Mirai Shōnen Conan

Mirai Shōnen Conan starts with a strong reason to care: Conan leaves his isolated home to pursue Lana after Industria’s soldiers take her away. That post-apocalyptic chase gives a traditional side-view platformer more urgency than its simple jumping, ducking, punching, and occasional spear throwing might suggest.

The catch is its maze-like level structure. If you enjoy picking through connected areas and treating exits as part of the challenge, Conan’s rescue mission has a sturdy old-school pull. If you want a fast, direct action game, the wandering can become the part you remember most.

Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

The immediate draw is easy to understand: you are Conan, heading out to save Lana from Industria, and the game puts that mission into a straightforward side-view platforming format. Conan jumps, ducks, and throws fists at enemies, so the basic interaction is approachable from the moment you take control. It is not trying to bury you in complicated systems; it wants you moving through hostile territory and finding a way onward.

The maze-like environments are where the game earns its own character—and where your patience will be tested. Areas connect through exits, turning progress into more than simply running right until a stage ends. That can make discovery satisfying when you identify the route forward, but it also slows the rhythm when you are unsure which way leads to the next area. Go in ready to explore rather than expecting a clean, linear platforming sprint.

Combat stays close and physical because Conan’s fists are his regular answer to enemies. Limited ranged weapons, including spears, offer a useful change from punching, but their limited supply means you should not treat them as a permanent replacement for getting in close. That small restriction gives the action some tension: a spear is worth thinking about before you throw it.

Graphics

The game uses a side-view perspective, keeping Conan, enemies, and the paths through each maze-like area in profile. That suits its platforming basics well: jumps, ducking, and close-range fights are presented in the familiar left-to-right format of the era.

Story

There is more fuel behind this adventure than the average rescue setup. Earth has been nearly destroyed by a war between super-powers, the continents have sunk, and the surviving population is scattered across islands. Conan’s sheltered upbringing on one of those remnants gives his departure real weight: he is not merely chasing a kidnapped friend, but stepping out into the remains of a ruined world.

Lana’s abduction by soldiers from Industria gives the plot a clear early target. Industria is described as a developed island with centralized administration, which makes it a pointed contrast to Conan’s isolated home and gives his journey a natural sense of crossing into a larger, more controlled world. You always know why Conan is pressing onward.

The promise of a broader conspiracy helps the premise reach beyond a simple chase. Fans of Hayao Miyazaki’s Future Boy Conan will recognize the source material’s post-apocalyptic foundation, while newcomers can still follow the essential hook: rescue Lana, reach Industria, and learn what sits behind the conflict. It is a strong story frame for an action platformer, even when the game’s real moment-to-moment focus remains navigation and combat.

Overall Experience

Mirai Shōnen Conan is a solid fit if you want an older platformer with an adventure-minded structure rather than a purely stage-by-stage rush. Its best quality is the way the license’s high-stakes world gives context to very simple actions. Punching an enemy or finding an exit is still basic platform-game business, but Conan’s journey toward Industria lends it a welcome sense of purpose.

The main dividing line is the maze design. Some gamers will enjoy tracing routes between connected areas and gradually pushing farther into the world. Others will find that the search for the correct exit interrupts the clean momentum they expect from side-view action. Your tolerance for getting turned around matters more here than your appetite for flashy combat.

Give it a chance if the combination of anime-derived post-apocalypse, a determined rescue quest, and deliberate exploration sounds appealing. The payoff is a focused, old-fashioned adventure with a stronger narrative setup than many platformers, though it does not escape the frustrations that maze-heavy progression can bring. It is easier to recommend to patient fans of the series and curious retro platforming devotees than to anyone looking for nonstop action.