Christmas NiGHTS was an amazing giveaway that Saturn fans have been treasuring for decades now. For many, playing the game in December has become a holiday tradition. In this interview with Sonic Team, we get a little more info on how the game came about and why it was released for free.
This interview originally appeared in the January 1997 issue of the Japanese magazine Hyper Saturn. In it, Sonic Team discusses the origins and development of one of the Saturn’s most beloved games (and one hell of a freebie), Christmas NiGHTS.
Sonic Team put all its effort into a game inspired by Christmas Lemmings.
Hyper Saturn Magazine: How did the decision to develop Christmas NiGHTS come about?
Yuji Naka: We had a lot of leftover publicity art (like CG art) and we wanted to use it somehow. We thought of doing something like the Virtua Fighter CG Portrait Series but felt it wouldn’t have much value. So, we were brainstorming for good ideas. That’s when the topic of Lemmings, a favorite of mine, came up. Overseas, there was a version called Christmas Lemmings which was released around Christmas. I think there was a new one every year, which I liked. I brought up the idea of doing something like that in Japan, and everyone got excited about the idea. Christmas NiGHTS… sounds good. How about we turn it into a one-level trial version of the game with Christmas vibes? I asked my boss about it, and we got the approval to work on it in the short time before the next big project was going to start production. As a result, we got to create something special for Christmas, and the entire staff really gave it their all. We didn’t just see it as a side-project.
Hyper Saturn Magazine: When you first heard about this plan, what did you think?
Naoto Oshima: Honestly, when Naka-san suggested it, I immediately thought, “Let’s do it!” I personally have a special fondness for Christmas. Plus, everyone, from Sonic Team to SEGA, liked the idea of making a Christmas-themed present.
Takao Miyoshi: I was also very drawn to the idea of a seasonal project. Christmas is a time when everyone gets excited and happy, right? So, getting to do a project especially for this time of year made me happy. We wanted to create something that gave users this Christmas joy.
Hyper Saturn Magazine: So, it really was intended to be a sort of Christmas present.
Takao Miyoshi: Exactly. We wanted players to feel the joy of receiving a present.
Takuya Matsumoto: During game development, we often rush through a project until it’s done, then we start winding down. With NiGHTS, when we or our friends played the game at home on our own time, we kept finding new ways to play. Of course, we also got mail from our players, which helped. When Naka-san suggested this idea afterward, I thought it was great. We wanted to bring our thoughts and ideas into the game. We saw NiGHTS from the same perspective as the users and thought about different ways to play. That’s what we wanted to incorporate.
Hyper Saturn Magazine: So, the staff really put their all into the Christmas theme, didn’t they?
Yuji Naka: Yes, it seemed like everyone was really looking forward to incorporating the Christmas theme, and the name Christmas NiGHTS was decided from the beginning. There was a moment when it seemed like we might lose the title, but everyone was so invested that both sides worked hard to keep it. Because the timeline was short, there was some uncertainty about whether we would even be able to still call the game Christmas NiGHTS, but we managed to push it through.
But what I thought was a bad idea in terms of development time was the request to include an a cappella rendition of “Dreams Dreams,” which was supposed to be recorded in New York, just like the previous version. What do you think about that?
Tomoko Sasaki: Ah, right… (laughs). We certainly tried new things with the game, which opened up quite a few paths (laughs).
Naoto Oshima: Since the game now featured a picture-book opening, including narration and such, Sasaki had his work cut out for him.
Tomoko Sasaki: Even when I broke a finger and couldn’t play the piano… (laughs)[1]
Naoto Oshima: Again with this? (laughs)
Yuji Naka: So, you’re saying you could do it in that scenario? (laughs)
Tomoko Sasaki: I enjoyed writing the story and drawing the images, so I’m thankful I got to do it (bows). That’s how I feel.
Hyper Saturn Magazine: Combining NiGHTS and Christmas, how did you envision it, Sasaki-san? Did it come naturally to you?
