Unremarkable and odd places in NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams

[@novelezra]

What I love about Austin is that he struggles to articulate what he's feeling, because what he's feeling is so intangible and indescribable that the only way to convey it; is to be unable to.

[@TheTuttle99]

Probably more has to do with the fact that he doesn't write a script, so he's adlibbing

[@novelezra]

@@TheTuttle99 Well yes; that's the core concept I'm getting at. Most KZbin videos are so heavily scripted that they become nothing but impersonal critiques and observations about a piece of media that feel more like college essays instead of what Austin does; where it feels more like sitting in your car after seeing a movie and your friend having a really interesting, if slightly underdeveloped opinion on what you just saw.

[@mrister24]

I think it's odd and remarkable how the character runs like they're actively clenching to avoid an even more odd and remarkable accident

[@henotic.essence]

I'm screaming 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@salemfae]

😔 ibs is a struggle 💩

[@any_austin]

Hello everyone-- my uploads will be a little sparse for about another month here; I have some preoccupying circumstances that will resolve soon. The upcoming videos will include: TP Castle Town Unemployment, Skyrim unemployment (probably Windhelm), a mystery unemployment video, Skybox Appreciation Breath of the Wild, Unremarkable and odd Twilight Princess, and a few others. Most of them are already filmed I just have to get them edited also I did just realize i never added the song for this video so today go listen to the song "NOBODY NOTICED" by The Excellent Man from Minneapolis. Thanks see you more soon.

[@Gundalow]

Was the fact that you left out "Nobody Noticed" some kind of big brain mega play about how you thought no one would notice you forgot the song at the end? Austin you're hitting levels of meta commentary I didn't think I would encounter today.

[@BounceBack117]

Hey Bro, I like that song & saw it on your channel before, just wanted to say one of the last vid's were missing one to, & I look forward to hearing them although not sure if someone let you know already. Cheers!

[@AudreysKitchen]

Keep it up Austin. We appreciate you! Hope everything is going well!

[@Wavarii]

Will do.

[@sonnilowe8858]

It was very very eerie going through the outtro and then having it just end- no song, so end title, no bonus content. Ethereal. Like waking up from a dream too early.

[@StarmanSuper00]

The whole game was essentially one of odd and unremarkable places. A good example of how even a mechanically inconsistent, somewhat unpolished result can still be emotionally resonant and special to people.

[@Hongobogologomo]

Wabisabi man

[@yetanotheruser1989]

Sometimes it's the unpolished and kinda janky games that resonate with me the most.

[@crtchicanery9605]

If you like walking around with the kids in JoD, you're gonna have a field day with NiD. It has no invisible walls and a triple jump. You can walk anywhere NiGHTS can fly to for absolutely no reason and just soak in the vibes.

[@Ash-fl4hf]

And there's also a handful of really interesting and odd things scattered around the world that I'm willing to bet not many people have seen.

[@lankyfish3376]

I have been in a super bad place for the past 3 weeks. Your music has really made me feel like there is somebody out there who knows exactly how I'm feeling and I think that listening to your music has changed my life and hopefully started my healing process too. Thank you for the amazing videos and music.

[@any_austin]

the bad news is that sometimes you can be in a bad place for a lot longer than 3 weeks HOWEVER the good news is you're still cool and will eventually be fine just be patient keep listening to music keep trying different things to see if anything helps and above all else dont lose empathy for yourself and others good luck lanky fish see you around.

[@davidbyrnes8541]

​@@any_austin You seem like a genuinely good person, and I think that's cool. I hope you have a very relaxing Monday

[@apothecarysteed1566]

Be sure to peep his song “Eye’ve Never Felt” Mad good!

[@lankyfish3376]

Thank you❤ also yes keep making these videos + your music. They make so many people happy

[@TruthWaves22]

This guy.is amazing bro. I've been watching him for years. Not many people like him. As far as pain or going through a lot. I wish all of you well and stay blessed. Please be Tru ❤

[@ahcangela8549]

Sonic Adventure 1+2 have immaculate vibes. Many Sega games of that era, but especially Sonic Adventure, are the perfect video game manifestation of enjoying a warm summer afternoon.

[@SantaFishes101]

YESSS!!!!!

