Barbarian (Game)

Barbarian

GAME » on June 26, 2002

GameCube (Platform)PlayStation 2 (Platform)Xbox (Platform)

Arena fighting in a fantasy world of swords and sorcery in this spiritual successor to the Xena: Warrior Princess - Talisman of Fate.

Game Images Reviews Barbarian ReleasesRelated Pages

EditHistoryPage info

Overview

Barbarian, known in Japan as Warrior Blade: Rastan vs Barbarian Hen, is a 3D historical-fantasy platformer-fighting game developed by Saffire and published by Titus for PlayStation 2 (Platform) in North America on June 26 2002. It later received a Japanese release by Taito for the GameCube (Platform) (on March 27, 2003) and PlayStation 2 (on April 3, 2003), as well as a European release for the PlayStation 2 (on December 5, 2003) and Xbox (Platform) (on December 27, 2003).

A spiritual successor to the 1999 game Xena: Warrior Princess - The Talisman of Fate, Barbarian features one-on-one and muitiplayer combat (with up to four players) in a tale of swords and sorcery, with freeform 3D combat similar to the Power Stone (Franchise) series. Along with some unique gameplay mechanics (including specific combo types and "Rune Attacks"), it also features a single-player story mode with branching paths and attribute upgrades.

Set in the fantasy world of Barbaria, the game's story involves the dark archmage Zaugg corrupting its lands in an age of darkness, forcing various warriors (or "Barbarians") to wield great magic and power in order to defeat him.

The game's Japanese version is unique in that it's set in Taito's Rastan Saga trilogy of arcade games, with the barbarian character Dagan now repurposed into the namesake hero Rastan (Character) and each character portrait now sporting a hand-drawn style. Its name in that version is also a reference to Warrior Blade: Rastan Saga Episode III, although they have no connection otherwise.

Gameplay

The game includes two standard attack buttons (Weak Attack for wider attacks and Strong Attack for narrower attack), which can be held together for slower, more powerful Special Attacks, along with traditional Jump, Grab, and Block buttons, a special Option button for "Auto Combos" (which, when held, allow players to input all sequences in a combo without precision timing), and two special attack buttons: Magic Attack and Rune Attack.

Both Magic Attacks and Rune Attacks make use of a regenerating magic gauge, with Magic Attacks being a single-button projectile attack that can be held down to charge up (at the cost of additional magic). Rune Attacks also makes use of four single-use "Runes" that are earned by executing different actions throughout the match (namely successful combos, attacks with lifted objects, throws, and counters), each Rune giving a unique attack.

Other techniques include counter-attacks (Block + Weak/Strong) and knockback Force Attacks (Weak + Jump).

Combos

Each character has an assortment of eight combo chains (using only a combination of the Weak and Strong attack buttons), one of each type (which give a colored burst when completed):

Weak Combos (white) are simple combos that use only the Weak Attack button.
Strong Combos (white) are simple combos that use only the Strong Attack button.
Quick Combos (aqua) are faster combos.
Popup Combos (green) launch the opponent into the air, leaving them open for juggles.
Pushback Combos (orange) knocks the opponent away.
Stun Combos (yellow) leaves opponents open to attack.
Magic Combos (blue) regenerates additional magic.
Leak Combos (red) damages through blocks.

Quest

The game's main single-player story mode, known as "Quest", includes some role-playing elements, with players earning experience points and leveling up their chosen fighter, giving them Attribute Points to put in various stats:

Damage - Increased damage for the last attack in a combo.
Life - Increased life gauge.
Defense - Increased block radius. Faster run speed.
Magic - Increased magic regeneration speed.
Lift - Increased weight limit for lifting objects. Increased combo potential by swinging objects.

Optionally, players can gain special abilities with multiple Attribute Points:

Higher Power - Additional charge to magic attack.
Airwalk - Double jump.
Second Wind - Once per round, recover from death with a single point of life.
Berserker - Gain additional damage on low life.

Similar to Mission Mode from Soulcalibur (Game), several battles have special objectives to them (such as landing a certain number of hits, enduring an opponent with regenerating health, confronting several low-health minions, or destroying an obelisk).

Characters

The game features 10 playable characters and 1 unplayable boss.

Keela - A battle princess from the kingdom of Argos, continuing her late father's quest in searching for the legendary stone Bloodsong. Fights with a sword and shield.
Dagan - A barbarian of the clan Dolok, seeking to avenge the death of his wife at the hands of Zaugg's minions. Fights with a broadsword and battleaxe. Known in the Japanese version as Rastan (Character).
Corath - A battle sorcerer and Zaugg's apprentice from the eastern Land of Desolation, seeking ancient artifacts with the power to usurp Zaugg as the most powerful. Fights with a large scimitar and gauntlet.
21 - A hulking inmate who spent most of his entire life imprisoned in the Prisons of Akrowla, now freed and seeking to remember his past. Fights with a large rock.
Phade - A master assassin of shifting allegiances, only seeking to perfect the art of killing. Fights with a spear and claw.
Mongo - A hulking, enchanted beastman with the heart of a small monkey, searching for food and adventure. Fights with his bare hands.
Eyara - A reclusive guardian of nature and protector of the Forestsong, seeking to purge the corruption brought forth by Zaugg's minions. Fights with a staff and retractable claw.
Stitch - An undead warrior, resurrected from Zaugg's twisted magic, who seeks revenge against him for his eternal torment. Fights with a pair of daggers.
Jinn - A demon who escaped the abyssal realm of Naraka from Zaugg's magic, spreading torment wherever she goes. Fights with a glowing sword.
Magnus - A cursed, undead, viking-like warrior and former sea captain under Zaugg, seeking to reclaim his stolen Bloodsong. Fights with a glowing greatsword.
Zaugg - The game's final boss and a powerful archmage who inhabited the body of a mighty golem. Unplayable.

Similar Games

Power Stone (Game)

1 February 1999

Blending 3D fighting with platformer-style movement, Power Stone puts eight adventurers in manic one-on-one brawls where nearly everything can be used as a weapon.

ARC DC

Soulcalibur (Game)

30 July 1998

The sequel to Namco's earlier fighting game Soul Edge, continuing the story of the cursed blade "Soul Edge" (now corrupting the noble knight Siegfried into the dreaded knight Nightmare).

ANDR ARC IPAD +3

Power Stone 2 (Game)

27 April 2000

A successor to Capcom's 3D platformer-fighter, now with even more craziness with four-player combat in dynamic stages.

ARC DC

Soulcalibur II (Game)

31 December 2001

The third main entry in the Soul series, Soulcalibur II is best known for its release on all three major consoles at the time, each of them featuring their own exclusive guest character.

PS2 X360 GCN +4

Thundercats (Game)

1 July 1987

Thundercats is a side-scrolling action-platformer based on the toy and cartoon franchise of the same name.

AMI CPC AST +2

Mace: The Dark Age (Game)

31 March 1997

Atari Games's sole 3D fighting game is a medieval-fantasy tale set in a grimdark 13th-century world, where powerful lords of Europe, Arabia, and Asia seek to control the power of the demonic Mace of Tanis.

ARC N64

Xena: Warrior Princess - The Talisman of Fate (Game)

14 December 1999

A 3D fighting game based on the historical-fantasy television series Xena: Warrior Princess, pitting together numerous characters from the show in a tournament to control the fate of the world.

N64

Iron & Blood: Warriors of Ravenloft (Game)

31 October 1996

A 3D fighting game set in the Dungeons and Dragons fantasy universe, more specifically the dark Gothic-horror setting of Ravenloft.

PC PS1