Ladies and gentlemen, I have or had a problem. I kept thinking to myself, “What game should I review for Pietriots since I want to be my unprofessional self rather then an in-depth reviewer?” Well SEGA decided to give me an answer in the form of an extremely fun Saturn classic given an HD re-release… actually, scratch that; an extremely fun Saturn classic given what was originally a PS2 make-over, never released outside of Japan for almost six years but then deciding since they have no money left to fund anything just upscale the damn game.
Yet I should be happy, because damn it I love NiGHTS into dreams. Despite being produced by asshole zealot Yuji Naka and programmed by him as well, this game came from Sonic’s character designer Naoto Ohshima. Along with the Saturn 3D stick, NiGHTS is a fun race-against-the-clock flying game with a deep scoring system. Despite releasing on a system nobody bought and was the victim of corporate assholery, NiGHTS remained a cult classic for years. It had a simple concept that, with practice, you could master and show off how good you were.
Then SEGA shat all over it.
If you have read other reviews besides this one, you should already know that SEGA went and fucked up the analog controls for this game. Which is impossible to do, but, you know… SEGA joke. In seriousness, the Saturn 3D pad was originally designed for NiGHTS with its smooth circular base, which allowed for the title character to fly each and every way. Somehow, I think one of the HD programmers played the game with a PC controller that had a square base, because NiGHTS feels absolutely rough to control. You can no longer turn on a dime, and when the level design requires this, you have automatically lost half of the fun.
Which is a shame, because this HD re-release looks quite nice. Aside from some strange changes to the Saturn version (little things here and there), both versions of NiD look and sound nice, and run smoothly for the most part. There is also some nice extras such as an artwork gallery, a sound test option and the ability to randomize the bosses, those for the last one I’m kind of pissed they left out the ability to pick only one boss for the Saturn version.
So, should you buy NiD to relive the classic? I would say no, because unless the analog controls are fixed via a patch, you are not getting a true NiGHTS experience. If you have not experienced NiD beforehand, I suggest you wait for a price drop or, crossing my fingers, if the future WiiU release or Steam version gets the patch fix. Other then that…
You are incompetent SEGA, I mean dear god.
Pietriots 
Sega has one of the richest franchise catalogue’s in gaming and absolutely no idea what to do with any of them. I’m going to go ahead and include Sonic in this too even though some insist they’ve ‘turned it around’ with Colors etc. But really it’s like putting a band-aid on a severed limb and/or a stopped clock is right twice a day.
While I never wish for a company to go bankrupt I can’t help but ponder what could be if any halfway competent company got their hands on Sega’s incredible stable of franchises or better yet a full on IP auction so studios actually interested in specific franchises to collect the rights and start doing them justice.
In a sense Sega and Rare seem like they went to Hell in the same handbasket. Two prominent gaming companies from the late 80’s through the 90’s that lost more than just their mojo in the new millennium and these days are a mere husk. It’s downright sad for anyone with fond memories of those ‘Golden Years’.
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I wouldn’t mind adding Konami to that list, even though they were pretty good in the early-mid 2K years, but I disgress.
SEGA deserves all the scorn it gets because of all the bullshit they brought upon themselves; great games like NiGHTS suffer from their lack of caring and bullshit corporate standards.
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Nintendo should to buy SEGA.
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Why? SEGA has yet to show anything to be of buying merit, as of lately.
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I think Nintendo could do justice to some of SEGA’s franchises. I would love to see a new Phantasy Star Online, Skies of Arcadia or Virtua Fighter game on Wii U.
Also the purchase of SEGA will allow Nintendo access to the original Bayonetta and allow them to re-release it either on eshop or in a special edition disc.
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I can see both the merits and problems of Nintendo buying SEGA as a whole. On one hand, without their assistantance Mario & Sonic wouldn’t be any good (since, obviously, they were breathing down their necks) and they would probably treat their franchises with respect and cash; most of SEGA’s oldschool fanbase is on Nintendo’s own systems, Sonic’s games (even crappy) sold better then Sonic Generations.
On the other hand, Nintendo shouldn’t and couldn’t deal with their problems. They are a shell now, and most of the staff who worked on the GOOD games they made in the 80s and 90s are long gone. Hirokazu Yasuhara is with NoA now, and hopefully (…) will make something worthwhile with NST.
And if Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge is any indication, Nintendo could get Platinum to make a better Bayonetta game.
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I definitely think Nintendo will help Platinum games to make Bayonetta 2 even better than the first one. Maybe even using the graphics engine Retro is designing for the Wii U. I wouldn’t mind if Platinum became a second party Nintendo dev. They are seriously talented.
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I wouldn’t really think anyone outright buying Sega would be all that great in the long run. Hence why I said an IP auction. Sega has too diverse a catalogue, Nintendo may do great with Sonic, Monkey Ball or Shining Force but I’d not think them to be the best fit for Virtua Fighter, Shinobi or Panzer Dragoon. Meanwhile Phantasy Star would likely fall somewhere in between as someone who would love a return to the classics may see it as good news whilst PSO fans would feel a shift to gamings most online-wary company could be a problem.
Naturally the first thing many people think of when considering the idea of Nintendo gaining ownership of X franchise is the appeal of some more iconic characters in Smash Bros but yet again I think some franchise characters would fit in a lot better than others.
Anyways, Sega established themselves long ago as a new IP factory. While that was once a real boon to their business now it’s started to show what a double edged sword it was. Even if Sega was still a highly talented, quality game making machine the sheer number of franchises they own would see some inevitably neglected. Their franchise stable is too big even for a large company with multiple studios, let alone added on top of what someone like Nintendo already has to produce.
If Sega where to get into enough financial trouble to require the sale of a few assets, I think an IP auction could be beneficial all around.
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All very good points but I still think that of all the available options, Nintendo would do the most justice to Sega’s franchises.
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