BARBARIAN II..... Prologue: At the finale of Barbarian - The Ultimate Warrior, the barbarian defeated the warriors of Drax and thus freed Princess Mariana from his evil spell. Drax fled to the dungeons beneath his black castle, vowing to wreak disaster on the Jewelled Kingdom. It is decided that there is only one way to stop Drax. The Barbarian and Mariana - herself an accomplished swordswoman - are the only two warriors skilled enough to survive the perilous journey to Drax's lair. They must stop him before it is too late. Barbarian II - The Dungeon of Drax Choice of Character You may choose to play either the barbarian or Princess Mariana. At the beginning of the game the two characters will appear. Choose your warrior by moving the joystick left or right and pressing fire. Levels You must fight your way through three levels - the Wastelands, the Caverns, and the Dungeons - before arriving at the fourth level, the Inner Sanctum of Drax. These sections must be played in the correct order. Each of the first three levels is a maze consisting of approximately 28 screens. As you view each screen it is possible to walk left, right, or into doors or caves at the back of the screen. The direction you are walking, as viewed on a map, is continually changing and therefore a compass (in which the sword always points north) has been provided at the bottom of the screen. When you reach the exit to the next level the Level Display will pulse as a warning. It is not advisable to leave a level without first collecting all available magical objects (see below). Monsters On each of the first three levels you must fight six different types of monster, some of which can be killed with one well-placed blow. They are: The Wastelands - Saurian beasts, Neanderthal men, Apes, Mutant Chickens, Stabbers, Floaters. The Caverns - Carnivores, Orc Guards, Crabs, Slithering Things, Cave Trolls, Stingers. The Dungeons - Pit Things, Dungeon Masters, Giant Grubs, Gobblers, Eyes, Orclets. If you survive to the Sanctum of Drax you must face the Living Idol, A great Demon, and finally, the dreaded Drax! Magical Objects In each of the first three levels there are two magical objects that you will need to collect in order to survive throughout the quest. The axe increases your strength. The globe guards against death from Drax's magic. The potion increases your resistance. The key opens portcullis doors. The shield guards against death from the Demon's fire. The Jewel disables the Living Idol when the idol is reached. Energy and Lives Your energy is displayed as a bar at the top right of the screen. When it runs out you lose a life. You start the game with five lives. More lives can be gained throughout the game by collecting any skulls you may find. These contain the life-force of warriors who have preceded you. When you lose all your lives you restart the current level. The energy of the current monster you are fighting is displayed as a bar at the top left of the screen. When it runs out the monster is destroyed. Scoring The more difficult fighting moves will score highly and do more damage. Joystick Moves These are your joystick moves when you are facing right (reverse these when facing left). Without button pressed: up=run, left=walk backwards, right=walk forwards, lower left/right=through a door, down=turn around With button pressed: up=overhead chop or running jump when preceded by run, left=flying neck chop, right=kick, down=low chop To jump across holes or pits you will need to make a running jump. If you do not jump far enough you will find yourself teetering on the far edge of the hole. By swiftly waggling the joystick left and right you may save yourself. GENERAL... Visiting each and every location in the first three levels isn't essential, but mapping is. You won't have to go to each and every room but you will need to pick up all of the objects (two on each of the first three levels) while taking the most direct route possible between entrances and exits. A little known but immensely useful tip concerns the skulls which you'll find on your journeys. Although it appears that your total quota of lives is six, with five life-icons on screen, you can in fact amass lives by picking up the skulls. One skull gives one extra life, so you'll be able to create quite a store. Beware of the pits which cover the first three levels. You can jump over a pit, or fall down it and lose a life. Needless to say, it's wiser to do the former; but don't try to jump over one if a monster lurks on the other side, you'll rebound of it and fall to your doom. Quickly walk off screen and re-enter. The monster will mirror your actions, but it'll be up to you to gain the edge - so run (very fast) and jump! At various locations on all four levels are hideous streams of GREEN GUNK. If you cross their paths you will lose energy, so jump over them. It sometimes happens that you'll get trapped between a stream and a nasty; DO NOT walk forwards, turn around with your face to the monster and let it push you BACKWARDS across the stream. You