"Hydlide" was initially released outside of Japan through the European release of the MSX version. Beyond that, 1989 saw the release of a localization of "Hydlide Special" for the NES, simply titled "Hydlide" itself. Unlike "Dragon Quest", which was improved upon for its US localization, "Hydlide" was left essentially unaltered beyond minor changes to the title screen and some prompts/messages. It received a negative reception, often compared unfavorably to "The Legend of Zelda" (1986), which had improved significantly upon "Hydlide". The NES version of "Hydlide" became notorious in the West for its repetitive background music that bears similarity to John Williams' "Indiana Jones" theme or Disney's "It's a Small World After All".