Released by Mindscape in 1991, *Conan: The Mysteries of Time* is a curious piece of licensed software that isn't quite what it seems. While fans might have expected a brutal brawler in the vein of the Robert E. Howard stories, this title is actually a re-skinned port of System 3’s *Myth: History in the Making*. The developer, Eastridge Graphics, swapped the original protagonist for the Cimmerian hero, but the mythological enemies and surreal time-traveling premise remained largely untouched. This creates a disjointed experience where Conan fights skeletons and demons across various historical eras that feel completely alienated from his Hyborian roots.
The gameplay is a punishing mix of side-scrolling platforming and rudimentary puzzle-solving that relies heavily on frustrating trial and error. Players navigate through nonlinear levels, collecting icons to upgrade weapons while contending with some of the most unforgiving hit detection on the console. Movement is notoriously stiff, making precision jumps over instant-death hazards a source of immense irritation rather than a fair challenge of skill. Furthermore, the game’s cryptic nature often leaves the player wandering aimlessly, as certain boss triggers and progression paths are hidden behind obscure actions that are never properly communicated to the player.
Visually, the game is a garish mixed bag that struggles to translate its European home computer origins to the NES hardware. While some sprites are impressively large, the background art is often messy and the flickering becomes distracting during busy segments. The soundtrack is perhaps the only saving grace, offering a driving, atmospheric score that attempts to inject some tension into the proceedings. Ultimately, *Conan* stands as a mediocre conversion that fails to capture the essence of the character, serving mostly as a footnote for collectors of oddball licensed titles from the NES’s twilight years.
