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110-454: Nights into Dreams is a 1996 action game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Sega Saturn . The story follows the teenagers Elliot Edwards and Claris Sinclair, who enter Nightopia, a dream world where all dreams take place. With the help of Nights, an exiled "Nightmaren", they begin a journey to stop the evil ruler Wizeman from destroying Nightopia and consequently

220-841: A first-person shooter might secretly enjoy that their character gets killed in the game, although their expressions might show the contrary. The game used in the study was James Bond 007: Nightfire . Shooter games have been around since the beginning of the video game industry . Notable examples of shooting arcade video games during the early-to-mid-1970s include Syzygy Engineering 's Computer Space (1971), Galaxy Game (1971), Tank (1974) by Kee Games , Gun Fight (1975) by Taito and Midway Manufacturing , and Midway's Sea Wolf (1976). In turn, early arcade shooter video games were inspired by early mainframe games such as Spacewar! (1962) as well as arcade electro-mechanical games such as Periscope (1965) and gun games . A major turning point for action video games came with

330-473: A Nights into Dreams -inspired stage, "Nightmare Zone", as downloadable content . In February 1998, Archie Comics adapted Nights into Dreams into a three-issue comic book miniseries to test whether a Nights comic would sell well in North America. The first miniseries was loosely based on the game, with Nights identified as male despite the character's androgynous design. The company later released

440-505: A bug check on the car-smashing bonus stage. He thought that the timing required was too difficult to make it a useful game feature, but left it in as a hidden one. Combos have since become a design priority in almost all fighting games, and range from the simplistic to the highly intricate. The first game to count the hits of each combo, and reward the player for performing them, was Super Street Fighter II . In rhythm games, combo measures how many consecutive notes have received at least

550-450: A character often in the form of a protagonist or avatar . This player character must navigate a level , collecting objects, avoiding obstacles, and battling enemies with their natural skills as well as weapons and other tools at their disposal. At the end of a level or group of levels, the player must often defeat a boss enemy that is more challenging and often a major antagonist in the game's story. Enemy attacks and obstacles deplete

660-487: A combo (short for combination ) is a set of actions performed in sequence, usually with strict timing limitations, that yield a significant benefit or advantage. The term originates from fighting games where it is based upon the concept of a striking combination . It has been since applied more generally to a wide variety of genres, such as puzzle games , shoot 'em ups , and sports games . Combos are commonly used as an essential gameplay element, but can also serve as

770-428: A high score or attack power modifier, or simply as a way to exhibit a flamboyant playing style. In fighting games, combo specifically indicates a timed sequence of moves which produce a cohesive series of hits, each of which leaves the opponent unable to block. John Szczepaniak of Hardcore Gaming 101 considers Data East 's DECO Cassette System arcade title Flash Boy (1981), a scrolling action game based on

880-416: A 2.5-D platform game without the platforms". Nights into Dreams has appeared on several best-game-of-all-time lists. In a January 2000 poll by Computer and Video Games , readers named it the 15th greatest game, behind Super Mario 64 . IGN ranked it the 94th best game of all time in 2007, and in 2008, Levi Buchanan ranked it fourth in his list of the top 10 Sega Saturn games. Next Generation ranked it

990-570: A 4.5 out of 5 for graphics and a 5 out of 5 in every other category (sound, control, and FunFactor). Entertainment Weekly said its "graceful acrobatic stunts" offer "a more compelling sensation of soaring than most flight simulators". Edge praised the analogue controller and called the levels "well-designed and graphically unrivaled", but the reviewer expressed disappointment in the limited level count compared to Super Mario 64 , and suggested that Nights seemed to prioritise technical achievements and Saturn selling points over gameplay with as clear

1100-427: A bonus barrel. The power-ups include a speed boost, point multiplier and an air pocket. The player receives a grade based on their score at the end of each Mare, and an overall grade for the level after clearing all four Mares. Nights is then transported to Nightmare for a boss fight against one of Wizeman's "Level Two" Nightmarens. Each boss fight has a time limit, and the game ends if the player runs out of time during

1210-408: A broad category of action games, referring to a variety of games that are driven by the physical actions of player characters . The term dates back to the golden age of arcade video games in the early 1980s, when the terms "action games" and "character games" began being used to distinguish a new emerging genre of character-driven action games from the space shoot 'em ups that had previously dominated

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1320-698: A different approach to game design at the time. According to Eugene Jarvis, American arcade developers focused mainly on space shooters during the late 1970s to early 1980s, greatly influenced by Japanese space shooters but taking the genre in a different direction from the "more deterministic, scripted, pattern-type" gameplay of Japanese games, towards a more "programmer-centric design culture, emphasizing algorithmic generation of backgrounds and enemy dispatch" and "an emphasis on random-event generation, particle-effect explosions and physics" as seen in arcade games such as his own Defender (1981) and Robotron: 2084 (1982) as well as Atari 's Asteroids (1979). In

1430-412: A dominant genre in video arcades and on game consoles through to the present day. Space Invaders set the template for later games in the shooter subgenre, and it is considered one of the most influential games of all time. During the arcade golden age, from the late 1970s to early 1980s, a wide variety of new subgenres were created. The success of Space Invaders led to space shooters becoming

