Christmas NiGHTS into Dreams

From Sega Retro

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Christmas NiGHTS title.png

Christmas NiGHTS into Dreams
System(s): Sega Saturn
Publisher: Sega
Developer:
Sound driver: SCSP/CD-DA (18 tracks)
Peripherals supported: 3D Control Pad
Genre: Action[1][2]

















Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code
Sega Saturn
JP
¥1,5001,500 610-6431
Sega Rating: All Ages
Sega Saturn
US
81067
ESRB: Kids to Adults
Sega Saturn
UK
MK81067-50
Sega Saturn
UK
(SSM cover disc)
£4.504.50[4] MK81067-50
Sega Saturn
LT
Sega Saturn
PL
Sega Saturn
AU
OFLC: G

Christmas NiGHTS into Dreams (クリスマスナイツ 冬季限定版) is a one level Christmas-themed "demo" of NiGHTS into Dreams. It was originally released in November 1996 for the Sega Saturn.

Gameplay

Due to its freebie nature, Christmas NiGHTS is a much smaller game than NiGHTS into Dreams - there is only one level (Spring Valley - almost identical to the level seen in regular NiGHTS) however unlike the original it is playable as Elliot as well as Claris. When playing as Elliot the stage is mirrored.

Christmas NiGHTS is Christmas-themed, and so its graphics and music have been replaced with winter-esque versions of the original stage (but only in winter). For example, Ideya Captures are now giant floating Christmas trees, and NiGHTS wears red attire rather than purple. Gameplay is largely identical to the original game, including the A-Life system altered by defeating enemies.

If not played over the winter months, Christmas NiGHTS defaults to "NiGHTS: Limited Edition" and essentially acts as a no-frills demo. Between November and January it is "Winter NiGHTS" and during December, "Christmas NiGHTS".

Clock features

The visuals of Christmas NiGHTS change slightly depending on the time indicated by the Saturn's (or PlayStation 2's) internal clock.

The period between November and February is the most "active" part of the year, which scenery changing almost at an hourly rate.

Time Background Falling objects in foreground
00:00 Moon Hearts
01:00 Moon Snow
06:00 Northern Lights Snow
07:00 Sun Snow
08:00 Sun Moons
10:00 Sun Snow
12:00 Rainbow Purple gems
13:00 Sun Snow
15:00 Sun Candy
16:00 Sun Snow
18:00 Moon Snow (though less of it)
19:00 Moon Snow
21:00 Moon Stars
22:00 Moon Snow

The main part of the game is not unlocked until December, when Christmas NiGHTS mode is enabled. Here, the children wear Santa outfits, and defeating the boss (Gillwing) will lead to a credits screen.

On New Year's Day, there is a change of title screen and the children wear different outfits, and on April Fools' Day, users can play as Reala instead of NiGHTS. Reala can be played at any point after the latter event is seen.

Presents

There are 25 unlockable "(Christmas) Presents" in Christmas NiGHTS. Most are achieved by beating the stage and playing a quick tile-matching game, though others (such as the last one, "Christmas NiGHTS") are unlocked depending on date.

ChristmasNights Saturn Karaoke.png

Karaoke
A rolling demo of typical Christmas NiGHTS gameplay, overlayed with lyrics to "Dreams Dreams", which plays in the background.

ChristmasNights Saturn Museum.png

NiGHTS Museum
Several presents are art galleries, all titled "NiGHTS Museum", where players can view artwork from the regular game.

ChristmasNights Saturn LinkAttack.png

Link Attack
A short stage, endless stage where the objective is to get the highest number of links. This mode is always played with the Christmas aesthetic, save for NiGHTS itself who dress in the regular purple if played outside the winter months.

ChristmasNights Saturn TimeAttack.png

Time Attack
Another short, endless stage where the game times how long it takes for you to "get every item".

ChristmasNights Saturn Video1.png

Videos
Two trailers of the standard NiGHTS into Dreams can be unlocked, ths first being from the '96 Tokyo Toy Show (where the game first debuted) and the second a "summer special" trailer.

Notavailable.svg

Music Box

ChristmasNights Saturn Goods.png

NiGHTS Goods
A short slideshow demonstrating official NiGHTS merchandise.

ChristmasNights Saturn SonicIntoDreams.png

Sonic the Hedgehog into Dreams
The most famous of Chistmas NiGHTS's presents, allowing you to play as Sonic the Hedgehog. Here the player is restricted to travelling on foot, similarly to Claris and Elliot in the main game, though Sonic is slightly faster and will not be pursued by an Alarm Egg. This is a time attack mode, so Sonic can't be hurt by enemies or obstacles.

