History Recap / AgeOfEmpiresIIBarbarossa

* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: Henry the Lion is portrayed as an ungrateful, treacherous bastard always willing to backstab Barbarossa. In reality, Henry never tried to take the Imperial throne for himself, nor did he fight his cousin Barbarossa, but was, essentially, used as a scapegoat by Barbarossa both during the eastern expansion and during the invasion of Italy.

** Barbarossa didn't lead the invasion of Poland; it was being led by Henry the Lion at the time. Also, Henry wasn't as traitorous as depicted in-game (during the Italian wars, he simply refused to lend troops).

** The first scenario, "Holy Roman Emperor", depicts a one-on-six conflict against Barbarossa that does not correspond to any point in history. Especially weird is that one of the enemies is Swabia, despite Barbarossa being the Duke of Swabia. While Barbarossa had a great task of uniting the German kingdoms and restoring the Empire, he used diplomacy, pragmatism and mutual self-interest, not outright warfare; at no point after he was elected King of Germany was there a massive rebellion against him.

--> ''"In study of the campaigns of Frederick Barbarossa you learned the power of relics and of uniting an empire. Use this knowledge in your future conquests, but remember not to overextend yourself."''

--> ''"[[NarratorAllAlong But I am an old man now.]] [[DentedIron What harm could I possibly do?]]"''

** The first scenario, "Holy Roman Emperor", depicts a one-on-six conflict against Barbarossa that does correspond to any point in history. Especially weird is that one of the enemies is Swabia, despite Barbarossa being the Duke of Swabia. While Barbarossa had a great task of uniting the German kingdoms and restoring the Empire, he used diplomacy, pragmatism and mutual self-interest, not outright warfare; at no point after he was elected King of Germany was there a massive rebellion against him.

* DevelopersForesight: In "The Emperor Sleeping", it's actually possible to destroy the Dome of the Rock to which you're attempting to deliver Barbarossa[[spoiler:'s corpse]], despite it not being something that you can either do accidentally nor would probably think to try. You will then be greeted by your horrified advisor [[WhatTheHellHero calling you out for destroying the most sacred place in the Holy Land]], followed by a NonStandardGameOver.
* EpicFail: Frederick Barbarossa [[spoiler:jumps into a river without realizing that his armor would make him too heavy to float to the surface, essentially drowning himself.]]

* TheHeroDies: Barbarossa [[spoiler:drowns under the weight of his own armor at the end of "Barbarossa's March"]].

* TheStarscream: Henry the Lion tries to betray Barbarossa ''twice''. [[spoiler:He stops later, though, and is telling the player about Barbarossa's story.]]

* WhamEpisode: "Barbarossa's March": You've made it to Anatolia after all the hell that the Saracens and Turks have given you and help yourself to the cool water of a river to slake your thirst and wash away the dirt and sweat. [[spoiler:Oops. Barbarossa accidentally drowns himself and his Crusader Army evaporates to a tiny fraction of its original size.]]

* ArtisticLicenseHistory:

** ''Definitive Edition'' has "Film/TheEmperorStrikesBack", for completing the campaign, replacing the ''HD'' achievement.

!!Scenarios

!!!1. Holy Roman Emperor

!!!2. Henry the Lion

!!!3. Pope and Antipope

!!!4. The Lombard League

!!!5. Barbarossa's March

!!!6. The Emperor Sleeping

* ArtisticLicenseGeography: In the fourth scenario, not only are Padua, Verona and Venice cramped together, but they also got their disposition wrong by putting Padua to the north (it's actually to the east) while Verona is to the east... but in RealLife is to the east of Padua as well.

* DeusExMachina: During the 5th scenario, Barbarossa's army soon finds a canyon sealed by several Seljuks troops, including walls, towers and bombards. Once they approach, a sudden earthquake strikes, destroying the fortifications.
* GameplayAndStorySegregation / AssetActor: Since ''Age of Kings'' only had 13 civs, some civs are represented by others: Poles are Goths, while Italians are substituted by Franks, Teutons, Britons and Byzantines. In ''Definitive Edition'', some things are rectified (the "Mongols" are now Cumans, the Bohemians and Poles are Slavs, Milan and Padua are Italians). Jerusalem in the last scenario is also Saracen now, which reflects the city's takeover by Saladin and his forces.

* YouAllMeetInAnInn: The player and the narrator apparently meet in a tavern to learn about Barbarossa.

* ArtisticLicenseGeography: In the fourth scenario, not only Padua, Verona and Venice are cramped together, but they also got their disposition wrong by putting Padua to the north (it's actually to the east) while Verona is to the east... but in RealLife is to the east of Padua as well.

** The first scenario features the purple Burgundian (Joan of Arc), green Bohemian and the Mongols (Genghis Khan).

* ClimaxBoss: The Lombard League in the fourth scenario is a though WolfpackBoss, halfway through the campaign.

* GameplayAndStorySegregation: Since ''Age of Kings'' only had 13 civs, some civs are misused: Poles are Goths, while Italians are substituted by Franks, Teutons, Britons and Byzantines. In ''Definitive Edition'' some things are rectified (the "Mongols" are now Cumans, the Bohemian and Poles are Slavs, Milan and Padua are Italians). Jerusalem in the last scenario is also Saracen now, which reflects the city's takeover by Saladin and his forces.

* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: Henry the Lion is portrayed as an ungrateful, treacherous bastard always willing to backstab Barbarossa. In reality, Henry never tried to take the Imperial throne for himself, nor did he fought his cousin Barbarossa, but was, essentially, used as a scapegoat by Barbarossa both during the eastern expansion and during the invasion of Italy.

The ambitious Frederick Barbarossa seeks to unify the squabbling fiefdoms of the Holy Roman Empire before embarking in campaigns directly to the east and south of him, even if it means facing off against the Pope himself. And should he succeed his battles, the Third Crusade comes calling to him.

The player is in control of the Teutons, the color being Red.

Can the will of one man forge an empire? Frederick Barbarossa attempts to force the squabbling German fiefdoms in his Holy Roman Empire, which he then must defend from the machinations of the Italian city states and the pope in Rome. And should he accomplish all of those feats, there is always the Third Crusade to wage.

* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Henry the Lion backstabs Barbarossa twice by siding first with the Poles and later with the Lombard League.

Barbarossa's new target is Italy, a country divided in many city-states, home of the Catholic Church of Rome. The Pope opposes Barbarossa's claims for power, and the Emperor's attempts to support and Antipope on his own ends in nothing. Without choice, the Germans descend on Italy from the Alps, aiming to take Milan, the largest city of Northern Italy, in order to make an example out of them. After a grueling and long siege, Milan has fallen, but the rest of the city-states are even more determinated to oppose the invader.

In the wake of the German Invasion, many Italian Cities joined forces in a coalition known as the Lombard League, ready to fight the Emperor until the end. In order to defeat these numberous opponents once and for all, Barbarossa marches to Italy one more time bringing along his most skilled vassal Henry the Lion. Cornered by three powerful opponents, Barbarossa has to show his superiority to the League.

With the defeat of the League, the war in Italy comes to an end and the new Pope and Barbarossa reach an agreement which gives them both equal powers. However, a new threat arise: a Saracen warlord, Saladin, is attacking the Crusader states in the Holy Land and threatening Jerusalem. Too large to travel by ship, the Imperial Army traves by land to join the latest Crusade. As they approach their destination, however, the unthinkable happens and Barbarossa dies.

* NarratorAllAlong: The narrator in the tavern is revealed to be Henry the Lion, who was exiled in England after the fourth scenario. (In RealLife, he did return to the continent to lead a few more rebellions before retiring).
* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: Henry the Lion is portrayed as an ungrateful, treacherous bastard always willing to backstab Barbarossa. In reality, Henry never tried to take the Imperial throne for himself, nor did he fought hs cousin Barbarossa, but was, essentially, used as a scapegoat by Barbarossa both during the eastern expansion and during the invasion of Italy.
* TookALevelInBadass: Richard the Lionhearted in ''Definitive Editon''. In HD, he will have his hero unit, plus a single trebuchet and a meager number of Longbowmen and perhaps a Market, and upon being engaged will stoically charge at the nearby well-defended Saracen Garrison to be slaughtered one by one. Now, he acts sooner on his own and has a larger, well-supplied base alongside Cavaliers, Onagers and a better strategy that will allow him to break through the Saracen formation and support Barbarossa's troops efficiently. Similarly, Jerusalem is now guarded by a generous, scattered garrison of Pikemen, Skirmishers, Monks and Onagers, not just a collection of buildings with a few scattered towers.

* GameplayAndStorySegregation: Since ''Age of Kings'' only had 13 civs, some civs are misused: Poles are Goths, while Italians are substituted by Franks, Teutons, Britons and Byzantines. In ''Definitive Edition'' some things are rectified (the "Mongols" are now Cumans, the Bohemian and Poles are Slavs, Milan and Padua are Italians).

** Barbarossa didn't lead the invasion of Poland, it was being led by Henry the Lion at the time. Also, Henry wasn't as traitorous as depicted in game (during the Italian wars he simply refused to lend troops).

** The game seems to imply that Barbarossa ultimately won and forced the Italians to surrender. He was actually defeated both in the Siege of Alessandria (1175) and Legnano, with the costant rebellions in both Germany and Italy forcing him to relent.

** The first scenario features the purple Burgundian (Joan of Ark), green Bohemian and the Mongols (Genghis Khan).

* DownerEnding: Barbarossa dies an UndignifiedDeath, the Empire he worked so hard to build is on the way to ruin and the Crusade is a complete failure, the army disbanding.

* NarratorAllAlong: The narrator in the tavern is revealed to be Henry the Lion, who was exiled in England after the fourth scenario. (In RealLife he did return to the continent to lead a few more rebellions before retiring).
* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: Henry the Lion is portrayed as an ungrateful, treacherous bastard always willing to backstab Barbarossa: in reality, Henry never tried to take the Imperial throne for himself, nor he fought him, but was, essentially, used as a scapegoat by Barbarossa both during the eastern expansion and during the invasion of Italy.