1540-530: A focus as Sonic . Martin Robinson from Eurogamer opined that the flight mechanics were a "giddy thrill". Colin Ferris from Game Revolution praised the graphics and speed as breathtaking and awe-inspiring, concluding that it offered the best qualities of the fifth-generation machines. GameFan praised the combination of "lush graphics, amazing music, and totally unique gameplay". Next Generation criticised

1650-678: A high-definition version was released worldwide for Windows , PlayStation 3 , and Xbox 360 in 2012. A sequel, Nights: Journey of Dreams , was released for the Wii in 2007. Nights into Dreams is split into seven levels , referred to as "Dreams". The levels are distributed between the two teenage characters: three are unique to Claris, three to Elliot, and each play through an identical final seventh level, "Twin Seeds". Initially, only Claris' "Spring Valley" and Elliot's "Splash Garden" levels are available, and successful completion of one of these unlocks

1760-752: A lack of games to use as reference; the team had to redesign the Spring Valley level numerous times and build "everything from scratch". The team used the Sega Graphics Library operating system, said by many developers to make programming for the Saturn dramatically easier, only sparingly, instead creating the game almost entirely with custom libraries. Because the Sonic Team offices did not include soundproof studios, team members recorded sound effects at night. According to Naka, every phrase in

1870-580: A level, and extra points are awarded when the player flies through rings. Each level is split up into four "Mares" set in Nightopia and a boss fight which takes place in Nightmare. 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. The goal of each Mare

1980-416: A limited range, but this attack is rare. Players may find a power-up within the game world that grants temporary or permanent improvements to their abilities. For example, the avatar may gain an increase in speed, more powerful attacks, or a temporary shield from attacks. Some action games even allow players to spend upgrade points on the power ups of their choice. In action games that involve navigating

2090-406: A more deterministic, scripted, pattern-type" of play. Terms such as "action games" or "character games" began being used to distinguish these new character-driven action games from the space shooters that had previously dominated the video game industry. The emphasis on character-driven gameplay in turn enabled a wider variety of subgenres. Namco 's hit maze game Pac-Man (1980) popularized

2200-571: A more mature look. Sega of America , fearing the game would appeal to too young of a demographic in the West, and considered altering the game to better appeal to the older Saturn demographic in the West, though these plans never materialized. Nights was marketed with a budget of $ 10 million, which included television and print advertisements in the United States. In the US, it was advertised with

2310-508: A new life, the player resumes the game either from the same location they died, a checkpoint, or the start of the level. Upon starting a new life, the avatar is typically invincible for a few seconds to allow the player to re-orient themselves. Players may earn extra lives by reaching a certain score or by finding an in-game object. Arcade games still limit the number of player lives, while home video games have shifted increasingly to unlimited lives. Action games take place in either 2D or 3D from

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2420-680: A plethora of shoot 'em up games taking place from a top-down or side-scrolling perspective. Space shooters were initially categorized as a separate genre from action games in the early 1980s, when the term was used to refer to character action games, up until character-driven shooters, particularly scrolling run-and-gun shooters, became popular by the late 1980s. The setting of shooter games often involves military conflicts, whether historical, such as World War II , contemporary, such as Middle East conflicts , or fictional, such as space warfare . Shooter games do not always involve military conflicts. Other settings include hunting games, or follow

2530-522: A second three-issue miniseries, continuing the story of the first, but the series did not gain enough sales to warrant an ongoing series. It was later added to a list of guest franchises featured in Archie Comics' Worlds Unite crossover between its Sonic the Hedgehog and Mega Man comics. Citations Bibliography Action game In an action game, the player typically controls

2640-442: A significant impact on the video game industry, particularly the action game genre. The reviewer also said Nights felt better through with the analogue pad, in contrast to the conventional controller, and also praised the light and smooth feeling the analogue pad portrayed during gameplay. Reviewers also praised the soundtrack and audio effects. Paul Davies from Computer and Video Games said Nights had "the best music ever"; in

2750-531: A song is called a 理論値. Many other types of video games include a combo system involving chains of tricks or other maneuvers, usually in order to build up bonus points to obtain a high score . Examples include the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series, the Crazy Taxi series, and Pizza Tower . The first game with score combos was Data East 's 1981 DECO Cassette System arcade game Flash Boy . Combos are

2860-437: A space, players will encounter obstacles, traps, and enemies. Enemies typically follow fixed patterns and attack the player, although newer action games may make use of more complex artificial intelligence to pursue the player. Enemies sometimes appear in groups or waves, with enemies increasing in strength and number until the end of the level. Enemies may also appear out of thin air. This can involve an invisible spawn point, or

2970-535: A successful fan campaign by a Nights into Dreams fansite , the character Nights was integrated into Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing (2010) as a traffic guard . Nights and Reala also appear as playable characters in Sega Superstars Tennis (2008) and Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (2012), the latter of which also features a Nights into Dreams -themed racetrack. The limited Deadly Six edition of Sonic Lost World (2013) features

