Hydlide

[Discoalucard]

www.hardcoregaming101.net/hydlide/hydlide.htm

Seriously, I can't get anywhere in any of these games. How are you supposed to not get immediately killed by the kobolds and stuff in the first game? Just wail on enough slimes until you gain a level? Also, the article suggests that Hydlide has a continue function - how does that work, exactly?

I can't get much farther in Super Hydlide, even though there is a lot more to it. Those stupid plant things that fire bullets end up destroying me, and I can't find a good combination of equipment that actually allows me to move. I definitely think Bionicommando83 was being generous with this one.

I got Virtual Hydlide in today. It looks terrible and displays maybe two frames a second, but it is oddly entrancing. It's a little bit more playable than the others, even if it is pretty wretched. I'll cover this section once I grab some pictures.

JamesEightbitStar - would you be willing to pitch to write about the second game? That seems to be the only gap we're missing at this point.

[jameseightbitstar]

I'll try. I had an MSX Emulator and a ROM of the game somewhere around here, so I'll see what I can do. It's in Japanese though and my Japanese isn't perfect (but there is an unofficial English version... though sadly, you have to pay for it).

As for not getting immediately killed by some of the stronger enemies in the first game, generally be in DEFENSE mode when around them, and yes, DO spend some time levelling up. It takes all of ten minutes to get up to maximum level so there's really no reason not to. Once you get to level three (I think), you can begin to damage enemies while in DEFENSE mode (ATTACK mode makes your attacks stronger, but also lowers your defenses).

The continue mode works by pressing (IIRC) Select, and then picking the option "Save." That way, any time you die, you can start a new game and then pick "Load" (or "Restore," I forget what its listed as) and you'll be returned to the exact point where you saved and with all the items, levels, etc. you had.

Personally for Super Hydlide, I found myself equipping a sling and a leather armor and that was it for awhile. There's an angle you can stand at to hit the plants where they can't hit you (to the left of their shots, IIRC), though it isn't always easy to get into this position, especially if the screen is crowded.

[Malroth]

You know, the more I look at this game, the more it seems like a horrible clone of Ys.

[jameseightbitstar]

I dunno about "horrible clone"--I don't know which one came first--but I won't argue that Ys is easily superior to Hydlide.

[Discoalucard]

I think Hydlide came before Ys. It may have out before Zelda, actually.

[Neo Rasa]

They're all beat by Ultima.

Actually and Ultima article would be cool, no Ultima Online crap, just the main series. Nine games (11 if you count VII Part II The Black Gate and VII Part II The Serpent Isle, see they even invented milking their seventh installment ) and even many serious games have only seen Ultima VII and up.

[Scylla]

Hooray, Hydlide! Ah... nothing is as fantastically bad as Hydlide... yet still so endearing and enjoyable. :) I have next to no experience with the original, but it was quite a spectacle for all to watch my boyfriend play through Super Hydlide. He's yet to beat it, though. The final boss is a nightmare in every sense of the word. Not only is it practically instant death, but it's one Satanic, frightening looking mofo too. As for Virtual Hydlide, it wouldn't be Easter without it. :) Greek Orthodox Easter to be precise, it's a tradition for all of our buddies to gather round and watch my boyfriend's brother play through it from beginning to end. Unfortunately, we haven't kept up with the tradition the last couple years. Two years ago, he was away on Easter and no one but him is any good at it (we tried to do it on our own, but none of us can play it for more than 15 minutes without getting a roaring headache). And this last Easter, one of our Greek buddies was away, and it's just not right without all the Greeks. Ah well, there's always next year. Before we know it we'll be watching the fat ass in fairy armor riding the mine carts once again. :)

[jameseightbitstar]

neorasa said:

They're all beat by Ultima.

Actually and Ultima article would be cool, no Ultima Online crap, just the main series. Nine games (11 if you count VII Part II The Black Gate and VII Part II The Serpent Isle, see they even invented milking their seventh installment ) and even many serious games have only seen Ultima VII and up.

I could start on the first four games and maybe a bit of part five, plus about the NES port of Ultima III. Someone else would need to fill in on the later games (I'm kinda more dedicated to playing them through in order--main series first, then the spinoffs), the Worlds of Ultima series, and the Runes of Virtue games.

Or I could just wait until I've collected all the Single-player Ultimas and do the article.

Actually, as I heard it, Serpent Isle was actually supposed to be Ultima 8, but Garriott didn't like that because it used the same source code as Ultima 7 (and it's a series tradition for each game to be programmed from the ground up, using NO code from previous games).

[Malroth]

...Whoop. Guess I'd better check my chronology before I say something like that.

*coughs*

[ReyVGM]

Someone needs to write a 7th Saga masochism article.

[jameseightbitstar]

I remember playing 7th Saga, but not getting far in it. Wouldn't mind trying again though.

[Neo Rasa]

Oh man, 7th Saga is one of those very special games up there with the original Phantasy Star and Megami Tensei where you can get utterly destroyed two seconds after you leave the starting point of the game.

I got a copy of Mystic Ark which is quite cool, gorgeous character game artwork as well.

[bioniccommando83]

I confess I was being generous with Super Hydlide. The only reason I was able to get anywhere in that game was using a couple cheats in the starting city and a near-by area for free experience and money- doing it conventionally would have exhausted my patience, if not a Genesis controller or two. If it wasn't for GameFAQs, I wouldn't have beaten either the NES or Genesis versions since there were a few "puzzles" that threw me for a loop. Kaizack is evil hard- especially given how the one time I beat him using my Cleric, I get swallowed and finish with less than 10 HP.

On a related note, I've toyed a bit with the Hydlide 3 ROM for the NES, and it looks like they took out (or had yet to add in) the special area where you can review the game's ending, do the sound test, and search for free goodies.

Ultima would be another good series. Never got into Ultima III for the NES, but I used to spend hours playing the fourth game for the Master System. I got right up to the end of the game, but got frustrated trying to navigate the damn Stygian Abyss and quit after the fifth level down.

[jameseightbitstar]

Really? Wow. The Stygian Abyss (if it's the same as the PC Version) is the easiest dungeon in the game. The trick to all of U4's dungeons is simply: Bring plenty of Gems. Using them allows you to see large parts of the dungeon level (usually the entire level, but sometimes there are exceptions) and thus, plan out where to go.

[[UNPERSON]]

I actually beat that nightmare of a game known as Hydlide, but I had to resort to a guide after the second fairy (incidentally enough, the first two fairies are hidden in random trees). While not the worst game in the world (I'd play it over Dragon Warrior and Tower of Druaga anyday), it's still quite irritating.

Haven't played Hydlide 3/Super Hydlide enough to judge, but I'm not really fond of the weight system, mainly because I've been spoiled by hammerspace.

I really want to play the hilariously bad Virtual Hydlide (or as I like to call it, "The Adventures of the Fat Shemale Barbarian").