Barbarian - The Ultimate Warrior

Barbarian - The Ultimate Warrior

Game No.	200
Voting	8.09 points, 43 votes
Developer	Stanley Schembri
Company	Palace Software
Publisher	Palace Software
Musician	Richard Joseph
HVSC-File	MUSICIANS\J\Joseph_Richard\Barbarian.sid
Release	1987
Platform	C64
Genre	Sports, Fighting
Gamemode	Single player 2 players (simultaneous)
Operation
Media
Information	The game is indicated. Sequel: Barbarian II - The Dungeon of Drax

Description[edit | edit source]

Background Story[edit | edit source]

The sorcerer Drax has a crush on Mariana, Princess of the Jewel city. He threatens the inhabitants of this city with destruction, if he doesn't get the princess. But there's a way to prevent the princess to be taken by Drax. Drax is very belligerent, and can be challenged by anyone to a duel with swords. Nobody dares to challenge Drax, nobody but a barbarian from the mountainous wastelands of the north, a skilled swordsman who can be persuaded to fight Drax.

The Game[edit | edit source]

Barbarian is divided into two parts which must be loaded individually. In the first part (Practice) you can practice with different opponents, to familiarize yourselve with the controls and gameplay. In this section, two players can fight in a tournament. In the second part (Tournament), you have to fight for the princess. You need to prevail against a number of different fighters and finally defeat Drax, the sorcerer. The barbarian character knows sixteen different offensive and/or defensive moves. At the right top and left top of the screen you will see the energy of the players indicated by red dots. Depending on the type and strength of a successful attack, the attacked player looses a half or a full point. A player is defeated when his energy has depleted, or he dies another gruesome way.

Design[edit | edit source]

... in the wilderness and in the arena, fighting is dangerous everywhere ...

... be careful not to lose your head in this game ...

Hints[edit | edit source]

Controls

After loading, the computer shows you a demo fight

In the demo:

F1	= 1 or 2 players
F3	= Music/sound
F5	= Pause
F7	= Start of the game

In the fight (player's face to the left):

Q	= Quit, return to demo
	= kneel
	= jump
	= walk left/right
	= roll to the left/right
	= Sword defense (horizontal)
	= Sword defense (vertikal)
	= Kneeling sword blow, knee height
	= Standing sword blow, neck height
	= Sword blow in chest
	= Player rotates, sword blow at neck height (can be fatal)
	= Sword blow on the head
	= Kick
	= Sword defense (sword swinging)
	= Head butt

These controls apply when the player faces left. If the player faces right, controls are mirrored.

Solution[edit | edit source]

Just slay all your opponents. When you finally meet Drax, he starts throwing Shurikens (Ninja stars) at you. While dodging those by jumping and kneeling, move slowly towards Drax. When you close enough, roll towards Drax and pray for a Shuriken to take the highway.

Cheats[edit | edit source]

The version of "Remember" offers not only the manual, but also has a nice Easter Egg Cheatmode: In the game there is an unused sprite, which shows the princess naked in tournament mode when you are victorious. In the cheat menu you can enable this sprite, so you can look at Mariana the way the game designer did ...

Voting[edit | edit source]

Voting of the C64-Wiki-User (10=the best vote):
8.09 points at 43 votes (rank 82). You need to be logged in to cast a vote.
C64Games	7	23. January 2010 - "very good" - 17546 downs
Lemon64	8,2	23. January 2010 - 210 votes
Kultboy.com	8,47	26. June 2011 - 46 votes
Gamebase64	10	5/5 "Classic!"
ASM	11/12	Issue 9/87
ZZap64	87%	Issue 7/87

Reviews[edit | edit source]

H.T.W: "A game with easy to learn controls, a great two-player mode, relatively good graphics and an excellent cover of Maria Whittaker. The gag with the severed head gets funny when the green gnome comes by and is nowadays probably only to smile. Unfortunately, a high score list is missing. Nevertheless, it is for me, apart from International Karate, the most played fighting game."

TheRyk: "Never slaughter was more beautiful on the C64. Considering violent game content on modern systems, it is hard to believe that the "head off" was shocking enough in the 1980s for the game to be banned in Germany. 'What are you doing with that sword, speak!' shouted many parents when they saw the sword blow that decapitated the opponent. This often resulted in a Barbarian ban. That made the game even MORE fun. Besides this I have to add that the 6-minute game-music (see above) is super-class and adds up perfectly to the atmosphere. Also the opponent's AI, which gets better level by level, is very convincing. Nothing's better, 10 points !"

Equinoxe: "The game caused a lot of controversy to us as teenagers. For that time, the graphics were great and then the 'head off' blow. The teenagers nowadays will probably show a weary smile, but for us it really was a trip... It did work for the long term, but only in 2-player mode, as the computer opponents in the tournament were so easy to defeat, that you reached the final boss Drax without any real problems. But Drax killed you in a blink of an eye. In the long run very frustrating. That's why only 6 of 10 points."