NiGHTS has made many cameos in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, making more appearances in the Sonic series than their own. Some characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog series were also designed after NiGHTS characters, such as the Chaos, who were based on Nightopians and Black Doom, who was based on Wizeman.
Sonic Adventure (1998)[]
NiGHTS pinball table in Sonic Adventure.
There's a NiGHTS thematic pinball table in Casinopolis with NiGHTS themself making two brief appearances. Many other NiGHTS characters also appeared as cards.
In the second floor of this table, there is an Ideya Capture which the player can break. If they do, they will be rewarded with an Ideya. If the player collects all five Ideyas, they will be rewarded with 300 rings. [1]
It is also possible to make the chaos look similar to NiGHTS and Reala's by giving them flying animals. By giving Chaos power animals, they will look like Jackle, though this might be unintentional.
Sonic Shuffle (2000)[]
By playing the game on December 24, NiGHTS will make a cameo appearance replacing Lumina as the guide of the game.
Sonic Adventure 2 (2001)[]
In the City Escape level, there are NiGHTS posters spreaded throughout the city. In Radical Highway, NiGHTS has an Hotel named after them. Once again, it is also possible to make the Chaos look like NiGHTS and Reala by giving them flying animals and Jackle by giving them power animals.
Sonic Pinball Party (2003)[]
Sonic Pinball Party is a pinball-themed video game and a spin-off title, featuring references to other games developed by Sonic Team. The NiGHTS series is one of the three most prominent series in the game, the other two being Sonic the Hedgehog and Samba de Amigo. All of the levels from NiGHTS into Dreams appeared as Pinball tables.Sonic Pinball Party is also the only game where NiGHTS actually interacts with Sonic, where they helped Sonic free Amy and Tails from Dr. Eggman hypnotism. NiGHTS is also a level two competitor in the Egg Cup tornament.
Sonic Battle (2003)[]
NiGHTS makes a cameo in the Speed Demon minigame. Where they can be seen flying in the background.
Shadow the Hedgehog (2005)[]
A Billboard of NiGHTS can be seen to the right of where Shadow begins Lethal Highway as soon as Shadow lands on solid ground.
Sonic Riders Series[]
NiGHTS in Sonic Riders.
Sonic Riders (2006)[]
NiGHTS, along with AiAi and Ulala, is a SEGA guest character who makes an appearence in Sonic Riders as a playable character. They can be unlocked by beating all the Babylon's missions.
The Twin Seeds tower also appears in both the SEGA Carnival and SEGA Illusion circuits.
Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity (2008)[]
NiGHTS is the only SEGA guest character who returns to Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity. This time, also featuring Amigo and Billy Hatcher.
NiGHTS can be unlocked by completing all of the Dr. Eggman's missions.
Sonic Unleashed (2008)[]
In Sonic Unleashed, Doctor Eggman has a copy of NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams hidden inside his eggmobile.[2]
Sonic Generations 3DS (2011)[]
The NiGHTS hotel from Radical Highway reappears in the same stage in Sonic Generations for the 3DS.
Sonic Lost World (2013)[]
There's a NiGHTS themed DLC zone called Nightmare Zone in Sonic Lost World, where Sonic fights the Deadly Six riding NiGHTS into Dreams bosses.
Wizeman and Reala make a cameo at the beginning of the level, where they'll turn the level black and white. Reala is also responsible for sending Sonic to Nightmare by paralooping him. At the end of the level, NiGHTS will appear and paraloop Reala, defeating him and bringing the colors back. The zone ends with Sonic saving Nightopians inside a NiGHTS Capture.
The Nightmare Zone is the only DLC zone to return to the PC port of Sonic Lost World. The obvious reason for that is because it's the only DLC to not be based on a Nintendo property.
Sonic Runners (2015)[]
NiGHTS in Sonic Runners.
NiGHTS, Reala, Nightopian, Christmas NiGHTS, Christmas Nightopian and the Red Ideya appeared in Sonic Runners as Buddies for a limited time. NiGHTS will give bonus points when characters pass though a loop. Reala will give the character magnet effect after a loop. Nightopian can randomly destroy spikes, iron balls and enemies when the character gets damage. Christmas NiGHTS can reduce the game’s speed. Christmas Nightopian can trigger the the Yellow Drill effect. The Red ideya switches na Equipped item for another.
