Jim

Jim is the protagonist of Hydlide, a young knight out on a journey to recue the Princess Ann and restore peace to Fairyland.

Jim
ArtworkIn-Game Sprite
Articles About Jim
Original - Virtual Hydlide - Hydlide II Hero - Hydlide III Hero
Origin
Origin	Hydlide
Creator	Tokihiro Naito, Eiji Kato, Keiichi Maruyama, Shigeru Tomita
First Appearance	Hydlide
Actor	N/A
Characteristics
Species	Human
Gender	Male
Pronouns	He/Him
Sexuality	Heterosexual
Age	Unknown
Birthday	Unknown
Height	Unknown
Weight	Unknown
Ethnicity	Unknown
Status	Alive
Alignment	Lawful Good
Archetype	Hero
Occupation	Knight
Time Period	Medieval Fantasy
Language	Common Language
Combat Style	Weapons Combat, Magical Combat
Homeworld	Fairyland
Relationships
Affiliations	Princess Ann, Fairy
Enemies	Boralis, Slime, Roper, Hyper, Kobold, Goblin, Wizard, Great Eel, Sand Worm, Water Dragon, Zombie, Will O' Wisp, Poisnous Wasp, Vampire Bat, Vampire, Lady Armour (Ladyam), Gold Armour (Goldam), Black Armour (Blackam), Skeelton

Background

This dropdown contains the synopsis of Jim’s story. Read at your own risk as you may be spoiled otherwise!

“ 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 Boralis, the most vicious demon in the kingdom, was broken. During the turmoil which followed, the last two jewels were stolen. Boralis 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. Finally, 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 armour to fight the monsters... „ ~ Hydlide's Story in the Manual Jim went to take action after hearing about Princess Ann being turned into three fairies. He ventures across Fairyland fighting various monsters in order to prepare himself to take on Boralis.

Appearance

This appearance section is largely based off his design from the NES sprite.

General Description: Jim has fair skin, a small nose, and two vertical black eyes. His hair is a solid dark brown or black, styled with two distinct spiky buns or tufts on either side of his head.

Clothing/Outfit: He wears an orange t-shirt with a high collar and a small white square logo or design on the chest. He has blue overalls with green straps over his shoulders, featuring a white button on each strap. Green pants and simple brown shoes.

Personality

Jim never talks or emotes in the actual game, thus most of his personality is grabbed from brief descriptions of him in the manual.

• Courageous: After hearing about Princess Ann's situation he went to take action to go on a journey to rescue her.

Goals

• Restore peace to Fairyland (Succeeded).
• Save Princess Ann (Succeeded).

General Information

Name: Jim

Other Name: Jeem (His name on the scroll in Hydlide 3: The Space Memories & Super Hydlide, likely a botched translation of his actual name)

Origin: Hydlide

First Appearance: Hydlide

Latest Appearance: Hydlide 3 (Mentioned), Virtual Hydlide

Company: T&E Soft

Creator

• Designer: Tokihiro Naito
• Programmer: Eiji Kato
• Composers: Keiichi Maruyama, Shigeru Tomita

Actor: N/A

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Heterosexual

Pronouns: He/Him

Handedness: Right-Handed (His sprite has him hold his sword in his dominant hand)

Age: Unknown

Birthday: Unknown

Time Period: Medieval Fantasy

Timeline: Fairyland Timeline (Fairyland is a different space where the world is dominated by swords and magic, being noted to be a completely separate space-time from the Human World)

Homeworld: Fairyland

Residence: Fairyland

Story Role: Hero, Main Protagonist

Legacy: Global Legacy (Jim is known for his exploits around Fairyland)

Influence: Event Influence

Language: Common Language

Ethnicity: Unknown

Religion: Unknown

Classification: Journeying Knight

Species: Human

State of Being: Regular

Physiology: Humanoid Physiology

In-Universe Creator: Kaizack (Kaizack is the creator of the Hydlide universe, being the creator of everything)

