...Elliot Edwards and Claris Sinclair, two troubled teens from the beautiful city of Twin Seeds. Elliot loves basketball, but rethinks his career choice after being humiliated in front of all his friends by the older kids in a "friendly" game. Claris loves to sing, but blows her first big break by freaking out at the Twin Dreams audition and running off the stage like a coward. And these two schnooks have the dream energy of courage? Well sure they do, they just need to unlock it! That very night, they are each visited by a Nightopian, who informs them of Wizeman's plot and requests their help.

   Upon arriving in Nightopia, Elliot and Claris are trapped by Wizeman in surreal dream worlds developed from the depths of their minds. However, they have attracted the attention of NiGHTS. NiGHTS was a former Nightmaren who rebelled against Wizeman and his evil designs. As a result, Wizeman had NiGHTS imprisoned in Ideya Palaces, where he remains trapped...unless he possesses the body of a sleeping human. Being naturally attracted to the rare Red Ideya, NiGHTS recognizes this attribute in both Elliot and Claris.

   With the aid of NiGHTS, the two teens lay the smack down on Wizeman, saving both the dream realm of Nightopia as well as the real world. In doing so, they discover the courage within themselves as well as a very special friendship in each other. And as for NiGHTS...well, now you know what that silhouette in front of the moon is.

   The object is to complete each level (Dream) by destroying all the Ideya Captures. Ideya Captures are destroyed by collecting the requisite number of Blue Chips and depositing them into the machines, thus freeing the stolen dream energy. Once you've destroyed an Ideya Capture, move on back to the Ideya Palace to start the next round, or Mare. Each Dream consists of four Mares, and thus four Ideya Palaces to destroy. Once you've trashed the fourth and final capture, return to the Ideya Palace to be warped to the boss. The catch is the time limit...you can only spend so long on each Mare, and taking damage will result in having five seconds shaved off the ol' timer.

   So how do you go about collecting these Blue Chips? Well, when you start the level, you'll be roaming the ground (as either Elliot or Claris, depending on the Dream). You can explore the level on foot and pick up a few Blue Chips in that manner, but it's not very functional. On top of that, after walking around for a bit, an Alarm Egg will appear and begin chasing you down...should it capture you, it's game over. So what you want to do is walk to the Ideya Palace, in which you'll find NiGHTS hovering about. Walk into it and you assume control of the purple-tights clad freak. As NiGHTS, you will be flying along a 2D plane throughout the 3-dimensional course. You can perform slick aerial acrobatics of all manner by pressing the L and R buttons as you fly, but NiGHTS' primary two moves are the Drill Attack and the Paraloop. The Drill Attack is similar to Sonic's spin only NiGHTS just twists around like a tornado rather than spinning into a ball. The Paraloop is done by simply loop-de-looping in the air. The Paraloops can be just about any length, and anything within the loop will be sucked away.

   Okay, so now you can get flying! Nightmaren can be destroyed either with a Drill Attack or a Paraloop, although if you're interested in breeding Mepians (see below), you'll want to opt for a Drill Attack. (Latching on to the enemy first gives you more control over which direction you shoot it off in.) Blue Chips are collected simply by flying into them, or in big clusters by Paralooping 'em. Don't worry if you missed any, they'll reappear on your second round. Just keep on running the course until you've collected enough Blue Chips to bust the Ideya Capture...then you can opt to cash in at the Ideya Palace and start on the next Mare, or continue around the course for points. All the Blue Chips are replaced with Gold Chips on these "extra" rounds. Only by spending every last second gaining "extra" points will you earn a higher grade.

   You are given a grade of A-F based on your performance on each Mare and the boss. You'll move on to the next stage regardless of your grade, but you must have an average of at least C in every stage if you wish to play the final two levels. (And you darn should, 'cause they're the most sublime things in all of videogame history.)

