( grunts )
( music: "Carol of the Bells" )
( fizz )
( sips )
Ahhh!
( typing )
( music ends, fades out )
The Sega Saturn.
It might not be the first place you think to look for
good Christmas video games,
unless you're already into collecting for the thing.
And in that case, it's a no-brainer!
One of the first games I got for this
thing when I started collecting for it
was "Christmas Nights into Dreams,"
a special holiday edition of "Nights into Dreams."
If you're not familiar with "Nights,"
it's a game developed by Sonic Team at Sega in 1996,
meant to be a showcase not only
for the Saturn hardware itself
but for their newly-released 3D control pad.
"Nights" turned out to be a fantastic little game
and is widely considered one of the
all-time cult classics for the system.
This is the Japanese version of the game
which I imported because
a) imports are awesome,
and b) it's got the most extravagant
packaging of all the releases.
This was bundled in with a Christmas-
themed Sega Saturn pack in Japan,
but in the USA, it was a bonus
that came with certain games
like "Daytona USA: Championship Circuit Edition."
It was also featured as a cover disc
with the official Sega Saturn magazine,
and the same goes for the UK release,
with each one coming in a simple
cardboard or plastic sleeve
instead of a jewel case,
like the Japanese one.
Of course, with this import,
the intro video is in Japanese,
so I'll just translate as best I can.
( clears throat )
Once upon a time,
at the Plumb Bob Christmas Store in "The Sims,"
a bunch of people were getting totally
plastered around two small children.
Oh, they were so wasted. Holy crap!
It's not even New Year's yet.
But at least they put up the town Christmas tree
before they were too inebriated to stand upright.
So that was smart.
Still, they weren't completely sober then, either.
because some guy thought it'd be hilarious
to put an art deco skyscraper on top of the tree.
Clearly, the two children thought,
there should be a star up there
instead of a freakin' building from the
New York City skyline in the 1920s.
And so begins "Christmas Nights into Dreams,"
the story of two kids on their quest
to fix the drunken adults' bad decorating.
Starting the game lets you choose
from either of the two youngins,
Claris and Elliot.
These are the same little snots
you play as in the full game,
and in fact, pretty much
everything is the same.
Except it isn't
because everything has a decidedly
Christmas-themed makeover,
from the artwork to the music
to the items you collect.
This is pretty par for the course for
Chrimstas tie-in games of the '90s
where they would take
a game that's already out
and release something
similar and smaller for free
to drum up interest in the
game sold on store shelves.
However,
man, this is far more than
it appears on the surface,
so let's get right to it.
Like the original "Nights into Dreams,"
you largely play as the androgynous
jester-looking thing known as Nights,
a nightmarin' creature that can merge
with human children in their dreams.
which really embodies the sprit of Christmas.
As long as you have control of Nights,
you can fly around the world collecting balls,
while performing aerial acrobatic stunts.
The game is 3D world,
although it's on a fixed plane
when you're flying around.
Much like if a "Sonic The Hedgehog"
level spun around a central point
as you move left and right.
You need 20 balls,
or chips, as they're called
in order to unlock the next stage.
And there's a timer
constantly ticking down,
so the faster you do this, the better.
It works really well
once you get the hang of it
and it's a fantastic demonstration
of the power of analog movement
if you're using the
3D control pad to play.
Whizzing around in circles sucking
up balls has never been so fun,
especially with the upbeat
Christmas tunes playing
and the incredibly
vibrant graphical style.
( music: "Jingle Bells" )
Once you complete each stage
and the final boss,
you'll be given the opportunity
to collect and open presents
by playing a memory matching game.
These unlock all sorts
of extra features,
giving you ample
incentive to replay it
beyond just earning a higher score.
And there's a timer-free
link attack mode,
a music player,
a karaoke mode because Japan,
and even a mode where
you can play as Sonic
and fight Dr. Eggman
at the end of the game.
Not only that,
but did you notice
the time and date
at the starting screen?
Yeah, if you play it at
certain times of the year,
you'll get different games,
like "Winter Nights" in winter
months outside of December,
and "New Year's Nights"
on New Year's Day.
These each have
unique title screens,
musical selections and items
that will show up in-game.
Not only that, but depending
on the hour of day you play at,
you'll have anything
from pieces of candy
to hearts to confetti
floating around the level.
So, if you thought the game
looked a bit cluttered already,
then maybe change
the system's clock
and try again for something
a little less insane.
Aw, dude. "Christmas Nights" is
exceptional for a free Christmas game.
I just love this.
It may pretty much be a
single segmented level,
but all the unlockable extras on
top of having a unique aesthetic
really take it the extra mile.
You can spend hours doing this stuff.
And you don't even have to have
a Sega Saturn to play it either,
since it was released
for the PlayStation 2
and the PC in the following years.
You can actually still buy
and play this on Steam
in HD remake form.
It's missing some of
the extra content
and the Christmas mode
has to be unlocked,
but it's there if you don't
have the original on hand.
If you can track down
the original, though,
it's well worth it.
It makes me wish
other developers took note
of this kind of thing when
making their own Christmas tie-ins.
I'm looking at you, "Santa Slayer."
( music )
And if you enjoyed this video,
you might like some of my others.
There are more Christmas
things coming up soon,
as well as a whole bunch of other
stuff that has already been uploaded
and some of it's late to here.
So, you can look at that
or subscribe if you'd
like to be notified
whenever stuff is
around in the future.
Stuff, stuff, stuff.
There's Twitter and
Facebook and Patreon
if you'd like to do all that.
More LGR is always
appreciated, if you're ME.
And as per usual,
thank you very much for watching.
Have a nice NiGHT.
Ha!
