She called herself the Princess, and lived in a large castle, by a lake, on a vast country estate. In reality, her father had been born the son of an innkeeper, and had gone on to make a fortune selling bootleg grog to the local Dwarvish community, who were permanently legless.

With pots of cash, she had all the things that money could buy, and a stream of male admirers. But fame and fortune can be an ill-fitting tiara. The 'Princess' discovered as much when a large demon arrived at the castle, smashed a large picture window and encased the unfortunate girl in a large marble, before bogging off back to the netherworld.

Word got around, naturally, and would-be adventurers started trying to work out from whence the demon had came, and what sort of cut of her fortune they could expect when they freed her (rumour had it that she was a bit tasty, so marriage was considered an added bonus). They needn't have bothered - they all failed miserably, meeting grisly ends. But at least there wasn't as many romantic fools wandering around seeking adventure. Except one - you.

VH's ideas are common to many RPGs. The 3D engine used looks very similar to the one T&E Soft developed for Pebble Beach Golf on Saturn.

Free the captive Princess from the clutches of the Evil Mage, by visiting a series of his strongholds, killing things and collecting items.

Your character, let's be familiar and call him Bob, is viewed from behind, from a position you might be in if you wanted to goose him. But you don't and you can't. Instead, you might want to do these things with him.

1. Run
   (X button plus Up) Double speed for crossing large terrain distances.
2. Side Slash
   (B button) A slash aimed at the midriff, for certain types of weapon.
3. Head Slash
   (C button) A crashing blow aimed at the head of your opponent.
4. Parry
   (A button) Defensive move of dubious effect. Best attempted with a shield.
5. Get
   (X button) Use when near objects to bend down and pick up.
6. Side Step
   (L/R buttons) Prevent enemies outflanking you in combat.

Virtual Hydlide is a collect-as-you-go game. A plethora of objects, useful and dud alike, lie for the taking in most locations. Once you get an object, you can manipulate it in the inventory, called up with button Z. One press of Z brings up a panel with various jap stats. The set of three numbers on the left is your offensive capability. Those on your right are defensive. The single numeral above is your level. As that increases, your Hit Points, attack and defensive power and maximum 'encumbrance' increases.

Did someone say 'encumbrance'? Well, in adventure speak, that's basically how much you can carry. The top choice on the options screen brings up your inventory. To the right of this are four numbers easily identifiable as weights (since they bear 'Kg' suffixes). The top two represent what you are actually carrying, the bottom two what you are permitted to carry (This rises with level). The bottom number in each pair represents your 'battle weight' - weapons, armour, rings, pendants, etc.

You may not exceed your allowance for this, which explains why some weapons are unequippable. The other number, your total weight may be exceeded, but you will get slower and less agile if you do.

Yeah, but what about the goodies. Well, some items are equipped and used constantly until upgraded, some are used once, and some are magical and have specific purposes. Oh, and some are cursed:

1. Dagger - Pretty crap, but can be thrown.
2. Cutlass - Nice swishing sound.
3. Club - Straight and to the point.
4. Sword - Knife through butter springs to mind.
5. Axe - Luvverly! Here's Johnny.

Few copies of Hydlide are being imported at present, as most importers think it is unplayable. This is not the case, as it leans towards action rather than puzzles, and the jist of most text can be deciphered. Of course, it would all be more enjoyable, and less problematic in English. And in time it shall be.

After months of wondering what this curious game would entail, it turns out to be a hack 'n slasher which is slightly rougher than Jimmy Nail with a ten-pint hangover, but not without a definite appeal.

The 3D viewpoint is novel and works to the extent that you get a reasonably believable graphic environment, whilst keeping the control system manageable and responsive.

This is good, as you spend more time fighting creatures in real time than anything else, and the control is responsive enough to allow you to use timing and tactics. OK, it's not combat as a Street Fighter level, or dungeonerring at Doom standard, but somehow the atmosphere makes up for many of the shortcomings.

Being more critical, the game design is linear, despite the landscape generator, and the somewhat pot-luck nature of cursed items and poison potions irritates occasionally. But the odd clever puzzle, impressive effect or fun weapon (I have the axe in mind) makes it more than an average effort.

In Japan RPGs are still the biggest selling titles on all consoles, and with this in mind the Saturn desperately needed a quality debutant in the guise of Hydlide. The end result is, however, a bit on the bitty side, and doesn't fulfil its potential to be a true classic.

The perspective has admittedly been carefully calculated, but there are numerous occasions when confusion takes over, forcing the player to constantly refer to the map. But when it comes to the graphics - oh deary me! The pixelisation and jerkiness are unforgivable for a machine as powerful as the Saturn.

The plot may be engrossing and well structured at times, but when you're looking at the back end of a bus, this can only struggle to place Hydlide in the minor league of new titles.

Graphics 82%
P. The graphics create an effective atmosphere and contain several novel ideas.
N. Generally drab, and recurrent problems with sprite blockiness.

Animation 68%
P. Very nice combat animation on Bob. Full 3D manipulation of environment. Lots goings on at once.
N. Jerkiness of screen update is very noticeable.

Music 81%
P. Some sombre and atmospheric tunes in places.
N. Occasionally the music descends into unwelcome Jap pop pap.

Effects 92%
P. Superb throughout without criticism. Slashings, groans, creaky doors and clangings. Background noise gets louder and quieter as you progress.

Playability 85%
P. The game eases you in, with objectives clearly marked. There's quite a high action quotient too.
N. Simplistic and maybe slightly confusing in Japanese. The 'chance' elements sometimes make it unfair.

Lastability 77%
P. The hi-score table is a novel and unexpected feature, and the random generator recreates the game each time.
N. On all but the hardest level, not a vastly challenging experience.

Overall 83%
Virtual Hydlide's novelty factor shouldn't be under-estimated, and it is quite an ingenious game. The Saturn's first dipped-toe into adventure gaming works quite well.