Age of Barbarian is a video game series by Crian Soft. The series is a tribute to '80s Sword and Sorcery movies with Barbarian Hero protagonists. It consists of two games:
- Age of Barbarian Extended Cut: a
Spiritual Successor to Barbarian II: The Dungeon of Drax, the sequel to Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior. As its name suggests, it's a Re-Cut of the original game Age of Barbarian. - ARENA: an Age of Barbarians story: a Fighting Game set in the universe. Rahaan and Sheyna, the protagonists of Extended Cut, return as playable characters, along with other (newly introduced) barbarians.
This series provide examples of:
- Action Girl: Sheyna in Extended Cut. She's joined by others in ARENA.
- Bald of Evil: Murduk, the Final Boss of ARENA.
- Barbarian Hero: Every playable character. Sheyna is notable in that she was not this initially, being a princess by birth.
- Bloody Hilarious: The Mooks clutching their groins after their organs have been chopped off can be this.
- Bottomless Pit: A constant danger in Extended Cut. Worse still, you often can't tell if a drop will lead to character death or new areas to explore unless you consult a walkthrough video.
- Death Is a Slap on the Wrist: For the most part. Dying sends you back to the last save point. Lose all your lives and you can choose to continue at the "Game over" screen. The one exception is dying after you've rescued the priestess of the area; you'll have to replay the entire area to rescue and escort her again.
- Downloadable Content: For both games. Extended Cut has extra areas while Arena has extra playable characters.
- Enigmatic Empowering Entity: The Goddess, whose powers were needed to heal a crucified warrior, and to empower a former princess so that she may bear arms against her enemies.
- Escort Mission: In Extended Cut, after you rescue a priestess, you must escort her to safety; along the way, the area's mooks might kidnap her and if you lose a life before defeating the area boss, she'll be recaptured.
- Everything Is Trying to Kill You: In Extended Cut, even at the area selection screen, the player can be attacked by patrolling wyvern riders.
- Expy: Sheyna is one to Mariana from Barbarian II, while Rahaan is one to Conan.
- Fallen Princess: Sheyna, whose father King Amuth of Kemth was killed and her kingdom destroyed.
- Fake Difficulty: In Extended Cut, the unresponsive controls can result in this due to unnecessary deaths.
- Full-Frontal Assault:
- Some mooks fight fully naked.
- In Chronicles, it's possible for both protagonists to fight naked if they unequip their armor and full nudity is enabled.
- Male Frontal Nudity: Chronicles features full-frontal nudity for both protagonists if this option is enabled and armor is unequipped.
- Nubile Savage: Played with. While Sheyna looked like the trope, she was a Fallen Princess who became a slave before escaping. Notably, her Nubile Savage look came only after she was imbued with the Goddess's power.
- Off with His Head!: Murduk in ARENA can be killed in this manner. However, whether he stays dead is another matter. The mooks in both games can also be killed in this manner.
- RPG Elements: In Extended Cut, players can earn experience points to gain levels; gaining levels increase character stats and unlock new moves. There's also an inventory to manage.
- Save Point: In Extended Cut, represented by a pile of skulls.
- Save the Princess: Averted and subverted. There are no princesses to save in either game; the only "princess" around is a former one, and she goes around slaying villains and rescuing priestesses.
- Sleeps in the Nude: Yanah in Chronicles sleeps in the nude if full nudity is enabled.
- Stripperiffic: Nearly everyone, and that's not counting the mooks who fight fully naked.
- Suspicious Video-Game Generosity: Unusually, in a starting level. Justified, as unlike Sheyna who only had to deal with a slaver and his guards, Rahaan has to deal with a full-fledged army, including their ogre commander.
- Took a Level in Badass: Sheyna, after she becomes imbued with power from the Goddess.
- Video-Game Lives: Represented by skulls in Extended Cut.
- Waterfall Shower: Sheyna takes a shower under a waterfall in Extended Cut.
