Christmas NiGHTS into Dreams… (SAT)
Action ยป General
Developer: Sonic Team
Publisher: Sega
Released: December 1996
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 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.
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'”.
Immerse yourself in an unparalleled 3D flying experience. NiGHTS truly delivers an amazing virtual world of dreams — filled with unbelievable real-time effects, fantastic creatures and nightmarish monsters.
Nights into Dreams 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, 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.
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. During the “Winter Nights” period, the Spring Valley weather changes according to the hour. Other changes apply on New Year’s Day, Valentine’s Day, April Fool’s Day, Halloween, Christmas Day, and December 31, 2099; on April Fool’s Day, Reala replaces Nights as the playable character.