Originally released in Europe as Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior, this brutal one-on-one fighting game was brought to North America by Epyx in 1988 under the name Death Sword. Players step into the sandals of Gorth, a hulking barbarian warrior on a quest to defeat the dark magician Drax and rescue the captive Princess Mariana. Along the way, Gorth must vanquish eight fierce opponents in combat arenas ranging from forest clearings to subterranean dungeons. The gameplay centers on close-quarters sword fighting, with a range of moves including kicks, rolls, parries, and high or low sword attacks. Each combatant begins with six “power points” (represented as twelve half-circles), and standard blows chip away at this health meter. However, the game’s signature mechanic is the infamous decapitation move—a single, well-timed overhead slash that can instantly end the battle and trigger a memorable animation where a goblin kicks the severed head off-screen. Death Sword could be played solo against the computer or in two-player head-to-head mode. The graphics and animations were especially well-received for the time, and the game’s blend of swordplay and dark fantasy themes helped set it apart from contemporary arcade-style fighters.

Epyx published three titles from Palace Software, Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior as Death Sword, Barbarian II: The Dungeon of Drax as Axe of Rage, and The Sacred Armour of Antiriad, as Rad Warrior.  We haven’t sussed out the reason for these name changes, but the Epyx titles Death Sword, Axe of Rage, and Rad Warrior sound more like metal bands than video games.  We can’t help but imagine a tour poster for Metallica headlining with special guests Death Sword, Axe of Rage, and Rad Warrior.  One night only at The Temple of Apshai. Perhaps the title changes had less to do with marketing and more to do with not wanting to poke the sword-wielding bear that was Conan the Barbarian—a film starring an up-and-coming Austrian bodybuilder with a funny accent, ginormous biceps, and a great sense of humor.  Always on the heels of a guy named Sly, he later dabbled in politics; we hear he did okay-ish. In any case, Palace Software’s intellectual property, per Wikipedia, eventually found its way to Interplay Entertainment, to whom any inquiries should be addressed.