Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior

Not to be confused with Barbarian (1987 video game) or Barbarian (2002 video game).

Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior
A busty woman with long curly hair lounges on the floor. She is wearing a tiny bikini. A muscular man, wearing a loincloth, stands above her, holding a sword upright in his hands. The background is of a painted rocky surface in flames. The words "Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior" are emblazoned above the pair.
Developer(s)Palace Software
Publisher(s)
Designer(s)Steve Brown
Programmer(s)Stanley Schembri
Composer(s)Richard Joseph
Platform(s)Acorn Electron, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Apple II, Atari ST, BBC Micro, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, Java ME, ZX Spectrum
Release1987
Genre(s)Fighting game
Mode(s)Single-player, two-player versus

Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior is a 1987 video game developed and published by Palace Software for the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum. The game was ported to many other systems and was licensed to Epyx who published it as Death Sword in the United States.

Barbarian is a fighting game that gives players control over sword-wielding barbarians. In the game's two-player mode, players pit their characters against each other. Barbarian also has a single-player mode, in which the player's barbarian braves a series of challenges set by an evil wizard to rescue a princess.

Instead of using painted artwork for the game's box, Palace Software used photos of hired models. The photos, also used in advertising campaigns, featured Michael Van Wijk (who would later become famous as 'Wolf' in the TV series Gladiators) as the hero and bikini-clad Maria Whittaker, a model who was then associated with The Sun tabloid's Page 3 topless photo shoots. Palace Software's marketing strategy provoked controversy in the United Kingdom, with protests focused on the sexual aspects of the packaging rather than decapitations and other violence within the game. The ensuing controversy boosted Barbarian's profile, helping to make it a commercial success. Game critics were impressed with its fast and furious combat, and dashes of humour. The game was Palace Software's critical hit; boosted by Barbarian's success, Palace Software expanded its operations and started publishing other developers' work. In 1988, the company released a sequel, Barbarian II: The Dungeon of Drax.