[@chloerosemccarty5973]

I really like that you spend like 8 minutes of this video explaining the feeling of a liminal space

[@RyanHaney55]

▪︎ 5:44 I've had that experience. Like you're off in the back room while the rest of 5he family is in the dinning room, kitchen, and living room. The light isn't on, but it's being lit from the other room. ▪︎The metaphor of pausing a dream and walking around in unrendered rooms is a good one for this video series.

[@TheIncredible2IC]

There is a lot of truth to what you say regarding places you aren't meant to be, but aren't restricted from visiting. This applies to the real world too, particularly deep in nature. It's meditative.

[@noahaube3119]

I would love to see you make a video like this for shadow of the colossus. As a kid my brother and I spent hours playing a demo of that game just staring at birds and looking into ravines. It took us weeks to realize that there was an actual goal and a colossus to take down. Just vibing in the empty landscape was enough to keep us playing.

[@mesacboy7939]

Shoutout to Katie, I always dreamed you'd do a video on this game. It just seemed so perfect for the unremarkable and odd series. I'd say the Saturn Nights has an even stronger dreamlike/liminal vibe, maybe cause of the 90s low-poly crust. It just oozes nostalgia but at the same time a bizarre melancholy. One of the songs samples Home Alone and it feels like an out-of-body experience whenever I listen to it lol

[@joeywild2011]

This game is truly a special and indescribable moment from my childhood. Was given it by a relative, and I finally tried it years later, at about age 11. I can’t express how this game touched me in such a unique way in my heart. The music, the story (though somewhat basic was still lovely), the final level, the way it played with different perspectives from the 2 protagonists (I’d never seen something like that before as a child). It’s stayed with me to this day

[@jhinkadaj58]

The entire game is the concept of this series. Very unique game aesthetically.

[@islaamN]

That Dream Gate music really takes me back to 2012! :D We had just moved into our new home and this was one of the first games my older brother and sister got me for moving into the new home. Not only that it’s one of the LAST games I ever played on the Wii. Nights Journey to Dreams is ya know…WEIRD and Odd, but like any good lucid dream, it’s something you’ll always remember :]. Godbless and happy Ramadan folks!

[@barbarictearemedy]

Lol you really got me at the end there. Was definitely expecting the music. Laughed out loud at you actually taking your own advice so promptly.

[@Jordish0]

Big fan of this series, brings back that weird nostalgia from my 2AM 'wander around looking at stuff' sessions.

[@miamuffin1827]

I loved exploring the hub a lot as a really little kid playing this back in the day. It felt like an odd little slice of heaven. I love this odd and unremarkable places series, it showcases these "liminal" little settings away from the main goal and serves as almost this vessel for people to seek an exciting yet infinitely peaceful satisfaction of having your own little corner of the world. It's like it's holding your hand and saying "you are still, I am still, let's breathe for a moment". It's something I've thought of a lot as a kid and especially now as an adult and I thought I was pretty alone in feeling this way about certain places real or fake. I really love this channel.

[@Bookofshavings]

I have played maybe 3 of the games you mentioned, and watched most of your videos. You have a way of capturing the heart of the feelings that people have when experiencing them. Also thank you fro introducing me to the word: accoutrements

[@Silburific]

Oh my god, _thank you_ for that little... rant? Paragraph? About the joy of exploring areas in games that weren't explicitly designed _to_ be explored, because you perfectly articulated why one of my favorite games _is_ one of my favorite games. That is legitimately why Attack on Titan: Final Battle is one of my "cozy games". Koei Tecmo went above and beyond in making a world that is intended to be destructible set dressing feel like a lived in world. Some of the houses will have their doors open and you can stand in the doorway and see that the interior of the house is fully furnished. I was walking through a city after a mission and found a bloc of what seemed to be housing for laborers that was a completely different architechural design from the rest of the city. You're not supposed to walk in the game! You're not supposed to be on the ground, but they put all these little details in for weirdos like me who go looking for them, and it's a positive feeling I don't get from any other game.

[@FeltonDood]

The whole being away from the party at an aunts house. The feeling of being "boxed" away from the world or a group of people. I get it man. I 100% get it. I love the soundtrack for this game. Well, the few gems that it has. Like the the hub world theme, "when the night falls" for anyone that wants to know. This video was awesome. Love the vibe. Thank you.

