"Don't walk around" That's exactly what I DID do when I was bored lol I went exploring to see how much I could navigate of the level and how many eggs I could hatch as Claire/Elliot and it was fun lol There's SO much you miss when flying around and walking about I'd find like mazes, little secret grottos, little parties with the egg dudes and all sorts of interesting stuff. You could do this for like 15 minutes at a time if you were good at avoiding the clock.
Yeah the clock is pretty easy to avoid if you do it right. I used to do it to admire the graphics of this gorgeous game. Soft museum is still absolutely amazing to this day! The squishy landscape blows my mind!
Oh yeah, for sure! If you want to explore then by all means do so. I do it too! But i just wanted to focus this video on the core gameplay aspect so that it educates new players, mostly.
@@DiGiValentine The reason that Balan Wonderworld was a failure is because Square employee Shinji Hashimoto wanted Yuji Naka to make a platformer to compete in the platformer market despite the fact that Yuji wanted to make mobile games. It Shows!! Naka is not good at making games that aren't his idea.
@@DiGiValentine Awesome stuff but I think the player is actually supposed to wander around in 3D as the kids, for like 2 minutes, before entering the Ideya palace (and dualizing w/ NiGHTS). I'm actually convinced of this: Kids can capture tons of chips before entering the gazebo, so it's the MOST item-collection as possible. Then, NiGHTS can then fly immediately to the gazebo and enter bonus time, for the most double-points-time, possible. I discovered this with my own time w/ NiGHTS. I thought you were going to mention but I guess I'll have to make my own video about it sometime lol.
NiGHTS’ gameplay is so deceptively simple. It’s easy to pick up, but to really master the game, it takes a bit more effort. A lot of games at the time were like that, but it’s especially noticeable with NiGHTS.
It took me so long to figure out how to do the tricks after flying through the blue and yellow ring, and I still don't know how some boss battles work-
NiGHTS is such a soothing game. It’s a comfort to many, and that’s because it knew mental health more than any media back then, and it knew how to create a fun safe space.
Thanks for continuing to be such a strong advocate for this franchise. Here's hoping we have some new NiGHTS news to share and celebrate in the near future!
It was the Nights pinball game in Sonic Adventure that got me interested in the game. I played the Wii one but didn’t get to play the original until 2012. Such a classic.
Gravity Rush feels like the most modern take on a Nights game to date, with the epic surreal fantasy setting with most emphasis being on flying around, more than it's combat or platforming. It's whole vibe and tone just makes me wish Kat had a Nights costume to wear in game
Im seriously hoping that after Balan Wonderworld, Sega does what Capcom did when they saw that Mighty No. 9 was a complete disaster leading them to create Megaman 11. I really frigging want a new NiGHTS game
She got damn better I mean I'll totally still cop Monkey Ball cause I love those simians and also Jet Set Radio love from Sega themselves in 2021 aside from that one graffiti in the background of a Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown stage, BUT SHE BETTER
Legit, this'll probably be the one thing I'll said to friends when I try to get them into NiGHTS! Thank you so much for this because it's a bit of a hard sell for some people!
This game confused me so much when I played it. Kept getting C ranks, and not knowing why. Thought you had to get as many points with as much time on the timer. I was very, very wrong
I just want to say that, your Who Dat video on NiGHTS did an excellent job selling me on that game. 19.3 Hours into it and i managed to get A Ranks on all stages. I appreciate this video, Im hoping more people go out of their way to play this classic still.
The time concept is similar to Jet Set Radio, because you get rankings based on how many points are earned which is achieved by doing trick lines and infinite grinds as well as spraying graffiti.
Growing up, I only started gaming into the early 2000s so the golden era of Sega mostly flew by me, though I did grow up with a Genesis/Mega Drive as my first console. When I first played the Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing games, something just clicked in me, and I was completely enamored in all these characters and worlds I'd never even heard mention of before. Fast forward to today and I own a Master System, Sega CD, Saturn, and Dreamcast with a growing library for each, and no regrets about any of it. There's something magical about these franchises and it's a crime that Sega leaves the majority of them in the dust with only small cameos to acknowledge their existence. NiGHTS hooked me from the get go, even though as a kid I played Journey of Dreams first. Still loved it, though when I eventually was able to try the original Into Dreams it was no contest and I was completely addicted. Still pick it up and play it frequently to this day; it truly has an unmatched appeal and replayability all its own. Thanks for this video, DiGi! Always happy when more people can be exposed to treasures of games like NiGHTS :)
11:36 OH!! My gawd!!! HOW BRILLIANTLY META!! A game about overcoming your negative vibes so you can get the most out of your life. It literally encourages you to "...use every available second you have! ...Do as much as you can in the time you have." That's so beautiful! That's so friggin' genius!! That is absolutely BRILLIANT!! I love this so much!😍😆😊
Great video, honestly made my day! (Also there's so many fun things you can do in this game, whether it's go for the highest score, fastest time, raise nightopians, or explore as the kids to find fun hidden things, this game just has everything).
Indeed. It's a short game but it's packed with neat little things. And also, the fact that you have found glitches and bugs that I've never seen before is crazy!
I was so addicted to this game in my teen years every morning on a Saturday I would boot up my PS3 and play some NiGHTS into Dreams and just have a blast trying to get those rank A's and even if I didn't get close I still enjoy every second of it. I do have it on steam and that game was actually free for a while for SEGA's 60th anniversary and was happy to play it all over again. I said it before and I will say it again, this is the reason why it's still one of my favourite games of all time because of how much its meant to me after all these years. Even if I drifted away from the fandom and became less active in it and got into other fandoms over time the game will always still be important to me and what it represents as a whole and as an inspiration for my own stories and creations.
