Super Hydlide
Encyclopedia
Super Hydlide, known in Japan as Hydlide 3: The Space Memories, is a an action role-playing game
released in 1987 for the MSX
and NEC PC-88
, 1989 for the Nintendo Famicom
and Sega Genesis / Mega Drive, and 1990 for the Sharp X68000
. The game was developed by Hydlide
series veterans T&E Soft
and released worldwide on the Sega Genesis / Mega Drive on October 6, 1989, in Japan, early 1990 in the United States, and 1991 in Europe. This remake evidences substantial graphical upgrades to the original Hydlide 3, though the gameplay remains largely identical. Before its release, it was called Hollo Fighter in some Sega
advertising material for the Mega Drive.
system. Like its predecessor Hydlide II: Shine of Darkness (1985), the player has a morality meter that can be aligned with either Justice, Normal, or Evil. The game has both good and evil monsters. Evil monsters attack the player character on sight, while good monsters only attack if the player character attacks them first. Killing any monster, good or evil, results in a reward of experience points, money, and occasionally a piece of equipment. However, if the player kills a good monster, points are lost from a statistic called "MF" (Moral Fiber). If the player's MF stat drops to zero, frequent traps will appear across the world. If the player manages to keep it over 100, rewards appear in the form of random items found around Fairyland. The player can also kill good monsters, which usually lowers the morality meter. Unlike Hydlide II, however, the morality meter no longer has an impact on the way in which the townsfolk react to the player.
The game also features an in-game clock setting day-night cycles, where the character must eat two times a day and sleep regularly. If the characters fails to eat at a scheduled time or stays up past 11 p.m., his HP
and attack power will begin to gradually drop. Staying at an inn will take care of both the character's sleep needs and all meals scheduled during his stay. Thus, if the character buys a room at an inn at 10:45, he will not need to purchase any rations. Meals taken during adventuring are taken care of by carrying food rations; if the character has an available food ration at a scheduled meal time(and is not staying at an inn), the food ration is automatically consumed, restoring some HP and averting hunger.
Another aspect of the game is the weight system. Every item in the game (including money) has weight. If the total weight of items the player character carries exceeds his LC (Load Capacity), he will move much more slowly. The game also makes use of cut scenes for the opening and ending, a combat system that is similar to The Legend of Zelda, the choice between four distinct character classes (with the Fighter and Thief being melee with minor spell access, while the Monk and Cleric are more adept spell casters), and a wide variety of equipment and spells.
Action role-playing game
Action role-playing games form a loosely defined sub-genre of role-playing video games that incorporate elements of action or action-adventure games, emphasizing real-time action where the player has direct control over characters, instead of turn-based or menu-based combat...
released in 1987 for the MSX
MSX
MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s conceived by Kazuhiko Nishi, then Vice-president at Microsoft Japan and Director at ASCII Corporation...
and NEC PC-88
NEC PC-8801
The NEC PC-8801 was an early Zilog Z80-based computer exclusively released in Japan, where it became very popular, by NEC Corporation in 1981. It was informally called the "PC-88"....
, 1989 for the Nintendo Famicom
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
and Sega Genesis / Mega Drive, and 1990 for the Sharp X68000
Sharp X68000
The Sharp X68000, often referred to as the X68k, is a home computer released only in Japan by the Sharp Corporation. The first model was released in 1987, with a 10 MHz Motorola 68000 CPU, 1 MB of RAM and no hard drive; the last model was released in 1993 with a 25 MHz Motorola 68030...
. The game was developed by Hydlide
Hydlide
is a action role-playing video game developed and published by T&E Soft. It was originally released for the NEC PC-6001 and NEC PC-8801 computer in 1984, in Japan only; an MSX release came the following year...
series veterans T&E Soft
Technology and Entertainment Software
, fully titled as Technology and Entertainment Software, is a Japanese based video game developer founded in 1982. Although they have made games with a wide variety of genres, they are primarily known in the U.S...
and released worldwide on the Sega Genesis / Mega Drive on October 6, 1989, in Japan, early 1990 in the United States, and 1991 in Europe. This remake evidences substantial graphical upgrades to the original Hydlide 3, though the gameplay remains largely identical. Before its release, it was called Hollo Fighter in some Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
advertising material for the Mega Drive.
Story
Many years after the events of Hydlide II, an explosion of flames appeared near The City of the Woods. After that, enemies were everywhere. A young man is chosen to find the source of the evil.Gameplay
The game incorporates a 'good/evil character' morality/alignmentAlignment (role-playing games)
In some role-playing games, alignment is a categorisation of the moral and ethical perspective of the player characters, non-player characters, monsters, and societies in the game....
system. Like its predecessor Hydlide II: Shine of Darkness (1985), the player has a morality meter that can be aligned with either Justice, Normal, or Evil. The game has both good and evil monsters. Evil monsters attack the player character on sight, while good monsters only attack if the player character attacks them first. Killing any monster, good or evil, results in a reward of experience points, money, and occasionally a piece of equipment. However, if the player kills a good monster, points are lost from a statistic called "MF" (Moral Fiber). If the player's MF stat drops to zero, frequent traps will appear across the world. If the player manages to keep it over 100, rewards appear in the form of random items found around Fairyland. The player can also kill good monsters, which usually lowers the morality meter. Unlike Hydlide II, however, the morality meter no longer has an impact on the way in which the townsfolk react to the player.
The game also features an in-game clock setting day-night cycles, where the character must eat two times a day and sleep regularly. If the characters fails to eat at a scheduled time or stays up past 11 p.m., his HP
Health (gaming)
Health is a game mechanic used in role-playing, computer and video games to give value to characters, enemies, NPCs, and related objects. This value can either be numerical, semi-numerical as in hit/health points, or arbitrary as in a life bar....
and attack power will begin to gradually drop. Staying at an inn will take care of both the character's sleep needs and all meals scheduled during his stay. Thus, if the character buys a room at an inn at 10:45, he will not need to purchase any rations. Meals taken during adventuring are taken care of by carrying food rations; if the character has an available food ration at a scheduled meal time(and is not staying at an inn), the food ration is automatically consumed, restoring some HP and averting hunger.
Another aspect of the game is the weight system. Every item in the game (including money) has weight. If the total weight of items the player character carries exceeds his LC (Load Capacity), he will move much more slowly. The game also makes use of cut scenes for the opening and ending, a combat system that is similar to The Legend of Zelda, the choice between four distinct character classes (with the Fighter and Thief being melee with minor spell access, while the Monk and Cleric are more adept spell casters), and a wide variety of equipment and spells.