[@kakkykebs]

Yoooo!!! Thanks Austin!! :D Also 7:51 that's exactly my situation too, I didn't like it much but the vibes of that overworld and the music and the ambience kept me wanting to struggle through the gameplay haha

[@SnooglebumExists]

Of all the adjectives i was expecting to use to describe this video when I clicked on it, "beautiful" was not on that list. Yet here we are.

[@zamuy12479]

this whole area is such a potent melancholy vibe, tinged with an era of childhood that hadn't experienced melancholy, not in any way they could comprehend, at least... maybe i should get this game just for the hub world

[@thukui]

this game is what started my love for liminal spaces

[@pinkdarkman]

The playground city was giving me such an odd feeling, and I couldn't figure out why until you mentioned that it was daytime but all the lights looked like how they look at night. Looking at the concept art, I feel like that was definitely intentional, and for some reason I'm in love with the effect. It really gives it a dreamlike feel, especially the dreams of a kid who doesn't live in a big city so doesn't really know what they look like. Such a small detail that I couldn't even really pick up on until you mentioned it has such a huge effect, it's amazing. SEGA might be kinda poopy at making gameplay, but I tell ya they have, or at least used to have, some artists working there.

[@edwardlwittlif]

The idea of exploring places not *designed* to be explored really clicks with me. I think of many modern games as being heavily curated amusement parks, and it's so precious whenever I can break out of that rigid experience.

[@iTzNikkitty]

I don't know if this makes much sense, but your videos give me a similar sort of feeling I get when I go to the park and watch random animals doing stuff for a long while. This is a compliment btw.

[@SantaFishes101]

that's why I love these games

[@hb-robo]

I think this is your best yet. I had the exact same experience with the game, down to the review score influencing me, and I still think about that hub despite not playing much of any of the actual content. Just phenomenal little painterly, surreal space. That dreamlike swirly dark cloud skybox is absolutely breathtaking

[@CarterHerrigstad]

Man, this game use to scare me as a kid, just like, the characters designs by themselves, haha. Great video Austin! He didn't leave a song this time...

[@EpicPrawn]

5:29 It's so weird that I relate to this very oddly specific description. I have an aunt whose basement at one point had like, old consoles where all the "odd" kids in the extended family would go to like, play the games and connect through them. Thanks for unlocking that little bit of nostalgia.

[@Linkdouble0zero]

You need to come back and visit the hub after it's covered in snow. Music changes to a quiet wintery version and it's all so surreal.

[@DyxoXinoro]

I'm so happy that Katie recommended Journey into Dreams. Its such a strange and surreal game where it feels like everything exists for a reason, but nothing has a defined purpose. What a bizarre experience.

[@oxyvut]

Love the way you talk about things; and how you appreciate things. Its honestly beautiful.

[@joeymag593]

I'm not sure that I ever finished this game myself, but you're right on the money. The art direction and that weird lack of boundaries really gives it a desolate but also chill feeling.

[@them0thking]

I found your videos the day I'm writing this comment and writing cause Nights: Journey of Dreams is one of my favorite games from when I was a kid (shut up I was 11 when it came out/maybe 12-13 max when I actually played it initially I realize it's flaws but also nostalgia) and this video brought back so many memories. Even just the liminal areas alone are so calming.

[@mq7wn]

omfg. i love Nights. grew up with journey of dreams. actually id say im a super fan. so many of the spaces in the dream world feel just like that-dreamlike. and the way all the maps end and all you see is just the endless sky or endless blackness…this game is perfect to me still 🤣 i cannot express what it feels like to play this game for years since i was 7. its home atp

[@JMBAD_art]

I loved this game so frickin much when I was a kid. Just hearing the music sent nostalgic shivers down my spine

[@lorizeppelina2286]

I love exploring places like this, where you're not intended to be. It's like wandering off and happening on a place where you're alone with the creator who designed that part of the game world.

[@pikachurinnn]

i'm delighted to see someone making an entire series of videos dedicated to the same funky little places that i find myself drawn to in games, and doubly delighted to see that you've already covered NiGHTS !! :]

[@heirapparent8217]

I think the stuff you’ve been hitting on is why the idea of an ‘open world’ game entices people, and equally why so many aren’t that good. People want to find these quiet places, these strange places beyond the railroad. I think FromSoftware tries to find this feeling, and Breath of the Wild tried to. Up to you if you think they found it for their open world games.

