Virtual Hydlide - Sega Saturn Review

[@MarginalSC]

I played it to death at the time. Beat it like 5x in a row. The frame rate was awful, but it had a strange charm to it.

[@spaceghostcqc2137]

I''m one of the weirdos who think this game looks neat. I like the digitized graphics but the framerate was too low for an action style game.

[@MarginalSC]

@@spaceghostcqc2137 Even at the time it was really weak technically. Everything was limited to one plane and built outta boxes. Wolf 3d solved that years before… Still interesting.

[@PlasticCogLiquid]

Yes! It's awesome

[@PlasticCogLiquid]

@@MarginalSC This game has a hella lot more going on than Wolf 3D.. Wolf didn't even have ceilings and floors, it was just scaling some bitmaps at one single height.

[@allrequiredfields]

​@@spaceghostcqc2137 I think it looks great. This was two years before FFVII and I think this graphic style is WORLDS better.

[@shaggymcdaniel3216]

Would be interesting if someone could fix the frame rate of this game. That’s the biggest problem I have. Even AVGN thought this game was okay.

[@MrIronJustice]

I wonder the same thing. The music was kind of cool too.

[@The_Halfway_Channel]

I'm sure many of grew up in the 80's and this looks fine. Barely looks any worse than typically Tomb Raider. If I were 9 at the time, I would have loved it.

[@djhenyo]

Just play Daggerfall instead.

[@Daveforever]

AVGN never played this game lol It was Mike.

[@EdiTheDon]

​@@Daveforever episode 161.

[@BuckBumbleYT]

I know it’s objectively awful but I love the “90’s multimedia” aesthetic of this game so much

[@jasonblalock4429]

The real tragedy of this is how ahead-of-its-time the idea was. It's a procedurally-generated open-world 3D ARPG (with roguelike elements) *in 1995!* If it had just run on a decent engine, it almost certainly would have done pretty well, or at least be looked back on favorably.

[@Boogie_the_cat]

Yeah, if only the developers had enough money and \ or time to craft a proper engine. Because there is no way any golf engine could have done the game's concept justice. The Sensible Soccer engine was used by Sensible Software to make the Cannon Fodder engine, but soccer has fast movement and Sensible were wizards of programming back then. It's unfortunate that a different studio wasn't at work on this game. No offense to the developers, they had a good idea, just couldn't execute it for one reason or another.

[@rgm4646]

Today, I think people are harder on game reviews, because we all have SO much more to play. Back then I played the heck out of some 'bad' games because I only had one or two games. Trading your games to get something new was common.

[@MrIronJustice]

Very true. Also when you're a kid, your imagination can really fill in some gaps in the presentation. As an adult its easy to look at a game with sub-par graphics and immediately think the developers dropped the ball, but as a kid you think that's just how this game world looks. One example for me is Super Godzilla, I loved that game, as a kid I just buckled down and learned how it works rather than letting confusion turn me off from it.

[@Gatorade69]

Also you have to think, a huge game comes along that is incredible and it simply raises people's standards. We have been spoiled and now we judge anything lesser more harshly.

[@rgm4646]

@@MrIronJustice I completely agree very good point!

[@rgm4646]

@@Gatorade69 Very true!

[@rgm4646]

@@initial_kd I remember my parents got me the game called Robowarrior(NES), I hated that game, it wasn't exactly what I wanted. I dont remember exactly what I wanted but I knew it wasnt that. I played the heck out of that game, and I grew to love it over the years. :) and I remember it fondly today. It would probably get a pretty bad rating today. lol

[@ianfisch7289]

I actually like the look of the graphics. If it ran at 30fps, I think it would be one of the better looking 32 bit games.

[@IhadaCapo]

I agree

[@reeyees50]

You can mod it, there is rng in the game. So every playthrough is kinda different

[@Pichuscute]

I was gonna say this too. It's definitely a nostalgia sort of thing, but I think the chunkiness and overambitious level of detail is pretty cool in hindsight.

[@spaceghostcqc2137]

@@Pichuscute agree completely. I'd like to see some modern scaler games with digitized graphics to see where this approach might have gone.

[@richardslotboom9250]

I like the graphics too, great atmosfear too!

[@QuestionBlockGaming]

even if they fixed the performance of the game and made it run at a higher framerate, there aren't any in-between animations, so the only two options are to make the character and enemy's movement have low FPS (hold animations for multiple frames) or to have the animations speed up (which would lead to the entire game being way too fast). Unless someone would want to create extra pixel-art inbetween frames the game itself would always present to be a stuttery mess or run way too fast. Great video though! I like the objectivity and I've always thought that the game was really underrated despite its visuals. Even the original Hydlide was ahead of its time, and so was this.

[@ViciousAlienKlown]

It would be interesting to hear from the developers of this game. What they thought about using a golf engine and what they thought about the final product.

[@kamulecPL12]

I wouldn't be surprised if this game had similar development to Doom on the 3DO - unrealistic expectations, too little time, too small of a team. Poor performance clearly hints at that - the devs may have simply not have the time to optimize this thing.

