Hydlide
System: NES
Release Date: June 1989
Developer: T&E Soft
Publisher: FCI
Genre: Action RPG
Ugh… here’s Hydlide. So, Hydlide is a fairly unliked game by the internet. I try not to follow the internet blindly, but damn, they aren’t wrong here! You’re Jim, young knight and peacekeeper for the kingdom of Fairyland. On your watch, an evil man steals one of the three jewels that maintain peace in the kingdom. Then the resulting turmoil allows the other two jewels to be stolen and the evil demon Boralis casts a spell on Princess Ann transforming her into three fairies and hiding them in the kingdom. It’s up to you to find the three jewels as well as the three fairies and defeat the evil encroaching on your kingdom.
You start incredibly weak with low amounts of hit points, strength, and magic. You see slimes flopping about and realize you don’t swing your sword, but instead run into them and hope for the best. It’s like Ys, but worse. Holding the A Button puts you into attack mode, where you do more damage, but also take more damage. Running into enemies head on is a recipe for death… your death. Approaching them from the side or behind is better for your health. You need to kill enemies to increase your experience bar, gain levels, and become stronger. Not holding the A Button has you in defend mode, which reduces the damage you inflict, except on certain enemies.
As you gain levels, you get access to magic spells. You start with the Turn spell, which spins enemies around and maybe makes them walk in erratic patterns? Then you get fire, which shoots a fireball in the direction you’re facing. Next up is Ice, which shoots an ice ball and can penetrate walls. Fifty magic points are needed to cast Wave, which shoots either left or right (not up or down) and continues on destroying everything on its way off the screen. The final spell costs seventy magic points and is the Flash that defeats all non boss enemies.
The game is very short on content and is elongated by the amount of times you’re going to die. Judicious use of the save feature will make your life much easier. Seriously, save after everything you do. You have to find a few items to progress. The cross is necessary to defeat the Vampire. The pot is necessary to see a hidden passageway. The lamp illuminates the dark underground. You find a jewel during your adventure in a chest that opens with the magic key. A magical ring that appears on a certain screen after killing enough enemies. And the final Ruby hidden in the water. These are needed to unlock the final boss. You also need to collect the three fairies that constitute Princess Ann. Two of these are hidden in trees around the map. The third one requires you to defeat both wizard enemies with one cast of the wave spell. Easier said than done…
Collecting all three takes you to the final island, where you enter the castle, collect an item from a grave, then have to defeat the dragon. Magic doesn’t do anything and trying to go all in on attack doesn’t work. You have to walk into him while defending and then powder to regain your health. As you stand still in grass, you slowly gain your health back. Thank goodness for fast forward… As long as you stay on the same screen, he doesn’t regenerate, but beating him gives you the medicine, which is necessary to win the game. The final boss is flanked by four strong enemies. You have to use the run in with defend tactic, and switch it up to attack as your health drains. Use your medicine, and do it once more. If your timing is true, you’ll win!
Graphics: 1.5
The graphics aren’t attractive, but I can tell what everything is supposed to be.
Sound: 1.0
The constantly looping song starts like it’s going to be Indiana Jones and then transforms into something uncool.
Gameplay: 1.0
You’re going to die. A lot. It’s going to take some time, but you’ll figure out how you’re supposed to approach enemies to kill them. You’ll still fail at it a lot.
Difficulty: 1.0
It’s going to take some leaps of logic to progress, but you’ll stumble into them sooner or later. I lucked into the first two fairies.
Fun Factor: 1.0
I didn’t really have fun playing Hydlide, but I felt I had to beat it before moving on to something better.
Overall Grade: 1.1
Hydlide earns a D. My poor wife, when I first started this up, said she felt like she remembered it from when she was a kid. No wonder she hates video games…