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1UP recently had a chance to delve a little deeper into NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams, in particular the game's multiplayer and "My Dream" modes.

Reportedly, the former is to consist of two gametypes, one of which -- imaginatively titled "Race Mode" -- will be fully playable online. This will see two players competing in an out-and-out race to the finish line, one as the eponymous NiGHTS, and the other as his her its arch-enemy, Reala.

Passing through yellow or green rings contributes to a meter that can in turn be used for "dash boosts," while spike rings have the opposite effect. Encouragingly, it sounds like a fairly "pure" interpretation of the original Saturn game, if our withered, dried-up memories serve correctly.

"Battle Mode" is the second multiplayer variant, an offline game for two players. Here, each player has to avoid the "Mareballoon," essentially a large orange time bomb that NiGHTS and Reala can chuck between one another. If you're the one holding the Mareballoon by the time its clock has ticked down to zero, then your opponent clinches a point, with the first to three winning.

Swoop effortlessly past the break for more.

IGN's Levi Buchanan has written a feature questioning the significance of Sega's NiGHTS, both on the Saturn in 1997 and on the Wii now. The feature suggests that NiGHTS may not be as important as Sega fans think it is (but what could be?) because it wasn't really 3D and, more importantly, not that many people played it compared to the hits on the Saturn's contemporaries.

Both of these points are unfortunately true. With the exception of the included analog controller, NiGHTS didn't really influence future games that much (we went full-3D). And if Sega's hoping to sell this game on its nostalgia value alone, they will be disappointed. The kinds of numbers that made for a hit Saturn game probably wouldn't translate into a hit Wii game. Neither of these points necessarily mean that NiGHTS doesn't matter. It does, because it was a really great game. And that's what we expect from the sequel as well. We're content for NiGHTS just to be a really great game while the Marios and such get lauded as watershed gaming events. We'd all be happier, of course, if it was a real hit rather than a niche game.

The problem outlined in the article is that Sonic Team needs to satisfy the people who have been waiting eleven years for a sequel, while also delivering something that will intrigue new players. Where our opinions differ is that Buchanan seems to think that the classic NiGHTS gameplay is insufficient for a game in 2007, while we think it's great and could go far with enough visual sprucing up and advertising help.

Every Tuesday, Mike Sylvester brings you REVOLUTIONARY, a look at the wide world of Wii possibilities.

Long ago, there existed a magical place where children and teenagers dumped quarter after quarter into machines which housed the latest and greatest hardware for playing drool-worthy games that just weren't possible at home. This place was called Arcade. One day, a powerful consumer electronics manufacturer decided they wanted those quarters, a few hundred dollars on top of that, and a lifetime of your loyalty. With the mystical weapon called PlayStation, they drew the life force out of arcades and created their own mighty empire - in your home. Most memories of the arcade have evolved into legend, with a few of the old games brought home as ports. But capturing the full magnificent essence of most of those games has rarely been accomplished. Whether it's the scarcity of competitors whose pockets jingle with change as they wait their turn to play, the absence of custom-made control systems designed to fit each individual game, the inability to play ports that look exactly as they did in their arcade incarnations, or any number of other reasons, the arcade is nigh on impossible to rebuild in one's home. But that shouldn't stop you from trying.

We said we wouldn't get hung up on graphics if the gameplay was good. And, well, after watching these two videos of NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams, we are feeling a sensation we haven't felt in a long time: real Sega love. You could put a copy of Sonic Shuffle in front of us and we'd totally play it. Our minds aren't changed about the textures, but we find it very hard to care right now.

What you see in the video is authentic NiGHTS. Sega hasn't changed it into a minigame collection or a training game or even a 3D platformer. They didn't give him a gun and a car. This is a real sequel to the Saturn game in 2.5D, just like God intended. Ignore the Disney-esque narration and flourishes in the trailer. They are irrelevant.

For some reason, these videos aren't embedded at Gamespot's NiGHTS page, despite using the Gamespot player. You can, however, download a high-resolution version of the gameplay video there. They are embedded after the break. Please watch them and improve your day!

[Via NeoGAF; embedded Gamespot videos found at GoNintendo]

A new scan of NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams has appeared, thanks to NeoGAF's tireless neo2046. It mostly contains too-small images of NiGHTS flying around, which-- thankfully-- look great. There's some kind of ... peacock creature, maybe?

The page highlights NiGHTS' new human counterpart, Helen Cartwright, a young violinist. We assume that, like the previous game's children, she experiences performance anxiety and seeks solace in her dreams. Whatever the motivation, she frees NiGHTS so we can start playing the real game. And for that we must thank the frilly-jacketed, fictional child. The full page is after the break!

We haven't found any music in a Wii game that does the same thing. In fact, there doesn't seem to be any standout music in a Wii game so far, except for maybe the pleasant little jingle in the Everybody Votes Channel, which kind of sounds like something from Super Monkey Ball 2. What do you think? Do you know of any Wii games with timeless music? Let's go away to the comments!

