Hydlide is an action RPG released by T&E Soft for the PC-8801 on 13 December 1984, designed and programmed by Tokihiro Naito. He drew mainly on The Tower of Druaga and also on The Black Onyx, and named the game after Hydra, the sea-serpent constellation. Ads claimed a year of planning and six months of production; in reality it took three days to plan and three months to make.
The hero regains health by standing still, a mechanic many later games picked up. Because binary patches meant the source code was never complete, each port was largely rewritten by the programmer for that platform. In 1985 the MSX version became the first release outside Japan, bundled with MSX hardware in Europe.
The Famicom adaptation, Hydlide Special, followed in 1986 and reached North America in 1989 as Hydlide. It was the first computer game to receive a Platinum award from Toshiba EMI for a million sales.12
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | HydlideFujisankei Communications International | NES | June 1989 | FCI | 2 |
| JP | ハイドライドPC-8801, original | Other | Dec 13, 1984 | T&E Soft | 1 |
| JP | ハイドライドSharp X1 | Other | January 1985 | T&E Soft | 1 |
| JP | ハイドライドPC-6001mkII; English Wikipedia gives 13 Dec 1984 for the PC-6001 | Other | Mar 8, 1985 | T&E Soft | 1 |
| JP | ハイドライドCassette; ROM cartridge followed in November 1985 | MSX | March 1985 | T&E Soft | 1 |
| JP | ハイドライド | MSX2 | July 1985 | T&E Soft | 1 |
| JP | ハイドライドSharp MZ-2000/2200/2500, cassette | Other | December 1985 | Carry Lab | 1 |
| EU | HydlideFirst release outside Japan; bundled with MSX hardware in Europe | MSX | 1985 | — | 2 |
| JP | ハイドライドJapanese Wikipedia: September 1985; English Wikipedia: November 1985 | PC-98 | 1985 | T&E Soft | 1 |
| JP | ハイドライド・スペシャルFamicom; a magazine listed 21 March 1986 | NES | Mar 18, 1986 | Toshiba EMI | 1 |
| JP | ハイドライドWindows 95/98: PC-88 mode plus an arranged version | Windows | Apr 23, 1999 | — | 1 |
| WW | EGGコンソール ハイドライド PC-8801Based on the PC-8801 version | Switch | Dec 21, 2023 | D4 Enterprise | 2 |
| JP | EGGコンソール ハイドライド MSX | Switch | Sep 5, 2024 | D4 Enterprise | 1 |
Also known as: ハイドライド・スペシャル JP1Hydlide Special JP2ハイドライド 異次元バージョン JP1ハイドライドEv JP1
Box art by region
JP ハイドライド
Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: Wikipedia.
Version differences
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ContentFamicom (Hydlide Special)
The Famicom version adds Hydlide II-style magic, uses music from Hydlide II and includes a hidden character chosen from reader submissions.1
-
TitleNES (NA)
The North American NES release drops "Special" from the title, removes the Toshiba EMI credit from the title screen and relabels the password field from "Password" to "Input".3
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GameplaySharp X1
The X1 version scrolls in four directions, removes the Dragon, Octopus and Goblin and adds a Wisp; with scrolling, enemies can no longer be dodged by moving to another screen.1
Translations
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English Official
FCI1989NES · Hydlide SpecialReleased
FCI released the Famicom version in English in North America in 1989.2
Reception
Hydlide sold about 2 million copies in Japan — roughly 1 million on computers and 1 million on Famicom — and is seen there as an action-RPG pioneer. In the West, the 1989 NES release was compared unfavourably with The Legend of Zelda, and EGM scored it 22/40.2
In lists
Sources
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
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