And I’ve CONSTANTLY wondered why my scores are garbo and my grades were always below C.. Thanks for this video man, I can finally get back into it and even beat it this time!
I wouldn't mind a follow-up video explaining how Nights JOURNEY of Dreams failed as a sequel to this game. For anyone that still has a PS3 the game is on the psn store too.
Part of what makes NiD so unique though is that it CAN be a more in depth game, IF you know how to go about it. If you have the courage to not go for the Ideya Palace, it is possible to do the entire game on foot, and THAT is where things can get interesting. Not only do you unlock a whole new type of challenge, but you get to see all of the obscure, minuscule details the developers put in that you would likely not see if you only play it the standard way. You uncover so many little parts of each dream that tell you a little more about each dreamer and their overall story if you are observant enough. Because of this, there is plenty for both the casual and more hardcore player alike.
Would just like to say thanks for tipping me onto this game. I had it sat in my Steam library for years and never bothered to play it. After watching this, I installed it and had a blast. It feels like such a sweet game, I love the atmosphere, like one of those dreams that is *really* nice. (Also the tutorial on how to play was very useful, would've been lost otherwise)
Been watching you for a handful of years now, and I've known almost nothing about NiGHTS growing up. Most I've seen of the character was in Sonic Riders, wasn't till your Who Dat and let's play on NiGHTS that I decided to try the game on Steam, it was a great experience, and I enjoyed the idea of going for more laps to go for a better score and learn the area! I still have to play more of the game, I kinda kept beating the first couple of stages over and over again for practice lol.
I played this game so much on the Saturn, and the Xmas Nights version too... i have it on 360 and on steam as well. It's a wonderful little thing, and has changed many lives. There is a sequal on the wii, but i didn't enjoy that as much, but if it did get ported to steam I'd definitely buy and play it again.
If that game had skippable cut scenes it wouldn't be even a third as bad. Its gameplay is slightly subpar compared to the original, but it wouldn't be such a glaring issue if you didn't have to sit through three hours of cut scenes just to get to it.
I got to your video a bit late but you convinced me to dive back in. I already had the HD remake on Steam but had given it a bad review because I didn't really get it. I was absolutely obsessed with the game as a kid, but for whatever reason my adult brain was like, nah, what is this, these tiny short levels, I remember this being more fun, blah blah blah, I completely missed the whole point of it. But I watched this randomly the other day, and you said your words and I realized I hadn't been fair to it. I gave it another go, and I'm lovin it, I remember that feeling from all those years ago of why I loved this game so much. It's so good. So thank you for that.
Awesome stuff but I think the player is actually supposed to wander around in 3D as the kids, for like 2 minutes, before entering the Ideya palace (and dualizing w/ NiGHTS). I'm actually convinced of this: Kids can capture tons of chips before entering the gazebo, so it's the MOST item-collection as possible. Then, NiGHTS can then fly immediately to the gazebo and enter bonus time, for the most double-points-time, possible. I discovered this with my own time w/ NiGHTS. I thought you were going to mention but I guess I'll have to make my own video about it sometime lol.
Thank you for this guide to nights! I was having a hard time grasping as to why I am not getting the A ranks on this game. My first thought was to actually complete each section as fast as you can while doing tricks and going through loops, and not to take all the time I possibly can and do laps. Your breakdown really helped understand the game and actually have fun with it! Thanks man!
It is worth it to walk around because if you collect 20 blue chips youll keep them going into the first round as nights, which means you can get to bonus time quicker and hence get more points.
DiGi thank you for making this video. I plan to send this to any friends of mine that get the game. I really hope that we can draw enough attention to the franchise that maybe SEGA might use NiGHTS for more than cameos in Sonic games and slot machines.
Many.. MANY moons ago XD when I was boss as hell at this game, I used to run around on purpose and fight the clock lol. You jump juuuust right and you can knock it out of commission for a little bit and run away from it LoL. That was always fun to do after beating the game for the umpteenth time or if I wanted to just mess around and enjoy the world. And laugh at how mad and impatient NiGHTS would get XD.
I remember watching my friends slowly glide not knowing what to do. Then i would take over and fly around the stage like a rocket. This game is either simple or a complete blast and it depends on how you wish to push yourself.
Thank you for this video! I am living in Japan and a couple of months ago I decided to buy a Saturn and a lot of games as they are quite cheap here. I started Nights this week and I was at first very puzzled by what to do and why I couldn’t get more than D. And then I realized that after liberating the orb, the blue balls became yellow and that we could continue to rack points and then I started to get some C and Bs. So I started to look on internet and your video confirmed this is indeed how to play the game. Man those old games were really raw. No tutorial, no explanations (except that actually games had paper guides in the box at that time). And now it’s indeed the hook, squeezing until the end, learn the best trajectories, knowing when to abort the last lap to not lose everything and also scoring consistency across the 4 Mares + the boss fight to get a good final score. This is the embodiment of a risk-rewarding game.
Thanks for making this! I've tried to play Nights four or five times throughout my life but never understood it at all. Now I'll have to give it another try :)
I remember when I played the GBA score attack mini-game that's based off of this, and wondering why they never did a port of the full game; this would have looked, and worked, great on the GBA.
Nights into Dreams has been my favorite game since 1996, and you've done an awesome job in this video of explaining the elegance and neverending appeal of the gameplay loop, and the hook (with time, links, scoring) that makes it so special. On top of that aspect, some other reasons why it's still my favorite game to this day: - Music (best ever in a videogame for me, with great long pieces and great short interstitial pieces, all written by three mid-90s Sonic Team composers who somehow had perfectly overlapping styles for this game, working in perfect synergy) - Simple, wordless story & colorful worlds you want to visit again and again (I feel these go hand-in-hand) - The ability to fly around and do aerial tricks in the game's beautiful levels, for absolutely no reason ... you're flying, it's fun. - Hidden things on the ground, that you can only see while walking as Claris or Elliot. - The A-life system, where you can play the game completely differently, making your goal to hatch or paraloop Nightopians to get the music to go into remixes & then watching as the Nightopians react differently to you (happy, scared, etc.) - Level replays (with cameras like racing game race replays) that feel like actual dreams. I could watch those for hours.