Sonic Forces (2017)[]
An unlockable costume based on NiGHTS appears in Sonic Forces. Other character's costumes that appear in the game are an AiAi costume, an Amitie costume, a Beat costume and a Joker's costume.
Sonic Colors: Ultimate (2021)[]
NiGHTS makes a cameo as two profile icons, one of them has NiGHTS in their NiGHTS into Dreams outfit, the other one has NiGHTS in the Christmas NiGHTS outfit.[3]
The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog (2023)[]
NiGHTS makes an appearance on a sign near the ceiling of a game room, with the words "NiGHTS Pinball" next to them.
Sonic Superstars (2023)[]
An unlockable robotic version of NiGHTS appears in the game. To unlock it, it is necessary to get a perfect in a checkpoint bonus stage.
In the party EyeToy game SEGA Superstars, there’s a NiGHTS into Dreams minigame, where the player controls NiGHTS by using their arms as if they were flying.
SEGA Superstars Tennis (2008)[]
NiGHTS appears as a starter playable and Reala appears as an unlockable character. NiGHTS Superstar move can make the opponents teleport to random locations of the tennis court. Reala Superstar move can make the opponents spin.
Aqua Garden appears as an unlockable stage, featuring Sweeping Seashore (default music), The Amazing Water, She Had Long Ears and Paternal Horns as music tracks.
NiGHTS in Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing.
Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing (2010)[]
NiGHTS appears as a flagperson, who waves the checkered flag at the start and end of races. Steve Lycett of Sumo Digital said that NiGHTS could potentially become a DLC character if the game became successful.[4] However, later that year, Sega announced that they no longer planned to include any downloadable content after the release of Metalsonic and the Death Egg Zone track.
Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed (2012)[]
NiGHTS and Reala appeared as unlockable characters in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. They both shapeshift themselves into the cars/boats/airplanes and they are driven by a Nightopian and a Goodle respectively.
When NiGHTS goes all star, they shapeshift back into their normal form and drill dashes into the racers with Message from Nightopia playing in the background. When Reala goes all star, he also shapeshifts back to his normal form and shoots fireballs at the racers with a D'Force Master remix (Wizeman's boss theme) playing in the background.
The game also features Spring Valley as an unlockable circuit under the name “Dream Valley”. The circuit features rings, which the racers can pass through to get boost and giant Shleeps, Kircles and Alarm Egg appear as obstacles. There's also a portal which teleports the players to Nightmare, with the nightmare section changing every lap; in the first laps, the portal teleports to Gillwing's lair, with Gillwing making a cameo, in the second lap, it teleports to Puffy's mansion, with Puffy making a cameo and in the last lap, it teleports to Wizeman's lair, with Wizeman appearing as a hazard, trying to slow down the racers by throwing meteors at them.
Additionally, Lynne Triplett, a very famous artist and NiGHTS fan among the NiGHTS Community, worked in the game and drew NiGHTS, Jet Set Radio, Skies of Arcadia and Burning Rangers stickers. Unfortunately, only the Jet Set Radio stickers were accepted for the game.
The Lost Car from Mystic Forest in Segata Sanshirou Shinken Yuugi.
A Japan exclusive mini games collection inspired by the Segata Sanshiro's commercials.
In one the mini games, Segata Sanshiro has to punch back several heavy objects, with the red car from Mystic Forest being one of them.
Chuchu Rocket! (1999)[]
The Nightopians are an unlockable skin for the Chuchus. To unlock them, it is necessary to complete all of the 50 courses. The Chaos from the Sonic the Hedgehog series also appeared as an unlockable skin, which is unlocked along with the Nightopians after completing the 50 courses.
Shenmue (1999)[]
NiGHTS cameo in Shenmue.
NiGHTS and a Nightopian appeared as capsule toys in Shenmue along with other SEGA characters. NiGHTS has two capsule toys and the Nightopian toy comes with a Chao toy.
