95

Lives up to its legacy.

Lunk | March 27, 2013 | See all Lunk's reviews »

I've played a number of older games Sega has ported to the PC and been disappointed with the quality of the port, but my love for the original NiGHTS is such that they could have sold me a simple ROM with a note telling me to find my own emulator to play it with and I would have considered it money well spent at twice the price.

Fortunately, they did a whole lot more than that. This is a lovingly crafted port of an absolutely delightful game that far exceeded my expectations. The HD graphics look great, the game controls smoothly using a 360 pad (I can't speak for the KB/M controls), and I had no performance issues at all on a system hovering right around the recommended specs. All the easter eggs and unlockables that I remembered from the original - including Christmas NiGHTS - were maintained, and the optional "Saturn graphics" setting is a really nice touch for fans who want to revisit it in its original form. They Saturn graphics obviously aren't up to modern standards, but I was surprised at how well they'd held up over the years.

That said, I'm not sure this review should apply to people who are coming into the game without having played the Saturn version years ago. Not that I'd specifically advise against it, I'm just looking at it through such nostalgia-tinted eyes that I can't really say how a new player might react to it. There are a number of elements that were easily forgiven at the time such as the very short run-time that was symptomatic of consoles that lacked good save game support and rigid, on-rails courses that might grate on a newer audience. On the other hand, if you're able to overlook a few remnants of the technical constraints of a bygone era in games, you'll be rewarded with a wonderfully unique experience that might allow you to finally understand why old Sega fans won't shut up about this title.

When you hit the end credits, there's a splash screen announcing that NiGHTS HD is "dedicated to the players and developers of the original game," and it's clear that they took that very seriously. I was afraid that years of nostalgia had built up my image of the game so much that this couldn't possibly live up to it, but I was wrong. I can count on one hand the number of game purchases that have been as satisfying as this one and still have a few fingers to spare, and I can't imagine others who have been waiting for this port feeling differently. Enjoy!

80

An Amazing Title

DeweyDTruman | Jan. 20, 2013 | See all DeweyDTruman's reviews »

I must say, this is a very well done port of the PS2 version. However, I personally wish they had chosen to add more to it, such as a proper addition of Christmas NiGHTS instead of simply taking the base level and not much else.

Irregardless, the gameplay is absolutely solid. The music and graphics, even the original version, are gorgeous. The story is rather basic, but works. If you want the best sega game ever, or even the best HD port of this year, this isn't it, but it's still absolutely worth the price of admission.

92

A great release of a great of a great game

stormx360 | Jan. 10, 2013 | See all stormx360's reviews »

Ah NiGHTS, Words can not describe this game, released on the failed saturn console not many people played this, however, most that have agree its amazing, this version is also packed with content, you have the HD remaster, the original version from the Saturn and if that wasn't enough, you also get the Christmas Nights release, a two level version of Nights which was given away free with a saturn magazine back in its prime.

For this price your crazy not to.

85

A fantastic, unique experience from Sega

Scorpy | Dec. 20, 2012 | See all Scorpy's reviews »

NiGHTS into Dreams has been on PlayStation Network for quite a while now. This port to the PC is just as good. It contains the same content as the other ports but at a discounted price.

NiGHTS into Dreams isn't easily described. It's a bit of a experiment on Sega's part. It's got a lot of Sega's classic charm and allure. It plays a bit like a 2.5d side scroller, but there is also a bunch of flying and collecting... you need to play it to experience it really.

At full price ($10), you might want to look it up before you play. If you're confident enough, pick it up. You won't be disappointed.

85

Perfect timing

cavalcade | Dec. 18, 2012 | See all cavalcade's reviews »

For people of "a certain age" Christmas Day wouldn't be complete without a play through Christmas NiGHTS. That a day would come where you could do this in HD from your PC in glorious modergraphic-o-vision would have seemed like voodoo way back then. It's great to see SEGA plundering its back catalogue and doing this sort of thing. Modern HD remakes are great, but there's something a little bit special about getting a more niche title, rather than Jak and Daxter.

This is a difficult game to describe. It's a sort of racing platformerish sports game. Without racing, platforming or sports in it. It's a strange, ethereal experience - quite unlike anything before or since. Imagine a cross between Quidditch and a Pink Floyd album.

The conversion is decent too, with care and attention and some extras. There's some problems with the aspect ratio from the conversion to widescreen, and no matter how hard you buff the textures this is still very much a Saturn game underneath. But if you love the SEGA Blue Skies in Games ethos, you love a bit of weirdness, you love something a bit different and most of all if you love Christmas then you'd be a loon not to pick this up.

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