I've just starting playing it properly for the first time on the PS3, I got it from the Shop years back, I was clueless as to what was going on, I got to a boss fight not knowing why or how! So cheers for the overview.
I don't think Sega has made a game more explicitly about the joy of movement than NiGHTS. Incredibly basic game on the surface, but you're depriving yourself if you don't give the scoring system a fair shake
This is an amazing video I was doing noob stuff exploring with the kid at first but it was still fun. I have just been beating the first boss over and over all day getting higher scores !
This video helped me understand how to play this game, thank you so much! I just bought it for my Xbox Series X today for 3 dollars and was wondering how to play the game and you helped me to understand what i was supposed to do.
So, I'm also a big NiGHTS fan and was following NiGHTSintodreams.com for a while since I was growing up but, honestly, man I'm so happy people are still bringing up NiGHTS, it's such a unique experience and series to get into and it honestly upsets me a lil we don't have more stuff with NiGHTS considering how good it IS, even Journey is good for its merits of course, but, the original thrusts you in and its hard not to be curious and awed by the worlds and the feel of NIGHTS themselves! Thanks for the video, I run a mac so no steam release for me just yet, but emulating the Saturn release has really amped my love for the game beyond watching it on youtube
Hey friend, may I thank you for this video and the algorithm gods for sugesting it. I love Nights since I was 8 and discovered that the Saturn existed, but while I loved to wander through the screen and loved its amazing graphics and style for the time, I never could really understand how to master it. Today in almost 15 years, I just got an A for the first time in this game. Thank you! This is a breath of fresh air for this beautiful game, I can see how it can even get addictive!
As a NiGHTS fan this is so great to see. I’m definitely sharing this as I’m trying to get my friends into the franchise but they just don’t get it since the game doesn’t explain the controls
Back when we had a Saturn, we played Christmas NiGHTS over and over again. Bought a Saturn copy of the full game when I was like 20, and finally played the whole game. Fantastic game.
I had always heard of this game growing up back in the day but never played it although I've always loved the cover art. Finally played it and they take bits from sonic and utilize it here in a good way.
iir, you can get your 20 blue spheres as the kid before getting NiGHTs. That way you can knock out the thing way early and get hella bonus time to rack up crazy points on the first track.
While the lap structure and feel is very much unique to NiGHTS, there *are* other games that play around with time in a similar fashion outside of that. Caravan modes in shmups are what immediately come to mind- you have a hard time limit, and are tasked with scoring as many points as you can. Really, any game worth scoring has some sort of time limit in place, whether directly or indirectly stated. Shmups as a whole rely on autoscrolling and boss timers. The original Donkey Kong has a high score following centered around squeezing as many points as possible out of every level prior to the kill screen. Speedrunning as a whole is basically just a subset of score attack which has branched out and grown its own separate culture. Scoring is entirely about being as efficient with your time as possible, and that efficiency hinges fully on some sort of time restriction.
I used to play this back in '96 but i never quite gave the Saturn that much of my time considering i also had a PS1. Today, i play the Saturn about as much as the PSX. Im playing Nights again and i enjoy it, but until this video i didnt quite understand the concept...so thanks for that!
Got this game free on Xbox years ago & finally got around to playing/beating it. I’ll admit, I played this game like a “Sonic” game & sped through the levels sometimes but now I understand how you’re truly supposed to play. Those A ranks don’t look so tough now. 💪🏽
THIS!!! I wish more people understood the magic of NiGHTS. It's like getting a perfect line of tricks in Tony Hawks, while racing the clock in UniRally/UniRacers. The sense of flow is magical. It's such a shame so many people don't understand what they need to do.
I've always wanted to play the original. I became a fan after 100%'ing Journey of Dreams. It's just that getting a controller to work on the steam version is an act of congress.
Yeah, i worked on the port back in 2012 when i was at SEGA Europe. I might do a video on the subject in the future. I realise not everybody who's subscribed to me would know about that part of my life.
As of 2022, the game is still available on PSN. I've had the background theme downloaded and used as my PS3 BG for years now, and I'm finally giving the game a try. I always loved the aesthetic but never really knew if it was a game for me.
My favorite thing about NiGHTS is that he's not even necessarily a good guy. He was imprisoned for being an annoying asshole; he never really gave a shit about the plights of Elliot and Claris. His actions helping them out weren't at all intended, he just viewed it all as a happy coincidence
While the time running out is pretty anxiety inducing, this game actually helps me cope with my anxiety and stress. I've know about NiGHTS for YEARS and I'm ashamed to say I've only gotten into it now. But lemme tell y'all something, definitely better late than never. The music, the level design, the characters, all of them are worth investing in. I had to look up what to do when you ran out of time and I was so confused when I couldn't dualize with NiGHTS again. Low and behold, the 3D level design isn't just for show and you have to collect blue chips and hit those prisons yourself. That's extremely innovative for it's time and, as annoying as it is when it happens, I can't help but be impressed by it. This is such a charming little game and it's long overdue for another installment. I'm tired of Sega making these awesome designs like NiGHTS and then going "Welp, we're never going to do anything with this ever again."
I can definitely say that this game was a very clear example of how simple does not always mean easy. Especially in the final stage, with the time-limited tag team deal it has going on.
You said collecting fragments of your personality and returning them to a magical gazebo doesn't sound interesting. Mate that sounds mega! This was great, Subbed!
