Barbarian (computer game)

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Barbarian / Death Sword (US title)
Developer(s) Palace Software
Publisher(s) Epyx
Designer(s) Steven Brown
Release date(s) 1987
Genre(s) Fighting game
Mode(s) Single player, One-On-One
Platform(s) Acorn Electron, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Apple II, Atari ST, BBC Micro, Commodore 64, DOS, ZX Spectrum
Media Floppy disk, Compact audio cassette
Input Joystick, keyboard
This page is not about the Psygnosis/Melbourne House game Barbarian

Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior and its sequel, Barbarian II: Dungeons of Drax are computer games. The Barbarian name was used in Europe, and in USA, the games were marketed as Death Sword.

Contents

[edit] Barbarian

Barbarian was released around 1987 and 1988 for most of the prominent 8-bit and 16-bit platforms. In general, the games were developed by British company Palace Software Ltd. Other companies did the porting for some platforms - Superior Software was responsible for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron ports, and Designer Software did Apple II and PC conversions. Publishing was mostly done by Epyx and Palace Software themselves, depending on platform.

Barbarian is a one- or two-player fighting game. As the name suggests, the fighters are barbarians. The game offers sword combat in various locales. The game has also a one-player plot mode, where the player has to defeat several fighters to fight evil wizard Drax to rescue princess Marina. The game was greatly inspired by sword and sorcery fantasy stories like Conan the Barbarian.

The original game received critical acclaim as one of the best hand to hand fighting games for the platform[citation needed], while generating controversy for the level of violence (players could decapitate one another) and depiction of women in skimpy bikinis.

Maria Whittaker and Michael Van Wijk are the models on the game cover photo.

[edit] Trivia

  • The first opponent in the game could almost always be instantly defeated by executing the "spinning neck-chop" move at the start of the game, resulting in the decapitation of the computer player.

[edit] Barbarian II

The sequel, Barbarian II, is a scrolling fighting game. The story involves a final battle against Drax, who has secreted himself in his dungeon hideout. To get to him, the player must battle his way through four scenarios: a volcanic landscape, a system of caves, a dungeon, and the final three rooms where you encounter two bodyguard monsters and then Drax himself.

Before the start of the game, the player can choose between the male Barbarian from the first game (armed with a battleaxe) and Princess Marina (who wields a sword).

The sequel was considered by many as being a disappointment as it moved away from the single-screen, two-player fighting action of the original, which was an unusual move by the publisher/developer as these were the elements that made the first game such a success.

[edit] External links

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