[@chrismaddock5790]

@@kamulecPL12 And based on a lot of the behind the scenes stories I've heard from other poorly developed games, your hypothesis doesn't sound like it would be too far from the truth. It's always a shame when the higher ups don't give the devs the time they need on these sort of games

[@EstebanGallardo]

As a game developer you are usually asked by the assholes who run the companies to deliver games in insane deadlines. To ease the whole thing you reuse the code done in previous projects. I would have done the same. It's easy to blame the developers (coders/artists/designers) when most of the fault that a game fails falls is because incompetent producers and sociopath company owners.

[@jhoughjr1]

@@kamulecPL12 yeah you almost never get the optimal code the first time and thus always need time at the end to optimize

[@JoeDouglas]

​@@EstebanGallardo Personally, I always lay the blame for a poor game at the feel of the money counters unless reliable information comes out that says otherwise.

[@postplays]

Kings Field series didn't look much better and everyone praises that. This game looks really cool for what it is. The music really sounds amazing, too.

[@suiken3149]

And this looks much closer to Dark Souls than Kings Field were

[@Gallospacca-]

Virtual Hydlide is one of my favorite Saturn games, I've finished it many times, the only problem it has for me is the framerate in fact I love games that use two dimensional objects in a polygonal world, at the time it was clearly a workaround the limitations of consoles but for me it has an incredible appeal and in this game it simply reaches the top level. The introductory movie is brilliant and hilarious and immediately puts us in the right mood, also preparing us for the irresistible trashy atmosphere (but in a good way), the character who is a simply digitized ordinary man is too funny and I certainly identify with him more than in the super muscular heroes that we usually find in games. The settings are varied and detailed and even the colors are spot on, even the fights once you learn the various possibilities are fun and varied and on the sound side it's really well done, the music is always pleasant and suitable for the setting. It also has some truly innovative mechanics for the time, for example the fact that if we leave any object or equipment on the ground, we will always find it there even after hours of playing, or the fact that the equipment actually changed the aesthetics of the character (we are talking about 1995!!) or the fact that we can save at any moment and we will start exactly from that point, but above all the game world that is always generated different with each gameplay and if we want we can also take notes of the ''code'' of that world to replay it in the future, in this regard I have a criticism to make of what was said in the video and a curiosity that I discovered. Criticism: what was not said in the video is that dungeons are also generated in a procedural way and this enormously changes the experience with each gameplay, the same dungeon can be found once very short, with a very linear path and with few enemies and it can last 5 minutes, other times the same dungeon can be huge with many crossroads and secondary rooms full of treasures or chests and many enemies and it can last even an hour or more! Curiosity: The randomly generated world affects the framerate of the game A LOT, having finished it many times, on a couple of occasions I found myself playing at a framerate much higher than the average of the game, let's say at about 15 frames per second (I know it looks like a I'm joking but I'm serious and when the game runs like this it's much more enjoyable), so with a little luck if you start several games, you can find a world that has an above average framerate and if you take note of the code you can replay it several times, even if this obviously would make you lose the pleasure of trying different dungeons every time. Pro Tips: There are some tricks to make the game smoother and more enjoyable. 1) In the open world map, if instead of avoiding the enemies you encounter, you kill them all, the game will be much more fluid, the enemies you encounter even when they are no longer visible, are still ''calculated'' by the graphics engine, therefore the more you leave alive, the more the game will slow down. 2) make sure you don't exceed the carrying weight because when you are too heavy what the game does is deliberately slow down by further decreasing the frames per second to simulate your weight. 3) when it is not strictly necessary avoid running, this makes everything much more fluid and enjoyable, furthermore some animations make the game slower and jerkier, for example if you always walk with the sword drawn (as seen in the video) the game goes more jerky because it is the character himself who, being in combat mode, moves one step at a time and the camera simply follows those animations, walking in the dungeons without unsheathed weapons pulling them out only when we meet enemies makes everything much more fluid and enjoyable. In conclusion I really don't understand why so many people make fun of this game, for me what it lacks to be a small masterpiece is only 20 frames per second more, unfortunately at the time I didn't have a Saturn but if I had played it in 1995 surely I would have been enthusiastic about it, it's like a Skyrim from the 90s, there was nothing like it in those days. However, even if I only recovered it a few years ago, it's one of the games that most often makes me want to take out the Saturn to make a new run.

[@djhenyo]

"it's like a Skyrim from the 90s, there was nothing like it in those days." Daggerfall is exactly the same type of game but better in every way. That game was the legit Skyrim of the mid-90s era.

[@Hausbrauen]

@@djhenyo That's a bit of a false equivalence. Firstly, Daggerfall came out a full year later (18 months later in Japan). And far more importantly, you're comparing pc games with console games. PC games in this genre were *light years* ahead at this time. For a console game in 1995 with 3d gameplay, their assessment is spot-on.

[@Hausbrauen]

This is a *beautiful* comment -- it shows a game is something special when it still has such a deep impact on you so many years later. It also blew my mind back in 1995, no doubt about it. I don't think I ever realized the framerate actually gets worse to simulate weight, but looking back on it that makes perfect sense. Also your points on procedural generation can't be overstated... I recall first noticing this when you first got inside the vampire's castle the second time -- it was so different I couldn't believe it. The first castle I went through had a layout like a real believable castle. The second one was enormous, and very mazelike -- took quite long to traverse. So I tried it a third time, and it was so much smaller than the first two castles it was ridiculous. It was literally one hallway from the front door to the vampire, with two small rooms coming off of it for the key item. You could literally finish it (at least getting to the vampire himself) in less than a minute. Still to this day I've seen very few games that generated randomized 3d worlds in such varied and interesting ways.

