A free indie platformer by the Japanese developer Buster (E. Hashimoto), inspired by games like ''VideoGame/LaMulana'' and ''VideoGame/MazeOfGalious''. You are a knight tasked to retrieve the royal crown, which was stolen by the dreaded Hydra. Thus, you explore the spacious castle of the hydra, fighting its goons, obtaining items that bestow you with new powers and clearing various sub-dungeons to clear the way to the Hydra itself.

While still fairly challenging unless you're really, really careful, ''Meikyuujou Hydra'' is a nice introduction to this style of exploration-heavy {{Metroidvania}}s and a lot easier than ''Maze of Galious'' or ''La-Mulana'', since it neither has the NintendoHard and brutally unfair struggle for survival of the former nor the brain-sundering puzzles and unintuitive interface of the latter.

An English patch can be found [[http://www.mediafire.com/?rgs6noj5hze6f4r here]].

Among some English-speaking fans, the game is known as “''Hydra Castle Labyrinth''”.

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!!'''This game provides examples of the following tropes:'''

* AntagonistTitle: The titular Hydra is the BigBad.
* BallisticBone
* BigBad: The titular Hydra stole the royal crown, and the knight is tasked with getting it back.
* BlackoutBasement: Half of World 5 (Lolidra's Cavern).
* BleakLevel: World 3 (Golgia's Ruins). The music is ominous and eerie, the colour scheme is fairly jarring, and you encounter the first skeletons and zombies. World 5 (Lolidra's Caverns) is similar, with additional poisonous enemies and darkness.
* BullfightBoss: The first boss (the dodo).
* ChargedAttack: Granted by the Red Scroll.
* CrateExpectations
* DefeatEqualsExplosion: For both enemies and you. Defeated bosses undergo a PostDefeatExplosionChain.
* DegradedBoss: The first boss appears as a recurring miniboss in the Hydra's Lair.
* DoorToBefore: After defeating any boss.
* DoubleJump: Granted by the Winged Boots.
* ExcusePlot: The hydra stole the crown. Kill it and return the crown.
* FlipScreenScrolling
* TheGoomba: Grubs. Slow, do nothing but crawl back and forth on the ground, and die in one hit.
* GraphicsInducedSuperDeformed
* HiddenItemAlert: The chime.
* HubLevel: The main part of the castle, sort of - it's still where you spend about half of the game, since it's larger than any of the dungeons, contains enemies and is where you find all the items.
* InvulnerableAttack: While executing the ChargedAttack, you're invincible. But note that while charging, you're not.
* {{Knockback}}
* LethalLavaLand: World 7.
* MercyInvincibility: Thankfully, since there's also knockback.
* MookMaker: The world 5 boss (Lolidra) periodically creates small floating eyes.
* OneHitKill: Caused by contact with lava. On the player side, bombs are powerful enough to do this to ordinary enemies.
* OurMonstersAreWeird: There are weird crawling seals with a huge sticky tongue, and later creatures that ''launch their explosive head at you and instantly regrow a new one''...
* PrecisionGuidedBoomerang: It always stays at your own height.
* RandomlyDrops: Much like in other platformers of this kind, enemies may drop hearts or ammunition.
* RecurringBoss: The first boss appears as a recurring miniboss in the Hydra's Lair.
%%* RespawningEnemies
* ShieldBearingMook: The armoured shield dudes.
* ShoutOut:
** The title ''Meikyuujou Hydra'' is a reference to the Japanese title of the ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' series, ''Akumajou Dracula''.
** The Dagon Idol, "[[Literature/TheShadowOverInnsmouth Bane of Innsmouth]]"
%%* SoundOfNoDamage
* SmashingHallwayTrapsOfDoom: They're like thwomps and '[[LetsPlay/{{Raocow}} maverick]]' thwomps.
* SpikesOfDoom: They just hurt a bit and knock you back.
* StatusEffects: Poison, petrification, paralysis, quake stun.
%%* SuperDrowningSkills
* TemporaryPlatform: The breaking and fixed interval types.
* UndergroundMonkey:
** Grey bats (only move up and down) and red bats (move freely)
** Blue slimes (only hop up and down), red slimes (hop around freely), yellow slimes (paralyze on contact)
** White zombies (basic zombies popping out of the ground and walking forth and back) and green zombies (poison on contact)
* UnderTheSea: World 4 (Gyra's Bog).
* UnintentionallyUnwinnable: Shut down the game by force while low on health and executing a LeapOfFaith into another room directly into an enemy, spike or lava pit. This will only affect the crash quicksave though.
* VentPhysics: The gimmick of World 6 (Devil's Lair).
* WalkDontSwim: Combined with SuperDrowningSkills... ouch.
* WalkOnWater: The red winged boots allow you to walk on lava.
* WeaksauceWeakness: Certain bosses can only be defeated if you got a certain item from their dungeons.
* AWinnerIsYou: "THE END!"
* YouHaveResearchedBreathing: You need an item to break crates.

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