Released in 1984, the game's launch coincided with the debut of the film Conan the Destroyer. The box shows a painting of Arnold Schwarzenegger as the muscular warrior with his new costume for Destroyer. Despite this attempted tie-in, the game has little to do with the film besides the Cimmerian in the title role, having originally been designed as a boomerang-throwing game titled Visigoth. One of the screenshots on the back of the box is from a prototype version and shows a boomerang instead of a sword.[5]
Gameplay
Conan needs a gem.
The player controls Conan as he attacks the evil Volta in his castlefortress. Conan is armed with 10 boomerangswords. From time to time, Conan may be aided by an "Avian Ally" as he tries to defeat Volta's sinister hordes, which includes bats, scorpions, giant ants, fire-breathing dragons and floating eyeballs.
The game includes seven diverse levels requiring the player to navigate lava pits, geysers, spike pits, and floating platforms. Along the way, the player often needs to collect magic gems or keys in order to progress.
In the game, Conan does not jump, he somersaults. If he falls, he launches into a dive.
One original feature of the game's time was a close-up picture that would be shown upon the player's last death. For example, dying in the first level might show a close-up picture of a bat with the caption "bats in your belfry". Deaths in other levels would yield a picture of a hazard unique to that level:
Bats in your belfry
Only a cleric can help you now
Quest terminated (spike pit)
There is no glory for you here
To be continued
A watery barrier
You shuffle off defeated for now
Release
In Bulgaria, where Conan the Barbarian was generally unknown, the Apple II version was translated into Bulgarian and distributed by ZMD Pazarjik under the name "Добрия рицар" (The Good Knight).[citation needed]
