Review by: Dyne

First, NiGHTS is THE best non-RPG I have ever played PERIOD It is far superior to Mario 64 or Crash Bandicoot, and I have played both of those games a LOT, since I borrowed a N64 and a PSX for a couple weeks this Christmas, along with those games. You might be questioning my high rating of this game at this point, but read on to find out why.

Graphics: 9.5/10 Personally, I didn't notice the pop up in the background, but there are one or two glitches here or there that are only noticeable when you aren't playing the game. Other than that, these are brilliant visuals, which capture the beauty of the worlds far better than Mario 64, which has a nice resolution and some great anti-aliasing, but not much else. There's unique textures EVERYWHERE....just look carefully around in the interior of Soft Museum, to see what I mean.

Music: 9/10 Although my usual tastes are for more orchestral scores in video games, like the Lunar series, this music is the best I've heard outside that. These songs haunt me for hours after I've played the game. Top stuff.

Sound: 8.5/10 Great, but nothing I haven't heard before (I didn't look at my speakers in amazement or anything).... However, unusually crisp and clean quality......

Control 10/10 This game has the BEST control of any game....EVER. You know it's good when you react fluidly and without thinking. (Just so you know, I'm reviewing this with the analog pad.) It takes getting used to, because at first you are probably a little confused with the 2D controls in a 3D world, and your thumb is probably not accustomed to analog, but after a while, you become totally immersed in the game.

Fun 11/10 Sorry about the odd rating, but this game actually gets BETTER as you improve. BTW, if you want to have real fun, let your friends/relatives play NiGHTS on your system, get really good, and then you have something to strive for after you get straight A's. If they play one course over and over again, they usually get pretty good at it...... our scores in Splash Garden have escalated to the 400 000 range, and we're still climbing... :) Highly replayable!

This is the main reason why it beats Mario 64 (it trounces everything in Crash :P).... Mario gets old, while NiGHTS doesn't seem like it will ever get old..... I got sick of Mario after a couple days, but the better you get at NiGHTS, the more frequently it seems you are drawn to the screen.

****Here's the best parts of NiGHTS though....and this is why I feel that an additional review is necessary****

First of all, this is one of those games that doesn't concentrate on beating the game (although that is an option :) ), or trying to kill enemies while surviving. It's kind of a throwback to the OLD days, when games where being born, where the score was the goal. This might not sound like fun, but it's so refreshing, and it truly provides for a longer lasting game. I jump around in my basement whenever I get a NEW RECORD, beating out one of my friends....

Second, the 2D controls help this be one of the few enjoyable 3D games.... for some reason, 3D controls lose some of the "magic" that was present in the pre 32-bit era (do you know what I'm talking about?) Finally, I'm playing a 3D game that feels as special as Sonic, or Super Metroid, or any of those old games.

BUY THIS GAME IF YOU BUY NO OTHER!!!!