If there’s any Saturn franchise that deserves a place on the lavish HD consoles of today, it has to be NiGHTS. The original game’s vibrant, dazzlingly colorful stages stand out on the Saturn even now, and this generation of gritty, grey shooters is aching for a generous injection of whimsy and charm. After a sub-par Wii sequel and years of fan lamentation, our dreams (see what I did there?) are finally coming true. Today, on the game’s 16th birthday, Sega announced that it is bringing an HD remake of the original classic to the XBLA and PSN [UPDATE: The game will also be hitting the PC].
In addition to a complete overhaul of the visuals, this new version will offer a 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio, leaderboards, achievements/trophies, and the option to play with the original vintage blocky graphics in a Saturn Mode.
Honestly, this might be my favorite idea that Sega has revealed since Sonic Generations. It simultaneously shows respect to retro fans, modern gaming enthusiasts, and all of the Sega Addicts desperate to see a beloved franchise get its due. I can only hope this is an indication of where the company will go as a largely digital publisher in the future.
The game will be released this Fall.
[Source: Destructoid]
Yeah, headaches for me now in High Definition,
Aptiva!
Thought this may be worth mentioning. This port was definitely a result of the fan demand. One more reason why Sega is so awesome: http://www.nightsintodreams.com/?p=1800
THIS. IS. SO. AWESOME.
Without a doubt the best SEGA announcement yet in terms of their downloadable games. I still play the original game with regularity, and the chance to play it again in HD is literally a dream. Just to note though – the original actually had an option for 16:9 as well. It and Panzer Dragoon Zwei I think were the only Saturn games to offer that.
But yeah, amazing.
I’m more happy about this then I thought I would have been. I’ve never, ever had the chance to play this game and have always felt that I’ve been missing out on a special part of Sega’s history. No I will finally be able to see what the fan-fuss has been about all these years.
@Grolt
I totally forgot about that, but you are 100% correct. Can I use that as an excuse to say it’s another example of how Sega was ahead of their time? I will anyway.
Anyway, there’s a forum topic about this, where we can continue spilling our fan glee: http://nr89.x10hosting.com/SegaAddictsForum/index.php?topic=292.msg3894#msg3894
Sega used to see into the future!
ANYONE WHO SAYS THE VMU IS STUPID AND THAT SEGA ISN’T CLAIRVOYANT IS A COMMUNIST THERE I SAID IT.