Hydlide (1986-)

• Developer: T&E Soft

• Publisher: FCI

• Genre: Role Playing

Hydlide for the NES was developed by T&E Soft and published in North America by FCI in 1989. The game was originally created for Japanese home computers such as the PC-88 and MSX in 1984 before being ported to the NES several years later. It is one of the earliest action role-playing games and was released in Japan on the Famicom Disk System before arriving in the West. The NES version represented an attempt to bring a pioneering Japanese RPG to an American audience that was just beginning to embrace the genre following the success of titles like Dragon Warrior and The Legend of Zelda.

The story of Hydlide follows a hero named Jim on his quest to rescue Princess Ann, who has been transformed into three fairies by the evil demon Varalys. To restore her and defeat the demon, players must explore an open overworld, battle monsters, find treasures, and uncover hidden items. The inspiration for the game came from a desire to mix action elements with role-playing progression, providing real-time combat in an expansive world. For its time, this blend of action and exploration was highly innovative, paving the way for later action RPGs.

Gameplay revolves around switching between offensive and defensive modes while fighting enemies in real-time. Players earn experience and grow stronger by defeating monsters, while health and magic must be carefully managed throughout the quest. The game requires grinding and methodical exploration, with secrets hidden across the map that are essential to progress. Compared to its contemporaries, Hydlide offered freedom to roam the world, though its mechanics were often seen as primitive and slow-paced when it reached Western markets several years after its original debut.

The soundtrack of Hydlide makes use of short looping background tracks that change depending on the player’s location, helping to establish the mood of the overworld, dungeons, and key encounters. While limited by the NES hardware, the music added a layer of atmosphere that supported the sense of adventure. Hydlide was followed by sequels, most notably Hydlide II: Shine of Darkness and Super Hydlide, which refined the formula with more advanced mechanics. Although the NES version was promoted as a cutting-edge action RPG, it was met with poor reception in North America due to its dated design and difficulty. Even so, it remains historically significant as one of the earliest games to combine action mechanics with role-playing progression.

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