Play NiGHTS into Dreams... Online Free for Sega Saturn.

How to Play NiGHTS into Dreams...

Here is the default control layout for NiGHTS into Dreams... in the RetroPlayers.Club Player. Open Controller Mapping in the app to reassign anything to your own keys or gamepad.

The Story Behind NiGHTS into Dreams...

They initially thought the game would consume around 100 megabytes of data, and at one point considered releasing it on two discs. According to Naka, every phrase in the game has a meaning; for example, "abayo" is Japanese slang for "goodbye". The team only sparingly used the Sega Graphics Library operating system, said by many developers to make programming for the Saturn dramatically easier, and instead mostly used custom libraries.

The design incorporated Japanese, European, and American elements to give Nights as universal an appeal as possible. Fearing the game would appeal to too young a demographic in the West, Sega of America considered altering it to better appeal to the older Saturn demographic, though these plans never materialized. According to Naka, the initial development team consisted of seven people, and grew to 20 as programmers arrived.

What You'll Play

The feature runs from the Sega Saturn's internal clock, which alters features in the A-Life system depending on the time. Once the flying sequence is initiated, the time limit begins. If the player walks around the landscape for too long, they are pursued by a sentient alarm clock which awakens the character and ends the level if it comes into contact with the player.

The winner is the first player to hit or paraloop the other three times. It is possible to have them mate with other Nightopians, which creates hybrids known as "Superpians". In each level, players initially control Claris or Elliot, who immediately have their Ideyas (spherical objects that contain emotions) of hope, wisdom, intelligence and purity stolen from them by Wizeman's minions, leaving behind only their Ideya of courage.

Why It Still Hits

The company later released a second three-issue miniseries, continuing the story of the first, but the series did not gain enough sales to warrant an ongoing series. Martin Robinson from Eurogamer opined that the flight mechanics were a "giddy thrill". A high-definition remaster of the PlayStation 2 version was released for PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade in October 2012.

1UP ranked it third in its "Top Ten Cult Classics" list. Elsewhere, it was given away with the purchase of Saturn games such as Daytona USA: Championship Circuit Edition (1996) or issues of Sega Saturn Magazine and Next Generation Magazine. The Saturn's internal clock changes elements according to the date and time: December activates "Christmas Nights" mode, replacing item boxes with Christmas presents, greenery with snow and gumdrops, rings with wreaths, and Ideya captures with Christmas trees; Nightopians wear elf costumes, and the music is replaced with a rendition of "Jingle Bells" and an a cappella version of the Nights theme song.

NiGHTS into Dreams... — Frequently Asked Questions