is an action role-playing game developed and published by T&E Soft. It was originally released for the NEC PC-6001 and PC-8801 computers in 1984, in Japan only; ports for the MSX, MSX2, FM-7 and NEC PC-9801 were released the following year. A Famicom version was released under the name Hydlide Special in Japan in 1986. Three years later, it was localized and released in English regions for the Nintendo Entertainment System by Fujisankei Communications International, known as simply Hydlide. The game sold two million copies in Japan across all platforms. A Sega Genesis version of Hydlide Special was showcased at the 1989 SCES but never released. The game spawned the Hydlide series, followed by the sequels Hydlide II: Shine of Darkness in 1985 and Hydlide 3: The Space Memories (Super Hydlide) in 1987. A 1995 remake was released for the Sega Saturn as Virtual Hydlide. Plot In the kingdom of Fairyland, three magic jewels were enshrined in the palace to maintain peace in the kingdom. One day, an evil man broke into the palace and stole one of the three magic jewels. Without the third jewel, the two remaining jewels lost their magic sparkle. The magic spell that sealed the power of Varalys, the most vicious demon in the kingdom, was broken. During the turmoil which followed, the last two jewels were stolen. Varalys cast a special magic on Princess Ann, turning her into three fairies, and hid her somewhere in the kingdom. He then let loose a horde of monsters across the land and became the ruler of the kingdom. The young knight Jim stood up and took action to restore peace in the kingdom. He bravely made his way into the wilderness in full armor to fight the monsters. Development The game was created by T&E Soft's Tokihiro Naito. His idea behind Hydlide was to mix together action and RPG elements into a new "action RPG" genre. He was inspired by The Tower of Druaga and The Black Onyx, especially the former, as Hydlides design leans more towards action than role-playing. Hydlide essentially took The Tower of Druaga formula to a colorful open world, and added RPG mechanics. Hydlide also borrowed the health meter mechanic from The Black Onyx, and took it a step further with a regenerating health meter. Naito noted that he was completely unaware of Western role-playing games like Ultima and Wizardry when he was