Hydlide

[toei]

Jul 12, 2016 14:56:07 GMT -5 hydlidian said:

Also, I guess I mention Virtual Hydlide in half of my posts here, but got to love that one. It's ugly, it's crude, but it's loveable and (quite) perfectly playable. And it's pretty unique in concept: score attack RPG. And the game just has that weird aura to it. I wonder whether it's Japanese version is any different...

Virtual Hydlide has the most unique (and possibly strongest, along with the original Silent Hill series) atmosphere ever a videogame. The fact that it's basically a RPG without a single NPC and no text and that it just looks so weird contribute to this-you're literally the only person in that weird-ass world.

[hydlidian]

Jul 14, 2016 19:32:49 GMT -5 toei said:

Jul 12, 2016 14:56:07 GMT -5 hydlidian said:

Also, I guess I mention Virtual Hydlide in half of my posts here, but got to love that one. It's ugly, it's crude, but it's loveable and (quite) perfectly playable. And it's pretty unique in concept: score attack RPG. And the game just has that weird aura to it. I wonder whether it's Japanese version is any different...

Virtual Hydlide has the most unique (and possibly strongest, along with the original Silent Hill series) atmosphere ever a videogame. The fact that it's basically a RPG without a single NPC and no text and that it just looks so weird contribute to this-you're literally the only person in that weird-ass world.

Oh yes, definitely. And the "people" you do see (i.e. the vampire and the wizard) are WEIRD. That vampire looks cartoony and has that slowed down, reversed voice (of a lady, actually!). The wizard then... he's just weird. Like it's hard to make out what he looks like because he seems so distorted and twitchy. Same goes for many of the regular enemies.

Man, I need to replay that game soon... Got to get back to the magical plains of Fairyland.

Funfact: if you put the Virtual Hydlide disc onto your CD-player, there is a short track of a man thanking you for playing.

[wyrdwad]

Jul 13, 2016 11:10:27 GMT -5 wyrdwad said:

Yeah, it's definitely official. And TBH, I'm not 100% certain if it's a soundtrack or some other kind of bonus something, as I can't find too much info on what it is beyond just an audio cassette that comes with the MSX2 release of Hydlide 3: The Space Memories -- I'm only assuming it's a soundtrack.

So I just figured I'd write a followup: I received the box set today, and have confirmed what the contents of the cassette are. Officially, it's titled "T&E Soft 5th Anniversary Game Music Library," and it features arranged music from several different T&E Soft games, all recorded with XDR (Expanded Dynamic Range), which I had to look up:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XDR_(audio)

The full track list is as follows (copied directly from the cassette insert, which is written in Japanese on the back, but then entirely in English on the inside):

Side 1 (total length 9:27)
1. Legends of Star Arthur
2. Hydlide I ~ Hydlide II (medley)
3. Daiva
..a. Daiva I (Main Theme)
..b. Flame of Vlitra
..c. Asura's Bloodfeud
..d. Memory in Durga
..e. Light of Kari-Yuga

Side 2 (total length 10:09)
1. Super Laydock
..a. Theme Music
..b. Black Stormy Gunner ~
...~ The Front Base ~
...~ B-I-S-H-A-M-O-N-T-E-N (medley)
2. Hydlide III (Theme Music)

I listened through the first track and part of the second, but sadly, the only playback equipment I have right now is my MSX's tape drive, which has no amplifier or anything, so the playback volume is so low and distorted that it's hard to really enjoy the music.

I was going to try to track down a Walkman or something and record the contents of the tape to WAV, then upload it to YouTube... but it looks like somebody else beat me to it! Here it is:



-Tom

[ommadawnyawn2]

I'm probably not gonna play any of these but the third one has an excellent soundtrack.

[DrakeDwarf]

Jul 14, 2016 14:25:27 GMT -5 Feynman said:

I own the Genesis version of Super Hydlide and I quite enjoy it. I even mentioned it in that thread about Genesis games we had a while back.

It's an odd game, and kind of janky, but still fun. The systems are unusually detailed for a console action-RPG. Managing your character's weight and food supply adds a lot to the game! You have to carefully choose equipment that won't weigh you down too much, pack rations so you don't starve, and keep some extra space so that you can carry the money and items you find. The money enemies drop come in several coin types of different value, and coins have weight, so you need to keep a money changer on hand so you aren't crushed by a flood of copper coins, and deposit excess gold in the bank. Exploring the world or a new dungeon basically requires you to pack and prepare like you're on a jungle expedition. It sounds dull on paper, but in practice it is surprisingly entertaining.

That sounds quite engaging. Do you found the micromanagement repetitive after a few dungeons though?

[toei]

There aren't that many dungeons in the game, so speaking for myself, it doesn't get repetitive. Feynman put it well; it's really like preparing for an expedition.

[edmonddantes]

Okay, I'm surprised nobody ever complained about this before.

The article for Super Hydlide contains spoilers.

Seriously, I was reading it prior to replaying but had to stop at a part where the author thought it was a good idea to spoil a major revelation.

(There's also a bit that talks about an "interesting twist" during a boss fight then reveals what the twist is--therefore robbing me of the joy of seeing it for myself, blind).

Seriously, I remember getting reamed for revealing the ending of Link's Awakening--which is no more plot-dependent than Super Hydlide--so why is this in an official hg101 article? That said I honestly find the thing about the boss to be worse--its like playing Myst but being told how to solve all the puzzles, it robs you of the joy of discovery and exploration. If the goal is to get people to play the game, telling them everything is not the way to do it.