[@exiufu]

Cool video man. Keep making videos about the unique ideas and premises you have.

[@SR-mz8nn]

A good game for this concept is Pokémon Coliseum. It’s such an odd game but really awesome.

[@maddsmallow]

the thing i really like about this "unremarkable places in video games" series is that there's a sense of almost like, childlike wonder to them? it sends me back to being a little kid watching my older brother show off a video game and just being totally entranced by what he's saying about it. that's the vibe i get. and the admiring of such "unremarkable" spots in these games genuinely makes me appreciate it as an art form. childlike wonder, yknow? i hope that makes sense lmao

[@triangleshiny]

everything he says about the dream gate area is exactly what i thought and felt when i played this game, i used to be obsessed with running around there. the darkness, the color palette, it makes for a space that feels like you're not meant to be in it but doesn't mind your presence at the same time. what he said about the lighting of the buildings is something cool too, because i never thought about that even once. it very much captures that dreamlike sense of logic, the way it makes its own kind of sense when you're in it.

[@maxgambin3758]

Randomly loved this game so much as a kid. Its music and environments are peak nostalgia, stoked you made a video on it.

[@connorpinzon]

Definitely my favorite series on the channel, happy to see so many uploads recently. Stay safe and healthy man

[@XRaptureXx]

I remember buying this game on wii with my brother without knowing anything about the gameplay (we bought it for the box art and recognized Nights from sonic easter eggs). The music immediately brought me back. These games without context really do present as their own world, where if we turn it off it still continues to function without us. The way those empty spaces work your imagination for what purpose they may serve, coupled with that nostalgic melancholy feel. Its hard to put into words because we all have different interpretations of the abstract. Thats what makes it so captivating.

[@TehPef]

Hey I really enjoy these, looking forward to more. Also I think you're right, one of the big differences between how I enjoyed video games as a kid vs an adult was spending like half the time just messing around exploring the game's world. Soaking it all in like that just gives an almost magical kind of feeling. As an adult, I really have to make an active effort to do that, but I do as much as I can. I love how alive it makes the world feel

[@eeveefennecfox]

I've always hated when people tell others what to do on their videos cause it's not their channels or videos,but since the person said do anything you want on a certain game,I'm glad they were considerate

[@VeronicaWarlock]

Have you ever escaped the map in the original Mirror’s Edge and walked around on the ground? Honestly the whole game gives me this feel, especially when you’re in the challenge mode instead of the campaign. The game expects you to be running, but the vibes are so robust if you just wander. (Really lacking in Catalyst.) But especially if you get to the ground, where you are absolutely not meant to be. I just want to huddle up and hide there, in a slightly uncanny, emphatically empty world. The same feeling I get in empty Halo maps and VR lobbies.

[@nanart3438]

I don’t really know a lot about this, nor do I really believe in souls. But I just know this man has an incredible, beautiful soul.

[@NeXaSLvL]

these videos always come out when i need them most

[@dafffodil]

im so glad you said dark souls has vibes like that too, I was about to comment to say that that hub world meandering outer path feels a lot like darkroot garden, after you turn into the path that leads to the cliff that leads to the hydra

[@Punkqurupeco]

Pretty sure there's quite a few odd and unremarkable places in some of the levels where they expect you to go into flight mode from the get-go or ones that have an obvious set path, I remember as a teenarger spending a lot of time just going to the edge of the maps in most of the levels just to see what was there. Edit: you actually touched on that a little on the end tho I remember some of the most odd places were the worlds or levels that had water on them

[@MyDancingShoes]

Your appreciation for artistic vibes in games makes me so happy. I don't know many people willing to have emotional experiences with games like this

[@Cloud_Strife_]

Hilariously that hub world actually looks like an area I visited in a dream once. Kind of freaked me out there for a moment

[@josephforjoseph]

"poking around and playing around is really the language of the universe" man that is such a warm truth. Thank you 😋

[@Liboo52]

I really love the slow rotating screen transitions. They had a peaceful energy that added a lot to the easygoing atmosphere of these videos

[@Gell-lo]

JoD was my first introduction into NiGHTS and I just fell in love with the vibes even as a kid. It was frustrating and confusing, and the true ending took a lot of work... but the memories are of the fantastical experience and wonderous vibes. Thanks for the vid on this, it really let me relive a bit of that memory, bittersweet as it was.