Instead of tackling the level's original boss, Gillwig, Sonic is put against an inflatable balloon version of Dr. Eggman (in a Santa Claus outfit) in a battle similar to Puffy from the "full" game. The boss music is a mash-up of both Puffy's original theme, "She Had Long Ears", and "Final Fever", the final boss battle music from the Japanese version of Sonic CD.

This qualifies as Sonic's first "true" 3D outing - Sonic Jam, Sonic R and the Saturn version of Sonic 3D were all released in 1997.

History

Release

Christmas NiGHTS was not sold in the same way as most Sega Saturn games. 50,000 copies were distributed by Sega Europe[6] as part of special console bundles[7][8], or with the purchase of two select Saturn titles[9], and also as a gift with the first 200 subscriptions to UK's Sega Saturn Magazine during the month of December[10]. According to the then editor of Sega Saturn Magazine, Richard Leadbetter, despite being a free disc Sega Europe still had to pay royalties to Sega of Japan,[11] which is why they initially decided against giving it away as a straight cover disc.[12] However, it would eventually become a cover disc in the December 1997 issue of Sega Saturn Magazine.

In Japan, it was part of a Christmas-themed Sega Saturn console bundle and not sold separately, however it was packaged in a plastic jewel case like the majority of the Japanese Saturn library. In fact, the Japanese Christmas NiGHTS clearly states "only this winter" on the box, and has always been treated as a limited edition of the game.

In North America the game was distributed with the January 1997 editions of Ultra Game Players and Next Generation magazines (with a combined circulation of roughly 100,000 from 15,000 retail outlets)[3], as well as being made available for free rental at Blockbuster Video locations in America[3]. Later the game was given away with the purchase of select Saturn games such as Daytona USA: Championship Circuit Edition. These versions were distributed in a cardboard slip case to cut costs, much like many early Saturn bundles.

Legacy

Christmas NiGHTS was also included in the PlayStation 2 version of NiGHTS into Dreams. The Saturn disc can also be accessed via a Windows PC for extra content, similar to other Sonic Team games.

Production credits

Cybersound™, Sega Digital Studio
Source:
In-game credits (JP)[13]

Magazine articles

Main article: Christmas NiGHTS into Dreams/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

DailyMirror UK 1996-12-05 43.png
Saturn UK newspaper print advert
DailyMirror UK 1996-12-05 43.png

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
{{{{{icon}}}|L}} Division by zero.
Based on
0 review
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J
78
[14]
GameFan (US) NTSC-U
95
[15]
Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J
89
[16]
Sega Saturn
87
Based on
3 reviews

Christmas NiGHTS into Dreams

Saturn, JP
ChristmasNights Saturn JP Box Back.jpgChistmasNightsBox jp.jpg
Cover
Christmas NiGHTS into Dreams (クリスマスナイツ 冬季限定版) Saturn JP disc.jpg
Disc
ChristmasNiGHTS SS jp manual.pdf
Manual
Saturn, US
ChistmasNightsBox us.jpg
Cover
ChristmasNiGHTSIntoDreams us disc.jpg
Disc
Saturn, EU
ChristmasNiGHTS Sat EU back.jpgChistmasNightsBox eu.jpg
Cover
ChristmasNiGHTsIntoDreams saturn eu cd.jpg
Disc

Technical information

ROM dump status

System Hash Size Build Date Source Comments
Sega Saturn
CRC32
MD5
SHA-1
644,972,496 CD-ROM (EU) MK81067-50 V1.000
Sega Saturn
CRC32
MD5
SHA-1
644,513,856 1996-10-29 CD-ROM (JP) 610-6431 V1.004
Sega Saturn
CRC32
MD5
SHA-1
644,527,968 CD-ROM (US) 81067 V1.001