Tomoko Sasaki: When I heard the positive reviews of NiGHTS, I got fired up and felt like hearing an encore. When the idea of Christmas NiGHTS dropped, I felt like I just had to do it. I wanted to stuff in everything that didn’t make the original game. I wanted to make it so that you only got the full NiGHTS experience after playing Christmas NiGHTS.
Everyone: What? (laughs)
Yuji Naka: That’s the first time I’ve heard that. (laughs)
Takuya Matsumoto: I also had no idea. (laughs)
Naoto Oshima: Oh dear. (laughs)
Yuji Naka: But it ended up being an extra bonus to help people enjoy NiGHTS even more. It deepened the world of NiGHTS and made the Nightopians even more lovable. The sound guy wanted to make them sing, and that was another questionable idea we had (laughs). And the Nightopians improved their skills too.
Hyper Saturn Magazine: They improved their skills?
Yuji Naka: Yeah. The Nightopians started off just singing random noises, but they eventually began to create melodies and harmonize. They even came together to discuss it. (laughs)
Hyper Saturn Magazine: That’s incredible!
Tomoko Sasaki: Yes. (laughs)
Yuji Naka: Sasaki-san likes the Nightopians more than Nights.
Tomoko Sasaki: It’s true.
Yuji Naka: So, he asked me to do something about the Nightopians.
Tomoko Sasaki: They just seemed a bit stupid, and I felt sorry for them.
Yuji Naka: But they’re really not. And they don’t just sing in a chorus. If you collect them all and raise their affection level, they all start singing Dreams Dreams together. With this, I wanted to convey to players that it’s a good idea to raise and interact with the Nightopians. I felt like after seeing that, players might go back to the original NiGHTS to raise the Nightopians there.
Tomoko Sasaki: Showing them a new way to enjoy the game.
Hyper Saturn Magazine: Was it announced that it would be a Christmas event?
Naoto Oshima: From the very beginning, when I created the character of Nights, I had this idea of making him a “holy” character, one that represented things like love and courage, so that he would be a good fit for events like Christmas or Valentine’s Day. And since we’re doing a Christmas game now, I feel he fits like a glove.
Yuji Naka: We hope that as many people as possible will enjoy Christmas NiGHTS. We’re planning to release it in America and Europe as well. I think this is a first for console games, since I don’t think there has been a special Christmas edition of a game before, a game to play specifically on Christmas. I hope that this Christmas, people will enjoy playing the game. It can be beaten in around 20 minutes. If you beat the game with both Elliot and Claire, you’ll get the a cappella version of Dreams Dreams. I hope those two can enjoy that moment (laughs). I’d be happy if single guys invited a girl over to play the game together, or vice-versa. There’s still a small element of “love” in there, which is really important to Sasaki.
Tomoko Sasaki: What, to me? (laughs)
Hyper Saturn Magazine: What are your views on Christmas?
Takao Miyoshi: At Christmas, the city becomes festive and the atmosphere becomes cheerful. Even though it’s cold, you want to go out. The whole city is festive, and even if you’re home alone, magazines are also full of Christmas spirit. And if games can now be festive as well, I guess you can enjoy Christmas synergistically. (laughs)
Naoto Oshima: As Naka-san said, I’d be happy if people enjoyed our game as a part of Christmas. I personally like Christmas, I buy a tree and everything. They’ve gotten bigger over time, this year’s is over two meters. Then I got really into it and started putting cotton and other stuff on it…
Yuji Naka: He’s a guy that loves Christmas. Up until he got married, he’d dress up as Santa, hop on his bike, and visit his friends dressed like that. He’d have a sack with him filled with stuffed toys from UFO Catchers, and whenever children spotted him at an intersection going “Look, it’s Santa!” he’d get off the bike, give them a toy and then get outta there (laughs). That’s the kinda wacky, kitschy stuff he’d do. He’s the kind of guy to really perform on Christmas, but he stopped once he got a wife. (laughs)
Hyper Saturn Magazine: So, you really wanted to do Christmas NiGHTS.
