Dream on

by ERIK LEIJON

When Brian Wilson finally ended decades of personal torment by releasing the most famous unfinished record of all-time, SMiLE, it meant an oddity in music folklore was coming to an end. Thankfully, the sun-drenched classic that found its way to store shelves was more like a modernized tribute to the album, so the legend remains largely intact.

Yuji Naka’s NiGHTS Into Dreams was lost in the Super Mario 64 shuffle when it was released for the Saturn in 1996, but the myth has similarly grown since those who experienced it have extolled its virtues to a younger generation who view NiGHTS as an elusive gem never meant for human eyes. Despite Naka’s desire to never release a sequel, this is an industry that lives to drive every franchise into the ground, so in that spirit, we have the Naka-less NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams (Wii/Sega, Sonic Team USA). Those expecting a true, next-gen sequel will think this Wii original is as anticlimactic as Al Capone’s vault—Journey of Dreams looks, plays and feels like the sequel Sega should have released in 1997, meaning it’s still fun if not slightly outdated, (like Brian Wilson’s opus).

The game stars the titular character, a Peter Pan-esque jester who flies around a closed, two-dimensional circuit situated entirely in the dreams of Will and Helen, a couple of annoying British children. The gameplay is comparable to the 2D Sonic games, but with flying instead of running. Although the graphics are three-dimensional, the levels are 2D with multiple paths that reveal themselves after repeated plays. One of NiGHTS’ most endearing qualities is replayability, since getting an A score on the seven main levels will require steel, retro-gamer hands. Even if this is a Wii exclusive, the motion sensor controls are complete garbage, so a classic controller is an absolute must.

As our purple clad protagonist flies through the stages, he must pass through designated rings and collect as many blue orbs as possible. New to every stage is a flying bird carrying the key needed to complete the level, so in addition to collecting every item the player must catch the bird before time runs out.

Journey of Dreams, although not a great looking game, did feature one of my favourite singular moments of 2007. Spoiler alert: in the Bellbridge stage (which is a floating nighttime metropolis), the world becomes pitch black and Helen falls to her doom. Will heroically flies down to save her, and the tacky floating city explodes with a blinding light and bombastic orchestra, at which point they begin the final, fireworks-drenched stage together. The storyline is corny, but NiGHTS’ innocent sweetness is a welcome change from my pile of war games du jour.

Amazingly, the original NiGHTS is hitting the PC on GameTap very soon, and it remains a must-play. Journey of Dreams isn’t quite what I expected, yet after a decade in the dark, any NiGHTS is good news, and this Wii incarnation is a pleasant dream.

Need for a break

Speaking of franchises being driven into the ground, Need for Speed: Pro Street (Multi/EA, EA Black Box) is a major step backwards from NFS: Carbon. The cars handle rigidly and over-the-top action has been replaced with a mundane, quasi-realistic driving engine.

The most notable new feature is that you can now pay actual cash for new cars and achievements if you’re too lazy to unlock them. I don’t blame EA for implementing a conspicuous consumption system (frankly, I’m surprised it took this long), so NFS:PS will perhaps be forever known as the first step into a brave new world.