Track list

1. Data track  
2. Data track  
3. <JINGLE> Acrobat Time (0:12) 
Composed by: Naofumi Hataya
4. <JINGLE> Time Up (0:12) 
Composed by: Naofumi Hataya
5. <JINGLE> Pia Over (0:13) 
Composed by: Naofumi Hataya
6. <JINGLE> Mare Over (0:16) 
Composed by: Fumie Kumagai
7. Dream Bells (2:11) 
Composed by: Tomoko Sasaki
8. The Dragon Gave a Loud Scream : In Holy Night (2:05) 
Composed by: Naofumi Hataya
9. The Dragon Gave a Loud Scream (2:08) 
Composed by: Naofumi Hataya
10. Rolling Eggman (2:05) 
Composed by: Naofumi Hataya
11. Message From Nightopia (Christmas NiGHTS) (1:52) 
Composed by: Tomoko Sasaki
12. Dreams Dreams : In Silent Memory (1:29) 
Composed by: Tomoko Sasaki
13. Welcome to Christmas NiGHTS (1:02) 
Composed by: Naofumi Hataya
14. Winter Sleep (0:57) 
Composed by: Tomoko Sasaki
15. New Year's '9TH' (0:57) 
Composed by: Naofumi Hataya
16. NiGHTS (0:50) 
Composed by: Tomoko Sasaki
17. Gate of Your Dream (1:28) 
Composed by: Tomoko Sasaki
18. Dreams, Dreams (5:17) 
Composed by: Tomoko Sasaki
Vocals: Dana Calitri & Curtis King Jr.
19. Dreams, Dreams: Karaoke Version (5:15) 
Composed by: Tomoko Sasaki
20. Dreams, Dreams: A Cappella Version (4:25) 
Composed by: Tomoko Sasaki
Vocals: Issa Clemon, Gabriel Morris & Marlon Saunders
Running time: 32:54

Extra content

This game has extra content which can be viewed when accessing the disc on a PC.

Saturn (JP) Extra files
Folder / File Type Size description
EXTRA Folder 2,459,866 It contains 2 wallpaper images of truecolor and 256 colors each.
NITS_ABS.TXT TXT (Abstract) 21 Default text.
NITS_BIB.TXT TXT (Bibliographiced) 25 Default text.
NITS_CPY.TXT TXT (Copyright) 33 Copyright


Save data

The game makes use of the Saturn's internal battery back-up as well as the Saturn Backup Memory cartridge to save progress and unlockable content. In addition, you can link save data of Christmas NiGHTS with the retail version of NiGHTS into Dreams and see in-depth information of save data from the retail version.

Christmas NiGHTS into Dreams Save Data
Name Comment File Size
NIGHTS_XMAS NiGHTS dat 55
NiGHTS into Dreams Save Data
Name Comment File Size
NIGHTS___## Score data 30
NIGHTS___## A-life 197

External links

  • Sega of Japan website (Japanese): Saturn

References


Christmas NiGHTS into Dreams

Christmas NiGHTS title.png

Main page | Comparisons | Credits | Hidden content | Magazine articles | Reception


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Games in the NiGHTS into Dreams Series
Sega Saturn
NiGHTS into Dreams (1996) | Christmas NiGHTS into Dreams (1996)
LCD handheld game
NiGHTS into Dreams (1997)
Sega Dreamcast
Air NiGHTS (Canceled)
i-mode 503i
NiGHTS (2001)
Nintendo Wii
NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams (2007)
Sony PlayStation 2
NiGHTS into Dreams (2008)
Windows PC
Xbox Live Arcade
PlayStation 3 PlayStation Network
NiGHTS into Dreams (2012)
Arcade
NiGHTS Dream Wheel (2021)
Sampler Discs
Sega Saturn
NiGHTS into Dreams Sampler (1996)
NiGHTS into Dreams related media
Music
NiGHTS Theme Song: Dreams Dreams (1996) | NiGHTS Original Soundtrack (1996) | A NiGHTS Remix: Another Dreams (1997) | NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams Game Soundtrack (2008) | NiGHTS: Hoshi Furu Yoru no Monogatari Original Soundtrack (2008) | NiGHTS into Dreams: Perfect Album (2008) | NiGHTS into Dreams (2024)
Book
NiGHTS Nice Night Tours (1996) | NiGHTS Kouryaku Guide (1996) | NiGHTS Hisshou Kouryaku Hou (1996) | NiGHTS Koushiki Guide Book (1996) | Prima's Secrets of the Games: NiGHTS into Dreams: The Official Strategy Guide (1996) | Sega Saturn "NiGHTS" Original Soundtrack (1996) | NiGHTS into Dreams (?) | NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams Official Strategy Guide (2007) | NiGHTS: Hoshi Furu Yoru no Monogatari Dream Flight Guide (2007)
Book
NiGHTS: Tsubasa ga Nakutemo Sora wa Toberu (1996)
Film
Sega Official Video Library Vol. 6: NiGHTS into Dreams (1996) | NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams: Behind the Scenes DVD (2007)