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Hydlide Special is an action role-playing game developed and published by T&E Soft. It first launched in Japan in 1984 for the NEC PC-6001 and PC-8801, then came to the Famicom in 1986 as Hydlide Special. In 1989, it released in North America for the NES under the name Hydlide. In the game, players take on the role of Jim, a young knight tasked with finding lost gems, defeating the demon Varalys, and restoring peace to the fairyland. The game uses a top-down perspective, requiring players to explore an open world, solve puzzles, and battle various enemies. Regarded as one of the pioneers of early action RPGs, Hydlide Special has had a profound influence on later titles in the genre. It introduced an automatic health regeneration mechanic, where the character’s health slowly recovers when standing still — a design widely adopted in many subsequent games. While it found success in Japan, the game received a relatively lukewarm response in North America. Some players felt its gameplay mechanics and music were overly repetitive, detracting from the overall experience. Even so, as one of the founders of the action RPG genre, Hydlide Special holds an important place in video game history.