3080-486: A succession of punches, with the first hit temporarily immobilizing the enemy, making him unable to defend himself against successive punches. Combo attacks would later become more dynamic in Capcom 's Final Fight , released in 1989. The earliest known competitive fighting game that used a combo system was Culture Brain 's Shanghai Kid in 1985; when the spiked speech balloon that reads "RUSH!" pops up during battle,

3190-430: A variety of perspectives. 2D action games typically use a side view or top-down view. The screen frequently scrolls as the player explores the level, although many games scroll through the level automatically to push the player forward. In 3D action games, the perspective is usually tied to the avatar from a first-person perspective or third-person perspective. However, some 3D games offer a context-sensitive perspective that

3300-451: A visible generator which can be destroyed by the player. These points may generate enemies indefinitely, or only up to a certain number. At the end of a level or group of themed levels, players often encounter a boss . This boss enemy will often resemble a larger or more difficult version of a regular enemy. A boss may require a special weapon or attack method, such as striking when the boss opens their mouth, or attacking particular part of

3410-733: A world. Each level involves a variety of challenges, whether dancing in a dance game or shooting things in a shooter, which the player must overcome to win the game. Older games force players to restart a level after dying, although action games evolved to offer saved games and checkpoints to allow the player to restart partway through a level. The obstacles and enemies in a level do not usually vary between play sessions, allowing players to learn by trial and error. However, levels sometimes add an element of randomness, such as an enemy that randomly appears or that takes an unpredictable path. Levels in an action game may be linear or nonlinear , and sometimes include shortcuts. For levels that require exploration,

Nights into Dreams - Misplaced Pages Continue

3520-443: Is controlled by an artificial intelligence camera. Most of what the player needs to know is contained within a single screen, although action games frequently make use of a heads-up display that display important information such as health or ammunition. Action games sometimes make use of maps which can be accessed during lulls in action, or a mini-map that is always visible. Action games tend to set simple goals, and reaching them

3630-582: Is controlled using the player's body. Nights is also an unlockable character in Sonic Riders (2006) and Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity (2008). A minigame version of Nights into Dreams is playable through using the Nintendo GameCube – Game Boy Advance link cable connectivity with Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II (2000) and Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg (2003). Following

3740-407: Is determined by the first player to defeat the other, which is accomplished by hitting or paralooping the other player three times. The game features an artificial life system known as "A-Life", which involves entities called Nightopians and keeps track of their moods. It is possible to have them mate with other Nightopians, which creates hybrids known as "Superpians". The more the game is played,

3850-528: Is obvious. A common goal is to defeat the end-of-game boss. This is often presented in the form of a structured story, with a happy ending upon winning the game. In some games, the goal changes as the player reveals more of the story. Many action games keep track of the player's score. Points are awarded for completing certain challenges, or defeating certain enemies. Skillful play is often rewarded with point multipliers, such as in Pac-Man where each ghost that

3960-434: Is often under time pressure, and there is not enough time for complex strategic planning. In general, faster action games are more challenging. Action games may sometimes involve puzzle solving, but they are usually quite simple because the player is under immense time pressure. Players advance through an action game by completing a series of levels . Levels are often grouped by theme, with similar graphics and enemies called

4070-441: Is punished by being imprisoned inside an Ideya palace, a container for dreamers' Ideya. One day, Elliot Edwards and Claris Sinclair, two teenagers from the city of Twin Seeds, go through failures. Elliot, a basketball player, is challenged by a group of older students and suffers a humiliating defeat on the court. Claris, a singer, is overcome by stage fright when auditioning for judges, which causes her to lose all hopes of getting

4180-558: Is returned to Nightopia and the world of Nightmare is suppressed. The next day, in Twin Seeds, a centenary ceremony begins. Elliot walks through the parade and has a vision of Nights looking at him through a billboard. Realizing that Claris is performing in a hall, Elliot runs through the crowd and sees Claris on stage in front of a large audience, singing well. The two look at each other and transition to Nightopia. I headed back to Japan so that I could work with Mr Ohshima and while I

4290-500: Is to recover one of the stolen Ideya by collecting 20 blue chips and delivering them to the cage holding the Ideyas, which overloads and releases the orb it holds. 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 majority of the gameplay centres on flying sequences, which are triggered by walking into

4400-584: The Japan Game Awards . In Electronic Gaming Monthly ' s "Best of '96" awards, it was a runner-up for Flying Game of the Year (behind Pilotwings 64 ), Nights was a runner-up for "coolest mascot" (behind Mario ), and the Saturn analog controller, which the magazine called the "Nights Controller", won Best Peripheral. The following year EGM ranked it the 70th best console video game of all time, describing it as "unlike anything you've seen before ...

4510-486: The University of Rochester on college students showed that over a period of a month, performance in eye examinations improved by about 20% in those playing Unreal Tournament compared to those playing Tetris . Most arcade games are action games, because they can be difficult for unskilled players, and thus make more money quickly. Researchers from Helsinki School of Economics have shown that people playing

Nights into Dreams - Misplaced Pages Continue

4620-459: The arcades in the late 1970s. Classic examples of character action games from the early 1980s include Frogger , maze games like Pac-Man , and platformers like Donkey Kong . Shooter games allow the player to take action at a distance using a ranged weapon, challenging them to aim with accuracy and speed. This subgenre includes first-person shooters , third-person shooters , light gun shooters , rail shooters , run and gun games and

4730-515: The first-person shooter (FPS) genre was popularized by Doom ; it is also considered, despite not using 3D polygons, a major leap forward for three-dimensional environments in action games. 3D polygon texture mapping appeared in action games around the mid-1990s, introduced to fighting games by Sega AM2's Virtua Fighter 2 (1994), to light gun shooters by Sega AM2's Virtua Cop in 1994, and to FPS games by Parallax Software 's Descent (1995). Combo (video gaming) In video games ,

4840-443: The high score . It also had a basic story with animated characters along with a "crescendo of action and climax" which laid the groundwork for later video games, according to Eugene Jarvis , who said many games "still rely on the multiple life , progressively difficult level paradigm" of Space Invaders . Following the mainstream success of Space Invaders , the industry came to be dominated by action games, which have remained

4950-537: The manga and anime series Astro Boy , to have a type of combo mechanic. When the player punches an enemy and it explodes, debris can destroy other enemies. The use of combo attacks originated from Technōs Japan 's beat 'em up arcade games , Renegade in 1986 and Double Dragon in 1987. In contrast to earlier games that let players knock out enemies with a single blow, the opponents in Renegade and Double Dragon could take much more punishment, requiring

5060-571: The slogan "Prepare to fly". Christmas NiGHTS into Dreams... is a short Christmas-themed version of Nights into Dreams released in December 1996. Iizuka stated that Christmas Nights was created to increase Saturn sales. Development began in July 1996 and took three to four months, according to Naka. Designer Takao Miyoshi recalled working "in the peak of summer ... holed up at the office listening to 'Jingle Bells'". In Japan, Christmas Nights

5170-496: The "Paraloop", whereby flying around in a complete circle and connecting the trail of stars left in Nights' wake causes any items within the loop to be attracted towards Nights. The game features a combo system known as "Linking", whereby actions such as collecting items and flying through rings are worth more points when performed in quick succession. Power-ups may be gained by flying through several predetermined rings, indicated by

5280-430: The 1978 release of Taito's shoot 'em up game Space Invaders , which marked the beginning of the golden age of arcade video games . The game was designed by Tomohiro Nishikado , who drew inspiration from Atari 's Breakout (1976) and the science fiction genre. Nishikado added several interactive elements to Space Invaders that he found lacking in earlier video games, such as the ability for enemies to react to

5390-420: The 25th best game in their September 1996 issue (one month before they actually reviewed the game, and roughly two months before it saw release outside Japan). 1UP ranked it third in its "Top Ten Cult Classics" list. In 2014, GamesRadar listed Nights into Dreams as the best Sega Saturn game of all time, saying it "tapped into a new kind of platform gameplay for its era". Naka said that the release of Nights

5500-585: The British Sega Saturn Magazine praised the visuals and colour scheme as rich in both texture and detail, while suggesting that Nights into Dreams is "one of the most captivating games the Saturn has witnessed yet". Next Generation said the visuals were "beyond a doubt" the most fluid and satisfying for any game on any system. Upon release, the Japanese Sega Saturn Magazine wrote that Nights would have

5610-464: The Dreamcast. In August 1999, Naka confirmed that a sequel was in development; by December 2000, however, it had been cancelled. Naka expressed reluctance to develop a sequel, but later said he was interested in using Nights into Dreams "to reinforce Sega's identity". Aside from a handheld electronic game released by Tiger Electronics and small minigames featured in several Sega games, no sequel

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5720-569: The Hedgehog 2 in 1992, but development did not begin until after the release of Sonic & Knuckles in late 1994. Programming began in April 1995 and total development spanned six months. Yuji Naka was lead programmer and producer, while Naoto Ohshima and Takashi Iizuka were director and lead designer, respectively. Naka and Ohshima felt they had spent enough time with the Sonic franchise and were eager to work on new concepts. According to Naka,

5830-447: The Hedgehog 2 . Development was led by Sonic Team veterans Yuji Naka , Naoto Ohshima , and Takashi Iizuka . Naka began the project with the idea of flight, and Ohshima designed Nights as an androgynous character that resembles an angel that could fly like a bird. The team conducted research on dreaming and REM sleep , and was influenced by the works and theories of psychoanalysts Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud . An analogue controller,

5940-564: The Ideya Palace near the start of each level so that the character merges with the imprisoned Nights. Once the flying sequence is initiated, the time limit begins. In the flying sections, the player controls Nights' flight along a predetermined route through each Mare, resembling that of a 2D platformer . The player has only a limited period of time available before Nights falls to the ground and transforms back into Claris or Elliot, and each collision with an enemy subtracts five seconds from

6050-608: The North American home video game market (after it had crashed in 1983 ). Alongside side-scrollers, rail shooters and light gun shooters also became popular during the mid-to-late 1980s. Popular examples include first-person light gun shooting gallery games such as Nintendo 's Duck Hunt (1984), pseudo-3D third-person rail shooters such as Sega's Space Harrier (1985) and After Burner (1987), and Taito's Operation Wolf (1987) which popularized military-themed first-person light gun rail shooters. A trend that