[@djhenyo]

@@Hausbrauen The person to whom I replied didn't say Virtual Hydlide was like the 1995 version of Skyrim for consoles. Just making this much narrower claim would've been bad enough. No, it was said to be like the 90s version of Skyrim. That has to be a joke.

[@Hausbrauen]

@@djhenyo Indeed they didn't say it was like Skyrim for the consoles. Point being you compared Virtual Hydlide to the 1996 PC game Daggerfall. Like I said, *PC games in this genre around 1995 were light years ahead of console games.* I played action rpgs on both platforms around this time, and can attest to that. It's like comparing an average fighting game in 1995 on Neo Geo to a different average fighting game on Gameboy ('average' relative to Gameboy standards). Obviously the average Neo Geo fighter released that same year is going to be infinitely better. You can still compare them if you like (as a few others in these comments have), though it's hardly an equal, nor fair comparison to make.

[@denjindhalsim]

I honestly think the visuals have aged well. It has a charming retro look. The frame rate is a killer though.

[@jasonblalock4429]

Yeah, and considering they were making an open world 3D ARPG in 1995, it's doing pretty good for the time. Although the PC does look pretty dopey without any armor on, haha.

[@rickylovesyou]

​@@jasonblalock4429this was nowhere near "open world" LOL.

[@jasonblalock4429]

@@rickylovesyou By 1995 standards it is.

[@rowenpugner3872]

@@jasonblalock4429 Exactly, you get it... such concepts as "open world" are 100% relative. Open world gaming in 2045 will make open world games of today look like nothing.

[@El_Febo_Abel]

"Virtua Fighter 2", "Ray Man" and others aged well. Not this.

[@porchpirateofpestulon]

I guess I must be crazy, but I think this game looks amazing for 1995 and I think the digitized graphics actually look good. I fully understand the complaint about framerate though, because its atrocious. I... actually kind of want to play this...

[@jeffcourty6321]

I loved it on it's release. I have a thing for digiticed graphics

[@Michael-im5mq]

I too have to admit the graphics do have a certain charm and style to them that I find appealing.

[@jhoughjr1]

I don’t recall people thinking it looked good at the time though.

[@hueyh5637]

Tomb raider was released around the same time, and that games makes this look last gen

[@Shyning77]

That's pretty much how I felt about it back in the day. The screenshots in the mags really made me want to try it despite the mixed reviews, so I rented it. But as much as I wanted to like it, the randomized level generator ended up being pointless, and its gameplay made it more frustrating than fun. I still like the visual and audio atmosphere of the game. If only the execution had been better...

[@Wyrdwad]

Honestly, I don't think it looks THAT bad. It looks dated, to be sure! But it's got an interesting style that goes really heavy on mood and atmosphere, and in that sense, I kind of like it. It feels gritty and spooky. If not for the framerate being as awful as it is, I'd actually give these visuals a fairly solid score, personally.

[@medes5597]

Generally most people agree it looks amazing, even bad reviews at the time, like the UK press who were way harsher on it for some reason, agreed it looked great. But the framerate is the issue.

[@PS1Fan1991]

The visuals look great to me, especially for 1995. The problem with Virtual Hydlide is the framerate as you mentioned. If that wasn't there, I think that the game would have gotten much more love.

[@DBZdude95]

This game was waaaayyyy ahead of its time. I'm not surprised it got good reviews.

[@command_line_channel]

Back in the day, I thought it looked really cool. It could be even compared to Doom, kinda.

[@knight0fdragon]

Looked into this for @PandaMoniumReviews, nothing from the game files show that Hydlide is built off of the PB Golf Links engine. They may have used some bits of source code like how things are rendered, but that is it.

[@SegaLordX]

I debated on including this, as I was only able to find various accounts that didn't link any direct comments to the programmer Kentaro Nishiwaki. I did figure given that Pebble Beach and Virtual Hydlide released within 2 months of one another that they at least shared some technology together.

[@johnjay6370]

As bad as the game was, it did have glimpses of something special. This game is a example of under developed. If this game could of had one more year in development it could have been a great game. Everything that is wrong with this game had to do with budget and timing. One more year could have added level up mechanics and some frame rate improvements. I liked the graphics but it felt broken.....The game could have been great.

[@Larry]

The funniest thing about Virtual Hydlide is the enemies speech is all random Japanese audio clips in reverse T&E Soft had in their collection. Like one of the bosses says "Please insert Disc 2" before fighting you!!! 🤣

[@Hausbrauen]

YES IoI. Very disappointing this wasn't covered here -- it's the single most hilarious aspect of this game.

[@Dorelaxen]

Well, since they used the Pebble Beach Golf Links engine here, I suppose that at the very least we can be thankful that Craig Stadler didn't show up as a boss. "Think you can get it inside mine?"

[@Gatorade69]

Maybe, if you just hold still.

[@ItsCamNYAN]

I remember my brother buying this for my Saturn when we went to a game rental shop going out of business. This title was just so confounding on every level.

