NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams is the kind of game you'll want to love. It squarely turns its back on the gritty realism that pervades next-gen games in favor of a brightly colored world of pure fantasy. It speaks to the child in you, not to try and sell it something, but to remind you what it's like to view the world with a sense of wonder. Its predecessor, NiGHTS Into Dreams for the Sega Saturn, is frequently held up as one of the most truly unique and creative game experiences ever created, and is discussed in hushed tones of reverence with misty-eyed adoration. For all of these reasons and more, you'll want to love Journey of Dreams. But you probably won't.

You begin your journey as one of two small children, Will or Helen, who find themselves in the dreamworld of Nightopia. There you'll meet a flying androgynous jester named NiGHTS and swiftly embark on a quest to save Nightopia from the evil wizard Wizeman and to rescue the captured Nightopians. It's good versus evil as seen through the eyes of a child, and there's something very pleasing about its simplicity. There's no complex reasoning at work, no subtext or agenda to ponder. Wizeman is doing bad things because he's a bad guy. You, as a good guy, must stop him, and that's really all there is to it.

You'll split your time in Journey of Dreams between levels where you play as NiGHTS and those where you play as Will or Helen. The NiGHTS levels are the game's real appeal, as you soar through environments that seem to have sprung right from a child's imagination. Sadly, you can't just go tearing off into the distance to investigate the scenery; your surroundings might be 3-D, but you're confined to a 2-D track that threads its way up, down and around the level. Despite being stuck on a predefined course, you'll still feel an overwhelming sense of freedom as you glide through the air.
Remember when you were a kid, and you'd stick your arms out to the sides and run around the yard, pretending to be an airplane? That's what the NiGHTS levels feel like.

Unfortunately, Sega thought it best to mix up the flying levels with ground-based gameplay featuring the children, which will send your soul plummeting to earth with catastrophic force. If the Will/Helen areas were as inspired as the NiGHTS parts of the game, perhaps it would be easier to put up with them, but they're dull, platformer-esque busywork that instantly destroys any enjoyment that you may have been having. Offering next to nothing by way of amusement, they simply must be endured in order for you to get back to the charming flying sections.

How charmed you are may depend on what controller you're using, however. Journey of Dreams lets you use one of three controller setups: the Wii remote, the Nunchuk/Wii remote combo, or the classic (or GameCube) controller. The Nunchuk/remote and classic controller perform roughly the same, but the remote alone is just a nightmare. It's so unresponsive that you'll feel like any similarity between your movements and anything happening onscreen is a mere coincidence. No matter what setup you use, you're going to have some problems, however, as movement sometimes just feels clunky and jerky, a true tragedy in a game that emphasizes the silky smoothness of flying.

Journey of Dreams suffers from such annoyances throughout its presentation. Some graphics look amazing, others half-finished. The voice acting is a mixed bag, too, with some characters being well-acted and others seeming to just have emerged from a years-long coma. While no one flaw is overwhelming, their sum total makes the game feel unpolished, as though it was rushed to store shelves despite still being a work in progress.

What just might save Journey of Dreams for you is its multiplayer aspect, in which you can forget that whole saving the world thing and just concentrate on the best part of the game -- the flying -- by racing with your friends. You'll unlock new tracks as you play through the game, or find a racing buddy either locally or online. There's a battle mode, too, but it's fairly underwhelming and best ignored. Journey of Dreams also features something called My Dream, which is where rescued Nightopians go to live. As time passes, they'll start to spruce up the place on your behalf, making sure your Dream is unlike anyone else's. The idea of a personalized area that's shaped depending on how you play the game is intriguing, but in practice it's about as enthralling as a screen saver. Once you pop in to check on the latest renovations, there's just not much else for you to do. You can look in on your friends' Dreams as well, but there still won't be much more to do than poke your head in and admire the view.

Parts of NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams are a pure joy, sure to cement a smile on your face and quite possibly even put one of the game's whimsical songs in your heart. The aggravating control and dreary on-foot portions nearly cancel out any enjoyment to be had, however, leaving you frustrated and bored. If you have the choice, just dig out your Saturn and play the first NiGHTS, instead.

This review is based on a retail copy of the game provided by the publisher.