This game was bundled with my Saturn back in the day. I was like 6 at the time but I had fun with it. I found it for the Wii U the other day at a used game store and bought it, didn’t try it yet but will soon
I bought a copy of it for my Sega Saturn before Christmas but didn't have a manul. I'm just now finally playing it! I got grade E on the first course so I'm going to redo for more points like you said on the video 😂
I first learned about NiGHTS when I played the Casinopolis level in Sonic Adventure 1. I kept coming back for the NiGHTS pinball level because I loved the trading card aspect and how much unexpected depth the pinball has when you get to the nightmare half. It had an unexpected influence in my childhood. Even though my exposure was mainly via Sonic and YT playthroughs of the sequel, the concept drew me in and I even played the Journey into Dreams ending theme for my college graduation party as my entrance song. It’s clear this was a passion project for the Sonic Team devs. I hope there’s some way for NiGHTS to get a comeback. If you want to find out some more interesting lore, check out the video on the mystery of Selph.
it's truly a magical game, it never fails to bring me joy. Even when spending an eternity chasing those highscores and after struggling with some of it's oddities, the vision of the developers really got to me and makes me appreciate it immensely.
Ah right, laps! I knew the Wii sequel always made a sound, but I don't think it ever occurred to me that the original might also be counting laps! ...in fact, the Wii sequel may have spoiled my chances of realizing that you could take bonus laps once I tried the original game later on. IIRC, the cage that serves the purposes of both the contraption and the palace simultaneously in that game (grab a key from a fleeing enemy and take it to the cage) has chains going up and down from it which actively _block_ you from simply bypassing the thing like you can with the temple here.
Superb video!!! You broke down so many different elements of NiGHTS so quickly and well explained! Thank you for sharing your tips! I think you may have improved my scoring. 😁👍
Thank you. I was really interested in playing this after playing the special stages in Sonic Robo Blast 2, but when I hopped into the actual game I ended up pretty confused with only a baseline level of what to do. Didn't know about the Bonus Time laps and such, really excited to play more of it now. Update: 6/9/22 Finished the game tonight. Incredible game. 1 C, 1 A, I think the rest were all Bs. Looking forward to many replays in the future. Thanks for your help.
Thank you for the advice on NIGHTS! I've been playing this game pretty much since the 90's, and I never really understood the game's scoring... but I still loved playing it! Now to see if I can get all the Steam achievements, hah!
Nights is the only thing in the world that gives me that sense of flying like when I fly in a dream. How appropriate. It really is a special game. There is nothing like it at all. It's entirely unique. Of course, the Saturn has a massive library of great games, but in a way the Saturn seems almost made specifically for this game
Everyone talks about mental health today and people are more messed up now than ever. I remember back in the 80s and 90s people were strong and overcame their problems. This game was simply soothing and a great visual.
The demo was the reason I picked the saturn over the Playstation. Never regretted it. Still have my copy and bought again on PS3. Still play around Christmas for Christmas nights.
Thank you so much for explaining this as I picked it up recently on my PS3 and while it is a beautiful looking game, I could never understand why people were so hooked. The game just confused me as I just kept flying around never feeling like I was accomplishing anything. Thanks to your guide I will definitely give it a proper second chance. I know it was always considered one of the Saturn's greatest games ever made.
![Megan Thee Stallion - Neva Play (feat. RM) [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/TpYTyAaTRts/mqdefault.jpg)
"Don't walk around" That's exactly what I DID do when I was bored lol I went exploring to see how much I could navigate of the level and how many eggs I could hatch as Claire/Elliot and it was fun lol There's SO much you miss when flying around and walking about I'd find like mazes, little secret grottos, little parties with the egg dudes and all sorts of interesting stuff. You could do this for like 15 minutes at a time if you were good at avoiding the clock.
Yeah the clock is pretty easy to avoid if you do it right. I used to do it to admire the graphics of this gorgeous game. Soft museum is still absolutely amazing to this day! The squishy landscape blows my mind!
@@robotfan Most memorable level imo!
Oh yeah, for sure! If you want to explore then by all means do so. I do it too! But i just wanted to focus this video on the core gameplay aspect so that it educates new players, mostly.
@@DiGiValentine The reason that Balan Wonderworld was a failure is because Square employee Shinji Hashimoto wanted Yuji Naka to make a platformer to compete in the platformer market despite the fact that Yuji wanted to make mobile games. It Shows!! Naka is not good at making games that aren't his idea.
@@DiGiValentine Awesome stuff but I think the player is actually supposed to wander around in 3D as the kids, for like 2 minutes, before entering the Ideya palace (and dualizing w/ NiGHTS). I'm actually convinced of this: Kids can capture tons of chips before entering the gazebo, so it's the MOST item-collection as possible. Then, NiGHTS can then fly immediately to the gazebo and enter bonus time, for the most double-points-time, possible. I discovered this with my own time w/ NiGHTS. I thought you were going to mention but I guess I'll have to make my own video about it sometime lol.
The moment Sega offered this game for free on their 60th Anniversary celebration, I instantly downloaded it.
Absolutely worth it.
I especially appreciate this I've been having trouble really mastering nights and this has really helped.
Agreed. Playing this free gift on Steam helps ease the pain from that awful Balan Wonderworld demo nightmaren!
I’m so sad that I missed this!!
@@fataleflare same! I’m waiting for the next sale so I can buy it for 2 bucks.
same here
NiGHTS’ gameplay is so deceptively simple. It’s easy to pick up, but to really master the game, it takes a bit more effort. A lot of games at the time were like that, but it’s especially noticeable with NiGHTS.
It took me so long to figure out how to do the tricks after flying through the blue and yellow ring, and I still don't know how some boss battles work-
5 Nights? in Dreams?
It's addictive been playing for hours and hours
Ill pay you to let me download
I used to be s master at this game just using the regular controllers. I tried replaying it recently and damn, I lost my touch. Need to get it back.
