Our first holiday feature is a weekly series called “The 25 Days of Christmas NiGHTS.” My cousin, Brett, decided that it would be awesome to sit down, relax with a warm drink, and enjoy the euphoric NiGHTS demo. He has been writing a journal and taking one photo a day since December 1st. Hit the jump for Brett’s photos and journal for the first week:
Hey, all you TSS readers, and welcome to my “25 Days of Christmas NiGHTS blog!” I’m not particularly trying to beat my high score every day, or trying to “link” as many times as possible. My only goal is to play the game once each day, and merely have fun. Sure as the days go by I find myself scoring all “A” ranks and improving my skills, but all I want is to share my fun with others.
I was fortunate (yes, fortunate) to receive a Sega Saturn several Christmases ago. I believe it was the first year that they were sold. However, at the time, I had never heard of NiGHTS Into Dreams. I was kept busy with Sonic 3D Blast, Virtua Fighter 2, NHL ’97, and Clockwork Knight.
Many years later, when I had already moved on to the PSOne, my cousins (Brad and his brother, Alex) starting mentioning a Saturn revival and that we should seek out rare games. I was all for it and they introduced me to games like House of the Dead, Virtua Cop, Sonic Jam, and NiGHTS. After extensive and painstaking bidding, Brad could never secure a copy. It wasn’t until a trip to an obscure game store on the other side of St. Louis where we found NiGHTS and Saturn zappers.
NiGHTS quickly became one of my favorite games for any platform. I will defend that statement to this day. The simple child-like imagery, bright colors, and superb music is appealing to me on many levels. It’s simple and I love it. Two years ago now, my cousin brought me another Christmas gift, that he found at a garage sale, Christmas NiGHTS. It’s only two levels (but they never get old) and the “Presents” are especially fantastic.
For this Christmas, I decided, “What better way to just relax and have fun during the holidays, than playing Christmas NiGHTS? Even better, why not every day and take pictures to share my experience.” That’s what the “25 Days of Christmas NiGHTS” is all about: recalling a simpler time and enjoying myself.
~Brett O.
One of the greatest demos ever. It was my first experience with the funky purple jester and I cherish the night I first played it.
This is really nice to see ^_^ It’s a very NiGHTSy time of year indeed.
Also, Day 4. You can just tell he’s about to land a Reala face there! XD
This update is full of win and sparkle. The TRiPPY approves!
And yeah, Christmas NiGHTS is amazing. Especialy when you consider the fact that they were giving it out for free. (Though back in the day i had some major problems getting a copy because the EB shop promotion involved buying games i already had)(Had to get it on Saturn Magazine!). But god was it worth the trouble.
It has this timeless ambience to it, like it feels proper Christmasy, not sure if thats my own nostalgia or the fact the game is great, eitherway, is so full of STUFF.
I remember running through Spring Valley as the first 3d Sonic and thinking gaming could never get better than that- hahaha.
I also remember glaring at the Merch collection gallery a lot and thinking I’d never own more than 20% of it. Ah the old days 😉
I think the charm of this game lies in the fact that it was one of those amazing games SEGA made that added to an existing game, like how Sonic & Knuckles did. I mean NiGHTS was already a game with TONS of stuff to uncover but Christmas NiGHTS just made it the game that kept giving. It’s a big shame that JoD was nowhere near as inventive. All the holiday stuff was just sandboxed off into a small Pian garden and that was that 🙁
I remember I always wanted a Burning Rangers expansion pack too, it’s a shame they never done more with the franchise because those few gems that came out on the Saturn were really something special. Original SEGA IP’s with so much meat and creativity and love behind them. Something way too rare these days.
Playing Christmas NiGHTS each year for me is as mandatory as putting up the tree.
Anyone who would like to play it but doesn’t have a Saturn- remember it’s included in the PS2 re-release of the game. Get it on import. Though be warned, there’s a few annoying differences between the Saturn version and the PS2 one. (Like absence of some presents -.- )
Why would one even think that receiving a Saturn for Christmas was a bad thing? No need to stress “fortunate” good sir, all Saturn owners are winners.
hell yhe, I currentlye looking to buy a DreamCast with Sonic Adventure1 and SA2 if you want to sell me yours please notify me thank you 🙂
I think the title could be better. 25 NiGHTS of Christmas would’ve worked. 😀
Yeah, I didn’t like that title as much as the one I’m using. I’m just so used to saying “the 25 days of Xmas,” I guess.
Ah, I remember Game Players magazine had one issue where they gave out Christmas NiGHTS. Turns out that was ONLY if you had the ‘disc edition’, which cost more, which I didn’t. I went out of my mind when I realized this.
I finally got a copy of X-Mas NiD last year off eBay, turned out the disc had scratches that needed to be fixed. Waiting ten years to play a game, popping it in, getting past the intro, then… nothing. Luckily Game Crazy polished it for free and I’m now able to play the stages, even if menu music still doesn’t work properly and it takes a while to load up. I also managed to get half what I paid refunded. $15 for an American copy ain’t too bad, eh?
I could see how the gameplay seemed to run a bit smoother than NiD, and now after playing both it’s even easier to see where they went wrong with JoD..
It would have been nice to play, but alas, I haven’t a Saturn and I doubt that Sega will Put this on the VC.
Oooh! This reminds me! I’ve got Sonic Christmas Blast! Time for my Sonic Christmas tradition. 😀
Got a Saturn this weekend with 5 games. Nights was one of them, boxed with the 3D pad. Opening the box, I noticed a little, plastic slip-case fall out. It was Christmas Nights!
Been playing it non-stop. Great fun and a crap-tonne of extras to unlock. It’s also very, very pretty isn’t it?
I just got sonic christmas blast the other day with a Sonic Christmas Card it is sooo cool