Samba de Amigo (2000)[]
Dreams Dreams is a song featured in the Dreamcast version of the game. The song didn't return the Wii port. [12]
Phantasy Star Online (2000)[]
Nightopian Mag in Phantasy Star Online.
NiGHTS made a small guest appearence in Phantasy Star Online I & II Plus, in an Episode 2 quest. The game also featured a NiGHTS into Dreams minigame, where the player controls NiGHTS in Spring Valley. [13]
The Nightopians (referred to as "Pian" in the game) also appeared in the game as a a Mag, an equippable creature that contributes bonuses to that player's stats.
SEGAGAGA (2001)[]
Segagaga, or SGGG, is a role-playing simulation video game developed by Sega Hitmaker and published by Sega for the Dreamcast and released only in Japan.
NiGHTS cameo in SEGAGAGA.
The game tells the story of two young children, who must help Sega at beating it's main competitor, a video game company that has taken 97% of the home console marketcalled DOGMA.
Many Sega characters make cameos throughout the game and NiGHTS is among them. Other Sega characters that also make a cameo are Sonic the Hedgehog, Ristar, Alis Landale and Alex Kidd.
Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg (2003)[]
NiGHTS in Billy Hatcher.
In the platform game Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg for the Gamecube, there's a special type of egg called "Sonic Team Egg", which summons characters from other SEGA games to assist Billy in his adventure, and NiGHTS is one of them. [14] The player can make NiGHTS drill dash into enemies all over the screen. Other characters who make an appearance are Sonic, Tails and Knuckles from the Sonic series and Amigo from Samba de Amigo.
A light orb in Billy Hatcher which looks very similar to the Ideya of Purity.
There’s also a power-up circus hat, which resembles NiGHTS purple jester hat, and the minigame from Phantasy Star Online reappears in this game.
Additionally, the final boss from the game, Dark Raven, will shoot a dark orb at Billy during the second part of his boss battle. When Billy touches the orb to turn it into a light orb, the orb will look very similar to the White Ideya.
Feel the Magic: XY/XX (2004)[]
NiGHTS hat is an unlockable costume for the girl. The game also features a Sonic hat, a Chao hat, an Amitie hat and Ulala's pigtails as unlockable costumes for the same character.[15]
SEGA Splash! Golf (2008)[]
NiGHTS in SEGA Splash Golf!
Sega Splash! Golf is a free to play Japan exclusive game released for the PC. The game was announced in 2007 and released in 2008. It stars a boy named Rush and a girl named Miel, who set out to become professional golfers.
The game features NiGHTS and many other SEGA characters, such as Sonic, Tails, Ulala, Opa-Opa and Puyo Puyo, as a optional coaches.
Phantasy Star Portable 2 (2009)[]
There's a NiGHTS and a Nightopian costume in the game.
Samurai & Dragons (2012)[]
NiGHTS card in Samurai & Dragons.
Samurai & Dragons is a free-to-play, card-based strategic fighting game developed by Sega and released only in Japan, for the PS vita. [16][17]
A NiGHTS card appeared in the game. Many other SEGA characters characters also appeared in the game as cards, such as Sonic characters, Beat, Ulala, AiAi, Akira Yuki, Ryo Hazuki, Bayonetta, Kazuma Kiryu, Sakura Shinguji and more. [18]
Phantasy Star Online 2 (2012)[]
A free-to-play online action role-playing game, which is the sequel of Phantasy Star Online. The game was originally released for the Windows only in Japan in 2012, later for the PS vita in 2013, for the Playstation 4 in 2014 and Nintendo Switch in 2018. In 2020 the game was finally released to the west but only for the Xbox ONE and Microsoft Windows.
NiGHTS, along with many other Sega characters, makes a cameo as a statue in Phantasy Star Online 2.
Description: A figure of NiGHTS, the main character from the famous action series NiGHTS into Dreams.
Skullgirls (2012)[]
Gillwing's cameo in Skullgirls.