6160-535: The Saturn 3D controller, was designed alongside the game and included with some retail copies. Nights into Dreams received acclaim for its graphics, gameplay, soundtrack, and atmosphere. It has been cited as one of the greatest video games ever made . A shorter Christmas-themed version, Christmas Nights , was released in December 1996. Nights into Dreams was ported to the PlayStation 2 in 2008 in Japan and

6270-474: The avatar eats will generate twice as many points as the last. Sometimes action games will offer bonus objects that increase the player's score. There is no penalty for failing to collect them, although these bonus objects may unlock hidden levels or special events. In many action games, achieving a high score is the only goal, and levels increase in difficulty until the player loses. Arcade games are more likely to be unbeatable, as they make their money by forcing

6380-434: The battle. Upon winning the boss fight, the player is awarded a score multiplier based on how quickly the boss was defeated, which is then applied to the score earned in the Nightopia section to produce the player's final score for that Dream. The game also features a multiplayer mode, which allows two players to battle each other by using a splitscreen . One player controls Nights, whereas the other controls Reala. The winner

6490-448: The best player, paving the way for the competitive multiplayer and deathmatch modes found in modern action games. Inspired by Street Fighter II , along with the SNK fighting games Fatal Fury (1991) and Art of Fighting (1992), John Romero created the deathmatch mode in id Software 's Doom (1993), which popularized competitive multiplayer online games . In the 1990s, there

6600-401: The boss. In many action games, the avatar has a certain number of hit-markers or health, which are depleted by enemy attacks and other hazards. Sometimes health can be replenished by collecting an in-game object. When the player runs out of health, the player dies. The player's avatar is often given a small number of chances to retry after death, typically referred to as lives . Upon beginning

6710-575: The boss: an inflatable Dr. Robotnik . The music is a remixed version of "Final Fever", the final boss battle music from the Japanese and European version of Sonic CD (1993). In the HD version of Nights , the Christmas Nights content is playable after the game has been cleared once. Sonic Team made a prototype Saturn sequel with the title Air Nights for the Saturn, and began development for

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6820-488: The character should resemble an angel and fly like a bird. In the context of the game, Nights is a part of every human's subconsciousness, and so was purposely designed to be neither male nor female. Nights' personality is intended to be a "a mirror of the child's personality." Naka originally intended to make Nights into Dreams a slow-paced game, but as development progressed the gameplay pace gradually increased, in similar vein to Sonic games. The initial concept envisioned

6930-488: 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. During the "Winter Nights" period, the Spring Valley weather changes according to

7040-414: The director Steven Spielberg visited the Sonic Team studio and became the first person outside the team to play the game. Naka asked him to use an experimental version of the Saturn 3D controller, and it was jokingly referred to as the "Spielberg controller" throughout development. Because the Nights character was testing very young in focus groups , Sega used a nighttime scene for the cover art to create

7150-500: The dominant genre in arcades for a few years, before a new genre of character-driven action games emerged in the early 1980s. The term "action games" began being used in the early 1980s, in reference to a new genre of character action games that emerged from Japanese arcade developers, drawing inspiration from manga and anime culture. According to Eugene Jarvis , these new character-driven Japanese action games emphasized "character development, hand-drawn animation and backgrounds, and

7260-411: The flying character in a rendered 2D sprite art, with side-scrolling features similar to Sonic the Hedgehog . The team were hesitant to switch from 2D to 3D, as Naka was sceptical that appealing characters could be created with polygons, in contrast to traditional pixel sprites, which the designers found "more expressive". According to Iizuka, the design and story took two years to finalise. The difficulty

7370-434: The game has a meaning; for example, "abayo" is Japanese slang for "goodbye". The team felt that the global market would be less resistant to a game featuring full 3D CGI cut scenes than 2D anime . Norihiro Nishiyama, the designer of the in-game movies, felt that the 3D cutscenes were a good method to show the different concepts of dreaming and waking up. Naka said that the movies incorporate realism to make it more difficult for

7480-505: The game was not genuinely 3D and said it did not surpass Super Mario 64 . Levi Buchanan from IGN believed that the console "was not built to handle Nights " due to the game occasionally clipping and warping , though he admitted that the graphics were "pretty darn good". A reviewer from Mean Machines Sega praised the vibrant colours and detailed textures, and described its animation as being "fluid as water". The reviewer also noted occasional pop-in and glitching. Rad Automatic from

7590-459: The genre of "character-led" action games. It was one of the first popular non-shooting action games, defining key elements of the genre such as "parallel visual processing" which requires simultaneously keeping track of multiple entities, including the player character, the character's location, the enemies, and the energizers. Other classic examples of character action games that followed include Nintendo 's Donkey Kong (1981), which established

7700-605: The holiday season following their adventures with Nights. Realizing that the Christmas Star is missing from the Twin Seeds Christmas tree, the pair travel to Nightopia to find it, where they reunite with Nights and retrieve the Christmas Star from Gillwing's lair. Christmas Nights contains the full version of Claris' Spring Valley dream level from Nights into Dreams , playable as both Claris and Elliot. The Saturn's internal clock changes elements according to

