First off, hope everyone had a swell, or at the very least tolerable Christmas! I myself am a big fan of Xmas, as I may or may not have already mentioned, so I had a blast as usual, even though it’s usually a drag for most, especially as one gets older. Truth be told, the holidays often brings out the worst in people, or simply brings them out of the woodwork; whether it be the jackasses that fill the malls or simply crazy parental units that try to get way too into the festive spirit, which can lead to much weirdness or ridiculousness. Hence why I do my best to ignore all that bullshit and instead hide in my warm and cozy mental cocoon in which holiday specials, Christmas music (yes, I am a fan of it, at least when its done well, such as via Game Boys, and not via Mariah Carey), and eggnog (yes, I am a fan of it as well, and I know everyone says its gross, but those people say the same thing about corndogs, and that too is bullshit) still rule supreme.
Though it also helped that I didn?t go back to Washington this holiday season (I was already back “home” earlier this year anyway, and seeing my folks just once a year is enough, I?m sorry) and instead stuck around the Big Apple to engage in festivities with the friends whom I consider family. This past Friday I went ice skating for the first time ever, at Bryant Park with Dave & Raina, and John & Marion (aka the Comics Bakery posse). Despite my serious lack of balance and overall physical grace, I still had a blast! And I only fell down once, though it was nice and HARD, plus I?m still feeling it days later, but no pain no gain. I want to go real soon, maybe with Katie this upcoming weekend, who?s coming to town for all the New Year?s Eve stuff I?ve got lined up in the days ahead, but one thing that made Friday so tough was how crowded the rink was. Oh, and I should mention that both Raina and Marion were awesome skating instructors!
Saturday morning I went out to New Hampshire with Jason, to help him pick up various junk from his childhood, such as comics and toys, from the house that he grew up in, and in which his folks have sold, hence the need to get rid of such stuff. The plan is to sell them on eBay, though I might want to pick up his collection of Marvel Universe cards (man, I loved those as a kid). Though I did receive his entire collection of old video game magazines, the plan being to archive each and every issue for this site! I also got a Christmas tree! Plus the chance to take in a lot of snow, which was nice.
Oh, and I also finally got WarioWare Smooth Moves, which way back was the very first “reason” that got me all hot and bothered for the Wii back in the day. I picked it up at Wal Mart, and as much as I hate that place, due to the fact that it basically becomes the number one source of small communities? commerce and destroys it in the processes, it still provides plenty of entertainment, with all the wacky denizens providing a carnival of the souls-type spectacle. When Jason & I were paying for our stuff, we were goofing on celebrities featured in the trashy check-out rags, and the female cashier seemed absolutely mesmerized by our witty repartee. And why wouldn?t she? We were city folk. But yeah, we basically had her in the palm of our hands, in a similar fashion as Jake the Snake Roberts exhibited in Beyond The Mat, for those who have seen it. But hey, I have a girlfriend, Jason?s married, and the girl, while somewhat cute, also had lots of poorly applied make-up, like lots of girls in small, backwards towns.
Anyway… the big day itself consisted of going out to Long Island to spend Christmas with Dave & Raina, plus Rob & Michele, and the rest of family away from home. And what would Christmas be without presents? I guess another reason why the holidays wasn?t all that stressful this year was due to the fact that I simply could not engage in all that much Christmas shopping. Bottom-line is that I?ve been super poor; some of it is due to the fact that my new place has cost me an arm and a leg, but the primary reason, and the only thing that flat out sucks about said residence, is how my mail delivery is all fucked, and as a result, I?m missing a ton of freelance money due to “lost” checks. Which also led to an absolutely bat-shit exchange between myself and the local post office, but I?ll save that for another time cuz we?re talking about Christmas and I don?t want to work myself into a bad mood! But yeah, aside from myself being poor, most folks I know are in the same exact boat, so it all worked out (Katie & I for example promised each other not to get anything, though we did make mix CDs for each other, and she?s also gonna make me a nice home-cooked dinner when she swings by). Still sucks though, since I love picking out the right present for the right person, but gifts were still exchanged, and I managed to score some primo stuff, such as an awesome manga about school kids getting accosted by zombies, feature absolutely insane artwork, from Dave, and much needed kitchenware from Jason.
Oh, and aside from WarioWare, I also treated myself to Harry Potter 5 on DVD (yes, I?m poor, but I still need me some Hermione… that and I had a gift certificate to Virgin that I got for Xmas last year, which I totally forgot about).