Skullgirls is a 2D fighting game developed by Reverge Labs and published by Autumn Games where players engage in combat against one another with teams of one, two, or three characters, attempting to knock out their opponents or have the most cumulative health when time runs out.
On April 5th, 2022, one of the artists who worked on Skullgirls revealed that in one of the attacks of the character Umbrella, her living Umbrella friend Hungern turns into Gillwing for just a single frame.[20] Even though the game was released on 2012, Gillwing's cameo was only added in 2021.
Rhythm Thief & the Emperor's Treasure (2013)[]
A rhythm puzzle adventure video game developed by Xeen and published by SEGA for the Nintendo 3DS in 2013. One of the game's features is the "sounds", which are secrets that can be found throughout the game's overworlds. One of the sounds in particular is called "Merry-Go Round", which can be found by clicking in a merry go round in the Tuileries Garden. When this sound is found, it'll play a small bit of Merry Memory Go Round (Memory Forest chase theme) from NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams.[21] Particarly, it is a bit at the end of the music track. [22] Other SEGA easter eggs featured in the game are a Space Channel 5 and a Samba de Amigo thematic minigame.
Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax (2014)[]
Bellbridge in Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax.
A 2D arcade fighting game developed by Ecole Software and French Bread and published by Sega which celebrates the 20th anniversary of ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Bunko imprint. The game features various characters from light novels published under the imprint, such as characters from Toaru Majutsu no Index, Sword Art Online and Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei.
The game features many SEGA thematic stages and Bellbridge is among them. The game also features Green Hill Zone from the Sonic series, a Valkyria Chronicles stage, a Shinobi stage and a Virtua Fighters stage.
The game was first released in Japanese arcades in March 2014 and later in the same year on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita, the console version was released in North America and Europe in October 2015.
Project X Zone 2 (2015)[]
Project X Zone 2 is a crossover tactical role-playing game for the Nintendo 3DS developed by Monolith Soft and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. The game is a crossover between several franchises from Bandai Namco, Capcom and Sega, with special guests from Nintendo. Among the cast, there are Street Fighters characters, Sakura Wars characters, KOS-MOS from the Xenosaga, Phoenix Wright & Maya Fey from Ace Attorney, Ulala from Space Channel 5, Segata Sanshiro from the japanese advertisement for the Sega Saturn, Kazuma Kiryu from Yazuka and Chrom, Lucina and Tiki from the Fire Emblem series.
NiGHTS themself doesn't appear in the game. However, if Segata Sanshiro is paired with Reiji and Xiaomu, Xiaomu will say “Dreams, Fun and Inspiration are the Engine of happiness!” in her pre battle dialog and Segata will continue saying “And you can’t have dreams without NiGHTs! Sega Saturn!”. [23] NiGHTS' name was incorrectly written with the "s" not being in caps. Two other characters who also don't appear in the game but are referenced are Sonic and Tails.
Sega EARTH UFO CATCHER (2020)[]
NiGHTS in Sega Earth Ufo Catcher.
Sega Earth UFO Catcher was a game released for Android to celebrate the company's 60th anniversary. It was available to play from June 3rd, 2020 to June 9th, 2020. The game is based on Sega's UFO catcher machines and the player could collect Sega characters and consoles as prizes. There was a total of 139 collactable prizes.
NiGHTS appeared as a 2 stars prize and was listed as prize number 091.
Description: An inhabitant of Nightopia, a world where all dreamers go. After meeting a young boy and girl, Nights sets off on a journey to restore hope and courage to the world by taking back Ideya, glowing fragments that form dreams, from Nightmaren. Soar through the air in this bracing Saturn classic.
Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble (2024)[]
NiGHTS costume in Monkey Ball.
A NiGHTS costume is available for the playable characters, available through the Sega Pass.
Movies and Tv[]
NiGHTS and Reala cameo in Paws
Paws (1997)[]
In the australian independent movie Paws, the main character has a poster of NiGHTS and Reala in his room. The poster appears to be based on a magazine ad for NiGHTS.
Durarara!! (2010)[]
NiGHTS into Dreams in Durarara!!.