7810-613: The hour. Other changes apply on New Year's Day; on April Fool's Day , Reala replaces Nights as the playable character. Nights features several unlockable bonuses, such as being able to play the game's soundtrack, observe the status of the A-life system, experiment with the game's music mixer, time attack one Mare, or play as Sega's mascot Sonic the Hedgehog in the minigame Sonic the Hedgehog: Into Dreams. Sonic may only play through Spring Valley on foot, and must defeat

7920-405: The initial development team consisted of seven people, and grew to 20 as programmers arrived. Sonic creator and project director Ohshima created the character of Nights based on his inspirations from travelling Europe and western Asia. The character design incorporated Japanese, European, and American stylistics in order to give Nights as universal an appeal as possible. Ohshima later decided that

8030-420: The level is completed with time remaining, this usually adds to the player's score. In most action games, the player controls a single avatar as the protagonist . The avatar has the ability to navigate and maneuver, and often collects or manipulates objects. They have a range of defenses and attacks, such as shooting or punching. Many action games make use of a powerful attack that destroys all enemies within

8140-547: The mid-1980s, side-scrolling character action games emerged, combining elements from earlier side-view, single-screen character action games, such as single-screen platformers, with the side-scrolling of space shooters. These new side-scrolling character-driven action games featured large character sprites in colorful, side-scrolling environments, with the core gameplay consisting of fighting large groups of weaker enemies using attacks/weapons such as punches, kicks, guns, swords, ninjutsu or magic. The most notable early example

8250-546: The more inhabitants appear, and environmental features and aesthetics change. The A-Life system features an evolving music engine, allowing tempo , pitch , and melody to alter depending on the state of Nightopians within the level. The feature runs from the Sega Saturn's internal clock, which alters features in the A-Life system depending on the time. Every night, all human dreams are played out in Nightopia and Nightmare,

8360-469: The most difficult part of development was finding a way of handling the "contradiction" of using 2D sidescroller controls in a fully 3D game. Naka limited the flying mechanic to "invisible 2D tracks" because early beta testing revealed that the game was too difficult to play in full 3D. The standard Saturn gamepad was found to be insufficient to control Nights in flight, so the team developed the Saturn analog controller. It took about six months to develop, and

8470-429: The most sensational video games EVER made!" The graphics and flight mechanics were the most praised aspects. Tom Guise of Computer and Video Games said the flight system and freedom were captivating and that Nights into Dreams was the "perfect evolution" of a Sonic game. Scary Larry of GamePro said flying using the analogue joystick "is a breeze" and that the gameplay is fun, enjoyable, and impressive. He gave it

8580-542: The newly launched Nintendo 64 . It was the best-selling Sega Saturn game and the 21st best-selling game of 1996, with 392,383 copies sold. The PS2 version sold 6,828 units in Japan, bringing total Japanese sales to 399,211 units. In the US, Nights into Dreams was reported to sell out at several different retail outlets. Nights into Dreams received critical acclaim, holding an average score of 89 percent at GameRankings , based on an aggregate of nine reviews. Upon release, Computer and Video Games magazine called it "one of

8690-400: The next level in that character's path. Previously completed stages may be revisited to improve the player's high scores ; a grade between A and F is given to the player upon completion, but a "C" grade (or better) in all the selected character's levels must be achieved to unlock the relevant "Twin Seeds" stage for that character. Points are accumulated depending on how fast the player completes

8800-756: The option to play with enhanced graphics or with the original Saturn graphics. The HD version also includes Christmas Nights , but the two-player mode and Sonic the Hedgehog level were removed. Claris and Elliot make a cameo appearance in Sonic Team's Burning Rangers (1998), with both Claris and Eliot sending the Rangers emails thanking them for their help. Nights into Dreams -themed pinball areas feature in Sonic Adventure (1998) and Sonic Pinball Party (2003). The PlayStation 2 games EyeToy: Play (2003) and Sega SuperStars (2004) both feature minigames based on Nights into Dreams , in which Nights

8910-503: The platforming of Donkey Kong and Mario Bros. (1983) with side-scrolling elements from racing game Excitebike (1984) and beat 'em up Kung-Fu Master to create Super Mario Bros. (1985) for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). It went on to have a significant impact on the video game industry , establishing the conventions of the side-scrolling platformer sub-genre and helping to reinvigorate

9020-475: The player character's health and lives , and the player receives a game over when they run out of lives. Alternatively, the player gets to the end of the game by finishing a sequence of levels to complete a final goal, and see the credits . Some action games, such as early arcade games , are unbeatable and have an indefinite number of levels. The player's only goal is to get as far as they can, to maximize their score. The action genre includes any game where

9130-473: The player had a chance to rhythmically perform a series of combos called "rush-attacking". The combo notion was reintroduced to competitive fighting games with Street Fighter II (1991) by Capcom, when skilled players learned that they could combine several attacks that left no time for the computer player to recover if they timed them correctly. Combos were a design accident; lead producer Noritaka Funamizu noticed that extra strikes were possible during

9240-437: The player may need to search for a level exit that is hidden or guarded by enemies. Such levels can also contain secrets—hidden or hard-to-reach objects or places that contain something valuable. The prize can be a bonus (see below) or a non-standard exit that allows a player to access a hidden level, or jump ahead several levels. Action games sometimes offer a teleporter that will cause the player's avatar to re-appear elsewhere in

