Overall, I do think this is a decent game and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy it, although it does have some issues and I can understand why people consider it to be inferior to the original game.
My opinion on this game is somewhat similar to Sonic Unleashed SD where the game’s ‘main’ stages are honestly pretty solid, but at the same time it also feels padded out with ‘mission’ stages that you are forced to play through to finish the game. For all of them, you have at least three that repeat - the main stage with the boss at the end (similar to the OG game), the ‘Octopaw’ chases where you go for a minimum link, and the last mission being a stronger version of the boss you fought in the first. From there the missions just feel like a complete mixed bag, most of which just feel like a way to pad out the game. There’s also occassional missions (mostly in Helen’s dream) where you try to make it through places through some basic platforming and obnoxious maze-like level design.
Even then though, I also feel like the main ‘NiGHTS’ stages feel like a step down in some ways. Instead of giving you opportunities to really “explore” the stage and try to rack up score like in the original game, you’re basically just kind of railroaded into chasing birds to get a key for each round, and as such these stages feel more limited compared to the original game and don’t really offer much in variety. They are still fun at least, and the ranked-based gameplay is still there, but especially with the mission based structure I can’t say I really feel as much incentive or motivation to return to this game.
The story… exists, I guess. I really never felt like Nights Into Dreams was a game that needed a deep story or anything, and that sort of shows with the more basic story of the original game, but this game’s story honestly feels like it sets up a bunch of concepts (particularly the references to Nights’ backstory as a Nightmaren) and conflicts and just… does nothing or build upon them at all. And considering what I said about Nights not needing a deep story, it further leaves the question why they went all in on this plot when they did very little with it.
In conclusion, it’s a decent enough game. The ‘main’ stages are still pretty good, but the mission structure and story makes this game feel pretty padded out. If you are a fan of the original game, it’s worth a shot, but for most people I’d say just go for the original game (particularly the remastered version released in 2012).
also the bomamba boss was literally designed by satan
My opinion on this game is somewhat similar to Sonic Unleashed SD where the game’s ‘main’ stages are honestly pretty solid, but at the same time it also feels padded out with ‘mission’ stages that you are forced to play through to finish the game. For all of them, you have at least three that repeat - the main stage with the boss at the end (similar to the OG game), the ‘Octopaw’ chases where you go for a minimum link, and the last mission being a stronger version of the boss you fought in the first. From there the missions just feel like a complete mixed bag, most of which just feel like a way to pad out the game. There’s also occassional missions (mostly in Helen’s dream) where you try to make it through places through some basic platforming and obnoxious maze-like level design.
Even then though, I also feel like the main ‘NiGHTS’ stages feel like a step down in some ways. Instead of giving you opportunities to really “explore” the stage and try to rack up score like in the original game, you’re basically just kind of railroaded into chasing birds to get a key for each round, and as such these stages feel more limited compared to the original game and don’t really offer much in variety. They are still fun at least, and the ranked-based gameplay is still there, but especially with the mission based structure I can’t say I really feel as much incentive or motivation to return to this game.
The story… exists, I guess. I really never felt like Nights Into Dreams was a game that needed a deep story or anything, and that sort of shows with the more basic story of the original game, but this game’s story honestly feels like it sets up a bunch of concepts (particularly the references to Nights’ backstory as a Nightmaren) and conflicts and just… does nothing or build upon them at all. And considering what I said about Nights not needing a deep story, it further leaves the question why they went all in on this plot when they did very little with it.
In conclusion, it’s a decent enough game. The ‘main’ stages are still pretty good, but the mission structure and story makes this game feel pretty padded out. If you are a fan of the original game, it’s worth a shot, but for most people I’d say just go for the original game (particularly the remastered version released in 2012).
also the bomamba boss was literally designed by satan