For anyone going out to do a bit of shopping on Black Friday today, take care.

Thinking of getting a healing potion or two!

Hillsfar (1989) | RPG | PC platforms | Westwood Associates

A series of character building minigames awaited in this off-campaign entry in SSI's AD&D adaptations. Players could even transfer characters from Pool of Radiance or Curse of the Azure Bonds (and then back to Curse) to train them up!

Super Hydlide did have its share of fans and overcoming that first leveling hurdle as your backpack expanded was a moment to remember. An RPG whose features pushed for a deeper experience on consoles as it took players on a journey mixing swords, sorcery, and space suit armor!

In Super Hydlide's case, though, having high "moral fiber" (by not killing 'good' rated monsters) would actually reward the player in small ways while being a steamroller of death would bring bad fortune to you in the form of random traps appearing to mess your day up. Brutal.

A morality system, which the series dabbled with in 1985's Hydlide II, had also made a return adding another layer of intriguing complexity. CRPGs had dabbled with morality systems, too, such as Origin's Moebius (also in '85) in which being shady could result in villagers being reluctant to aid you.

In Super Hydlide, you move slower if over your limit. Depending on your perspective, T&E's implementation was either part of the challenge or the catalyst for periodic, and tedious, sessions where new equipment meant grinding just to wear it. Fortunately, you could throw out stuff on the fly!

The concept of weighted equipment had seen occasional use in CRPGs such as 1979's Temple of Apshai. In that game, carry too much weight and your character's stamina would suffer, possibly causing them tire out (becoming a tempting beastie snack) until they rest up.

The quest incorporated a number of ideas that CRPGs had been using for years helping it to stand out on consoles for its level of detail. It included a day & night cycle and schedules, banks, needing to stay fed or grow weak from hunger, and encumbrance from carrying too much loot.

Renowned not so much for its visuals but for a challenging quest thrifty on clues and heavy on the exploration, Super Hydlide was a challenging adventure. Players could pick from one of four starting classes and then were off to try and survive long enough to level up and carry more than a twig.

This adventure was the third game in the Hydlide series. Called "Hydlide 3: The Space Memories" in Japan when it debuted on PC platforms there, it was also one of the early RPG releases for the Sega Mega Drive console with revamped visuals while holding fast to the original's core gameplay.

Super Hydlide (1987) is an action RPG by T&E Soft that initially debuted on Japanese PCs like the MSX later coming to the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive. Chosen to investigate a new evil plaguing the land following a fiery omen, you head out on a quest to discover the truth! (a monsters and robots thread)

Been spending quite a bit of time with Where Winds Meet lately!

* feels like a "AAA" open world RPG but free
* enjoying beat 'em up wuxia with my umbrella
* tons of activities from bounty hunts to mahjong
* can pet cats
* optional co-op activities
* interface is a menu demon slowly devouring sanity

If you see this, post your getaway vehicle.