NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams

Interestingly, in an interview with Sega Saturn Magazine around the time of the first game's release, then-head of Sonic Team Yuji Naka mentioned that the development team had tried many different forms of control before agreeing on the analog controller. The NiGHTS pad was great, yes. But one of the other methods he had considered at the time was for the player to hold a motion-sensitive NiGHTS doll. Of course, the technology would have cost far too much to mass-produce at the time. But could this be the reality for NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams? Yuji Naka's not on-board any more, but the technology for his brain-child is now a reality.

Think about it - you hold NiGHTS in your hands. You angle him in 3D space and you see your on-screen character doing the same. Maybe you squeeze NiGHTS' tummy to dash. Admittedly, this could get tiring like the EyeToy game and would not be as easy to control considering the pinpoint accuracy needed for maintaining high-scoring links. But in terms of the new gameplay experience that's being talked about, this would surely fit the bill.

Above: NiGHTS knows how the Wii-mote's going to used... but he's not telling. The little jester

We'll find out in due course exactly how the new NiGHTS game plays, but in the mean-time, why not head over to the GamesRadar forum  to voice your own ideas? As for us, we'll be scouring eBay for a NiGHTS plush to savage with scissors and a Nintendo peripheral just in case the official NiGHTS doll doesn't materialize.

April 3, 2007