Reply To: NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams (Gamespot.com Review)

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a…well…we’re not really sure what it is.

Not enough can be said about the stupendous soundtrack, which features both updated tracks from NiGHTS Into Dreams and new, equally fantastic tunes. In fact, its sound design is Journey of Dreams’ finest feature, not just due to the evocative soundtrack, but also to some high-quality voice acting. Not that Nights’ vocal personification will be everyone’s cup of tea. As previously mentioned, the jester is genderless (though we’ve referred to Nights as “he” for purposes of this review), and the accompanying voice is, well, correspondingly confused. But whether you think Nights sounds like a young woman or a young boy, it’s a good fit for the character. The children are also nicely acted, as are familiar personalities like Reala and Wizeman. The only real blemish is the constant, annoying cackling of a few of the boss characters.

Journey of Dreams is not a difficult game, though it does have its challenging moments, particularly within some of the more esoteric boss battles. It also has a number of minor issues. Most cutscenes are unskippable; if you continue the first dream level to the boss but lose, you can’t start at the boss–you have to repeat the whole thing from the beginning. And so on and so forth. Yet despite these issues and other minor quirks that will have purists up in arms (Where’s Jackle? Why was the giant alarm clock replaced with awakers?), NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams is a good, enjoyable romp through a clever collection of beautiful worlds. Playing it makes you feel warm and cozy, a nice treat indeed for the holiday season.

By Kevin VanOrd, GameSpot
Posted Dec 18, 2007 5:12 pm PT