But aside from WarioWare, which as a diehard WW fanatic I?m somewhat disappointed by, if only because of the ultra finicky at times controls (it was most annoying in the more involved challenges, i.e. the boss stages, which meant opening up levels a pain in ass, especially because all I really wanted was the retro Nintendo ones, and of course those popped up near the end), I finally got 60 stars in Super Mario Galaxy, though I?m gonna try and nab some additional stars before taking a stab at the ending. Also…
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So last week, Sega sent me a copy of NiGHTS for the Wii. And speaking as an ultra fanatic of the original, all I can is? my, how the times, they have changed. The first game for the Saturn was a completely original and brilliantly realized gameplay experience that looked rough but pushed not only boundaries but hardware to unimagined limits. It had heart and soul, for lack of a better term. But it was also an underdog, standing in the shadow of Super Mario 64, as well as something so new and fresh that it was severely misunderstood and cast aside by the general public. As a result, it did not become the glorious success that the groundbreaking title so rightly deserved to be, yet it did manage to find those that recognized it for what it did, and loved it so as a result. The same could be said for Sega as a whole, at least back in the day.
Though this new NiGHTS… oh boy, where to begin. If you loved the original, and I mean loved it, then you will absolutely loathe this game, it?s as simple as that. This new NiGHTS will make those who have fond memories of the first title confused, mainly because everything that was so nice and simple before has been done away for needless complexity and unnecessary baggage, whereas all the layers of depth that was there before has been complete dumbed down. In fact, virtually everything from before is the complete polar opposite. The only thing that is same this second time around is how once again, there?s another Mario masterpiece that?s also just come out, though in this instance, there is no comparison.
Any attempt to properly classify the very first NiGHTS is damn near impossible; it mixed elements of action-platforming and flying to create a game that was ultimately a racing game (which, as most dedicated Sega fans know was their forte, back in the day). And even if you didn?t know what it was, at least one could recognize that it had focus. But this new game is just another 3D adventure game; elements from part 1 can be found, though just barely, and poorly executed, with the rest being just a shitty attempt at aping what everyone is doing, cuz, you know, that?s just how it goes. Every last bit of confidence, exuberance, wonder, and most importantly, originality that personified the first game has been stripped away in favor of a pedestrian, hallow-out, and awkward mishmash that ultimately has no idea what it wants to be, which is what really kills the “sequel.” It?s enough to make any seasoned NiGHTS fans livid, simply due to the fact that, after all this time, of waiting and hoping for a part two, we finally get it, and it?s THIS piece of shit. With the worst being, none of it is all that surprising because it?s something we?ve all come to expect from Sega, and this latest “effort,” NiGHTS Journey Of Dreams also does a remarkable job of representing the forces behind it.
Like I said, the first game was ultimately a racing game; you flew around each level, collecting spheres, know as “chips,” and going through rings to score points. The primary goal was to obtain a huge orb that one is supposed to take back to the starting point; each level had about four total orbs, meaning each level had four parts, or “courses,” since you?re in the same space, just going about in a different path. Though the real meat of the game is getting an orb as soon as possible, and then spending the rest of the time allotted in each course to nab as many chips and going through as many rings as one can, since the points awarded were doubled. You had two characters, each with its own set of levels, about three each, and finally the same fourth level that both shared. On paper, that might not seem like a lot, but again, NiGHTS Into Dreams was racing game, and the number of tracks was not what mattered, but the quality, and the course/level design was simply superb and practically begged for replaying.
Things are much more different the second time around. Again, it?s more like a traditional adventure romp; like before, you choose either a boy or a girl character, and each as his or her own story, like in the first game, but now it?s far more fleshed out. And while I don?t necessary dislike the story elements (to be honest, I kinda like how the back-story is revealed) but there?s just too much of it. In fact, the first game had zero talking, but now we get a LOT of it. Plus there?s this owl character that explains everything, which completely kills the mood of the game, by having everything so explained and spelled out for you. Worst of all is how NiGHTS him/herself talks. Part of the character?s appeal was the mystery, and now it?s completely gone.
There?s a hub level that connects all the stages, instead of just having a screen where you simply choose stuff like before, and it?s totally annoying and unnecessary. Compounding this is how there?s a TON of loading in the game, so the hub level just gets in the way of getting to point A to B, especially since it doesn?t offer that much interactivity, nor a point to it. Again, simplicity has been done away with for the need to offer more, more, more, and it just makes everything such a hassle. But the hub word is where one chooses a world, which are then divided into sections. The first resembles the gameplay of the first game, but with changes of course.
In NiGHTS 1, you had to collect 20 chips to unlock the orb. In NiGHTS 2, you had to get a key that some creature that?s flying around the level has. Not that collecting 20 chips was that hard to begin with, but this new method is not only far less engaging, but just too simple. Anyway, once the key is obtained, it unlocks the next course when the end goal is reached, but the way its laid out, there?s no way to repeat the course to collect more stuff like before (in part 1, you could simply pass the goal marker, and everything you collected has been regenerated, but in part 2, there?s a barrier that forces you to go through the goal), which absolutely breaks the gameplay, at least how it worked before. At this point, I still have no idea how the hell scoring works, and as a result, I am not getting the consistent A?s that I once achieved, but D?s and E?s; the whole art of time management, which was the heart of things, is no more.
