NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams - hands on

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Up until now, the game hasn't been looking amazing in the screenshots. Better with each passing batch, certainly, but still not that spectacular. However, thankfully, seeing the game in motion has put our fears to bed. It may be Gamecube-quality overall, but the magic and sparkle of 1996's NiGHTS has been recaptured. Impressively, the game still looked good on the mattress-sized TV in our demo room. We've seen that TV make Xbox 360 titles look awful, so the SD picture of NiGHTS was under a lot of pressure. But it delivered.

There are actually four different ways to control NiGHTS as he flies on his 2D track through the 3D environs. The most traditional way would be to use a Gamecube controller, which mimics the button layout of the original Sega 3D control pad. You can also use a Wii Classic controller. A single Wiimote can be used, which involves using the device as a pointer, making NiGHTS fly towards the cursor on the screen. This way, you can achieve full 360 movement, with A used as boost.

The fourth method is a Wii-mote/nunchuk combination. This uses the analogue stick to control NiGHTS, with the A button used to dash. Shaking the Wii-mote seemed to trigger NiGHTS' acrobatic moves, although our sensor bar seemed to be having some problems, so we couldn't quite figure out exactly which moves did what.

Justin Towell
Justin Towell
Freelance Writer

Justin was a GamesRadar+ staffer for 10 years but is now a freelance writer, musician and videographer. He's big on retro, Sega and racing games (especially retro Sega racing games) and currently also writes for Play Magazine, Traxion.gg, PC Gamer and TopTenReviews, as well as running his own YouTube channel. Having learned to love all platforms equally after Sega left the hardware industry (sniff), his favourite games include Christmas NiGHTS into Dreams, Zelda BotW, Sea of Thieves, Sega Rally Championship and Treasure Island Dizzy.