Flower. What a sequel to Nights Into Dreams should have been.

[Radrappy]

I don't hate Nights 2.  I actually wrangled some satisfaction from it during the holidays when it came out.  That said, it was a disappointing rehash given the innovative and lush source material it was based on. 

My buddy bought Flower in anticipation of That Game Company's new release, Journey and watching him play has blown me away.  You fly freely through landscapes covered with greenery in what looks straight out of the ending cutscenes for the original Nights into Dreams.  You're even attempting to chain lines of yellow flowers together not unlike a certain flying jester did with yellow rings.  With a little structure and tweaking, this could be the basis for an experience fully deserving of the heritage.  It makes what we got feel damn pathetic.  And given Journey into Dreams' reception, I don't think we're going to be seeing nightopia for a long ass time.   

On that note, what's your ideal Nights sequel like?   

[SOUP]

I think I'm one of the few people out there who really enjoyed Journey of Dreams 

[Sieghardt]

I thought this too when playing it, it seemed very much like I imagien the "Air NiGHTS" Idea would have played like

[CrazyT]

I agree wholeheartly with you radrappy. It didn't cross my mind at all when I was playing the game, but imagining how it would work within a NiGHTS game, would probably be excellent

But uhh, the team behind those games are really too good, so yeah

[Aki-at]

I don't like Flower and find it extremely boring, so I would not really care about it as a spiritual sequel to NiGHTS. Found it all style and no substance.

That being said, Journey of Dreams had a lot of good ideas, but once more Sonic Team's inability of keeping it simple struck several times in the design process. If they can work on the core levels and just expand on them (With traditional controls, please) then I would like to see them attempt a third.

... Well I would if I could trust Sonic Team's management, but I cannot, so oh well! I'll just go back to playing the original again.

[Happy Cat]

I love flower, it's very relaxing. But I don't think it would make a good sequel for NiGHTS. But the flying in the air does make it feel similar to NiGHTS at times.

[ROJM]

NIGHTS JID isn't really a sequel to the original. It was only made because Sega farmed out the NIGHTS IP to Sega west and Sonic Team USA managed to get it before it was shopped around, otherwise the game never would have been made. Which as far as some people are concerned is what should have happened.

[DeSade]

I found Flower frustrating instead of relaxing: the controls sucked big time with me! In addition, the idea behind it is very poor and old... The fact that Flower reminds Nights means that SEGA was years ahead, back in the '90

I liked Journey of Dreams, though the Wii pad was really painful to handle...

[nuckles87]

I disagree. Flower was fun, but it hardly had the fluidity of NiGHTS, which is important to me. Also lacked the kind of manic atmosphere of a NiGHTS. Everything was too quiet and serene; that's not NiGHTS.

I can understand NiGHTS having a creative sequel that differs heavily from the Saturn version, but it still needs to share some of the same fundementals and spirit of the original. Flower doesn't really do that.

[CrazyT]

I disagree. Flower was fun, but it hardly had the fluidity of NiGHTS, which is important to me. Also lacked the kind of manic atmosphere of a NiGHTS. Everything was too quiet and serene; that's not NiGHTS.

I can understand NiGHTS having a creative sequel that differs heavily from the Saturn version, but it still needs to share some of the same fundementals and spirit of the original. Flower doesn't really do that.

I think you're missing thE point a little bit. Everything except for the fluidity would hav been there if it were a NiGHTS game so all you are arguing is the missing NiGHTS theme, which obviously would have been there in a NiGHTS game.

I think the OP was mainly praising the mechanics

[nuckles87]

I'm not talking about the theme, I'm talking about the game design. Flower was built to be a serene game. Litterally all you do is fly across a field activating flowers, gathering petals, making a larger and larger petal mass, until your finished activating an area.. It's a fun game, but the level design is hardly the kind of manic roller coaster ride. NiGHTS flying through rings in a field, without the unique level design gimmicks, perspective and game play shifts.

The flat, open areas and clunkier control set up just wouldn't be NiGHTS, I don't think, and I don't see how the controls could work in the kind of terrain and level design a NiGHTS game should have.