[@kippicalequations9242]

You talking about getting to do youtube full time genuinly made me very happy id love that, your content is great for us fellow vibe feelers

[@ReitheOffbeatOtaku]

There’s a lot of good analysis in this video, but somehow the inception of the phrase “Fake Wii Lighting” as a term might be the best of it

[@andrewspaulding8802]

I used to watch my cousin play the first one on the saturn; even as a kid I found it both captivating and eerie. I used to get creeped out by the alarm clock that would chase you down when the time ran out.

[@Liboo52]

You know what game this guy would probably love is Mortal Kombat Deception, the entire kampaign mode, aside from fighting, is just running around odd places

[@Xanit]

I'd love to see you analyze the worlds of NiGHTS: into Dreams..., the original. It's got a remaster on Steam. I feel like it could be even more surreal of an experience for you.

[@fugitive_]

I want to personally thank katie,caty?,catie?? Idek but this game was my childhood and the worlds were so amazing so thank u

[@NickyvMLP]

The word that he's looking for and seems to be struggling to find (at least through seven minutes) is ethereal.

[@JallenMeodia]

There is a place where the sidewalk ends And before the street begins, And there the grass grows soft and white, And there the sun burns crimson bright, And there the moon-bird rests from his flight To cool in the peppermint wind.

[@MrGuy__]

this game was actually handled by takashi iizuka, who is currently the sonic guy, while the first one was by naoto oshima and yuji naka, who were previously sonic guys (although iizuka also worked on nights into dreams)

[@spokelore]

I love that the patron's get to dictate the channel - it feels more down to Earth.

[@ihatejellybeans7375]

The music makes me think of when I was a kid, and I was playing FFX and came upon Besaid Island for the first time. The music in that area had me in a trance

[@ejm25]

the 2002-2007 era of gaming is so dreamlike and mystical. it was when developers started to get very comfortable with 3d spaces but just before that open world revolution where they started putting detail into every last part of the world

[@cryingcrane8173]

The first dark souls does have a lot of spaces like this! My favorite space in that game might be just outside of the chapel in the undead parish close to where you find andre. After you get rid of the undead warriors outside and the giant titanite shard knight guy in the chapel, you can stand to the right of the chapel side entrance near the bridge to andre and there are just the faintest nature and bird sounds coming from the treeline/treewall sort of area there and i was just mesmerized the first time i found them and turned the volume up. The other side of the chapel entrance with the collapsed bridge and stairs and stuff is also a good place to just sit and look at the environment. Great little area that you don't spend a lot of time in, especially without enemies Ty for the videos austin ❤

[@nicolepierce9063]

Love this series, keep it going. It’s refreshing to see someone pause and take in the small moments of peace and wonder.

[@KreepyKat911]

Loved collecting the lil guys in this game but was absolutely distraught that they would eat each other :(

[@zoocha]

i think i finally understand

[@draculactica]

oh man, the king pian towers that the little nightopians build on rare occasions in the levels of the first game would be perfect for a future entry in this series. they're weird, meaningless structures that embody the concept of an "unremarkable and odd place"

[@coatimundi69]

i absolutely love that they will build things for no reason. i know its a useless feature but it really makes the world feel just a little more lived in! overall, the effort put into nightopians (and by extension, the chao!) will always be amazing to me! also i NEED a chao raising spin-off game (or nightopian, but NiGHTS is all but dead)

[@draculactica]

@@coatimundi69 yes, I adore little mechanics like that in games. It's cool to put a whole system, completely detached from gameplay, in there just to add to the atmosphere and vibe. I also second the desire for a standalone chao garden game, I would sink a ludicrous number of hours into it.

[@orbo4438]

I'm a fan of whatever vibe is to clear a soulslike area and walk around without any enemy to attack you...... it's so lonely and chill

[@-tera-3345]

It makes me think of when you get to the edge of the in-game map and make it to the point where the map geometry just ends and drops off into nothingness, except it's actually designed to be that way.