9350-403: The player overcomes challenges by physical means such as precise aim and quick response times. Action games can sometimes incorporate other challenges such as races, puzzles, or collecting objects, but they are not central to the genre. Players may encounter tactical and exploration challenges, but these games first-and-foremost require high reaction speed and good hand–eye coordination. The player

9460-457: The player to disambiguate the boundary between dreams and reality. The development took longer than expected because of the team's inexperience with Saturn hardware and uncertainty about using the full 560 megabyte space on the CD-ROM. The team initially thought that the game would consume around 100 megabytes of data, and at one point considered releasing it on two separate discs. Iizuka said that

9570-523: The player to lose the game. Games sold at home are more likely to have discrete victory conditions, since a publisher wants the player to purchase another game when they are done. Action games contain several major subgenres. However, there are a number of action games that do not fit any particular subgenres, as well as other types of genres like adventure or strategy games that have action elements. Character action games , also called "character-driven" games, "character games" or just "action games", are

9680-407: The player's movement and fire back and a game over triggered by enemies killing the player, either by getting hit or enemies reaching the bottom of the screen, rather than a timer running out. In contrast to earlier arcade games which often had a timer, Space Invaders introduced the "concept of going round after round." It also gave the player multiple lives before the game ends, and saved

9790-419: The real world. Players control Nights flying through Elliot and Claris's dreams to gather enough energy to defeat Wizeman and save Nightopia. The game is presented in 3D and imposes time limits on every level, in which the player must accumulate points to proceed. Development began after the release of Sonic & Knuckles in 1994, although the concept originated in 1992, during the development of Sonic

9900-444: The role. When they go to sleep that night, both Elliot and Claris suffer nightmares that replay the events. They escape into Nightopia and find that they both possess the rare Red Ideya of Courage, the only type that Wizeman cannot steal. Elliot and Claris release Nights, who tells them about dreams and Wizeman and his plans; the three begin a journey to stop Wizeman and restore peace to Nightopia. When they defeat Wizeman and Reala, peace

10010-426: The same level. Levels often make use of locked doors that can only be opened with a specific key found elsewhere in the level. Action games sometimes make use of time restrictions to increase the challenge. However, game levels typically do not react to time passing, and day/night cycles are rare. When the timer expires, the player typically loses a life, although some games generate a difficult enemy or challenge. If

10120-420: The same review, Tom Guise said it created a hypnotically magical atmosphere. Ferris said that the music and sound effects were that of a dream world, and asserted that they were fitting for a game like Nights into Dreams . IGN 's Buchanan praised the soundtrack and that the sound effects "fit in perfectly with the dream universe". Nights into Dreams received the "Best Graphics" and "Best Programming" awards at

10230-569: The second-worst judgment (i.e. other than the worst judgment). Never receiving the worst judgment in the entire song is called a full combo or a no miss. Receiving the best judgment for all notes in the song is called a full perfect combo or an all perfect. Some rhythm games have an internal judgment that is tighter than the best judgment, e.g. Critical Perfect in Maimai or S-Critical in Sound Voltex. Receiving an internal judgment for all notes in

10340-429: The speed, saying that the only disappointing aspect was the way "it all rushes by so fast", but the magazine praised the two-player mode and the innovative method of grading the player once they completed a level. Electronic Gaming Monthly ' s four reviewers were impressed with both the technical aspects and style of the graphics, and said the levels are great fun to explore, though they expressed disappointment that

10450-539: The story of a criminal, as seen in the popular Grand Theft Auto franchise. Although shooting is almost always a form of violence, non-violent shooters exist as well, such as Splatoon which focuses on claiming more territory than the opposing team, by covering the playable environment with colored paint or ink. Hybrid action games are games that combine elements of action games with elements from other genres. Studies have shown that people can improve their eyesight by playing action video games. Tests by scientists at

10560-598: The team went through many ideas for alternate controllers, including one shaped like a Nights doll. Iizuka said Nights was inspired by anime and Cirque du Soleil 's Mystère theatrical performance. The team researched dream sequences and REM sleep , including the works of psychoanalysts Carl Jung , Sigmund Freud and Friedrich Holtz. Iizuka studied dreams and theories about them, such as Jung's theories of dream archetypes. Naka said that Nights reflected Jung's analytical " shadow " theory, whereas Claris and Elliot were inspired by Jung's animus and anima . Nights into Dreams

10670-441: The template for the platform game subgenre, as well as Konami 's Frogger (1981) and Universal Entertainment 's Lady Bug (1981). Martial arts action games eventually emerged in the mid-1980s, with Data East 's Karate Champ (1984) establishing the one-on-one fighting game subgenre. While Japanese developers were creating a character-driven action game genre in the early 1980s, American developers largely adopted

10780-440: The time remaining. The player's time is replenished each time they return an Ideya to the Ideya Palace. While flying, Nights can use a "Drill Dash" to travel faster, as well as defeat certain reverie enemies scattered throughout the level. Grabbing onto certain enemies causes Nights to spin around, which launches both Nights and the enemy in the direction the boost was initiated. Various acrobatic manoeuvres can be performed, including