[@uniqueproblem5961]

Great review! I actually don’t mind the graphics, I even find them quite good for the time; the low frame rate and the muddy presentation add to the creep factor as well. The music ties is it all together nicely. I think I want to play this lol

[@Hektols]

It's important to take account that most people who played this game just transitioned from 16 bit systems so for us this game was quite impressive graphically regardless the framerate.

[@rowenpugner3872]

Yep, you get it. 1995 was absolutely THE transitional year in gaming tech, followed by the next 2 years or so. Not only in terms of console hardware, but also the strides they were making in-game. If you weren't there to experience it, you simply won't get it.

[@PlasticCogLiquid]

@@rowenpugner3872 This game blows that other game Virtuoso on the 3DO out of the water, even though they have similar engines. Hydlide has way more detail and depth, it's a cool game. It pisses me off when people shit on it

[@rowenpugner3872]

​@@PlasticCogLiquid Agreed completely. Clearly this game won't appeal to everybody, even if this was still 1995. I notice most of the negative comments here are oddIy 'enraged' by the fact so many of us enjoy and/or respect this game... though a lot of them are also clearly just being contrarian tr 0IIs, 'cuz the internet' IoI Virtual Hydlide is a true hidden gem. Not because nobody's heard of it, but because it's a product of its time and thus it's deceptively better than it looks. And due to its particular faults, this is very difficult for some to grasp from a random video without playing it for themselves.

[@Krunkwizard]

I dont know, the game looks pretty cool to me. That soundgrack is great.

[@RemnantCult]

This game has that mid 90s FMV charm that is hard for me to describe. It's so evocative of its time and I love that.

[@carlosaugustodinizgarcia3526]

Hydlide was once a big franchise in Japan.The original 1984 PC 8801 was a huge inspiration on both Zelda and Ys.

[@CecilTheDarkKnight234]

I remember playing the Nes/Famicom port years ago and having a blast with it.. but it's a shame the series never really took off in the west.

[@HiddenPiecrust]

I remember seeing this on AGDQ's Awful Block. The frame rate and difficulty were simply mind-boggling. Still a fun run to watch, though just to see how to "optimize" this game.

[@mattigator600]

Watching Gyre speedrun the game is the way to enjoy Virtual Hydlide

[@ltphoenix54c]

Commentary was hilarious. I've watched it multiple times.

[@yuripetrovic7606]

Ok, ok, Saturn was lacking in RPGs-- But! *BUT* ! Comparing it to N64 it had WAY more RPGs which is something very overlooked IMO.

[@kennethd4958]

I remember renting this game back in the late 90's and while I didn't hate it.. it often felt overly frustrating to play because of the visuals. I had no idea it used a golf game engine... it all makes sense now lol

[@Gatorade69]

Think you can get yours inside mine ?

[@Onwaxwings]

Played this when it came out. I was 10. Me and my beat friend stayed up all weekend playing this. Miss those days. Amazing game at the time for two 10 years old who love fantasy RPGs games

[@zophar1]

Agree with the majority of your video (very well made by the way - you earned a like and subscribe from me!) - however, I would say that everyone does indeed deserve to try this game at least once. While most will loathe it, some will find the random seeds very enjoyable as it's a (somewhat) different experience each time. And it has speedrunning qualities too - how many action RPGs can you finish in just over a half an hour? Or maybe I'm just trying to make myself feel better for spending months playing this in order to have gained the Any % World Record. ;)

[@ScottWozniak]

I remember trying this out and thinking it looked worse than a bad 3DO game. Makes sense now.

[@ophidianmind333]

There is a reason that Virtual Hydlide is the only RPG on the Saturn available on the market at a reasonable price. Also, the Saturn in the West didn't get as many RPGs as it did in Japan and this is because of Bernie Stolar's anti-RPG bias when he was heading Sega of America. It was during this console generation that RPGs broke into the mainstream of gaming with the massive success of Final Fantasy VII, so this was a huge missed opportunity and is another way that Bernie Stolar's decisions killed the Saturn in the West.

[@brodogg1313]

Rented this gem at Blockbuster and beat it in one weekend. Felt like playing breath of the wild in the 90s, so much fun.

[@americanmeowth3336]

Thank you for the video. I wonder what the reception would have been if they had done this in a more traditional style, maybe something with the 3D exploration with visible enemies but then a traditional turn-based combat system. It wouldn't have been Hydlide as it originally was, but I think given the limitations of the engine, it probably would have turned out a bit better.

[@Hausbrauen]

That's a very interesting take! Makes me think of Mysteria (another Saturn game with 2d pre-rendered characters and 3d gameplay). If Mysteria was an arpg instead of turn-based strategy, I'm certain it would've been far worse for it. Virtual Hydlide as something similar to that, even with its awful engine, probably would've worked a lot better!

[@griffgames9538]

It's no Shining the Holy Ark. Then again, Hydlide was attempting to be a more open world 3D RPG in the early days of Saturn.

[@rowenpugner3872]

This is all 100% accurate.

[@maruska3334]

I loved this game as a kid, there is no game that looked good as Hydlide, frame rate sure was awful, this was a groundbreaking first real open world with proper 3d graphics game never seen before in that genre of games and that made up for the awful fps. Sega made some of the best games during the 90s that are still to this day very much loved and enjoye. I had both playstation 1 and Sega Saturn and preffered Sega Saturn, Sega games were just so much more fun and the music composed was spot on too. Sega Saturn 10/10 and is one of the best gaming consoles ever made.

[@pixelpoppyproductions]

Just look at stuff like 2022’s Unreal port - and then this. The Saturn didn’t have a hardware problem, it had a software problem. Never played this, maybe I will someday - but I remember seeing this in stores and thinking…. Nah. Even in screenshots printed in 1990s magazines, it was ugly. Not that graphics are the only point, and definitely I loved some of the biggest turds from back in the day(High Octane anyone?). So to those of you who picked this back in the day, and loved it - I salute you.

[@Hausbrauen]

Anyone who hates on this game as the 'worst' or 'most laughable game ever' obviously didn't play it back in the day; they're judging it with a modern lens. As someone who owned it and played through it when it was new, there was nothing reprehensible about this game at that time. Haven't played this since, but I really enjoyed it back then and believe I still would. *Very, very few console games with 3d gameplay looked great in 1995, especially by today's standards.* Between snes and n64, this scratched that Zelda itch I had at the time (before Saturn had some more fitting choices like Legend of Oasis), and still felt like a step in the right direction. Exploration and getting new gear always kept my interest. The concept of starting a new randomized world (with *extremely* varied dungeons once you got to the castle) was a blast to mess around with, and like nothing I've seen before. And the music was fantastic. Sure it could've aged better, yet it still aged *way* better than most early fully-polygonal games on Playstation.

[@Gatorade69]

It's completely fine to change your views. I liked a lot of games when I was younger but going back to them now is much harder. Looking at reviews even back then it got mixed reviews. One magazine gave it a 2 out of 5. So even back in the day reviewers realized it had problems.

[@Hausbrauen]

@@Gatorade69 Oh I don't deny it had problems. It had some glaring issues no doubt, but it also had some great innovative features that can't be ignored. Reviews were all over the place on this back then (if reviews were your thing) and rightfully so; I ultimately see this as a middling game (or even 'flawed' game if you prefer) worthy of both its faults and strengths -- looking at it in today's lens doesn't change that. So on principle, I'll always reject 'IoI omg this is literally the worst game ever'-type comments as its clearly not the case.

[@rowenpugner3872]

Very well said! A lot of people simply forget the time and place something like this is released gets equated into its worth, whether they realize it or not. Take ff7 for example. If that came out 10 years later in 2007 (or 2017 for that matter) and looked and played exactly as it did in 1997, it would be panned and laughed at by the masses. Older games, especially early 3D games, require a little patience to get into and see their merit... assuming it has any. I've played this game again recently, and it still holds up. Behind all the 'jank' and 'clunk' the AAA-laden commoner notices on first impression today, Virtual Hydlide certainly does have merit worthy of respect.

[@Hausbrauen]

@@rowenpugner3872 Thanks! That's a great point too btw!

[@greyfox1127]

Great video - I think your review was fair. I remember the hype before the 32 but generation when this was being shown. I think the reviews of the time were mostly about right as to be fair lower frame rates were much more accepted then coming off the back Super Fx titles etc Also games often got slightly higher marks if they were something that couldn’t be done on the previous, 16 bit, generation of consoles. Conversely often 2D titles got docked points for not being a significant enough use of “next gen” hardware. Always felt this title often gets a bit of a rough ride - it was an early title for a new generation of hardware when everyone was still finding their feet. Unlike some games of this time while it obviously could do with a lot of polishing it is fully functional and not broken. It’s also massively ambitious and in some ways ahead of its time. 3D action adventure with random world generation. It would have been super interesting if this game had a sequel or a more refined game engine as the use of the hardware was in many ways ideal. Use VDP 2 for the floor, sprites for objects (but better defined sprites), better texture mapping and draw distance for the geometry, increase the frame rate, then tie it into the Golden Axe series with a choice of Tyris, Ax or Gilius and it would have filled a good spot in the library.

[@Gatorade69]

I remember reading a review for Castlevania Symphony of the Night that bashed it and told people to hold off until Castlevania on the N64 came out. Lol. Games journalists back then were just as inept as they are today.

[@TetsuDeinonychus]

@@Gatorade69 Don't forget them dismissing Street Fighter III for having "dated" (because they're 2D) graphics while praising Street Fighter EX for it's 3D graphics and saying it's he game that should have been called "Street Fighter III". Now, look at which game is now more beloved by the fan-base (though EX has its fans) and which game's graphics have aged better (with III's beautifully animated fluid 2D sprites still being the gold standard for sprite animation and EX being the same kind of blocky, blurry, grainy mess that most Pre-Dreamcast 3D games were) and tell me those reviews don't look ridiculous.

[@marcelosoares7148]

Now i'm wondering what happens if the timer reaches 99:99:99, if it just goes to 100 or if the game bugs out and corrupts your save

[@evilash570]

The framerate on this game is horrible but I still find it fun

[@SeveredLegs]

Based on the footage, I don't think the game is ugly at all. It's definitely not smooth though. But back then we didn't have high expectations for smoothness.

[@AlexanderGreensmith]

I love your vids on obscure pieces of SEGA history. Would you consider doing an alternate history vid / deep dive into SEGA's failed merger with Bandai? Thanks SLX

[@ShermansGaming]

Its not how the game played or looked its what the devs did with this game that did put its mark on the gaming industry it was one of the first ever procedural generated rpg's to come out and it did what no other game company at the time was doing. This is why this game is so well liked by so many compared to todays tech this might look horrid and play like garbage but at the time this was game changing.

