3]

Man, a week ago I could only get D's & E's, now Im getting B's & C's, and the occasional A.

No overall A's yet, I'm working on converting all my C's to B's.

This game just comes down to memorising the routes, then I've gotta work on getting my speed up.

I got a blister on my left thumb from playing this, but it seems to have gone this morning.

[sj33]

It's pretty easy to get an A if you essentially don't think much about the timer at all. Just take 20 blue orbs to the cage as quickly as possible (to maximise the amount of points gained), then spend the rest of the time trying to go for ~20k points.

You certainly shouldn't be trying to complete each circuit in the quickest time possible, if that's what you're doing.

[DANGEROUS-3]

It's pretty easy to get an A if you essentially don't think much about the timer at all. Just take 20 blue orbs to the cage as quickly as possible (to maximise the amount of points gained), then spend the rest of the time trying to go for ~20k points.

You certainly shouldn't be trying to complete each circuit in the quickest time possible, if that's what you're doing.

So basically the way to get A's is collect 20 blue orbs as fast as possible, deposit them in the ideya capture, then collect as many points as possible before hitting the er, NiGHTS square courtyard thing?

And collecting points is done by collecting as many yellow orbs as possible, flying through loops and picking up special token things that appear when you paraloop orbs?

Also-

-What is the Nightopean collection all about?
-And why are there three ??? movie spaces in the theatre after I have completed the game?, why aren't the Christmas Nights 'movies' there?

[Baseley09]

Loving this, had zen mastery of this in the day, the tripple shock or whatever it's called is a million times worse than the Saturn analog pad....but this is love.

[Judge]

So basically the way to get A's is collect 20 blue orbs as fast as possible, deposit them in the ideya capture, then collect as many points as possible before hitting the er, NiGHTS square courtyard thing?

And collecting points is done by collecting as many yellow orbs as possible, flying through loops and picking up special token things that appear when you paraloop orbs?

Okay, the Usborne Guide to NiGHTS is as follows:

In each dream, you'll have to complete four courses. In each course, the first priority is to collect 20 blue chips and deposit them in the Ideya Capture (floating claw) to blow it up. There's a time bonus according to how fast you do this, so every second counts. Once the claw blows up, "Bonus Time" begins. Despite the name, this is where the vast majority of play happens, as every set of points you score during this period is doubled.

While there are quirks to each of the levels, the three main ways you score points are by collecting stars, collecting gold chips (blue chips change colour after the Capture explodes) and flying through rings. There are bonuses to each of these items. The game keeps track of how many stars you collect, and during Course Four, you can get a bonus based on this by flying into the Nightopian holding up a panel above the Ideya Palace (blue temple)... as long as you haven't killed any Nightopians during your play through of that dream. You get a bonus automatically at the end of each course for every chip you hold at that stage. Rings replenish NIGHTS' dash bar.

Your main way of scoring, however, is Links (combos). Carrying out scoring actions in sequence will massively boost your score. In time, you'll learn to use the Paraloop to bridge gaps in rows of items, dragging out links and stretching them across to boost your score. In some courses, you can achieve 'Continuous Links'; an infinite combo, constrained only by the time limit.

NiGHTS is best thought of as an inverse racing game, where to object is to carry out the maximum number of actions within a static time limit. You don't race the clock, but tease it, completing as many laps of each course as you can manage within the 120 seconds. The items in the course reset every lap you complete, although after you've blown up the Capture, you have to fly over the top of the Palace to avoid prematurely ending your run. On a good round of a course, you'll return to the Palace with less then five seconds on the clock.

The final thing to remember is the Nightmare (boss) stages play a key role in determining your score. For most of the Nightmares, there's a 'fast' way of completing each. How quickly you complete the Nightmare gives a multiplier of 1.0 to 2.0 in increments of 0.1. Get it perfect, and you'll double the points total you racked up in the main body of the dream.

[DANGEROUS-3]

Thank you for the detailed response Judge.

I did not purchase NiGHTS upon release, although I was (and still am) a Saturn owner at the time, I finally picked it up in about 2002, but since I did not have the analogue pad stopped playing after not too long. I did however acquire Christmas NiGHTS back in the day when it was cover mounted with a 1997 issue (#27 I believe) of UK Sega Saturn magazine. Anyway...

I am starting to get the hang of it- got my first couple of overall A rankings today. Collect gold orbs, gold stars, fly through loops and link stuff by doing paraloops, got it. The 'Paraloop Master' achievement is really pissing me off though, and I can't as yet get the 'Dreamy !!!' one either. I have to add Claris in her Christmas outfit is really sexy, what a cocktease!

[kyo_244]

Thank you for the detailed response Judge.

I did not purchase NiGHTS upon release, although I was (and still am) a Saturn owner at the time, I finally picked it up in about 2002, but since I did not have the analogue pad stopped playing after not too long. I did however acquire Christmas NiGHTS back in the day when it was cover mounted with a 1997 issue (#27 I believe) of UK Sega Saturn magazine. Anyway...

I am starting to get the hang of it- got my first couple of overall A rankings today. Collect gold orbs, gold stars, fly through loops and link stuff by doing paraloops, got it. The 'Paraloop Master' achievement is really pissing me off though, and I can't as yet get the 'Dreamy !!!' one either. I have to add Claris in her Christmas outfit is really sexy, what a cocktease!

Isn't she like 12 or thereabouts?

[Dogg Thang]

Now then, now then.

[Sam The Man]

If i recall my best overall score on Mystic Forest back in the day was 650,000 which i think when i last checked would be the 5th or 4th best score for that course on the Nights score site. I was also pretty good on Frozen bell where i could get a 350+ link on the first round. Still havn't had a chance to play the HD ver yet though.

[eastyy]

finding the controls a bit weird compared to original feels just digital to me rather then analog which is making things harder also against puffy i am sure that in the original saturn game when i grabbed her it rotated clockwise but here seems to be anti clockwise.I could be wrong though as its been years since i played the original

Still good fun though

[DANGEROUS-3]

I only need two more A's (Frozen Bell, Stick Canyon) and then I will unlock 'into dreams' and have have every achievement.

And yes they have goosed the controls.
We're asking for a patch on the SEGA forums, hopefully it will follow soon.

It is theorised a lot of the top players are holding off on playing this version until the patch arrives.
Hence the relative lack of really impressive scores on the leaderboards.

[SCCAAMMM]

Now available via Steam.

[Dogg Thang]

Did it ever come out how you get the winter themed version of Spring Valley (non-Christmas)?

[sj33]

Just in case people missed this, a patch has now been released fixing the controls. The PC version contains these fixes.

"Attention NiGHTS into dreams… fans! We’ve released a patch for the game on XBLA and PSN with two very important updates. First, we’ve adjusted the controls to allow analogue input in 24 directions, which will give you greater control. Second, we’ve changed the drill-dash speed so it aligns with the Saturn version of the game.
Make sure you get the update, and keep enjoying the game!!"