   Other point-grabbing goodies you'll find around the levels include Star Chips, Rings (as in giant orange Rings you fly through, not the little golden Rings Sonic collects), and Power Loops. Star Chips are worth 10 points a piece. Rings are set up in cool formations...pass through one and you get 10 Points, but Link them together into massive chain combos for SUPER points. (My record number of links is just over 500 in Frozen Bell, which gives you an idea of just how many you can tie together if you're good.) Fly through a Power Loop and you'll note a yellow streamer trailing you. Loop the streamer for some extra points, making sure to use lots of cool aerial tricks to up your score even more. When the streamer runs out, you'll be given a score based on your performance...the highest is "Dreamy!!!", which I was only able to obtain once...

   And then there are Nightopians! Nightopians function as the A-life breeding sim, similar to the Chao mini-game for those familiar with Sonic Adventure. Not quite that complex, though...you'll find Nightopian eggs scattered on the ground around each level. They'll hatch on their own eventually, but speed 'em up by latching onto 'em as NiGHTS or just passing over them as Elliot or Claris. A Nightopian is born! If you're nice to them, they'll love you and will wave at you as you pass by or sing for you. If you're a stinker (done by Paralooping 'em, Drilling into 'em, and other mean actions), they'll hate you and run away when you appear. If you keep them happy enough, they'll begin breeding and more Nightopians will appear! That's all good and well, but you get to be creative when there are Nightmaren around. After you pop a Nightmaren, it will roll into a ball and begin bouncing around the level. Should it smack a Nightopian on its journey, the stunned 'Pian will spout a psychadelic egg. Hatch the egg and the offspring will be part 'Pian and part whatever 'Maren you smacked it with. The resulting mutation is known as a Mepian. There's no limit to the kinds of Mepians you can create when you mix & match, so have fun and experiment! (Keep an eye on free Nightmaren, though...they'll kill your Nightopians if you don't keep them in check.) Should you manage to fill a level up with enough 'Pians, the rare king Nightopian will appear and build a palace. This is useless, but at least it shows you're a good 'Pian breeder. (And better than me, as I was never able to obtain one of those elusive kings...)

   The levels stack up like this. Claris' Dreams: Spring Valley ~the IDEAL~, Mystic Forest ~the POSSIBILITY~, and Soft Museum ~the CONFUSION~. Elliot's Dreams: Splash Garden ~the AFFECTION~, Frozen Bell ~the CONSCIOUSNESS~, and Stick Canyon ~the REVIVAL~. Both kids play the final level, Twin Seeds ~the GROWTH~. There are four different endings to see: Claris' ending, Elliot's ending, the combined ending (without all A's) and the perfect ending. The only way to view the full ending (the perfect one) is to score an average of A in every stage. It's not really as difficult as it sounds once you're into the swing of the game. In the full ending, you get to hear the real version of "Dreams Dreams", not the kids version (which, ironically, most people prefer anyway).

   When NiGHTS hit the shelves, it was going head-to-head-to-head against the triumphant return of Mario and Sony's successful bid at mascothood, Crash Bandicoot. Sadly, NiGHTS was not enough to secure a position for the ill-fated Saturn in the three year war that followed. However, ask any Saturn-owner what their favorite game for the little console that could was, and the answer will almost always be NiGHTS. There's also no question that NiGHTS is the top contender for the collective Dreamcast sequel wishlist, and nobody can argue that it wasn't an artistic success in every sense of the word.

                 6
            8        4
                        2

         10    NiGHTS    1

                        3
            9        5
                 7    

Move        Dir But

Twister     1   R
Parasol     2   R
Roulette R  3   R
Arrow       4   R
Screw       5   R
Tornado     6   R
V-Fall      7   R
Ax R        8   R
Typhoon     9   R
Wind       10   R

Move        Dir But

Mixer       1   L
Dance       2   L
Roulette L  3   L
L-Wing      4   L
Basket      5   L
Ballet      6   L
T-Fall      7   L
Ax L        8   L
Drill       9   L
Space      10   L

Move        Dir But

Swing       1   R + L
Moon        2   R + L
Cross       3   R + L
Rock'n Roll 4   R + L
Triangle    5   R + L
Boomerang   6   R + L
Spin        7   R + L
Sling       8   R + L
Sonic       9   R + L
Scorpion   10   R + L