Hi everyone,
Hooper's here.
And it is time to dream
together, with Nights!
One of the great games
of the Sega Saturn.
It came out in 1996, developed
by the Sonic Team,
who already developed a cult series
which name you can easily guess.
The SONIC Team. Tough
question, I know.
So, Nights was one of the most anticipated
releases of the Saturn back then.
I bought it back in the day, in bundle
with the analogue gamepad.
I'm actually playing with
this gamepad, by the way.
It was the blue-print for
the Dreamcast gamepad.
Anyway, let's get
back to the game!
So, what is
Nights?
It is a super original game, especially
back then but still is today.
How could I
explain it to you?
This is the kind of game
you play, not explain.
You really have to play
it to understand it.
Now, I'll obviously try to explain it
all to you, but it will be no mince meat.
It talks
about dreams.
I must say I never truly
understood the story.
It is complex without
being complex.
Because it doesn't really have
to be complex, but that's how it is.
Anyway! So we'll play as Nights, a character
that comes from dreams and nightmares.
And we'll have to choose
between two characters:
there's Claris, the little girl with pink
hair you can see in this cutscene,
or a boy
named Elliot.
So Claris is dreaming, and
it turns into a nightmare.
She was dreaming of an audition,
and the jury turns into some kind of ghosts,
some monsters
from nightmares.
And we'll play as Nights in her dreams
to get rid of all the nightmares.
This isn't the exact story, but it
would be too long to fully explain it,
as it is, in my opinion,
unnecessarily complex.
I believe the story is more complicated
than what the game truly displays.
So, you understood
the basic plot,
we play through Claris or Elliot's
dreams to eradicate their nightmares,
which are being personified by
the boss at the end of each stage.
So, I press start,
and here we go.
Please note I am recording, as usual, the
original console, and not an emulator.
And as you can see, the
only option is "New Game".
I've lost all
my save files!
I was gutted by this, but I must say
I knew it was bound to happen.
For those that don't know, there
was no memory card on the Saturn.
Save were made thanks to a
battery inside the console.
Since I hadn't turned
on the console for years,
the battery is completely
out of order.
Not only did I lose my files, but
I also can't save anymore!
It bugs me a bit, because I wanted
to show you some more games.
But now I won't be able
to, unfortunately. Too bad.
So! We have to choose
between Claris and Elliot.
Each character has three different dreams,
which means three different worlds.
And the seventh one is
shared by both characters.
Let's start
with Claris.
Claris' first stage can be
considered as a tutorial.
It isn't a tutorial per se, it is a full
level, but it is very simple.
Yes, "Spring Valley" is the
easiest stage of the game.
So Nights is really different
from most games.
There aren't really any enemies, except
the bosses at the end of the stages.
There are rather
harmless enemies though.
But the main challenge
of this game is the clock.
The clock is not ticking yet, but it will start as soon
as I get into Nights, who's right in front of me.
We can say that what
we see here is ugly.
The game is pretty overall,
but the on-foot sequences
with Claris and
Elliot are super ugly.
Thankfully, there isn't a lot of them,
just when we don't control Nights.
So here we go,
we play as Nights!
Let's see
what's going on.
We can fly, within the limitations
imposed by the game.
We are actually in
some sort of 2D plane.
We can go to the right,
the left, the top or the bottom.
I really don't know how
to explain it clearly...
It really is a
game that...
First, I have to
speed up a bit.
The goal is to collect
20 small chips.
You see I can
collect Blue Chips.
Here for instance, I trap
them inside my loop.
So you need to collect 20 Blue Chips
and then reach the capsule.
Capsule that we can
find near here, there it is.
It should be good, between the
12 I have and those I stored earlier.
The capsule is destroyed, and I now
have to go back to the center of the stage.
There
it is.
And so this would be the end of the first course,
as each level is divided in four courses.
We are currently in the first
course of the first world.
However, you also want
to make the top score.
You can increase your
score by doing combos...
Let's fly above this to avoid
completing the course...
Because I still have 45
seconds to score some points.
So, how
does it work?
Well, I must collect as
many chips as possible,
I must go through the
rings in quick fashion,
which triggers
combos.
You can see in the
top-right corner: 12,900 points.
And at the end of each
level, we get a rank.
It goes from A, the
best you can get, to F.
So I must collect
the chips...
My playing is far from perfect, even if
I trained a bit before shooting this.
My performance would have been
pitiful otherwise, but it's still far from great.
I have 14 seconds
left, so if I go fast...
I think I still have room
for one more lap.
Let's use the
whirl to go faster...
OK, 4 seconds left,
let's call it a day.
There we go, B-grade
with 21,900 points!
Not too bad, and
here we go again!
115 seconds left, and I have
to collect four chips again.
Huh, what am I saying,
twenty Blue Chips.
And just like previously, I must reach the
capsule with twenty Blue Chips to clear the course.
So here are the two
objectives of the game:
first, get four... Why
am I stuck on "four"?
It's twenty,
twenty Blue Chips!
So I have twelve right now, eight
more to go as you can see.
There are some
down there...
No, I missed
them...
Let's go through the rings, as fast
as possible to gain more points.
We have one attack,
the Drill Dash, like this.
We can also perform figures
with the L and R triggers.
It is useful in
the Power Loop,
which I believe can be found in
the third course of this stage.
So I'll show it
to you very soon.
So, you understand
how this game works.
The main objective is
actually making the top score.
This is a personal challenge
to get an A-rank on each course.
Let me tell you it is
rather difficult to achieve.
You almost need to know the stages
by heart to get all A-grades.
Learning the levels by heart
never seemed fun to me,
so I had just finished
the game back then.
There goes the capsule,
with 35 seconds left.
Let's try to get as
many points as possible.