[@GRNDZA108]

The original Hydlide was innovative in 1984 and laid the foundations for the action-rpg/action adventure genres in Japan, so it's important from that standpoint (the original Zelda was heavily inspired by it, as was Ys), but I can't say it's aged well at all. Super Hydlide made attempts at innovation that fell flat. And Virtual Hydlide...well, it's clear there was a degree of ambition behind it, but it also screams rush job. I'm guessing T&E didn't have many programmers on hand who understood the Saturn (did it even have documentation yet?) so they rushed this one so it would be finished in time to allow turnaround for the Western launches, and told the designers to make do with the engine they already had. I'm guessing this doesn't use VDP-2 for much, if anything, either.

[@germantorre1422]

Amo este juego. Viva la Saturn.

[@kevinmcqueary7395]

the way this game looks is making me think Night Trap, set in the midevel times. this makes me wonder what THAT game would look, and be like if Night Trap itself WAS released on the Saturn.

[@djhenyo]

Night Trap had a CD+32X version released with much higher quality video. That's basically what it would have looked like on the Saturn.

[@Blas4ublasphemy]

@@djhenyo Try the Switch release

[@jimmelton5846]

I don't get it. 😂

[@Blas4ublasphemy]

It would look like Double Switch...

[@iorch82]

That graveyard scenario is gorgeus, really spooky atmosphere. Such a pity that abysmal framerate

[@bawitback]

Looks more at home on 3DO.

[@Canadian_Gamer]

I remember seeing this one at Kmart back in the day. Strangely enough, when I look at this gameplay footage, something deep down is calling for me to play this. It's got that "it's so bad it's good" element to it.

[@segasaturn6800]

I borrowed this game from a friend when I was young, and it was really fun

[@madson-web]

For some reason I cannot hate on this game. It has some odd charm

[@bawitback]

Same graphics have a charm about it

[@Rob.Coleman]

Hard to disagree with anything you've said but I have some really fond memories of this game. Sometimes the thought of times gone by outweigh the technical deficiencies of a piece of software. Having said that, I still chuckle at the memes this game is responsible for 😄👍👍.

[@Trusteft]

Never played this, but it looks good to me. Based on this video I would say the biggest issue is the terrible animation when walking, but it looks like the stance and inch by inch moving was a choice by the player as in other parts of the game the character appears walking and running just fine. So I assume that's a special stance which makes sense for the way he walks which shouldn't be used for walking all over the place. Again, I haven't played the game so I can't really know the details. The framerate is not high, but I don't see that as an issue for the game unless it actually creates sluggish and with lag controls. As far as I understand that is not the case. My point is, based on this video the game looks fine to me and I highly doubt I would have a problem having this game back in the day, if I had a Saturn. (I had a PC). It's a shame this game never had a PC port. Thanks for the informative video.

[@alex.starostin]

Seems like most of the budget went to the soundtrack. The music has no right to be this good here, lol

[@vasileios6301]

Its a very good game, I finished it back then. And by far better than any Kings Field crap series (which were around the same time released). Also I think in their mind they had the step by step dungeon gameplay which is found in many games before it so they thought high framerate is not necessary. Check also Power Kingdoms on 3do, bad framerate but great game also.

[@neilallen529]

I dig this. The music is awesome, the visuals remind me of Mansion of Hidden Souls in a good way, and I have a small crush on that princess. Pretty cool looking game. I've never played it (heard a lot about it), but I'm going to look up a long play.

[@minimobilereview6570]

so glad I wasn't the only person to play this lol

[@TheWitchingHourBand]

Super Hydlide Reminds me of one of those games ya got for Christmas as a kid. You knew it wasn't that great but played it anyways, finding something you enjoyed about it.

[@anthonym5395]

I remember looking so forward to this game before release. The screenshots in the various game magazines made it look amazing!! But upon release it was a complete mess in the framerate department. I think what it had going for it was it's real world colors and lighting. The screenshots looked like your character walking through photorealistic woods, dungeons, etc. Playing it made seem like you were looking at screenshots 15 frames per second. Maybe it looks/runs better running on the MiSTer FPGA??

[@MrIronJustice]

"Your hero looks like one of the developers cosplaying..." That's exactly what I thought when I first saw this. If they hired an actor he'd probably look more buff or fit, this guy looks like he works in a cubicle.

[@deemster4249]

I love the use of sprites for so many objects in the environments. Really gives the visuals an edge over other games of the time in my opinion. I don’t think the game looks bad at all.

[@SxSxG666]

I never liked early 3d graphics even a bit but this game has a certain charm with it's presentation. It reminds me of Stonekeep with it's digitized sprites.

[@Blas4ublasphemy]

Love that you went in to this review unbiased, would like to hear what you think of Castlevania 64?

[@RyanLeCocq]

This is one of my favorite bad classics. It and Virtua Fighter were my first and only Saturn games for a while, so I played it way more than I probably would have. Eventually became a master of it’s weird procedural logic and kind of speedrunning it. It was like my proto proto Dark Souls.

[@Krristopher]

Someone should patch Craig Stadler popups in to this game.

