Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior Cheats & Cheat Codes for MS-DOS, Commodore 64, and More

Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior is a 1987 fighting game developed and published by Palace Software. The game was released on a whole host of platforms, including the Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, and the ZX Spectrum, with a huge visual difference across the releases.

The release of Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior was mired with controversy. Its marketing campaign focused on one scantily-clad character, drawing plenty of criticism alongside the game’s heavy depictions of gore. Despite the controversies, the game was a huge hit commercially. There’s an argument to be made that it actually benefitted from the negative attention driven to the game during this period.

Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior Premise

In Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior, there are two main game modes. The biggest of the two is the Story Mode, which sees you battle against eight barbarian warriors one by one, in an attempt to save the bikini-wearing Princess Mariana. Story Mode culminates in one final battle against the wizard Drax, after defeating his protectors previously. Alternatively, there’s head-to-head mode, which pits you against the AI or another player in one-to-one battles.

The controls in the game are simple. You can move left or right, and can jump to dodge low attacks or roll to dodge high. Attacking is extremely basic, with kicks, headbutts, or sword attacks, each able to be done from different heights. Usually, these fights end when one player’s hitpoints reach zero. However, one perfect hit to the neck can instantly decapitate your opponent, meaning no fight is ever truly over until it’s over.

Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior Main Characters

The plot of Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior is the very definition of paper-thin. It’s a classic “save the damsel in distress” type of story, with no plot progression beyond killing the person in front of you. This was certainly more common in games of the era, where making the gameplay fun was the priority. As a result, there are just a few main characters in Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior.

• Barbarian: The unnamed barbarian is the protagonist of the game. When Princess Mariana is kidnapped, he enters the arena to save her from the clutches of the wizard, Drax.
• Princess Mariana: Princess Mariana is very much the damsel in distress in this game. She watches on as the barbarian fights to save her, and her presence is his reward when all is said and done.
• Drax: Drax is an evil wizard who has taken Princess Mariana hostage. Defended by eight barbarians of his own, he feels safe knowing no one can take back his prize. Or can they?

Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior Titles in the Series

After the original Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior, it wouldn’t be long before a sequel was produced. Barbarian II: The Dungeon of Drax was released just a year later, with Palace Software attempting to recreate the controversy the original game caused. While some were offended, it wasn’t quite as stirring as the first time around.

As a result, the Barbarian franchise was mostly condemned to history. A third game was planned until Palace Software sold its assets to Titus Software, which swiftly canceled those plans. Titus Software did use the name in a 2002 title, but it is so different and disconnected from the original games that it’s hard to even consider it part of the same series. After this, Barbarian was never seen again, and the rights to it went to Interplay Entertainment when Titus Software became defunct in 2005.

In the near two decades since Interplay got hold of the rights to Barbarian, it has unfortunately never capitalized on it. It’s a relic of the past at this point, and we’d be shocked if we ever saw it return in any meaningful way.

• Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior (1987)
• Barbarian II: The Dungeon of Drax (1988)
• Barbarian (2002)

Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior Cheat Codes

Unfortunately, Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior is one of the very few games out there that has absolutely no cheat codes in any way, shape, or form. This is a massive surprise because with the game releasing on so many different platforms, you might expect there to be at least some sort of cheat code. That isn’t the case here.

Despite the game having something of a cult following, there aren’t even any third-party cheats or mods that you can use in the game. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly why this is the case, but again, it may have something to do with the number of different versions that exist for the game, with each one being rather different.

We’re sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but you’re not going to find any cheat codes in Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior.

Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior Cheat Code FAQ

Does Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior Have Achievements?

No. Despite being released on so many platforms back in the day, none support the modern achievement systems we have nowadays.

The image featured at the top of this post is ©Screenshot from Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior..