Enter 1990 (maybe early 1991). Hot from months of playing Final Fantasy (my introduction to the genre), I needed a new RPG to play, but I found my funds seriously lacking. So what do I turn to? The small wall of $20 games at the local game store. Of that lean selection of 15 or so games, there was one that caught my eye, with a description of "Action fantasy role playing" on the back of the box. With a joy that only children with extra funds can know, I bought Hydlide, unaware in the slightest the impact this game would have on my life as a gamer.