will still lose some energy but it won't be appreciable. In this game you have to do an awful lot of hack 'n' slashing. Various fighting moves are quite spectacular, but often it's two of the simpler moves - the low chop and the overhead chop - which are most effective. With each of the difficult monsters there will be a particular move, or combination of moves, which is best to deploy. MONSTERS... You'll encounter six categories of monster on each of the first three levels some are very easy others are deadly. There isn't any general hint as far as nasties are concerned, but do remember that you don't have to visit every location. If you have no particular business being in a spot where a monster awaits then the best thing to do by far is to simply to walk away. However, there are specific tips for individual types of monsters, and what follows is a level-by-level guide to thwarting them. LEVEL ONE... Stabbers you don't have to fight - with a bit of skill you can jump over them, and normally you'll have to fight them only if they're guarding an object you want. If you do have to fight, do a kick and then use a low chop. The saurian beasts are the largest and most vicious nasties on level one. One false move and they'll bite off your head, so don't stand up; your best bet is to execute a low chop while kneeling. When you encounter the Neanderthal Men do two low chops to knock one back, then swiftly move in for the kill with a flying head chop. Decapitation's the result. The moves to kill the next two groups are relatively straightforward. Low chop the Floaters and repeat the following moves until an Ape is dead: low chop, followed by kick, low chop and so on... The Mutant Chickens have a very odd name and even odder movements. It's precisely the way in which they move so erratically which makes them formidable foes. Keep on doing low chops, wearing them down until they make a false move. More than likely, you'll end up cutting one in half! LEVEL TWO... The Orc Guards require an overhead chop but make sure that you don't get cornered. If you do then you are sure to get a good kicking. If an Orc Guard tries to stab you do a low chop then continue with overhead chops. Slithering Things squirm across the ground. Chop off their heads with good low chops; use the same tactics with Crabs, which you should find easy meat. And as for the Stingers, the only worthwhile move with these is an overhead chop. If you must tackle a Carnivore try a low kick and pray. Carnivores are amongst the most fearsome of monsters in the game because in the game because they get you helpless on the ground then gobble you up. AVOID them at all costs. You can jump over them but it's very difficult. Cave Trolls, however, you might imagine that you can jump over. Wrong. Try a low chop instead. LEVEL THREE... All of the monsters can walk or slither around, all of them except the Pit Things. The Pit Things lurk in holes in the ground and swipe you with their tentacles. Timing is essential. The best thing to do is to run and to jump as the tentacles withdraw into the pit. On the other hand, Gobblers are relatively easy to get rid of. Kick them or low chops and cut off their heads. Beware, however, the Orclets, who are wild, erratic and crazy. Use low chops, or if you're cornered by one kick it. You'll have the same basic problem with Giant Grubs - but wait until one jumps at you then do a low chop (yes, a low chop, even though the grub will be up in the air). And now for one of those spectacular moves. You will need to perform a well-timed flying neck chop to kill one of the Dungeon Masters. Be in no doubt, a Dungeon Master is a very nasty piece of work. If one tries to punch you do a low chop; if you get kicked, wait until he moves back and then perform your spectacular stunt. The result, by the way, will be pretty spectacular, too: his heart will burst. And finally, the Eyes have it on this level, or rather they don't (have an easy time of it). If you come across one, give it an overhead chop. LEVEL FOUR... You'll start each level with the same number of lives that you finished the previous one with. So if you don't finish level three with a significant number of lives then count your blessings and forget about the final level. It's very tough. Also, don't bother if you have not picked up all six objects from the previous levels. If you do decide to soldier on, on the first screen it's time for the old backwords-rather-than-forwards trick which you deploy with the Green Gunk. Onwards to the mega-fiends..... stand back and execute a flying neck chop to the Great Demon, followed swiftly by a low chop. Pull back and do these moves again. If the going gets tough, retreat after the neck chop. Finally, align your character with the corpse which hangs on the wall. Time a flying neck chop to coincide with DRAX ceasing fire - then hope for the best. DRAX is a very tough cookie, and it's instinct more than anything which will see you through the battle with him. GOOD LUCK..... from several sources typed in by DOUG.....