The Video Game Reviews Community (HonestGamers)
Forums | Blogs | Register | Login | Users | Staff | Links

3DS
Dreamcast
DS
GameCube
iPad
iPhone/iPod
PC
PlayStation 2
PlayStation 3
PSP
Vita
Wii
Wii U
Xbox
Xbox 360
All
Follow Us

Hydlide
Hydlide (NES) game cover art
Genre:
Action RPG

Developer:
T&E Soft
Publisher
Region
Released
FCI
NA
06/??/1989
Toshiba EMI
JP
03/18/1986
AKA: Hydlide Special (JP)
Your Account Options
You currently have no privileges related to this game profile because you are not signed into an HonestGamers account. Please log in, or click to register for a free user account.

More Reviews by siegfried

Final Fantasy X-2 (PlayStation 2)
After the events in FFX, life resumed peacefully, with the threat of the extraordinarily hideous Sin gone. The setting is once again Spira and regions such as Z...

Pipe Dream (NES)
I'm usually not a big fan of puzzlers, but Pipe Dream nevertheless enthralled me thanks to its simple designs and a totally intuitive game play. As you m...

Ka-Ge-Ki - Fists of Steel (Genesis)
In reality, Ka Ge Ki got all the attention it now has when Hangedman, a reviewing buddy, got the idea of asking everyone to review the game. And t...

Chicken Run (Game Boy Color)
Movies usually makes lousy games –at most, decent. Don’t worry; Chicken Run is no exception. It isn’t a decent game –rather, it is a lousy game. T...

Tecmo Cup Soccer Game (NES)
Once upon a time, grew a boy, in Japan, called Tsubasa Ozora. Tsubasa would ever since his birth act differently from his peers. Indeed, while his buddie...

Best NES Games
Maniac Mansion (NES) artwork
Maniac Mansion
Average Rating: 10.0; Reviews: 2
Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES) artwork
Super Mario Bros. 3
Average Rating: 9.9; Reviews: 12
The Legend of Zelda (NES) artwork
The Legend of Zelda
Average Rating: 9.8; Reviews: 6
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (NES) artwork
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse
Average Rating: 9.7; Reviews: 6
Tetris (NES) artwork
Tetris
Average Rating: 9.7; Reviews: 3
Radia Senki: Reimei Hen (NES) artwork
Radia Senki: Reimei Hen
Average Rating: 9.5; Reviews: 2
The Guardian Legend (NES) artwork
The Guardian Legend
Average Rating: 9.5; Reviews: 2
Kirby's Adventure (NES) artwork
Kirby's Adventure
Average Rating: 9.4; Reviews: 5
Super Mario Bros. (NES) artwork
Super Mario Bros.
Average Rating: 9.4; Reviews: 9
Mike Tyson's Punch-Out! (NES) artwork
Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!
Average Rating: 9.4; Reviews: 6

Looking for a good read?
Check out a selection from our database of more than 8000 reviews! retro has weighed in on Battletoads for the NES and figures it rates 7 out of 10. What do you think? Read the review, then be sure to leave feedback or chime in with one of your own!

Systems > NES > H > Hydlide > User Review

Sign up for a free user account and you can leave feedback for this review or even submit a game review of your own!

Review by siegfried
December 19, 2003

Rumors have it that Hydlide was released on this planet to turn humans into weaklings so a bunch of cutesy, bi-colored characters could invade us.

First, we need to comprehend what Hydlide actually stands for.

(Taken from the Useless Games Manual 1.02 - McCrap Edition)

Hydlide: Brilliant rendition of feces on your TV screen via your NES. Keep toilet paper next to you while experiencing it.

In spite of this, the game begins brilliantly.

You are set on a plain green field and find you can move almost everywhere. And so you do. Next, an enemy comes up to you. Being the heartless bastard that your godfather destined you to be, you think of tearing the foe to threads. And so you do.

Without ever knowing what happened, you find you are dead. Game over.

For those who are either masochists or who just like to know a lot of useless stuff, I will try to decipher the meaning of Hydlide.

I guess you know what The Legend of Zelda, along with all its underlings, represents. You may like it or hate it, but Zelda represents the epitome of video gaming and playing through at least one title of the everlasting series is a must.