NiGHTS is such a soothing game. It’s a comfort to many, and that’s because it knew mental health more than any media back then, and it knew how to create a fun safe space.
Thanks for continuing to be such a strong advocate for this franchise. Here's hoping we have some new NiGHTS news to share and celebrate in the near future!
And not just a casino game
Funnily enough, speaking of Nights as a casino game, it was actually the Nights Pinball in Sonic Adventure that got me curious about the series.
@@watchinglearner Well now, ain't that interesting.
It was the Nights pinball game in Sonic Adventure that got me interested in the game. I played the Wii one but didn’t get to play the original until 2012. Such a classic.
@@watchinglearnerthats exactly how I got here eventually
Got me wonderin' about how a NiGHTS remake with Balan's artstyle would _fuck so hard_ 😫
But they have the same artstyle…
@@datanotfoundpleasetryagain3559 Graphically speaking, specifically the cinematics
@@ALtheBoi Understandable. Have a nice day
Gravity Rush feels like the most modern take on a Nights game to date, with the epic surreal fantasy setting with most emphasis being on flying around, more than it's combat or platforming. It's whole vibe and tone just makes me wish Kat had a Nights costume to wear in game
Im seriously hoping that after Balan Wonderworld, Sega does what Capcom did when they saw that Mighty No. 9 was a complete disaster leading them to create Megaman 11. I really frigging want a new NiGHTS game
I bet you 100% that NiGHTS will appear in Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania as a playable character.
100% of your college fund?
@@XavierZara jokes on you. I don't have any..... 😔
She got damn better
I mean I'll totally still cop Monkey Ball cause I love those simians and also Jet Set Radio love from Sega themselves in 2021 aside from that one graffiti in the background of a Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown stage, BUT SHE BETTER
welp
NiGHTS and Digi. One of the most iconic duos
Legit, this'll probably be the one thing I'll said to friends when I try to get them into NiGHTS! Thank you so much for this because it's a bit of a hard sell for some people!
No problem! That's why i made the video - to give new players a quick crash course into how to actually play it.
I haven’t seen a NiGHTS video from DiGi Valentine in quite a while!
he hates and loves it at the same time
This game confused me so much when I played it. Kept getting C ranks, and not knowing why. Thought you had to get as many points with as much time on the timer.
I was very, very wrong
Give it another try and see how your score turns out now! :D
I just want to say that, your Who Dat video on NiGHTS did an excellent job selling me on that game. 19.3 Hours into it and i managed to get A Ranks on all stages. I appreciate this video, Im hoping more people go out of their way to play this classic still.
NiGHTS *REALLY* needs a new game..
The time concept is similar to Jet Set Radio, because you get rankings based on how many points are earned which is achieved by doing trick lines and infinite grinds as well as spraying graffiti.
What the game wants you to do is get in the flow. It's like Sonic in that regard.
Growing up, I only started gaming into the early 2000s so the golden era of Sega mostly flew by me, though I did grow up with a Genesis/Mega Drive as my first console. When I first played the Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing games, something just clicked in me, and I was completely enamored in all these characters and worlds I'd never even heard mention of before.
Fast forward to today and I own a Master System, Sega CD, Saturn, and Dreamcast with a growing library for each, and no regrets about any of it. There's something magical about these franchises and it's a crime that Sega leaves the majority of them in the dust with only small cameos to acknowledge their existence.
NiGHTS hooked me from the get go, even though as a kid I played Journey of Dreams first. Still loved it, though when I eventually was able to try the original Into Dreams it was no contest and I was completely addicted. Still pick it up and play it frequently to this day; it truly has an unmatched appeal and replayability all its own.
Thanks for this video, DiGi! Always happy when more people can be exposed to treasures of games like NiGHTS :)
you are one of the few youtubers who always remember nights . We can't let Nights die, this masterpiece! greetings from brazil
11:36 OH!! My gawd!!! HOW BRILLIANTLY META!! A game about overcoming your negative vibes so you can get the most out of your life. It literally encourages you to "...use every available second you have! ...Do as much as you can in the time you have." That's so beautiful! That's so friggin' genius!! That is absolutely BRILLIANT!! I love this so much!😍😆😊
Great video, honestly made my day! (Also there's so many fun things you can do in this game, whether it's go for the highest score, fastest time, raise nightopians, or explore as the kids to find fun hidden things, this game just has everything).
Indeed. It's a short game but it's packed with neat little things. And also, the fact that you have found glitches and bugs that I've never seen before is crazy!
I was so addicted to this game in my teen years every morning on a Saturday I would boot up my PS3 and play some NiGHTS into Dreams and just have a blast trying to get those rank A's and even if I didn't get close I still enjoy every second of it. I do have it on steam and that game was actually free for a while for SEGA's 60th anniversary and was happy to play it all over again.
I said it before and I will say it again, this is the reason why it's still one of my favourite games of all time because of how much its meant to me after all these years. Even if I drifted away from the fandom and became less active in it and got into other fandoms over time the game will always still be important to me and what it represents as a whole and as an inspiration for my own stories and creations.
And I’ve CONSTANTLY wondered why my scores are garbo and my grades were always below C..
Thanks for this video man, I can finally get back into it and even beat it this time!
Have fun with it! :)
I wouldn't mind a follow-up video explaining how Nights JOURNEY of Dreams failed as a sequel to this game. For anyone that still has a PS3 the game is on the psn store too.
I finished the game yesterday and I definetly wouldn't have done that without this video thank you so much for making this : D
I've needed this explained to me since I first played it on the display at Target in '96 😆 THANK YOU.
I played it at target too! Oh how time flies.