[@AviaRayne2]

I agree with what you mean about Sega's atmosphere! I don't exactly see it with Sega (was a Nintendo household during that era haha) but I definitely get that feeling with Rare games. Donkey Kong Country (and sequels), DK64, Banjo Kazooie/Tooie, they have a vibe that I haven't really felt with other games in a long time.

[@Mimikyuute]

“This is a little less unremarkable and odd, because it’s completely remarkable and stimulating” going to use this phrase to preface any activity where I’ll be observed

[@applehappypple]

Ty for this vid... as a kid in 2007 I used to hang out in the hub world and stare at the sky/sea for unknown amounts of time. Eerily beautiful game. Surprised you didnt touch on the miserable empty plane that is the nightopian garden tho

[@tehroflcopters]

love this series - and the slight paradox of you remarking about all these "unremarkable spots" XD

[@stripedmilo]

I'm glad you mentioned Dark Souls when wandering around the empty forest, cuz the area was giving me super strong Darkroot Garden vibes. Fromsoft games have some incredibly good "weird feeling" areas. My favorite might be Majula from DS2, especially the 2nd floor of the empty house. There's nothing there, just you and some grey wood walls and the sunlight and the sky. I'd love if you touched on those games in your videos. Maybe Sekiro - it has possibly the most hauntingly beautiful locations in any game I've seen.

[@eg5365]

"Every video is somebody's first" Pretty awesome thought.

[@brennanlawson6108]

I am not an egg controller but if anyone reading this is: Shadow of the Colossus would be perfect for this series

[@maqima]

this video made me realize I don't dream like I did as a child, and the dreams I used to have is very much like these places, at least the ones I vaguely remember

[@VergeTrimming]

I adore the backrooms of a party or the not made to be explored but here you are vibe in videos games. Final Fantasy 14 has a bunch of them (I think a lot of mmos probably do) where I will just tuck myself into a corner while I wait for something and soak in the vibes. This video is just immaculate vibes all the way through.

[@pinkcupcake4717]

Ooooh I HAVE to go looking for Odd Places in Eorzea. My favorite thus far is the weird tall island with the small tunnel in Central Shroud, looking at the city of Gridania. You can see it from the Carline Canopy, and you fly up to it and sit there and enjoy the forest.

[@Ultracity6060]

5:00 Reminds me of a spot in Stormwind in WoW, where there's a sort of doorway in a wall of buildings that leads to a little courtyard, and I think a little tree in the middle. Serves no purpose at all, but I loved to hang out there, especially as Horde. Come to think, WoW has a lot of little pointless world details like that.

[@cinnamondan4984]

Love the vibes of this series. The Saturn one was so mysterious and intriguing to me when I was a kid.

[@Bleargghhhh]

I had to go increase my patreon pledge after this video - these videos just give me so much joy and I would love for you to be able to quit your job and and make stuff you love full time.

[@any_austin]

By the end of the year is the goal! Thank you for helping!

[@desadesa]

This video went flying. Please don't stop making this videos ever.

[@demit189]

Hey Austin- im just about to go to sleep. So excited to watch this

[@megasoniczxx]

I want to be able to make games with the kind of atmosphere that games like this and the earlier sonic games do. It's one that always manages to put me in a good head space and i'd love to create something like that for kids growing up now.

[@dynogamergurl]

I still boot up knights just to listen to the hub world music, the first level you play and the end of the mirror level are my favorite levels. I wished they allowed free exploration as I’d stay for hours in some locations

[@Liggliluff]

(1:50) The skirt physics in that game is crazy

[@1gnore_me.]

a video on the OG lego island would be really interesting, that entire game is basically one big, unremarkable & odd place.

[@griffin7485]

I was so obsessed with this game when I was little the soundtrack always puts me to sleep

[@clockworkthoughts7830]

Austin, have you played any of the Pikmin games? The worlds are quite small, but they have some serious vibes, particularly the first game that wasn't nearly as lush and developed as the later ones. There is always refuse from humans around that makes it feel strange and apocalyptic. I am especially thinking of the lake in the Forest Navel that has a bottle in the water. Definitely unremarkable and odd! Your comment about the benches in this video made me think of this series because there is a park bench in the trailer for the new game (Pikmin 4) coming out this summer.