Once all the keys have been collected (there?s only three btw, down from the four orbs of before) you have a boss battle. Most of these are marred by bad camera angles (I?ll get to that in a second) and slowdown. Real quick; most of the game runs at a pretty decent frame rate, maybe around 30 per second, but some boss encounters drag it down a notch, though most perplexing is how the story interludes chug long at around 10 per second, which makes no fucking sense since nothing is going on, other two characters, front and center, and just moving their heads and arms back and forth as they chatter. Anyway, after the boss battle, instead of moving onto the next world, no, you have to go back to the same environment but do something else, like some stupid activity, such as stunt challenges, or just collecting crap. None of it is particularly fun and just drags shit out. But again, all adventure games do the same thing, right? Yes, but in most instances, much better, and once more, because of the slow loading, it just makes it all the more annoying.
One has you playing as just the child and not NiGHTS (there?s actually some explanation for when they are together? as if we needed one), where you attack enemies by chucking chips at them, which is just weird, and another where NiGHTS turns into a boat, and you have to river raft. Granted, NiGHTS turns into a sled in the Saturn game, but it?s so quick that you don?t have to time to think, and therefore realize how silly it is. Oh, and you collect masks to imbue NiGHTS with special abilities, and its just as lame as it sounds. And after three or four or these filler levels, you have to battle the end boss from the first one, but its harder and more difficult, before moving onto the next world.
Though what truly kills this all of a sudden emphasis on multiple activates is the camera. It?s the same as before, in which the focal point is on NiGHTS, front and center, and while that worked when the game just had you zipping along as fast as you can, with the only thing to think about being the immediate surroundings, and not enough time to worry about much else (if you missed a chip, no matter, there are plenty of others), now you have to do all this multitasking and it?s impossible to see what?s going on and keep track of stuff. A map is provided to keep track of you and your goals, one that is absolutely worthless. Though the best example of this is one boss battle, which again is based upon the past; remember the fat opera singer that bounced around like a huge ball and that you were supposed to push down a hallway, to smash through breakable walls, towards the end point? Well imagine that, but instead of a hall, its wide open expanse. So the boss character, instead of being within sight most of the time just bounces around, and 99% of the time is wasted on trying to track it down. Also not helping is the god awful controls…
Reason number two why this NiGHTS games needs to be burned: the original had silky smooth controls, thanks to the Saturn?s analogue thumbpad. This time around, there?s multiple ways of control, and each one of them sucks dick. I guess the primarily method is using the stick on the nunchuck to move NiGHTS, and Wiimote to pull off a dash (either the A or B buttons, and even the Z button on the nunchuck can be used as well). The biggest problem here, which Dave (Maruo) already mentioned in the forums, is how surrounding the stick are eight notches that effectively forces only eight direction of movement, which effectively ruins the controls, period. You?re speeding along, and you need to slightly go up or down, but you can?t make any slight adjustment at all. It?s really pathetic.
Oh, and before you could use shoulder buttons to pull off all sorts of aerial tricks, mostly for points, but they?re just fun to do. And of course, those got the axe. It?s all just a one button game, I?m assuming because of the other control method, which is to use only the Wiimote to point towards a spot and have NiGHTS go to it. Now, this sounds interesting, but the execution is deplorable; in a game like, say? Super Mario Galaxy, the Wiimote?s pointer is fast and accurate. But in NiGHTS, it?s completely slow and erratic. So you point at a spot on the screen with the controller, and not only does the cursor not follow your movements with any degree of accuracy, but its will often just disappear. How in the hell did this get past Q&A?!?! You can also use the classic controller, or a GameCube controller. Call me when they release an adaptor to plug in my Saturn controller, thanks.
The graphics are rather flat and tepid. NiGHTS on the Saturn really pushed the system, and as a result, everything looked pretty chunky, but that was part of the appeal for me, and again added an element of abstractness that was actually appropriate for a game about dreams. Now things are relatively nice and sharp, and clearly defined, but also totally boring. Everyone says the graphics of Wii games suck, and while they are not as bling-bling as PS3 and Xbox 360 titles, as Super Mario Galaxy proved, you can do some really nice things, but NiGHTS simply cannot be bothered. Sega barely made an effort on this one, which again, is par for the course these days.
I supposed the sound is the best part. I was told that the person behind the original?s score is back, and while the soundtrack is no where as deep as before, nor as strong, it?s still quite nice. So its not completely worthless, I guess.
But yeah, this game is an abomination, at least to those NiGHTS fanatics out there (I know I?ve rambled on and on, but trust me, there?s a lot more that I haven?t mentioned yet, but at this point, even I?m tired of bitching). Everyone else might not care, but I can?t see them going ga-ga over this game as well. Do yourself a favor and try and play the original, which I did Christmas morning, but that was because of Christmas NiGHTS, naturally.
… Man, I can?t wait for the PS2 version. If it ends up being really good, I won?t even know what to say.