While we've been vocally (or textually) thrilled about a sequel to the sublime NiGHTS into Dreams coming to the Wii, our enthusiasm has always been kept in check by the possibility of Sega ruining it. They have a couple of different avenues to do so: they could turn it into a minigame collection for non-gamers, which must be quite a temptation for Wii developers, they could go the "edgy" route, or they could just be Sega and churn out a terrible game.

We're happy to report that, according to an NGamer interview with Sega Studio USA's Takashi Iizuka, at least the classic gameplay will be intact. Iizuka said that he decided to keep the game concept the same out of consideration for those of us for whom it's been a long eleven-year wait. Not only is the gameplay basically the same, but the composer for the original game is back.

Of course, all of this is very encouraging, but it doesn't eliminate the possibility of Sega pulling a Sonic 360 and releasing a game that is disappointing in surprising new ways. We hate that we have to add the "don't forget, this is Sega" disclaimer, but we do, especially with Sonic Team.

This isn't some sick, delayed April Fool's joke. After endless rumors and speculation, Japanese gaming mag Famitsu has finally confirmed ONM's "world exclusive": the official sequel to NiGHTS into Dreams, tentatively titled NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams, is coming to the Wii this winter. The Wiimote will be heavily utilized in the flying mechanics, which include soaring, tumbling, and freewheeling through an endless diamond sky. The producer of the title, Takashi Izuka of Sonic Team USA, has this to say about the title:

"In 1996, we created the NiGHTS character to achieve a concept of 'being refreshed from being able to fly in the sky'. 11 years later, at last, we have broken our silence. NiGHTS will now fly in a new dream world: new stages, new story, and on the new Wii platform. Please look forward to NiGHTS and friends exploring this brand new adventure."

Better news in the world of Wii does not exist, friends. What is it now, like, 264 days till the Winter Solstice?

[via Joystiq]

[Thanks to Dias and Creamsugar!]

We've been speculating and reading rumors for a while, but now we have what seems like a believable confirmation from Swedish magazine Gamereactor. It's right there on the cover of the April issue! NiGHTS! We are seriously freaking out about the return of one of the coolest Sega games ever.

There are, however, a few problems. First is that the cover doesn't necessarily mention the Wii as the platform for the new game. The rumors have all placed this on the Wii, so we'll just continue believing there. Secondly, there's the possibility that this preview cover is an elaborate April Fool's Day prank. We don't even want to think about that.

Finally, we have to remember that this new NiGHTS game, if it's real, is going to be made by 2007 "Sonic 360/Shadow the Hedgehog" Sega, and not 1996 awesome Sega. Also, former Sonic Team leader Yuji Naka has already disavowed any involvement with a new NiGHTS.

[Via NeoGAF]

We love the Virtual Console. In the (completely mythical) drought periods between flagship Wii titles, the Virtual Console gives us a steady diet of excellent, cheap games. More than that, it serves as a history lesson for all the new gamers flooding into the hobby, and those too young to remember the 8-bit era. Also it gives you all a second chance to buy some Turbografx-16 games.

Obviously, we want more. We love the available consoles, but they aren't enough. We salivated over the Saturn rumors, and we'd like to see that. In fact, we have a great deal of affection for all Sega consoles. We'd like to see some Master System games show up on the VC soon.

What consoles would you like to see added to the lineup? Any answer is the right answer, as long as it's not the ActionMax!

"Sega Saturn, shiro!" means "Play Sega Saturn!" and is the catchphrase of the Saturn's Japanese mascot, the very burly and heroic Segata Sanshiro. It's also what we've been daydreaming about since we heard all the Saturn-related rumors. We love that Sega and Nintendo are pals now, but we wish we could get a little bit more of the good Sega, and a little bit less of the Shadow the Hedgehog era Sega.

The Saturn is chock full of classic Sega awesomeness, and we want to know what part of that ... uh, full, uh, chock of awesomeness you'd plop your Wii Points down for first. We're in total speculation land here, so Japanese games are okay to suggest. Our pick? Segata Sanshiro Shinken Yuugi, which we are desperate to play despite hearing that it's not very good. Listen to that theme song!

[Update: decided to go ahead and actually post the images.]
[Update 2: changed the title, which was by coincidence identical to Game|Life's.]

Another Sega Saturn-related rumor! Maybe Segata Sanshiro is hitting the press circuit, drumming up renewed interest in his favorite console.

The latest rumor comes from the UK's Official Nintendo Magazine, who placed a teaser image in the back page of their March issue, advertising that a revived classic would be revealed in the next issue. The image consisted of a field of stars with an outline of some kind of shape.

NeoGAFfers did some detective work and found the image that had been outlined: a character portrait of Sega's NiGHTS character. NiGHTS more than counts as a classic game! The implication here is that a new game in the series might be headed to the Wii.

We're still skeptical for a few reasons: first, the next edition of ONM will be the April issue, and it's imprudent to trust any news item that comes out in a game magazine in April. Second, the "revival" might be the original game on Virtual Console ... which would actually still be great. Finally, there's always the possibility that the NiGHTS picture was a deliberate misdirection, and the new game could turn out to be Dizzy or something. We hope that isn't the case-- Sega fans have been put through a lot, and many of us could snap at any moment.

We've posted both the original teaser image and the NiGHTS-added version after the break.