GamesRPGA look back at 8 versions of classic action RPG Hydlide reveals how PC ports can preserve—or lose—the soul of a gameWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesRPGA look back at 8 versions of classic action RPG Hydlide reveals how PC ports can preserve—or lose—the soul of a gameWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
ãã¤ãã©ã¤ã for PC-9801ï¼HYDLIDE / 80’s japanese old pc gameï¼ - YouTubeWatch On
ãã¤ãã©ã¤ã for PC-9801ï¼HYDLIDE / 80’s japanese old pc gameï¼ - YouTube
ãã¤ãã©ã¤ã for PC-9801ï¼HYDLIDE / 80’s japanese old pc gameï¼ - YouTube
Pasokon Retrois our regular look back at the early years of Japanese PC gaming, encompassing everything from specialist ’80s computers to the happy days of Windows XP.
Dev:T&E SoftRelease:1984-2001PCs:PC-88, PC-98, X1, MSX, MSX2, PC-6601, MZ-2000, Windows
“IN OTHER DIMENSIONAL SPACE THREE JEWELS KEPT THE KINGDOM IN PEACE”
This is part of the intro toHydlide, T&E Soft’s groundbreaking “Active Role Playing Game.” Back in 1984 this game didn’t just set standards or raise bars, it invented them. Gamingstillowes Hydlide a debt of gratitude. This was the Elden Ring of its day, an open world action RPG where half the fun lies in working out how to get somewhere and then trying to survive the journey using nothing but a sword, shield, and wit.
Its head-turning combination of ambition and freedom soon saw the game ported from its PC-88 home to just about every major computer brand Japan had for sale that decade, each new version of the game carefully adapted to fit its new home.
And this is where things get really interesting. What exactlyisHydlide when it’s been endlessly pushed and pulled and tweaked to fit hardware it wasn’t originally made for? What was essential enough to the core design that it had to be recreated in the port for the weaker PC-6601, even though the brightly coloured little game runs at a Lego-like resolution and can’t even consistently display a double-digit quantity of colours? What does the MSX2’s luxurious 128KB VRAM-enhanced take on this important work choose to keep the same, even though it had power and memory to spare?
Image1of8Hydlide on the PC-88(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on the PC-98(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on the FM-7(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on the MSX(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on the MSX2(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on the PC-6601(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on the Sharp X1(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on Windows(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Image1of8Hydlide on the PC-88(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on the PC-98(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on the FM-7(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on the MSX(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on the MSX2(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on the PC-6601(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on the Sharp X1(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on Windows(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Image1of8
Hydlide on the PC-88(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on the PC-98(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on the FM-7(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on the MSX(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on the MSX2(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on the PC-6601(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on the Sharp X1(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on Windows(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the PC-88(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on the PC-98(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on the FM-7(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on the MSX(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on the MSX2(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on the PC-6601(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on the Sharp X1(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on Windows(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the PC-88(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the PC-88(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the PC-88(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the PC-88(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the PC-88(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the PC-98(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the PC-98(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the PC-98(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the PC-98(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the PC-98(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the FM-7(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the FM-7(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the FM-7(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the FM-7(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the FM-7(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the MSX(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the MSX(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the MSX(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the MSX(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the MSX(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the MSX2(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the MSX2(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the MSX2(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the MSX2(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the MSX2(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the PC-6601(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the PC-6601(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the PC-6601(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the PC-6601(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the PC-6601(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the Sharp X1(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the Sharp X1(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the Sharp X1(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the Sharp X1(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the Sharp X1(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on Windows(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on Windows(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on Windows(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on Windows(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on Windows(Image credit: T&E Soft)
How much would Hydlide change in a port17 years later—would it still really be Hydlide? Perhaps if I compare enough of them I’ll find the answer.
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Without a doubt the most advanced version of the game the ’80s ever had… isn’t Hydlide
Without a doubt the most advanced version of the game the ’80s ever had… isn’t Hydlide
It didn’t matter if slimes looked like green jelly beans or blue blobs so long as they enthusiastically wriggled about as they moved, and the helmet Jim wore as he heroically dispatched them had to be embellished with tiny horns even when his sprite was otherwise so basic it used fewer colours than his health bar. He had to look like a hero, no matter what.
Rivers needed a visible border, but that edge being made of neat blue tiles (MSX) or rounded wooden posts (everywhere else) didn’t really matter. A few monsters might not show up at all depending on the format, something else used in their place. So long as I’ve still got something to fight, it’s close enough.
Hydlide’s Jim, left-to-right: PC-88, PC-98, FM-7, MSX, MSX2, PC-6601, Sharp X1, Windows(Image credit: T&E Soft)
So, that’s Hydlide then? Nothing more than a mixture of a few things it should and shouldn’t have with a few optional extras thrown in, like a recipe list?
Yes but…no, not quite.
Those raggedy riverbanks deny me a clear path to follow, and are no longer the strong visual screen-long landmarks they are elsewhere.
Image1of8Hydlide on the PC-88(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on the PC-98(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on the FM-7(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on the MSX(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on the MSX2(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on the PC-6601(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on the Sharp X1(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on Windows(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Image1of8Hydlide on the PC-88(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on the PC-98(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on the FM-7(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on the MSX(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on the MSX2(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on the PC-6601(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on the Sharp X1(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on Windows(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Image1of8
Hydlide on the PC-88(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on the PC-98(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on the FM-7(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on the MSX(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on the MSX2(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on the PC-6601(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on the Sharp X1(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on Windows(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the PC-88(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on the PC-98(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on the FM-7(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on the MSX(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on the MSX2(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on the PC-6601(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on the Sharp X1(Image credit: T&E Soft)Hydlide on Windows(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the PC-88(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the PC-88(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the PC-88(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the PC-88(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the PC-88(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the PC-98(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the PC-98(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the PC-98(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the PC-98(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the PC-98(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the FM-7(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the FM-7(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the FM-7(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the FM-7(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the FM-7(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the MSX(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the MSX(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the MSX(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the MSX(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the MSX(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the MSX2(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the MSX2(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the MSX2(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the MSX2(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the MSX2(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the PC-6601(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the PC-6601(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the PC-6601(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the PC-6601(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the PC-6601(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the Sharp X1(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the Sharp X1(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the Sharp X1(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the Sharp X1(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on the Sharp X1(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on Windows(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on Windows(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on Windows(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on Windows(Image credit: T&E Soft)
Hydlide on Windows(Image credit: T&E Soft)
The detail that’s been gained can’t match the clarity of what’s been lost. Hydlide is supposed to have rules. Order that keeps the chaos confined within each screen, every new view showing me no more or less than everything I’m supposed to see. Everywhere else it played like a high-speed string of tabletop encounters, a connected sequence of tactical maps covered with a limited range of terrain type squares and a smattering of monsters. On the Sharp X1, it was just an endless field with some random enemies in it, the gaming equivalent of being able to freely look around a movie set instead of seeing all of the action through the director’s lens.
At least T&E Soft only made that mistake once. The 2001 Windows remake of Hydlide upgraded the graphics once more, but returned to the familiar flip-screen wandering and striking and the unnatural right-angled corners of old. It could have easily expanded the story, introduced new mechanics, and given Jim an equipment screen or reams of new dialogue—nobody would have been surprised if a remake of a decades-old game tried to reinvent itself.
Instead it wanted to be something better—it wanted to be Hydlide.
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