[@Estorium]

Gamesack would love that.

[@razzledazzle4934]

Greatly enjoy your perspective and your videos

[@rancid_]

"Does virtual hydlide deserve the shit it got back in the day? In a word - Yes." (roll the credits)

[@ole-wy9ht]

I always thought that is the gameplay mechanics, story, graphics and so on were converted to the burning rangers engine this game could be good. Like a really extensive romhack. There's nothing going on here all that complex graphically compared to BR. Of course thats basically making a new game from the ground up

[@infinityeight8705]

I actually quite like the look of this game (never heard of it before) and I love pebble beach golf on the saturn!!👍

[@slashrose3287]

Another great review of a "classic" SS title. To be fair, i remember UK Mean Machines Sega gave it something like 29% at the time....

[@flamewraith]

it dosent hold up these days but when i got this coming from my megadrive it was amazing, been able to go were ever i wanted in 3D was such a game changer for me from the 16 bit top down era the music really adds to the atmosphere, i remember been genuinely creeped out wandering around the mansion for the first time yes it ugly and runs like crap these days but 12 year old me going from 16bit to this was amazing

[@VisiV]

I’m so grateful for you and your channel. Such a dependable part of my KZbin life.

[@woofwoofdoggo]

KZbin has barely alerted me of your new videos. This one is fyre af 🔥

[@oliverbaba1882]

i always thought the visuals looked interesting, like a blocky elder scrolls... but the choppy framerate just kills it. too bad, it could've been a unique take on the rpg genre for the saturn

[@popixel]

I have a very unpopular opinion concerning this game. I actually enjoy it quite a bit. The animation is not the greatest but the game is quite enjoyable. I got to the point where I was able to beat this game within 45 minutes to an hour I played it so much.

[@rowenpugner3872]

Agreed completely! I don't think people who like this game are uncommon at all, it just seems to be the typical normie thing to hate on this game now. Also 45 minutes (or even an hour) is really impressive! I'm sure there's a speedrunning record somewhere on this, but 45 minutes seems amazing to me.

[@popixel]

@@rowenpugner3872 it may have been more around an hour, I don’t really remember. It’s been about 7 years or so that I played the game last. But glad to see that you like it as well.

[@gammaphonic]

I think the disconnect between reviews of the day and opinions now is novelty. A 3D, 3rd person, open world RPG on a console was an amazing prospect back in the mid-90s. So much so that people would have happily overlooked some serious flaws to have this new and novel experience. Of course that novelty has long since worn off. No one in the last 20 years could be blind to its flaws because of the novelty of its concept.

[@geesterfunk]

the over world theme still haunts my life.. popping into my head at random!

[@Hausbrauen]

...huh. I actually know *exactly* what you mean -- this legit happens to me too IoI It happens when in either playing a modern game with overcast weather, or just irl outside during a foggy or overcast day (just like in the game's overworld)... especially when around woods or mountains. And out of nowhere, this theme jump into my head -- sometimes I'll find myself humming it. Glad I'm not the only one! Imao

[@Johnoftheuchiha]

I’m going to make a weird comparison. I see Virtual Hydlide as a very early souls like game. They also use less storytelling and are more focused on action. The lifeless world of Hydlide wouldn’t be out of place in a Souls like game.

[@Hausbrauen]

Not weird at all, others have made this comparison. And I agree with you 100% because it's a very accurate one.

[@dextersbeard3472]

Great review, the Saturn has some really amazing RPGs. I have most of them released both in English and Japanese, this is one i was never was interested in buying though. The graphics and gameplay just seem really unapealing. When i have tons of amazing JRPGs on Dreamcast, Saturn, PS1, PS2... there is little point in wasting time on a very mediocre RPG like this. I really enjoyed this review though. You gave it a fair shot and showed its not quite as bad as alot of us thought.

[@JeremyLeePotocki]

Yeah me, and my friends back in the day tried the game at our local GameXchange (different owner than today's) we were like "What the hell is this crap" after 10 minutes playing, and tried something else. We all read the reviews, but I remembered that if a video game magazine had adverts from developer/publishers they are not to be fully trusted. Gamepro taught me that lesson the hard way in the early 90's. My friends though trusted their reviews like it was gospel up until Virtual Hydlide, but thanks to that they saw the ugly truth so I have to give this game some credit in showing my friends that ugly truth.

[@RGT85]

My mom brought me to the rental store, I rented this on my Saturn, and hated it so much that I walked back 3 miles on a highway to return it. This game can burn in hell. lol

[@dbzeh6837]

Great video as usual. My problem with this gane are the controls and framerste, being a late adopter of 32bit systems (around 97) I do think that the digitalized gfx aren't half bad.

[@tashatorrid]

The Saturn was the only console I've ever owned that i returned. I think i only tried my hardest to like it for about a week before it went back

[@MrIronJustice]

Yeah, unfortunately it was basically a total departure from the Genesis, so most Western Sega fans felt like the rug was pulled out from under them. Almost no franchises continued from Genesis to the Saturn, most of the early library was just mediocre arcade ports with blocky graphics. A lot of the gems of the Saturn library stayed in Japan. It was an uphill battle to stay a Sega fan back then.

[@thomaselers7416]

The Saturn is my favourite console of all time!!!!