Occupation: Knight

Ranking: Young Knight

Combat Style: Weapons Combat/Magical Combat

Affiliations: Princess Ann, Fairy

Enemies: Boralis, Slime, Roper, Hyper, Kobold, Goblin, Wizard, Great Eel, Sand Worm, Water Dragon, Zombie, Will O' Wisp, Poisnous Wasp, Vampire Bat, Vampire, Lady Armour (Ladyam), Gold Armour (Goldam), Black Armour (Blackam), Skeelton, Boralis (Varalys)

Height: Unknown

Weight: Unknown

Status: Alive

Alignment: Lawful Good (Set out on a journey to rescue the princess and restore peace to Fairyland)

Protection Level: Global Protector

Potential

• Type(s) of Potential: Growth Potential
• Level of Potential: Growth
• Description: Jim's experience level increases each time he destroys a monster, with each level of life, strength, and magic increases by 10 points.
• Limitations: Nothing notable.

Archetype: Hero

Codex Statistics

Key: Early Game | Late Game

Key Information

• Early Game: This covers Jim at their lower experience levels.
• Late Game: This covers Jim at their higher experience levels.

Grade: S

Tier

Early GameLate Game

10-A, 9-C with Sword, Higher with Magic

9-A, Higher with Magic

Cardinality: Finite

Dimensionality: 3-D

Power Source: Magic

Attack Potency

Early GameLate Game

Peak Human level (A trained knight that can fight against monsters which should put him at this level), Bone level with Sword, Higher with Magic (Magic attacks deal more damage then Jim's regular attacks)

Room level (Potency) (Can fight against and defeat a dragon. Can casually destroy a gravestone), Higher with Magic (Magic such as Flash, is the most powerful magic that does substantial damage to all monsters)

Durability

Early GameLate Game

Peak Human level

Room level (Can take hits from the dragon)

Striking Strength

Early GameLate Game

Peak Human Class

Room Class (Potency)

Lifting Strength

Early GameLate Game

Peak Human Class

At least Peak Human Class

Travel Speed

Early GameLate Game

Peak Human Speed

Peak Human Speed

Attack Speed

Early GameLate Game

Peak Human Speed. Transonic with Wave (With Wave, radiates shockwaves to the right or left depending on which direction Jim is facing, which travels faster than the speed of sound and the idea of it moving at subsonic speeds is impossible)

Peak Human Speed. Transonic with Wave

Reaction Speed

Early GameLate Game

Peak Human Reactions

Peak Human Reactions

Stamina: Superhuman (Traveled across Fairyland fighting many monsters without showing any signs of tiring)

Range: Standard Melee, Extended Melee with Sword. Varies with Magic (Magic such as wave shoots out a wave that travels across the screen, whereas magic such as Flash hits all enemies on screen)

Intelligence: Average Intelligence

Knowledge: At least Master level (Traveled across Fairyland to find a method to fight and defeat Boralis)

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Powers and Techniques

Innate AbilitiesWith Equipment

Early GameLate Game

• Peak Human Characteristics
  • Peak Human Strength
  • Peak Human Durability
  • Peak Human Lifting
  • Peak Human Speed
  • Peak Human Reactions

• Superhuman Physical Characteristics
  • Superhuman Strength
  • Superhuman Durability
  • Superhuman Energy Efficiency

• Weapon Mastery
  • Sword and Shield Mastery: As a young knight, Jim utilizes a sword and shield when combating against the various monsters in the world.
• Accelerated Development
  • Leveling & Battle
    • Physical Stats & Abilities: Jim's experience level increases each time he destroys a monster, with each level of life, strength, and magic increases by 10 points.
• Non-Standard Damage (Can fight and kill slimes)
• Non-Standard Interaction
  • Spirit Interaction: Can fight and harm will o wisp, the spirit of a dead person that flies through walls and attacks.
• Healing (Jim's health slowly restores overtime)
• Restoration (Jim's magic power slowly restores overtime)
• Magic (Jim has a natural magic power meter that allows him to use magic)
  • Vector Manipulation (With Turn, this spell turns monsters around so they reverse their direction)
  • Fire Manipulation (With Fire, launches fireballs)
  • Ice Manipulation (With Ice, shoots iceballs, unlike fireballs, ice balls can pierce through walls)
    • Penetration Damage
  • Energy Manipulation
    • Shockwave Generation (With Wave, radiates shockwaves to the right or left depending on which direction Jim is facing, the shockwaves cause substantial damage to enemies)
  • Light Manipulation (With Flash, the most powerful magic that does substantial damage to all monsters)
• Resonance (Jim can wield the Shield of Justice which will only increase its defense power for those with a strong sense of justice).

