משתתף בפורום ב-IGN פירט את הרעיון של המשחק כדי שתהיה הבנה מסוימת לגביו.
אישית, לא שיחקתי בראשון, וגם לי הייתה אי הבנה, אבל לאחר שקראתי את ההסבר שלו אז נהייתי יותר מעודד וגם הבנתי מדוע הסרטונים לא הצליחו להרשים אותי עד כה: כי המשחק מתבסס על שיפור הזמן בכל שלב לשלב, ויש אלמנטים שונים שקשורים לעניין ושהסרטונים לא מראים.
לאחר שקראתי הבנתי שמספיק שסגה תיישם שליטה יעילה וטובה למשחק הזה, אז הוא יהיה ראוי בהחלט, וגם אם לא יהיה שונה מאוד מהמשחק הקודם. מספיק שיהיה טוב כמוהו (למרות שתמיד רצוי להפתיע בחידושים מרגשים באמת).
אבל, עדיין מוקדם לדעת, אבל הנה,
ההסבר שלו, לכל מי שאי פעם תהה (אם אתם ממש מתעצלים, אז דלגו לפסקה האחרונה המסכמת):
There has been a lot of hostility towards the game around these parts and IMO a lot of it seems to stem from people not understanding the point of the game. People try to look at it as an adventure/platforming game, when a closer comparison is a racing game.
I just replayed the original Saturn version from start to finish tonight. It took about 2 hours. This is your first indication that you're not talking about a Mario 64 kind of game.
The fun and success in the game comes from finding the perfect line through each course. Each level is broken into 4 courses and a boss. Each course is a short but sweet ride around the level and a lap takes on average 30 seconds, though some are shorter and some longer. You have 2-3 minutes total to complete each course. At the end of the course you are graded on your score. Defeating the boss gives you a multiplier for the level depending on how fast you dispatch him/her. Your 4 course scores are added up and multiplied by the multiplier and this produces a level-score which is graded from A to F like the individual courses were.
The game is really designed to replay each level again and again and find a faster line through and get that *New Record!* sign flashing up on screen.
So that's the overall picture. Here's some of the details:
To finish a course all you 'have' to do is collect 20 glowing balls and deposit them into the receptical and then finish the lap. But of course the goal is high score (or at least a C-rating overall) if you want to advance, so you want to complete as many laps as you can before the time runs out. If time does run out, you lose all your points, lose your ability to fly and have to walk back to the starting point to collect your big fat F. To this end you cannot die. You have no life meter. If you get hit by a bad-guy you simply get a 5-second penalty.
Each lap all the items are replenished, so you generally don't stop to go back for one little thing, you just keep blazing through the level with controlled speed. You get points by linking together collection of items and flying through rings. If you do these collections and fly-thrus in quick succession you build up a combo. Each item in the combo is worth more than the previous item, so you max out your score by keeping the combo going.
Flying through rings also charges your boost meter which is essential because you're boosting about half of the time.
Making a loop with your star trail creates a vortex that sucks in all the items inside the loop. Because you're trying to keep the combo going without letting it reset, when you're looping around a cluster of items you generally want to touch all the outside items as you circle the inside items. Sometimes when you vortex-suck-up all the items in a cluster a new set of items or a power-up appears in it's place.
There are balloons that you tag that give you a goal - a number that you next combo has to reach in order to get a bonus.
Remember those 20 orbs you have to collect and deposit? Well that's always your first objective because once you've done that all points are doubled for the rest of the course.
Triggers and accelerators can cause the level to change or open up a new area or rocket you to a branch in the course.
Besides the standard side-scrolling flight that makes up 95% of the play-time, some courses have portions that play from different perspectives like behind the back for rail rides or swims through an underwater tunnel or overhead in a simple maze-like area.
The bosses in the original NiGHTS are all unique and original and a joy to play. But you only get one shot. Again you cannot die. There are no lives in this game. Getting hit means a 5-second penalty. If you fail to beat the boss before time runs out you lose the level and have to start over.
For those of you who raised Chao in the Sonic Adventure games, the precursor to these things was found in NiGHTS. The "A-life" system consists of Nightmaren (bad guys) and Nightopians (good guys). The good guys lay eggs around which you can hatch by touching them. The bad guys can be beat by boosting in to them or creating a vortex around them. You can also kill the good guys but they're so darn cute and they let out a little yelp when you accidentally trap them in a vortex. The state of the level is carried over from game to game and it is reflected in the pitch, tempo, etc. of the music. When you've dispatched of most of the bad guys and the good guys are living a happy life the music will be more "happy" next time you play that level.
In summary, NiGHTS is a fast-paced game that's meant to be replayed again and again in pursuit of the fastest, most efficient line through a course that nets you the biggest combos for the high score. When you're not playing for high scores the game is just fun to bomb around in and do aerial acrobatics with the triggers which are completely superfluous, but a nice touch.
אז מי מכם שיחק במשחק הראשון? מה הייתה דעתכם עליו?
ולאילו שקראו את ההסבר, הוא שינה את דעתכם, אפילו במעט?
רונן.
NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams - אתם עדיין לא מבינים?
תצוגה לינארית