[@MrIronJustice]

@@thomaselers7416 I like it too, but I can see why Sega alienated their existing Genesis fans with it. Also, while there's plenty of great games, there's also tons of stinkers.

[@thomaselers7416]

@@MrIronJustice Hmm.... Not really sure, because I personally didn't become a hardcore Sega fan until the Saturn came out. I owned both the master system and genesis, but those two systems always came second to the home computers I played on at the time. Today I still own several Saturn and Dreamcast systems and I still play them from time to time. I can't say the same about the MS and Genesis.

[@rowenpugner3872]

If that's truly how you felt, then you bought the wrong games. Without exaggeration, Saturn had some of the greatest games I've ever played to this day. You missed out.

[@sHevnoraak]

So essentially it's the same as a AAA title released in the last few years.

[@rowenpugner3872]

Yep, in addition to the dozens of game-breaking bugs on release day, endless forced updates that keep you from playing the game you purchased when you actually have time, predatory microtransactions, locked day-one 'dlc' that could've been included with the game at release, pestering you about a 'game pass' to needlessly spend even more of your money, and trying to trick you into signing up for an online account with the publisher. I'll take a subpar game from 1995 *any damn day.* IoI

[@Hausbrauen]

@@rowenpugner3872 LMAO... bravo, my friend. You just nailed why I buy retro and emulate for 99% of my gaming time. Ain't got NO time for that noise anymore.

[@sHevnoraak]

@@rowenpugner3872 you are right, at least they ain't trying upsell the dodgyness.... It's a feature 🙄. Unfortunately this is the norm for any excellent contained big title there are 20 trying every trick in the book to take your money... Except the one that counts, being actually enjoyable

[@paulct91]

9:25 - That section in the caves with "Volcanic" playing seems like the proper art style the game should have went with, it looks "intentionally" as though it has natural film grain similar to old school film cameras or not quite like something being written on old papyrus. Maybe it would have looked better some of its issues wouldn't have looked so bad graphically speaking...?? 🤔

[@rapappathepepper3996]

This game is just okay, i think it is over-hated, but yes, it is understandable, the poor framerate really can bother, it hasn't aged very well and, well, i really just wanted this game to get better framerate, it is so close at being good! But that stops it...

[@Hausbrauen]

I generally agree with you, although what I thought was the weakest aspect of the game (which was never even mentioned in this video) was turning around. If something came from behind you or multiple enemies were around you, turning around to hit them was the single most annoying thing in the game imo. The framerate definitely compounded that problem too. Otherwise I mostly enjoyed this game.

[@GrandCorsair]

I could maybe look pass the visuals but I don't know if I could deal with the chunky frame rate. Just watching you trying to slowly turn looks so uncomfortable.

[@michaelwhitacre8499]

I've wanted to play this game ever since I saw avgn review it. I really like the graphics style and this era of game consoles.

[@marcanderson-jones3518]

I've never played this having never owned a saturn 😢 Watching the footage I feel like a button dedicated to a 180 spin would change the game completely

[@rowenpugner3872]

This is a great point. Having played through it, I'd even argue the difficulty to turn around while being attacked hindered this game far more than the framerate.

[@msolom9521]

Man, I played this game in 90's cause bike's accident ... I never finish it, cause it makes me sleep even my injuries ... sweet memories

[@666slateran666]

Im not gonna lie, these graphics are so bad its good ironically. It has that 90s charm with digitized graphics like harvester.

[@shiru8bit]

Don't know, I don't think the visuals are bad. They're kinda unique, interesting, have a dark gritty look, reminding of the early textured 3D gaming days, along the Hexen lines perhaps. Frame rate is the real issue, though (heh, almost like Hexen for PS1). Overall, this somehow looks like a 3DO game, it would feel at home there with such graphics and choppiness.

[@bazdaniels7420]

One positive thing V.Hydlide has -- not mentioned here-- it gives you a score. Rare in RPGs & action RPGs.

[@SegaLordX]

I actually mentioned the score and how to get it.

[@peterschuhmann3758]

Nice video! Played it some years ago and to be honest, I quite liked it. I think the visuals are ok for some kind of open world. But the framerate.. that's the reason I couldn't play it so long, gave me kind of a headache

[@lyrand6408]

"You get Sword" "You get Knife" "You get Armor" "You get Bored"

[@rowenpugner3872]

I mean that's almost every video game, but yeah.

[@treefroggy]

I think the systems and mechanics are solid and satisfying. 🤷‍♂️ I can enjoy the graphics ironically. Truly the Dark Souls of its time.

[@TheJesusNetwork]

i skipped out on the saturn but i must admit this game looks pretty good, might look for an emulation

[@Gatorade69]

What do you use to emulate the Saturn ? I'm trying to find a good Saturn emulator.

[@tarouyamada2686]

Dang, that was harsh when describing the visuals. The performance/framerate is headache inducing, but the visuals have some charm? 🤔

[@SegaLordX]

I found charm in the playability. I found the visuals atrocious.

[@rowenpugner3872]

​@@SegaLordX I can't NOT read your comments in your narrator voice. It's eerie how well I can hear it in my head every time... IoI

[@acem7749]

I find something actually pleasant and amusing about the art style other than the frame rate for the time the semi-digitized graphics everywhere is something you don't see anymore so I find enjoyment in it.