I’m still playing this game to this day I grew up playing this game for hours thank you sonic team thank you sega
it was the “NiGHTs into dreams, man dem, ygm” that really spoke to me
NiGHTZ into Dreamz, innit.
Part of what makes NiD so unique though is that it CAN be a more in depth game, IF you know how to go about it. If you have the courage to not go for the Ideya Palace, it is possible to do the entire game on foot, and THAT is where things can get interesting. Not only do you unlock a whole new type of challenge, but you get to see all of the obscure, minuscule details the developers put in that you would likely not see if you only play it the standard way. You uncover so many little parts of each dream that tell you a little more about each dreamer and their overall story if you are observant enough. Because of this, there is plenty for both the casual and more hardcore player alike.
Would just like to say thanks for tipping me onto this game. I had it sat in my Steam library for years and never bothered to play it. After watching this, I installed it and had a blast. It feels like such a sweet game, I love the atmosphere, like one of those dreams that is *really* nice.
(Also the tutorial on how to play was very useful, would've been lost otherwise)
Been watching you for a handful of years now, and I've known almost nothing about NiGHTS growing up. Most I've seen of the character was in Sonic Riders, wasn't till your Who Dat and let's play on NiGHTS that I decided to try the game on Steam, it was a great experience, and I enjoyed the idea of going for more laps to go for a better score and learn the area! I still have to play more of the game, I kinda kept beating the first couple of stages over and over again for practice lol.
I played this game so much on the Saturn, and the Xmas Nights version too... i have it on 360 and on steam as well. It's a wonderful little thing, and has changed many lives.
There is a sequal on the wii, but i didn't enjoy that as much, but if it did get ported to steam I'd definitely buy and play it again.
If that game had skippable cut scenes it wouldn't be even a third as bad. Its gameplay is slightly subpar compared to the original, but it wouldn't be such a glaring issue if you didn't have to sit through three hours of cut scenes just to get to it.
Thank you so much for this because I've been trying to play NiGHTS but have been confused about how it works
I love you digi. Your voice is great. You deserve more attention from sega
Oh my god, this is the first time ive gotten
I got to your video a bit late but you convinced me to dive back in. I already had the HD remake on Steam but had given it a bad review because I didn't really get it. I was absolutely obsessed with the game as a kid, but for whatever reason my adult brain was like, nah, what is this, these tiny short levels, I remember this being more fun, blah blah blah, I completely missed the whole point of it. But I watched this randomly the other day, and you said your words and I realized I hadn't been fair to it. I gave it another go, and I'm lovin it, I remember that feeling from all those years ago of why I loved this game so much. It's so good. So thank you for that.
Awesome stuff but I think the player is actually supposed to wander around in 3D as the kids, for like 2 minutes, before entering the Ideya palace (and dualizing w/ NiGHTS). I'm actually convinced of this: Kids can capture tons of chips before entering the gazebo, so it's the MOST item-collection as possible. Then, NiGHTS can then fly immediately to the gazebo and enter bonus time, for the most double-points-time, possible. I discovered this with my own time w/ NiGHTS. I thought you were going to mention but I guess I'll have to make my own video about it sometime lol.
Thank you for this guide to nights! I was having a hard time grasping as to why I am not getting the A ranks on this game. My first thought was to actually complete each section as fast as you can while doing tricks and going through loops, and not to take all the time I possibly can and do laps. Your breakdown really helped understand the game and actually have fun with it! Thanks man!
It is worth it to walk around because if you collect 20 blue chips youll keep them going into the first round as nights, which means you can get to bonus time quicker and hence get more points.
I'm showing my first dedication. I got NiGHTS into Dreams for the SEGA Saturn. And I got the console itself. :)
Man, NiGHTS is damn cool, had to play it for the umpteenth time on its anniversary.
Always a good day when DiGi pops up right about now.
DiGi thank you for making this video. I plan to send this to any friends of mine that get the game.
I really hope that we can draw enough attention to the franchise that maybe SEGA might use NiGHTS for more than cameos in Sonic games and slot machines.
Many.. MANY moons ago XD when I was boss as hell at this game, I used to run around on purpose and fight the clock lol. You jump juuuust right and you can knock it out of commission for a little bit and run away from it LoL. That was always fun to do after beating the game for the umpteenth time or if I wanted to just mess around and enjoy the world. And laugh at how mad and impatient NiGHTS would get XD.
LOL, yeah! Realising i could beat up the egg-clock was a turning point for all the trauma it caused me as a kid, haha!
I remember watching my friends slowly glide not knowing what to do. Then i would take over and fly around the stage like a rocket. This game is either simple or a complete blast and it depends on how you wish to push yourself.
Thank you for this video! I am living in Japan and a couple of months ago I decided to buy a Saturn and a lot of games as they are quite cheap here. I started Nights this week and I was at first very puzzled by what to do and why I couldn’t get more than D. And then I realized that after liberating the orb, the blue balls became yellow and that we could continue to rack points and then I started to get some C and Bs.
So I started to look on internet and your video confirmed this is indeed how to play the game. Man those old games were really raw. No tutorial, no explanations (except that actually games had paper guides in the box at that time).
And now it’s indeed the hook, squeezing until the end, learn the best trajectories, knowing when to abort the last lap to not lose everything and also scoring consistency across the 4 Mares + the boss fight to get a good final score. This is the embodiment of a risk-rewarding game.
Thanks for making this! I've tried to play Nights four or five times throughout my life but never understood it at all. Now I'll have to give it another try :)
This game has lived rent free in my head for 25 years. I didn't know it was on Steam!
I only got to play the demo on a demo disc from Japan on sega Saturn and literally had a dream about it months ago. That’s how I found this channel!
I didn't know you worked on ports! I'm glad I bought a port you worked on! Even if I haven't started playing it yet.
