Image from Metacritic.net

Today for review roundup, we are going to focus on just one game: the last big megaton release of 2007 for Wii owners: Sega's NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams.

NiGHTS was a beloved game for beleaguered Sega saturn owners back in the late 1990's (called NiGHTS into Dreams). Remember the Sega Saturn? It followed a series of ridiculous screw ups by Sega: the 32x and Sega CD fiasco.


1996's NiGHTS Into Dreams on the Sega Saturn. Image from RVGfanatic.com.

Already burned by two systems that the company quickly cut off support for, Sega found that fans weren't willing to trust them with their expensive new system. To make matters worse, Sega made the Saturn a super powered 2D system.... at a time when 3D was fast becoming the standard.

The original NiGHTS, however, was the one game that was supposed to vault the Saturn back on top. Getting huge hype from the gaming press at the time, NiGHTS was known as the "Mario64 Killer," because it was supposed to be Sega's answer to the innovative, go anywhere style of 3D gaming invented by that game.

One of the major stumbling blocks to NiGHTS success, however, was that Sega did not package a controller that was well suited for 3D gameplay with the Saturn. So they had to package NiGHTS with a special analog controller, thus increasing the price of the package.

In the end, NiGHTS did not save the flagging powerhouse system. It was, however, a beloved game, a game in which many a Sega fanboy remembers fondly.

So, when Sega announced that a sequel for the game would be coming to Wii, everyone was excited. And now it's here!

So what are the early returns?

Rather mixed, so far, but I think things look promising for fans of the original. The metascore right now is 73, but the sample size is a paltry 7 reviews, so take that rating with a grain of salt. Yet all of the reviews, even IGN.com's (which gave the lowest score of all so far, a 65), seem to say the game is a rewarding experience. Nintendo Power checked in at 90, the highest score- they definitely seem swept up in nostalgia, and award the game a high score based on intangibles as opposed to concrete factors like graphics and sound.

Here's what Gamespot had to say (they gave it a 75):

Not enough can be said about the stupendous soundtrack, which features both updated tracks from NiGHTS Into Dreams and new, equally fantastic tunes. In fact, its sound design is Journey of Dreams' finest feature, not just due to the evocative soundtrack, but also to some high-quality voice acting.


NiGHTS Journey of Dreams on Wii. Image from IGN.com.

All in all, this looks like a game worth picking up, especially for the Sega fans out there!