10890-694: The two parts of the dream world . In Nightopia, distinct aspects of dreamers' personalities are represented by luminous coloured spheres known as "Ideya". The evil ruler of Nightmare, Wizeman the Wicked, is stealing this dream energy from sleeping visitors in order to gather power and take control of Nightopia and eventually the real world. To achieve this, he creates five beings called "Nightmaren": jester -like, flight-capable beings, which include Jackle, Clawz, Gulpo, Gillwing and Puffy as well as many minor maren. He also creates two "Level One" Nightmaren: Nights and Reala. However, Nights rebels against Wizeman's plans, and

11000-681: Was Irem 's Kung-Fu Master (1984), the first beat 'em up and the most influential side-scrolling martial arts action game. It was based upon two Hong Kong martial arts films, Bruce Lee 's Game of Death (1973) and Jackie Chan 's Wheels on Meals (1984), This side-scrolling arcade action format became popular during the mid-to-late 1980s, with examples including ninja action games such as Taito's The Legend of Kage (1985) and Sega 's Shinobi (1987), run and gun video games such as Namco 's Rolling Thunder (1986), and beat 'em ups such as Technōs Japan 's Renegade (1986) and Double Dragon (1987). Shigeru Miyamoto combined

11110-766: Was a "3D Revolution" where action games made the transition from 2D and pseudo-3D graphics to real-time 3D polygon graphics . 3D arcade system boards that were originally designed for 3D racing games during the late 1980s to early 1990s, such as the Namco System 21 , Sega Model 1 and Sega Model 2 , were used to produce 3D arcade action games in the early 1990s, including 3D rail shooters such as Namco 's Galaxian 3 (1990) and Solvalou (1991), 3D fighting games such as Sega AM2 's Virtua Fighter (1993) and Namco's Tekken (1994), and 3D light gun shooters such as Sega AM2's Virtua Cop (1994) and Namco's Time Crisis (1995). On personal computers ,

11220-404: Was designed with the intent that young and inexperienced players would be able to complete the game, while more experienced players would be compelled by the replay value. Nights was developed using Silicon Graphics workstations for graphical designs and Sega Saturn emulators running on Hewlett-Packard machines for programming. There were problems during early stages of development because of

11330-536: Was developed by Sega Studio USA , with Iizuka, one of the designers of the original game, serving as producer. It was released in Japan and the United States in December 2007, and in Europe and Australia in January 2008. In 2010, Iizuka said that he would be interested in making a third Nights into Dreams game. In Japan, Nights into Dreams topped the Japanese all-format games chart, despite increased competition from

11440-543: Was included as part of a Christmas Sega Saturn bundle and distributed free to Saturn owners who covered the shipping cost. 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 . In the United Kingdom, Christmas Nights was not included with Sega Saturn Magazine until December 1997. Christmas Nights follows Elliot and Claris during

11550-502: Was introduced alongside an optional gamepad , the Saturn 3D controller, included with some copies of the game. It features an analogue stick and analogue triggers designed for Nights to make movement easier. Sonic Team noted the successful twinning of the Nintendo 64 controller with Super Mario 64 (1996), and realised that the default Saturn controller was better suited to arcade games than Nights into Dreams . During development,

11660-517: Was popularized for action games in the early 1990s was competitive multiplayer , including what would later be known as esports tournaments. The arcade fighting game Street Fighter II (1991) by Capcom popularized the concept of direct, tournament-level competition between two players. Previously, action games most often relied on high scores to determine the best player, but this changed with Street Fighter II , where players would instead challenge each other directly, "face-to-face," to determine

11770-646: Was released for a Sega console. A sequel, Nights: Journey of Dreams , was announced for the Wii in April 2007. It was first previewed on Portuguese publication Maxi Consolas , after the release of short reveals from the Official Nintendo Magazine and Game Reactor . It is a Wii exclusive, making use of the Wii Remote . The gameplay involves the use of various masks, and features a multiplayer mode for two players in addition to Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection online functions. Journey of Dreams

11880-582: Was released in Japan alongside the original Saturn game. A Nights into Dreams handheld electronic game was released by Tiger Electronics in 1997, and a port of it was later released for Tiger's unsuccessful R-Zone console. A high definition remaster of the PlayStation 2 version was released for PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade in October 2012. A Windows version was released via Steam on in December 2012, with online score leaderboards and

11990-505: Was waiting for the plane to take off, I thought, 'Let's make a game where we can fly!' So I guess that's where it all started. Producer Yuji Naka in an interview with Sega Saturn Magazine Nights was developed by Sonic Team , the Sega development division that had created the Sonic the Hedgehog games for Genesis . The Nights concept originated during the development of Sonic

12100-488: Was when Sonic Team was truly formed as a brand. Sega released a remake of Nights into Dreams for the PlayStation 2 exclusively in Japan on 21 February 2008. It includes 16:9 wide screen support, an illustration gallery and features the ability to play the game in classic Saturn graphics. The game was also featured in a bundle named the Nightopia Dream Pack, which includes a reprint of a picture book that

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