D4 Enterprise is continuing the pace of PC-88 games releasing on Switch under their EggConsole label with 1987’s Hydlide3: The Space Memories. Like many of their recent releases, it has the caveat of being untranslated.
A couple months ago, we got the first Hydlide. Not having a translation was fine there since it didn’t have much text to begin with, but Hydlide3 has menus, stat windows, and dialogue that relies on knowledge of Japanese. It’s probably still doable without knowledge of the language, but it could be more comfortable.
The Hydlide series is sometimes thought of as a progenitor of the JRPG, predating Dragon Quest, though the combat is Ys-style bumping rather than turn-based. Hydlide 3, however, has an attack button, which does away with the bumping and makes it feel more akin to Zelda. There’s also a day/night system and even morality.
A port for the Genesis/Mega Drive actually made its way to North America under the title Super Hydlide. Whether it’s good or not depends on your tastes. Both contemporary and recent critics suggest that it’s a very difficult game, and some like its hardcore flavor while others are repulsed by it. Me? I haven’t played it, but I’m probably going to. I’ve said this before, but while rereleasing untranslated games from a Japanese home computer is catering to an extremely niche audience, it’s one that I fit into.
EggConsole Hydlide3 PC-8801mkIISR is out today on Switch.