Truth to be told, there's a real feeling
of freedom when you play Nights.
Even if we're playing
with horizontal scrolling...
I mean, even if the game is in 3D,
it doesn't really feel like it.
How could
I say that?
I don't know,
I don't know...
But anyway, the feeling of
freedom is definitively here.
It's
true.
Let's
finish...
C-rank.
So, four courses with a boss
at the end of the last one.
And then, we get a grade based on the
average grade received throughout the courses.
So seven worlds with
four courses each.
You can easily guess the game is relatively
short, which is one of its flaws.
Hey, here's the
Power Loop!
So, by pressing the L and R
triggers, you can perform acrobatics.
And the goal is to get as
many points as possible.
Now, I'm doing a bit of nonsense as I can't
remember how to do proper acrobatics...
But I truly
like it.
I truly
like Nights!
To be simple, this was an original game
that proposed something different.
And it was very rare back then to find
games that were simply different.
Man, I really don't know how
to do good acrobatics anymore...
Fuck, I need
to hurry up!
I need to collect Blue Chips
and reach the capsule.
I don't remember whether
I destroyed it or not...?
No, not yet,
come on, quick!
Let's be fast and pick
up as many Chips as possible...
Let's not care about the Power Loop
for now, as time is running out...
What else can I say
about the game?
You can see it is really pretty,
a very colorful game indeed.
There goes the capsule,
now let's reach the end...
It is a very colorful
game for sure.
It is pretty, however I can't help but feel it
was a bit overrated from a technical standpoint.
I will admit it is running perfectly smoothly,
despite playing "only" on the Saturn.
So it is pretty,
but not too much.
For instance, there's a lot of clipping,
especially during on-foot segments.
Oh, by the way, you can see
small stars following Nights.
What are
they exactly?
Aw,
shit!
See, when I do a loop,
it makes a small whirl
that collects all the items
and chips trapped inside it.
Fuck, I missed
everything here!
It doesn't matter,
let's move on...
So I think we're currently
at the fourth course,
which means right
before the boss fight.
I'll let you listen to the
absolutely wonderful boss theme.
The whole soundtrack
is wonderful, actually.
The Sonic Team made outstanding
tunes for this game!
Some tracks are
simply to die for!
The music leaves us simply in
awe of its magnificence.
They simply killed it, they fully
deserve a ten out of ten for this.
What else
can I say?
Sometimes, the camera angle
will switch from this
to a top-down view above Nights,
or will be placed behind the character.
However, I don't really like these
sequences, I don't find them good.
OK! I think we're heading
towards the boss now.
I'll let you listen
to its theme...
Oh, so here's
our average rank.
One B-grade and three C-ranks
grant us an overall C-rank.
By getting four A-grades,
we get some bonuses.
Now, listen to
the boss' music.
There
we go!
So each boss has
a unique weak point.
For instance,
this one...
Raaah, why do
I play so badly?
You can see we are
once again timed.
Hence the only real obstacle
in this game is the timer.
Without it, the game would
be an absolute cakewalk.
And the game is
already rather simple.
Let's be a bit quicker and
stop doing horse shit...
So the goal is to cling onto it
and then attack it with a whirl.
You can see it here, this is the
only real attack in the whole game.
What else can I add
about this game?
I must say this is quite
the exotic journey.
Unfortunately,
it didn't sell well.
This is, after all, the fate of
every original game.
The same could be said
with Ico on the PS2.
Or Viva Piñata
on the Xbox 360.
As soon as a game is vastly different
and stands out from the rest,
it is almost
never a bestseller.
And the same can be sadly
said about Nights.
It clearly was
an important...
Well, the boss
is cleared.
It clearly was an important game in Sega's
eyes, to help the launch of the Saturn.
The plan didn't
really work.
Well, I think I've said
about everything.
It is truly hard to rightfully
convey through the video
the feelings one experiences
while playing the game.
Once again, I can assure you this is
a game you must play to really get.
This video was more
to show you Nights,
as I think most of you had
never seen it in action before.
So I guess it
was worth it.
By the way, the analog
gamepad I'm currently holding
is almost a carbon copy
of the Dreamcast one.
It is one of the very first
analog gamepad in the world.
It came out almost at the same
time than the Nintendo 64's.
The Dualshock didn't
exist back then.
So I believe I've
said it all.
This was Nights
on the Saturn,
which is more a
dream than a game.
You play it to relax
and have a good time.
And to be honest, you do
have a good time playing it.
A very
original game.
We'll stop
with...
I think I'll put a dream
sequence from a movie.
Let's stop with
Schwarzenegger for once...
So I'll leave you with a clip from "The
City of Lost Children", a movie I love.
And I tell you:
see you next time.
"May I give
it a try?"
"Go ahead,
mollusk."
"Once upon a time, there was
an inventor so gifted
"that he could
create life."
"Truly remarkable man."
"Ah. a fairy tale.
"l can already feel
tears in my eyes."
"Since he had no
wife or children,
"he decided to make them
in his laboratory.
"He started with his wife
and fashioned her
"into the most beautiful
princess in the world.
"Alas, a wicked genetic fairy
cast a spell on the inventor
"so much so that the princess was
only knee-high to a grasshopper.
"He then cloned six children
in his own image.
"Faithful.
Hardworking.
"They were so alike
no one could tell them apart.
"But fate tricked him again,
giving them all sleeping sickness.
"Craving someone to talk to,
he grew in a fish tank
"a poor migraine-ridden
brain.
"And then, at last, he
created his masterpiece...
"More intelligent than the
most intelligent man on Earth.
"But, alas. the inventor
made a serious mistake.
"While his creation was intelligent,
he, too, had a defect.
"He never, ever
had a dream.
"You can't imagine how
quickly he grew old
"because he was
so unhappy."
"Boss!"