Hydlide is a copy of Zelda, minus all its strengths.

Basically, the genius behind Hydlide attempted to destroy Zelda and resorted to this game to do so, Zelda being (understably) protected by International Laws. Of course, he had to change things here and there to prevent himself from being sued off as his direct competitors suspected him of stealing their ideas. Unfortunately, he changed too much.

These changes are exhaustive and, among less important ones, include: no story, a single track through the whole game, no detection system, hilarious enemy designs, flawed game mechanics, invisible weapons and useless spells.

To deduce that Hydlide is a waste of time and money is easy. Unfortunately, you may still be tempted to grab it since it sells for approximately nothing these days. Hell, you may even find it for free in Funcoland's trash cans if you are unlucky enough. You should however never touch it for the following reasons:

1) Playing Hydlide amounts to slamming your head against a wall, drinking a barrel of oil and listening to Justin Timberlake on a Mozart track (alternately, try Britney Spears on any Radiohead trash).

2) If you collect NES games and try to add Hydlide to it, chances that all your other acquirings will run away are extremely high.

3) Even if it costs you nothing, you are about to be robbed of your soul.

Anyway, let's just suppose you decide to be M. Courage and proceed to buy or steal it from the 80-year-old granny who lives next to you.

''Press Start''.

The game mechanics look pretty straightforward. Run around, find some items, slaughter some enemies, defeat bosses, get and attempt to use spells, beat game. As a matter of fact, the game mechanics are simple. The problem is that everything else fails to be coherent and at least passable.

Run around: Running around amounts to walking slower than a snail. Character fails to comprehend directions being input and seems to sleep most of the time.

Find some items: Actually, finding items is dead easy. Of course, this may be due to the fact that they are never hidden and easily recognizable by their less ugly appearance.

Slaughter some enemies: Poor detection system means that this never occurs. However hard you push the button, enemy in question keeps staring at you with a stupid look in its ugly face. After some time, it touches you once and you magically die.

Get and attempt to use spells: Spells are always useless and I have yet to discover why they were added. My guess is the developers found some free space in the cartridge and decided to allocate it to these so-called spells.

Beat game: Unless your middle name is Superman, don't even think about it. Emulation should now enable you to achieve the impossible, but don't bother.

Hydlide really is that bad. And the esoteric game play apparently didn't suffice because the visuals and audio are equally lame. The whole game is in a top view with your main character (who, it must be said, doesn't even have a name) looking like a huge block. His movements occur in at most one and a half frames and there is absolutely no change around him when he uses his weapon. Consequently, you never really know what is going on.

In addition, the music consists essentially of a single track spawning over the entire game. It never fades out which is even more horrible, considering how it sucks. Sound effects amount to approximately nothing.

The final blow is that there is no story in the game, which means you don't even know why you busy fighting against your controller for it. However, my (now zombified) gaming acquaintances have come up with theories as to the setting of Hydlide.

Below is an extract of the message they wrote with their victims' blood after their fifth encounter with Hydlide:

(WARNING: TEXT IS UNEDITED AND MAY CAUSE SEVERE BRAIN GAME TO THE NOVICE)

Schmup, teh HydLid3# Boy izz left in bad bad world n izz set 2 escape alone to waethc hoem alone!!1! plZ help heem get away or rot in HELL, he wi11.. beat gaem n boy appearZ in our$ world. we taeke caaaaaare of him t'en!! Schmup'''

I'll leave you to ponder on that.


Rating: 1/10



You can click the tabs on the above bar to choose whether you wish to read comments from visitors who have posted on Facebook, or from registered site users who have left feedback on the forums. Please leave a comment of your own if you have anything to say!


Info | Help | Privacy Policy | Contact | Advertise

eXTReMe Tracker
© 1998-2012 HonestGamers
None of the material contained within this site--from reviews, guides, cheats and editorials to message board posts--may be reproduced in any conceivable fashion without permission from the author(s) of said material. This site is not sponsored or endorsed by Nintendo, Sega, Sony, Microsoft, or any other such party. Hydlide is a registered trademark of its copyright holder. This site makes no claim to Hydlide, its characters, screenshots, artwork, music, or any intellectual property contained within. Opinions expressed on this site do not necessarily represent the opinion of site staff or sponsors.