Acorn BBC Micro games list!

Total reviews!

Handheld: 57

16/32bit Computers: 591

8bit Computers: 382

8bit Consoles: 41

16bit Consoles: 76

32/64bit Consoles: 98

128bit Consoles: 24

OnLine members

Currently: 4

Total hits!

Play old-school now!

Best on 8bit micro!

Batman The Movie - Commodore64
Shadow of the Beast - Commodore64
International Karate + - Commodore64
Xyphoes Fantasy - AmstradCPC
Robocop II - AmstradCPCPlus
Arkanoid II - AmstradCPC
Pang - AmstradCPCPlus
Wrath of the Demon - Commodore64
Night Hunter - AmstradCPC
Barbarian - AmstradCPC
Prince of Persia - SamCoupe
Lemmings - SamCoupe
Draconus - AtariXE

Best on 16bit micro!

Turrican 2 - Amiga
Shadow of the Beast - Amiga
Jim Power - Amiga
Apidya - Amiga
Leander - Amiga
Turrican 2 - AtariST
Project X - Amiga
Super Frog - Amiga
Another World - AtariST
Flashback - Amiga
Toyota Celica GT Rally - Amiga
Toyota Celica GT Rally - AtariST
Wrath Of The Demon - AtariST
Wrath Of The Demon - Amiga
Dark Seed - Amiga
Stardust - AtariSTE
Stardust - Amiga
Banshee - AmigaAGA
Flashback - Archimedes
Star Fighter 3000 - Archimedes
Warlocks - Archimedes
Cannon Fodder - Amiga
Another World - Appleiigs
Turrican 2 - PC
Universe - Amiga
Turrican 3 - Amiga
Hurrican - PC
Tyrian - PC
Super Stardust - AmigaAGA
Cannon Fodder - Archimedes
Dark Seed - PC
Pac-Mania - X68000

Best on 8bit consoles!

Chuck Rock II - MasterSystem
Robocop II - GX4000
Pang - GX4000

Best on 16bit consoles!

Jim Power - snes
Donkey Kong Country - snes
Aladdin - snes
Alien Soldier - Megadrive
Street Fighter 2 - pcengine
Blazing Lazers - pcengine
Raiden - pcengine
Super Star Soldier - pcengine

Best on 32bit consoles!

G-Darius - psone
Super Mario 64 - n64
ISS - psone
Raiden - Jaguar
Perfect Dark - n64
Sensible Soccer - Jaguar
Batman Beyond - n64
Dino Crisis 2 - psone
Resident Evil 2 - psone
Metal Gear Solid - psone
Driver - psone
Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee - psone
Klonoa: Door To Phantomile - psone
Nights Into Dreams - Saturn
Cotton 2: Magical Night Dreams - Saturn
Flashback - CDi

Best on 128bit consoles!

God Of War - PS2
Resident Evil Zero - GameCube
Gran Turismo 4 - PS2
Black - xbox
Halo Combat Evolved - xbox
Star Fox Adventures - GameCube
SoulCalibur - Dreamcast
Under Defeat - Dreamcast
Soul Calibur 2 - GameCube
Metroid Prime 2 - GameCube

Best on handhelds!

Metroid Fusion - GBA
Raiden - Lynx
Robocod - GameGear

Game info

Barbarian

Genre

Fighting

Developer / Publisher

Palace Software (Europe), Epyx (North America)

Released

1987

Media

1 x

Rating

Graphics:
Sound:
Gameplay:
Good

Reviewed by

ndial

Barbarian was first released for the 8bit Commodore's home computers in 1987 by Palace Software, and ported to the most common 8/16bit computers in the following months. A totally addictive fighting game (especially when in two-player mode with top notch graphics and great sound for its era.

Review

The evil sorcerer Drax has taken Princess Mariana as hostage, but has agreed to let her go free if a warrior can defeat his guardians. And that's where your barbarian comes in. Barbarian (known as Death Sword in the USA) is a one-on-one sword fighting game. Each character (a sword-wielding barbarian) has six life blocks and can survive twelve blows before biting the dust. The action takes place against two backdrops: a forest clearing and a pit of death. Fight against the warriors of Drax and rescue Princess Mariana. The fighters' moves are impressive: they can slice and dice with the sword, chop away, duck, jump, roll, and then there's the lethal chop which takes the opponent's head clean off. The game also features a two-player mode, in which players fight their characters against each other. Not to be confused with "Barbarian", a MelbourneHouse/Psygnosis game from 1988!

Technically speaking, this is a great release for the BBC Micro computers, indeed. The game features top notch graphics for its time though the sound is adequate here. The backgrounds are very well detailed while sprite are nicely animated and move really fast on screen. In general graphics here are superior to the ZX Spectrum release! Note that, the CPC version is certainly the best 8 bit version concerning the level design but all other 8bit versions are great too. There's no music here during gameplay nor the few catchy small themes when battle starts and... ends found on the CPC and Commodore systems, but still the sound effects are enough to keep you interested in battle. A truly great effort all in all!

Screenshots

Comparable platforms

Hardware information

BBC Micro / Acorn Electron

CPU: 2 MHz MOS Technology 6502/6512
MEMORY: RAM 16KB (Model 1), 32KB (Model B), 64KB (Model B+), 128KB (Master). ROM 32KB
GRAPHICS: Resolutions supported: 160x256 with up to 16 colors on screen (8 colors + flashing option), 320x256 (4 colors), 640x256 (2 colors)
SOUND: Texas Instruments SN76489, 3 channels + 1 noise channel, 7 octaves (mono). Also it optionally featured a TMS5220 speech synthesiser with phrase ROM!