Naoto Oshima: Absolutely! (laughs)
Yuji Naka: So, you could do it for tens of thousands of people, right.
Naoto Oshima: I really liked doing it. Back when I was single, instead of having a good time with everyone else, I’d rather savor the solitude and become Santa myself (laughs). There was drama too. When I rode onto the highway, some guy would go “Oh Santa, really busy again this year, huh?” (everyone bursts out laughing). I’d have my helmet on, spray snow around…
Yuji Naka: He went all-in on the decorations. He actually had electric lights on his suit (laughs). So, whenever someone went “Oh, it’s Santa!” he’d switch them on. (laughs)
Naoto Oshima: One time there was a couple in a car, and the girl called out to her boyfriend going, “Look, it’s Santa!” and I’d flip on my lights and hit the gas… (everyone laughs again)
Hyper Saturn Magazine: That was pretty cool.
Takao Miyoshi: You were Santa Rider.
Naoto Oshima: The reason I stopped wasn’t because I got a girlfriend or because I got married. Actually, it was because a fake showed up.
Everyone: Oh, I see.
Yuji Naka: (Suddenly bursts out laughing) So, you’re saying you’re the real Santa? (everyone bursts out laughing too). I’d say both y’all are fakes, wouldn’t ya?[2]
Naoto Oshima: Well, the other one had a logo for a pizza company or something on his back. So, he was the fake. He probably got paid for it. Once he popped up, I stopped. Maybe they got the idea from watching me. (laughs)
Takuya Matsumoto: That was pretty authentic. (laughs)
Naoto Oshima: In the end, I went from Yokohama to visit a friend in Chiba.
Yuji Naka: It’s amazing. He’d call up his friend in advance, going, “Look out the window at around eleven p.m. or so.” He’d then wait outside, and when the window opened, he’d wave and go, “Hey!” Awesome, right? He went from house to house that way, always calling in advance. That’s the kind of stuff he did.
Hyper Saturn Magazine: So, did the project become feasible with Mr. Oshima’s involvement?
Yuji Naka: Before that, I didn’t think the project would be approved. I went to ask the higher ups, fully expecting it to be rejected, but the person I asked said the game looked interesting, even though I’m sure deep down he thought, “This isn’t gonna work. Please just do a proper project instead.” However, since everyone involved appreciated fun and togetherness, I felt like we could actually make it work.
Tomoko Sasaki: The fact that so many people wanted Christmas NiGHTS to be a thing proves that a lot of people were moved and impressed by NiGHTS. The themes of NiGHTS are love and courage, so it’s rather romantic. I thought people in the world would look at it more coldly, but when it got such a strong response, I realized that people had accepted our work. Even inside the company, I got calls about Christmas NiGHTS from people I didn’t even really know, so that made me very happy. (laughs)
Hyper Saturn Magazine: With a theme like that, I can understand why you’d be afraid people would look more coldly at the game.
Yuji Naka: Everybody wanted it. Everything they wanted is in Christmas NiGHTS. If it gets people who haven’t played the original game to pick up a copy, we’ll of course be even happier (laughs). The response to new experiments tends to be less than you’d expect, but we want to get the message across that it’s fun and that it’s worth a try.
Hyper Saturn Magazine: What’s next for NiGHTS?
Yuji Naka: Along with this, a picture book will be released in mid-December. Additionally, there will be various other goods. Next year there will be NiGHTS toys in UFO Catchers. The game’s development is finished, but we’ll keep working on stuff like that. I think the NiGHTS character has a lot of fans, so I want to keep him around in some form or another.
[1] It’s not entirely clear what/who he’s talking about here.
[2] He switches to Kansai dialect here (which is even noted in brackets), therefore the slight change in tone of voice.
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