Good to see you’re still in this game, DiGi!
I remember when I played the GBA score attack mini-game that's based off of this, and wondering why they never did a port of the full game; this would have looked, and worked, great on the GBA.
Play it with the Sega Saturn 3D analog controller, though. Once it clicks, it's near perfection. Such a wonderful game...
Nights into Dreams has been my favorite game since 1996, and you've done an awesome job in this video of explaining the elegance and neverending appeal of the gameplay loop, and the hook (with time, links, scoring) that makes it so special. On top of that aspect, some other reasons why it's still my favorite game to this day:
- Music (best ever in a videogame for me, with great long pieces and great short interstitial pieces, all written by three mid-90s Sonic Team composers who somehow had perfectly overlapping styles for this game, working in perfect synergy)
- Simple, wordless story & colorful worlds you want to visit again and again (I feel these go hand-in-hand)
- The ability to fly around and do aerial tricks in the game's beautiful levels, for absolutely no reason ... you're flying, it's fun.
- Hidden things on the ground, that you can only see while walking as Claris or Elliot.
- The A-life system, where you can play the game completely differently, making your goal to hatch or paraloop Nightopians to get the music to go into remixes & then watching as the Nightopians react differently to you (happy, scared, etc.)
- Level replays (with cameras like racing game race replays) that feel like actual dreams. I could watch those for hours.
I've just starting playing it properly for the first time on the PS3, I got it from the Shop years back, I was clueless as to what was going on, I got to a boss fight not knowing why or how! So cheers for the overview.
Thank you…after many years I finally understand how to play NiGHTS properly 👍
It’s teeth are sinking into me…
I don't think Sega has made a game more explicitly about the joy of movement than NiGHTS. Incredibly basic game on the surface, but you're depriving yourself if you don't give the scoring system a fair shake
This is an amazing video I was doing noob stuff exploring with the kid at first but it was still fun. I have just been beating the first boss over and over all day getting higher scores !
This video helped me understand how to play this game, thank you so much! I just bought it for my Xbox Series X today for 3 dollars and was wondering how to play the game and you helped me to understand what i was supposed to do.
So, I'm also a big NiGHTS fan and was following NiGHTSintodreams.com for a while since I was growing up but, honestly, man I'm so happy people are still bringing up NiGHTS, it's such a unique experience and series to get into and it honestly upsets me a lil we don't have more stuff with NiGHTS considering how good it IS, even Journey is good for its merits of course, but, the original thrusts you in and its hard not to be curious and awed by the worlds and the feel of NIGHTS themselves!
Thanks for the video, I run a mac so no steam release for me just yet, but emulating the Saturn release has really amped my love for the game beyond watching it on youtube
Hey friend, may I thank you for this video and the algorithm gods for sugesting it. I love Nights since I was 8 and discovered that the Saturn existed, but while I loved to wander through the screen and loved its amazing graphics and style for the time, I never could really understand how to master it. Today in almost 15 years, I just got an A for the first time in this game. Thank you! This is a breath of fresh air for this beautiful game, I can see how it can even get addictive!
I always wanted too. Wish I do. I saw him when playing Sonic Adventure.
As a NiGHTS fan this is so great to see. I’m definitely sharing this as I’m trying to get my friends into the franchise but they just don’t get it since the game doesn’t explain the controls
I have this downloaded on my PS3 I did play for a little while. I should have another go at it with this new information. Thanks Digi Valentine.
Back when we had a Saturn, we played Christmas NiGHTS over and over again. Bought a Saturn copy of the full game when I was like 20, and finally played the whole game. Fantastic game.
I had always heard of this game growing up back in the day but never played it although I've always loved the cover art. Finally played it and they take bits from sonic and utilize it here in a good way.
iir, you can get your 20 blue spheres as the kid before getting NiGHTs. That way you can knock out the thing way early and get hella bonus time to rack up crazy points on the first track.
Thanks for making the video- I'm now a new Nights Into Dreams player on Steam. :)
While the lap structure and feel is very much unique to NiGHTS, there *are* other games that play around with time in a similar fashion outside of that. Caravan modes in shmups are what immediately come to mind- you have a hard time limit, and are tasked with scoring as many points as you can.
Really, any game worth scoring has some sort of time limit in place, whether directly or indirectly stated. Shmups as a whole rely on autoscrolling and boss timers. The original Donkey Kong has a high score following centered around squeezing as many points as possible out of every level prior to the kill screen. Speedrunning as a whole is basically just a subset of score attack which has branched out and grown its own separate culture. Scoring is entirely about being as efficient with your time as possible, and that efficiency hinges fully on some sort of time restriction.
I used to play this back in '96 but i never quite gave the Saturn that much of my time considering i also had a PS1. Today, i play the Saturn about as much as the PSX. Im playing Nights again and i enjoy it, but until this video i didnt quite understand the concept...so thanks for that!
Got this game free on Xbox years ago & finally got around to playing/beating it.
I’ll admit, I played this game like a “Sonic” game & sped through the levels sometimes but now I understand how you’re truly supposed to play.
Those A ranks don’t look so tough now. 💪🏽
THIS!!!
I wish more people understood the magic of NiGHTS. It's like getting a perfect line of tricks in Tony Hawks, while racing the clock in UniRally/UniRacers. The sense of flow is magical. It's such a shame so many people don't understand what they need to do.
I've always wanted to play the original. I became a fan after 100%'ing Journey of Dreams. It's just that getting a controller to work on the steam version is an act of congress.
It is very nice tho to see you making videos again tho. Keep up the good work!
"I personally worked on it"
Wait
WHAT
Yeah, i worked on the port back in 2012 when i was at SEGA Europe. I might do a video on the subject in the future. I realise not everybody who's subscribed to me would know about that part of my life.