In the episode "Declaration of Dissolution" of the anime Durarara!!, there is a scene where Celty and Shinra appear playing video games and it is possible to notice that NiGHTS into Dreams is among the games.
Amphibia (2019)[]
NiGHTS into Dreams in Amphibia (game inside the shelf, on the right side).
In the episode "The New Normal", the first episode of the third season of the show Amphibia, there is a scene where it is possible to see a copy of NiGHTS into Dreams next to a SEGA Saturn at the right side of a shelf.
Sonic the Hedgehog film (2020)[]
A reference to Spring Valley in the Sonic the Hedgehog movie.
During the Sonic the Hedgehog 2020 movie trailer, there's a moment where many little screens showing SEGA games appear to form the SEGA logo. Among them, there's a screen showing NiGHTS flying through Spring Valley, which can be seen for a very brief moment.
Later during the baseball game scene, it is possible to notice that the baseball playoffs had the local team Green Hills against the visiting team called Spring Valley.
Uncle from Another World (2021)[]
NiGHTS in Uncle from Another World.
Uncle from Another World is a Netflix anime adaptation of the manga with the same name. In the anime, the character Uncle Yosuke is a huge fan of SEGA games and the anime is well known for featuring many references to SEGA games.
In one of the episodes, a copy of NiGHTS into Dreams appears in the anime along with a SEGA Saturn and other SEGA consoles and games.
Smiling Friends (2022)[]
NiGHTS into Dreams in Smiling Friends.
Smiling Friends is an Adult Swim comedy that follows the day-to-day lives and misadventures of its representatives, the lazy, cynical Charlie, and the cheerful, optimistic Pim, as they try to cheer up and comfort the troubled people who call their company's hotline.
In the third episode of the second season, it appears that a copy of NiGHTS into Dreams can be seen in the glass of a game store.
Sonic Frontiers Prologue: Divergence (2022)[]
The Chao that Knuckles ends up helping out just before the discovery he makes on Sky Sanctuary Zone is notably a NiGHTS Chao.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 film (2024)[]
NiGHTS chao in Sonic 3 (film)
The NiGHTS Chao from Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2 makes an appearance in Sonic's third live action movie as a mascot in a restaurant named after the Chao Gardens found in the game series. The NiGHTS Chao mascot also appears to be wearing Amigo's hat and maracas in some scenes.
Mangas and Comic Books[]
Game Gag 1P Comic Sega-hen (1997)[]
In 1997, Gêmesuto Komikkusu released a japanese gag comic called Game Gag 1P Comic Sega-hen, dedicated to SEGA games and NiGHTS was one of the games referenced. NiGHTS was featured in the pages number 62, 67, 92, 93, 96 and 97.
Hyperdimension Neptunia: Megami Tsuushin (2010)[]
Various Sega characters appear in the manga series Hyperdimension Neptunia: Megami Tsuushin, including NiGHTS. In the manga, NiGHTS is referred to as "Mysterious Unidentified Flying Creature".
Worlds Unite (2015)[]
NiGHTS in the promotional artwork for Worlds Unite.
NiGHTS, Reala and Wizeman appeared in the Archie Comic, Worlds Unite, a comic crossover between Sonic and Mega Man, which would eventually feature NiGHTS and other SEGA and Capcom characters such as Alex Kidd, Ryu from Street Fighters, Vyse from Skies of Arcadia, Amaterasu from Okami, Viewtiful Joe and more.
The Dream Gate was also a location that appeared in the comic.
Sonic The Hedgehog #30 Anniversary: Seasons of Chaos (2021)[]
The events of this Sonic the Hedgehog comic takes place in a zone called "Spring Valley zone", which even features Badnik versions of Shleeps, Hollows and the Alarm Egg.[24]
Miscellaneous[]
SEGA Hard Girls[]
NiGHTS appers in the Japanese multimedia project SEGA Hard Girls, a project which re-imagines various Sega video game consoles as anthropomorphized goddesses who appear all over modern Japan.
Additionally, NiGHTS might have influenced the design of the character SEGA Saturn, as Saturn's hair resembles NiGHTS' hat and she has a neck collar which resembles NiGHTS' neck ruffle.
