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1[[quoteright:318:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/barbarian1_8230.jpg]]
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3''Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior'' (titled ''Death Sword'' in North America) is a 1987 FightingGame developed by Palace Software and published by Creator/{{Epyx}} that was released on several platforms such as the Platform/{{Amiga}}, the Platform/AtariST, the Platform/AppleII, and the Platform/{{Commodore 64}}. In the game's single-player story mode, the player takes control of a nameless barbarian on a quest to rescue the beautiful princess Mariana from the evil wizard Drax. The player must face Drax's eight barbarian bodyguards before facing the wizard himself. The game also featured a two-player versus mode several years before ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' and ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' would popularize competitive fighting games.
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5[[http://www.classikgames.com/barbarian--the-ultimate-warrior.html You can play an updated rerelease here.]]
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7In 1988 a sequel, ''Barbarian II: The Dungeon of Drax'', was released. Unlike its predecessor, this game was a side-scrolling action game rather than a fighting game. Players can choose to play as the barbarian from the first game or Princess Mariana, who has made the switch from DamselInDistress to ActionGirl. The story involves pursuing Drax to his lair and finishing him off once and for all.
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9No relation to a [[VideoGame/BarbarianTitus similarly named game]] by Creator/TitusSoftware.
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11''VideoGame/AgeOfBarbarian'' is a SpiritualSuccessor to the sequel.
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13!!This series provide examples of:
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15%%* ActionGirl: Mariana becomes one in the sequel.
16* AwesomeButImpractical: The decapitation attack in the first game is a OneHitKill, but it is very slow and easily stopped or avoided.
17%%* BaldOfEvil: Drax.
18* BarbarianHero: The male protagonist, obviously. In the sequel, Mariana is ''not'' this.
19* BloodyHilarious: After decapitating your foe, watching the body-disposal goblin unceremoniously punt the severed head out of the way can be surprisingly funny.
20* BorderOccupyingDecorations: The game has decorative snakes on the left and right. The snake's heads are animated when the player takes a hit, and the rest of the top border has functional elements.
21%%* DamselInDistress: Mariana in the first game.
22%%* EvilSorceror: Drax.
23* {{Expy}}: The nameless barbarian hero is based on Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian.
24%%* HeroicFantasy
25%%* LegCling: The pose featured on the game's box art.
26* {{Mordor}}: One of the stages in the first game is a volcanic wasteland.
27* MsFanservice: Mariana, who wears a bikini and little else.
28%%* NoNameGiven: The male protagonist.
29* OneHitKill: In the first game, there's a decapitation attack that will instantly kill your opponent if he doesn't dodge or block it. However, it's slow and rather easy to avoid. In addition, getting hit by one of Drax's magic attacks will instantly kill you, forcing you to start all over from the beginning.
30* PaletteSwap: Most of the adversaries in the first game have either a darker skin or an outfit of a different color, but are otherwise identical to the player.
31* SaveThePrincess: The plot of the first game.
32* SexyPackaging: The front and back of the box features buxom model Maria Whittaker wearing a bikini that leaves virtually nothing to the imagination.
33* ShoutOut: The sword-twirl move was taken from the movie ''Film/ConanTheDestroyer''. The game's creator decided to include it because he felt it [[RuleOfCool looked cool]].
34* {{Stripperiffic}}: Mariana's outfit, both in-game and on the box art, is a skimpy, bikini-like outfit.
35* TookALevelInBadass: Mariana in between the first game and the sequel.
36* WardrobeMalfunction: During a promotional photoshoot for ''Barbarian 2'', Maria Whittaker wore a bikini that consisted of two metal breastplates held together by a small chain. If Whittaker breathed in too deeply, the pressure from her large breasts would cause the chain holding the two breastplates together to snap. The game's director would then have to bend the links back together using a pair of pliers. This happened several times during shooting.
37* AWinnerIsYou: [[spoiler:If you beat the game, you'll be treated to a screen of the hero and Mariana standing next to each other with the caption "THANK YOU BIG BOY".]]

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