• Resistance to
  • Transmutation & Severing (Can take hits from Boralis, who with his attacks cast a spell that turned Princess Ann into three fairies.

• Statistics Boost
  • With Sword of the Brave, a legendary sword that doubles attack power.
  • With the Shield of Justice, a legendary shield that increases its defense power only if used by a person with a strong sense of justice.
    • Shielding
• Resurrection
  • Self-Resurrection
    • Resurrection of the Deceased: With Immortal Medicine, if taken, Jim can come back to life after being destroyed by monsters, though it can only be used once.
• True Sight (With Magic Vase, allows Jim to see something that has been invisible)
• Holy Manipulation (With the Cross used to kill vampires)
• Light Manipulation (With the Eternal Lamp, used to brighten up surroundings of dark rooms)

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Equipment

Game Manual DescriptionIn-Game Explanations

Treasures and Their Powers
	Sword of the Brave: The legendary sword that is said to be kept only by the brave. With this sword, attacking power doubles.		Eternal Lamp: This is an item the magician in the kingdom used to keep for his own use. It remains eternally aflame. Even in the complete darkness, this lamp will brighten up the surroundings so you can see everything.
	Shield of Justice: The legendary shield that is said to increase its defense power only if used by a person with a strong sense of justice. This shield was stolen from the court when the kingdom collapsed.		Immortal Medicine: If you take this medicine, you can come back to life after being destroyed by monsters. You can use this medicine only once during the game.
	Cross: This cross was once kept at a chapel in the kingdom. Someone hid it for fear of its power. Guess what you can use this cross for.		Secret Key: Figure out the use of the key for yourself.
	Magic Vase: This is one of the items in which the magician in the kingdom hid a magical secret. If you get this vase, you will be able to see something that has been invisible.		Three Jewels: The three jewels play a very important role in the legend of Hydlide.

Picture	Full Name	Name	Use	Location
	Sword of the Brave	Sword	Increase Strength by ten.	Chest in the Sword Dungeon.
	Shield of Justice	Shield	Increase the effectiveness of Defend.	Held by Ladyam in the western part of the Shield Dungeon.
	Cross	Cross	Enables Jim to damage the Vampire.	Chest on the southern wall of the Roper Maze.
	Magic Vase	Pot	Reveals the entrance to the Key Dungeon.	Chest in the Roper Maze.
	Eternal Lamp	Lamp	Allows Jim see in other dungeons.	Found in a chest in Lamp maze that appears after the Vampire is slain.
	Immortal Medicine	Medicine	If Jim dies he is healed back to max.	Slay the Water Dragon.
	Secret Key	Key	Unlocks the chest in the Graveyard.	Found randomly in a chest of the Key Dungeon.
	Three Jewels	Jewel	Increases Jim's HR. See Topography. Reveals Boralis if all three are present.	Found in a chest in the Graveyard.
	--	Ring	Ditto.	Chest in east section of the Shield Dungeon that appears after Goldam are slain.
	--	Ruby	Ditto.	Chest on the bottom of the river west of Boralis's Castle that appears after the Dragon is slain.

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Notable Techniques

Magic
Turn This magic turns monsters around so they reverse their direction. Jim can use this when the Magic level is above 20.	Wave This magic radiates shock waves to the right or left depending on which direction Jim is facing. The shock waves cause substantial damage to enemy monsters that they hit. Jim can use this when the Magic level is above 50.
Fire This magic launches fire balls. Jim can use this when the Magic level is above 30.	Flash This is the most powerful magic. It does substantial damage to all monsters. Jim can use this when the Magic level is above 70.
Ice This magic throws ice balls. Unlike the fire balls, ice balls can pierce through walls. Jim can use this when the Magic level is above 40.

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Other

Standard Tactics: Jim uses items and magic best fit for the situation.