Disneyland[]
NiGHTS at Disneyland in 1997.
In 1994, Disney's Epcot resort opened a technology museum called "Innovations", with the purpose to showcase hi-tech entertainment, such as video games. Disney made a partnership with Sega and the museum got a section for people to play Sega games, such as Sonic games, Virtua Fighter, Toejam & Earl, Aladdin and more.
In 1997, NiGHTS into Dreams was added to the attraction. The whole attraction was later closed in 2001. Very little information about the attraction exists and footage of it are very rare nowadays. [25]
Shigeru Miyamoto[]
Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of Mario, Donkey Kong and The Legend of Zelda, revealed himself to be a fan of the NiGHTS' series. In an interview back in the Dreamcast days, Yuji Naka revealed in an interview that many fans including Miyamoto himself were curious to know if a new NiGHTS game was in development for the system. [26]
Additionally, there's also a famous Miyamoto quote known among the NiGHTS community, where he says "If there is a game I would have loved to work on, it would be Nights into Dreams…” [27]
Japanese Game Symphony[]
On their 14th concert in 2015, the Japanese Game Symphony performed SEGA games music, which included NiGHTS into dreams music. [28] The following tracks were featured:
Fragmented Nights
Gate of Your Dream
Paternal Horn
Gloom of The NHC
Suburban Museum
The Amazing Water
Take The Snow Train
Under Construction
The Dragon Gave a Loud Scream
She Had Long Ears
Deep It Lies
E-LE-KI Sparkle
The Mantle
NiGHTS and Reala
Growing Wings
D’Force Master
Peaceful Moment
NiGHTS, Forever in Our Heart
Sowing Seeds
Dreams Dreams
Fragmented Nights: Epilogue Ver.
Space Channel 5 Ukiuki Music Festival[]
The Space Channel 5 Ukiuki Festival was a Japanese musical festival, which celebrated the 20th Anniversary of the Space Channel 5 series and featured dance, interviews, collectibles given out to Japan fans and new informations about the series. The festival was originally going to start in March 27th, 2020, but due to the Coronavirus pandemic, it was moved to November 13th, 2020 and was online.
The NiGHTS into Dreams main theme, "Dreams Dreams", was mixed with the Space Channel 5: Part 2 main theme, "This is my Happiness", and was played in the festival. [29]
Sonic 30th Anniversary Symphony Orchestra[]
On Juny 23rd 2021, Sega streamed a symphony concert playing several music tracks of the Sonic the Hedgehog series. At one point of the Orchestra, the Sonic the Hedgehog into Dreams... mini game from Christmas NiGHTS into Dreams was referenced and the orchestra played a bit of NiGHTS' theme from NiGHTS into Dreams.[30]
Trivia[]
Nocturn, an antagonist from Danny Phantom that bears a resemblance to NiGHTS.
In Nickelodeon's animated series Danny Phantom, there is an antagonist called Nocturn, who has dream-themed powers and curiously has purple horns that resemble NiGHTS's jester hat. Despite the similarities, the writers of the series never confirmed if Nocturn was a reference to NiGHTS or not.
Before all of the NiGHTS cameos in the Sonic games, it was Sonic who made a cameo in Christmas NiGHTS into Dreams, where there is a mini game, available only in the SEGA Saturn version of the game, where the player controls Sonic in Spring Valley called Sonic the Hedgehog into Dreams. The mini game also featured Doctor Eggman as a boss parodying Puffy. The mini game did not return to any of the HD remasters of the game. [31]
Christmas NiGHTS into Dreams was also the first game to have Sonic playable in a 3D environment.
All of NiGHTS' cameos in the background of Sonic Adventure 2's Radical Highway were removed and replaced with chao images in Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, probably because the developers didn't want non Mario and Sonic characters appearing in the game.
NiGHTS into Dreams was a major influence for the creation of both Rodea the Sky Soldier[32] and Balan Wonderworld.
Both games were also produced by Yuji Naka and in Balan Wonderworld's case, Naoto Ohshima is also involved with the production, as the game's character designer.
