Nights vs. his fellow Nightmaren:
The villians in Nights are, without a doubt, some of the most creative in any video game ever made. They all have special weaknesses, which requires the player to fight each one differently. The boss levels and music are done exceedingly well also, resulting in the wild atmosphere one would expect from a nightmare. [ GiLLWING, PuFFY, GuLPO, ClAWZ, JaCKLE, ReALA, WiZEMAN ]
Gillwing, the largest of Wizeman's henchman, is a giant winged fish. At first glance he seems very intimidating, being that the player probably has no idea what to do with him. This may sound like a problem, but it takes little time to learn. The simplistic way to defeat Gillwing is to grab him and throw him a number of times. The easiest way to do this (without getting hurt), is to aim for his oversized chin. Fly straight under his lower lip and when you touch, Nights will grab hold, stopping the behemoth in his tracks. The next step is to let go and watch him fly. His head will be tossed free of his tail, which will grow a new one in its place. To complete the job quickly, it's best to fly up and loop back around to grab Gillwing when he gets himself back together. Each time he grows a new head his tail gets smaller, until finally there is no tail left and he disappears for good.
Puffy spends her days bouncing up and down a tremendous hall. She's another grab and throw Nightmaren, but getting through Puffy will be trickier than your ordeal with Gillwing. It's very easy to toss this overstuffed rabbit around, but since she's so round, she'll simply bounce off walls and take no damage. The trick here is to throw her into weak spots of the walls, so she crashes through them. This won't hurt her either, however. In order to defeat Puffy, you must continually break her through walls, until you reach the far end of the hall. Throw her into the last wall and the ceiling will swing down and crush her. The main complication here is time. It won't be easy to get Puffy from one end of the hall to the other without letting the counter reach zero. Don't just grab and toss; when you get a hold of Puffy, spin with her a moment to make sure you have her lined up well with the weak section of the wall. This often takes less time than missing your target and sending Puffy bouncing back to the start of the level.
Gulpo may be one of the most innovative bosses of any video game ever. The way in which you fight him can be confusing until you get the hang of it; once you do, though, you'll be able to rip through this Nightmaren in no time flat. Gulpo is another fish, and his size almost rivals that of Gillwing! He lives within a cylindrical column of water that runs from floor to ceiling. Nights can not penetrate this column on his own, but that's where a school of smaller fish that circumvent the baddie come to your aid. As Gulpo rises and falls in the column, he will pass by the many fish that make up the school. When he gets infront of one, fly into it; the fish will shoot you through the oceanic domain via a powerful drill attack. The point is, of course, to smash into Gulpo as you pass on by. Since you can't control Nights as he fires through the column, defeating Gulpo relies on taking aim accurately before you fly into a fish.
Clawz is none other than a giant cat who dwells in a large circular room, with two giant rotating gears which make up the floor and ceiling. Perched in regular intervals on each gear are explosive mice, from which Clawz jumps from one to another. The way to defeat this overgrown mangy feline may seem obscure, but therein lies the challenge (and the impulse to provide the internet community with game guide). Getting past Clawz is actually very simple. As he jumps about, each mouse he touches is ignited and begins to sparkle. The point is to destroy each one until Clawz has no place left to stand, and falls through the bottom gear into the abyss below. The best way to get this job done quickly is to avoid touching the mice. If you bump into one, Nights will grab hold of it and stop. You can still destroy the mice this way, but it is an obvious waste of time. The best way is to pull off a drill attack when you get close to a mouse, so you can destroy it and keep moving.
Jackle, the most playful of the Nightmaren (aside from Nights, that is), exists in a toy room, complete with evil jack-in-the-box looming in the corner. He attacks by throwing oversized cards at which speed through the air. Getting hit by a card is particularly devestating to the player for two reasons: not only will five seconds be subtracted from the counter, but Jackle will speed away from Nights, who will have to regain his approach to close up the gap between them. Defeating Jackle isn't all about navigating through cards, however. After you've grabbed Jackle and given him a good toss, his cloak will fall off to reveal that he has no body. Reduced to floating head, gloves, and boots, he can no longer attack. If you don't act fast, he'll pick up his cloak and start chucking cards again. You must act fast and give him a good pummelling before he can get his hands back on the cloak. Do a good job playing "keep-away" and defeat him, saving lots of time and racking up a high score!
Reala may seem scary, being that he is one of the few first-level Nightmaren and almost a mirror image of Nights. He awaits your challenge from his throne in the center of the stage. When you arrive, he confidently announces that "There is no Nights" and flies out to engage in a one-on-one fight to the finish. Since neither drills nor throws will hurt him, the only way to overcome this evil is to utilize your most powerful move, the paraloop. Simply put, you must loop Reala three times, being careful as it is his goal to do the same to you. With enough practice you can master this stage and make a veritable fool out your alter ego. If you're having trouble, however, try hitting him with a good drill attack and then speedily loop around him while he tries to get his bearings.
Wizeman:
The last of the Ideya Captures have been destroyed. Nights has been rescued from his prison high atop Seeds Tower. The victories against six highly dangerous Nightmaren are tucked under your belt. Only one task remains, and your performance will decide the fate of not only the world of dreams, but the real world, as well. The deadliest Nightmaren still remains, and he's bent on ruling both dimensions with six iron fists. Both Claris and Elliot must merge with Nights and work together to abolish this monster, who is nothing less than a Nightmare come true.
Upon entering Wizeman's lair you will find that you are not in this alone. This is surprising to both the player and the characters, who (this is Mr. Naka's creativity showing through) look at each other and then at their own hands. With the fact that they are indeed both Nights confirmed, they exchange nods before begining the greatest fight ever to grace their subconsciouses.
Wizeman has four different attacks, each of which is aimed at testing your flight skills. He will switch between attacks after a certain amount of time, or whenever he is hit. To hit Wizeman, you must get close to him until you grab the force field that encircles him. Once you've taken hold, drill to break through it and collide with him. This must be done four times. After each time, he will fly to the opposite side of the room to begin the next attack. Since Nights is in the direct path of his flight, it is best to fly away from him after each hit, so you won't lose too much time as he passes by.
His first attack is in throwing rocks much like Jackle threw cards. They move quickly and and you must navigate well to avoid being hit. After this, he will set up a barrier of boulders. These boulders form rows that move up and down. It can be tough to get by them, but it shouldn't be too much trouble if you fly in the opposite direction that each row moves. Don't try to fly under a row that is coming down, or over a row that is going up. When you've gotten past this, he will begin throwing even larger boulders, that are more like the balloons of Twin Seeds than Jackle's cards. They won't hurt you if they touch you, but if one does, Nights will grab hold and get pulled along with it away from Wizeman. These rocks can be destroyed with drills, but it is easiest and fastest to just avoid them. Finally, Wizeman's last attack is accompanied by a downpour of rainfall. Large conical tornados will shoot towards Nights, and sweep him away from Wizeman if they catch him. They are the hardest of the attacks to avoid, since the only way to get past them is to fly through the small open space where the upper and lower cones meet. If you've hit Wizeman once for each attack, he will die after this one. If not, he'll start repeating previous methods.
Defeating Wizeman for the first time is exciting, but remember that you'll only see part of the conclusion until you've beaten it with both characters. Finishing with only one will show you what happens to that character the next day, followed by the short credits. Beating the game with the other character as well will show you what happens to that character after defeating Wizeman, the next day, how the two characters meet, and then the good credits. Even after you've beaten it with both, be sure to go back and complete it again with the first character to see what happens to him/her after defeating Wizeman. In all, you must beat Nights at least three times to see everything. . . and then you can begin working towards finishing it with all "A's." Good luck!