Conan: Hall of Volta is now available for the Amstrad CPC, bringing Datasoft’s 1984 adventure to 128K machines through a conversion by Oldschool Is Beautiful. Released on 15th October, it includes all seven levels, the ending sequence and a new 16-colour loading screen.
The project takes the Commodore 64 version as its starting point. According to the developer, its game logic has been translated instruction by instruction from the 6502 processor to the CPC’s Z80. The aim is to retain the original levels, enemies, timing and secrets while replacing hardware routines for the CPC.
Display, sound and controls have received CPC-specific implementations. Music and effects now use the Amstrad’s AY sound chip, and the release fits on a single disk side. The developer describes the pace as matching the original game, although the published testing notes currently cover emulators.
Conan’s task is to find and destroy the wizard Volta. The route takes him through caverns, castles and aerial stages before reaching the wizard’s domain. Recovering three magical gems forms part of the journey, with the complete campaign included in the download.
A Commodore 64 starting point for the CPC
Eric Robinson and Eric Parker created the original Conan: Hall of Volta, which Datasoft published in 1984. Ron J. Fortier and John Butrovich handled the Commodore 64 version credited as the basis for this conversion.
The original manual describes a game built around climbing, jumping and throwing magical swords. Those weapons return after travelling through the air, but hitting a wall or an enemy destroys them. Additional swords replenish the supply, so throwing one away has a cost beyond missing the target.
The adventure also uses gems, holders and keys to open routes between its stages. Its original instructions describe ways to return a lost gem and recover a key after an unsuccessful jump, alongside hazards including lava, spikes and creatures. Keys and gems therefore matter alongside the sword, with the original instructions setting out different tasks for each stage.
To run the new version, you need a CPC 6128 or another CPC with 128K RAM and a disk drive. The developer lists Caprice32, WinAPE and ACE as emulator options, with a 6128 model selected.
Oldschool Is Beautiful is asking for reports from owners testing on real CPC 6128 hardware. The release comes as a ZIP archive containing the conan.dsk disk image. You will find the download and further instructions on the developer’s itch.io page.