Weaknesses: Jim needs to stand still in order to slowly recover health.

Explanations

Fairy Land

Fairyland is a different space where the world is dominated by swords and magic, being noted to be a completely separate space-time from the Human World.

Characters/Monsters

The following is a list of characters that are important to the overall journey:

Characters
Jim (Jim) Our warrior hero who in full armour challenges the monsters and brings back peace to Fairyland.	Hyper (Hyper) Monster appearing on the ground. When you attack the Slime too often, Hyper begins its attack.
Ann (Ann) The captive Princess of Fairyland, who waits for Jim to rescue her.	Kobold (Kobold) Tiny ogre living in the woods. Very weak like Slime. But it attacks from the advantageous location in the woods.
Fairy (Fairy) This is what Boralis transformed Princess Ann into. She is hidden somewhere in the kingdom.	Goblin (Goblin) Monster on the ground. When Jim's strength increases to a certain level after he finishes attacking the Kobold, Goblins appear.
Slime (Slime) Liquid and spongy creature living in a field. Although weak, it is a tricky attacker.	Wizard (Wizard) A very nasty wizard who manipulates the Magic Fire. Although Jim's magic does not affect him, he has a weak point. Don't be fooled by the appearance of two Wizards.
Roper (Roper) Monster living in the maze on the ground. Larger version of Slime, it sometimes turns into Hyper and attacks in the field.	Great Eel (Eel) Very huge eel usually hiding under water. It sometimes pokes its head above water.
Sand Worm (Worm) Guardians of the desert. Be careful not to be surrounded by their swarm.	Vampire Bat (Stirge) Bloodsucking creature who likes the darkness. Although it's not very powerful, Jim should avoid it when his Power Level is low.
Water Dragon (dragon) Giant fire-breathing dragon who guards the gate of the castle of Boralis. Although almost invincible, it does have a weak point.	Vampire (Vampire) Incredibly strong. But you know what scares the vampire to death!!
Zombie (Zombie) The living dead coming out of the graveyard. Very hard to destroy, because it's already dead!!	Lady Armour (Ladym) A member of Boralis' Bodyguards. She is the only female member of his bodyguards and the weakest. She might have something that is useful to you.
Will O'Wisp (Wisp) The spirit of the dead person. It flies through the walls and attacks.	Gold Armour (Goldam) Boralis' bodyguard in golden armour who guards something vital under order of Boralis in the underground maze.
Poisonous Wasp (Wasp) It attacks in a swarm. Although its life power is small, it's difficult to conquer.	Black Armour (Blackam) Senttry at the old castle of Boralis. He is extremely strong.
Skeleton (Skeleton) This skeleton warrior is the strongest of Boralis' guardsmen. He is difficult to attack because he is already dead.	Boralis (Varalys) The evil monster. Legend says this is the most powerful and final demon in the kingdom. No one knows the truth about him. The only known facts are that he has very tough skin and spiritual power which protects him against any type of magic. Jim can save Princess Ann only when he conquers Boralis.

Trivia

• Despite many thinking Jim is a rip-off of Link due to Hydlide on NES releasing after Zelda, it's in actuality that games like Ys and Zelda were inspired by Hydlide and Jim as Hydlide's release date in Japan predates both.

Profiles

📁 Official Character Profiles
Hydlide Game Manual Jim (Jim) Our warrior hero who in full armour challenges the monsters and brings back peace to Fairyland. Hydlide (NES)

Misconceptions

Hydlide Stole from Zelda

This is due to the NES port of the game releasing in 1989, two years after games like The Legend of Zelda were on the NES (1987), however, in Japan, the original game released on the NEC PC-6001 and PC-8801 computers in 1984 predating the Japanese release of The Legend of Zelda by 2 years (1986).

Hydlide in actuality is one of the genre definers that is the reason games like Zelda and Ys exist.

The Protagonist of Hydlide 3 is Jim

This misconception is wrong from the existence of the Super Hydlide manual, where it directly notes that Jim's adventure was "long long ago, before anyone remembers".

Battle Records

1 - 0 - 0

VictoriesLossesInconclusive

• Varalys - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Castle

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Versus Threads

VictoriesLossesInconclusive

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