As of 2022, the game is still available on PSN. I've had the background theme downloaded and used as my PS3 BG for years now, and I'm finally giving the game a try. I always loved the aesthetic but never really knew if it was a game for me.
NiGHTs notif from DiGi, it's a good day
My favorite thing about NiGHTS is that he's not even necessarily a good guy. He was imprisoned for being an annoying asshole; he never really gave a shit about the plights of Elliot and Claris. His actions helping them out weren't at all intended, he just viewed it all as a happy coincidence
Seriously its good that there are still people in this community that want to see this dream jester return and what makes it special.
While the time running out is pretty anxiety inducing, this game actually helps me cope with my anxiety and stress. I've know about NiGHTS for YEARS and I'm ashamed to say I've only gotten into it now. But lemme tell y'all something, definitely better late than never. The music, the level design, the characters, all of them are worth investing in. I had to look up what to do when you ran out of time and I was so confused when I couldn't dualize with NiGHTS again. Low and behold, the 3D level design isn't just for show and you have to collect blue chips and hit those prisons yourself. That's extremely innovative for it's time and, as annoying as it is when it happens, I can't help but be impressed by it. This is such a charming little game and it's long overdue for another installment. I'm tired of Sega making these awesome designs like NiGHTS and then going "Welp, we're never going to do anything with this ever again."
I can definitely say that this game was a very clear example of how simple does not always mean easy. Especially in the final stage, with the time-limited tag team deal it has going on.
happy 25th anniversary nights!!! :3
You said collecting fragments of your personality and returning them to a magical gazebo doesn't sound interesting. Mate that sounds mega! This was great, Subbed!
This game was bundled with my Saturn back in the day. I was like 6 at the time but I had fun with it. I found it for the Wii U the other day at a used game store and bought it, didn’t try it yet but will soon
Happy 25th Anniversary, NiGHTS!!!
I bought a copy of it for my Sega Saturn before Christmas but didn't have a manul. I'm just now finally playing it! I got grade E on the first course so I'm going to redo for more points like you said on the video 😂
I first learned about NiGHTS when I played the Casinopolis level in Sonic Adventure 1. I kept coming back for the NiGHTS pinball level because I loved the trading card aspect and how much unexpected depth the pinball has when you get to the nightmare half. It had an unexpected influence in my childhood. Even though my exposure was mainly via Sonic and YT playthroughs of the sequel, the concept drew me in and I even played the Journey into Dreams ending theme for my college graduation party as my entrance song. It’s clear this was a passion project for the Sonic Team devs. I hope there’s some way for NiGHTS to get a comeback.
If you want to find out some more interesting lore, check out the video on the mystery of Selph.
My ultimate fave sega franchise ngl ! [My phone and Laptop aesthetic has been themed around NiGHTS since i got them] Great video as always Digi
it's truly a magical game, it never fails to bring me joy. Even when spending an eternity chasing those highscores and after struggling with some of it's oddities, the vision of the developers really got to me and makes me appreciate it immensely.
Ah right, laps! I knew the Wii sequel always made a sound, but I don't think it ever occurred to me that the original might also be counting laps!
...in fact, the Wii sequel may have spoiled my chances of realizing that you could take bonus laps once I tried the original game later on. IIRC, the cage that serves the purposes of both the contraption and the palace simultaneously in that game (grab a key from a fleeing enemy and take it to the cage) has chains going up and down from it which actively _block_ you from simply bypassing the thing like you can with the temple here.
Superb video!!! You broke down so many different elements of NiGHTS so quickly and well explained! Thank you for sharing your tips! I think you may have improved my scoring. 😁👍
God bless you, it's such perfect timing
I've been though like 3 locations and I still have no idea how I did it
This video is Awesome!! Just got the game and had no idea what I was doing. This helped immensely.
Thank you. I was really interested in playing this after playing the special stages in Sonic Robo Blast 2, but when I hopped into the actual game I ended up pretty confused with only a baseline level of what to do. Didn't know about the Bonus Time laps and such, really excited to play more of it now.
Update: 6/9/22 Finished the game tonight. Incredible game. 1 C, 1 A, I think the rest were all Bs. Looking forward to many replays in the future. Thanks for your help.
This game is not just an original style game yet its fun with great replay value.
Could you do a character in depth video on Rayman? based on his first 3 games. I feel like that would be a interesting video
Thank you for the advice on NIGHTS! I've been playing this game pretty much since the 90's, and I never really understood the game's scoring... but I still loved playing it! Now to see if I can get all the Steam achievements, hah!
Nights is the only thing in the world that gives me that sense of flying like when I fly in a dream. How appropriate. It really is a special game. There is nothing like it at all. It's entirely unique. Of course, the Saturn has a massive library of great games, but in a way the Saturn seems almost made specifically for this game
I wonder if DiGi knows about Sonic Robo Blast 2’s NiGHTS mode. Such a cool cherry on top of an already amazing fangame.
I really hope Sega revisits Nights. Such an iconic character and really neat premise.
Just bought it today on Steam! I'm still getting used to it, but I love it!
Everyone talks about mental health today and people are more messed up now than ever. I remember back in the 80s and 90s people were strong and overcame their problems. This game was simply soothing and a great visual.
The demo was the reason I picked the saturn over the Playstation. Never regretted it. Still have my copy and bought again on PS3. Still play around Christmas for Christmas nights.
What a legend
Your name is a legend.
😁
Thank you so much for explaining this as I picked it up recently on my PS3 and while it is a beautiful looking game, I could never understand why people were so hooked. The game just confused me as I just kept flying around never feeling like I was accomplishing anything. Thanks to your guide I will definitely give it a proper second chance. I know it was always considered one of the Saturn's greatest games ever made.
The music changes a tiny bit depending on your Nightopian interactions