The Barbarian is the single most useless class in the game. I won with every other class, and was able to devise a decent strategy that allowed me to complete the game after a few tries. But with the Barbarian, it's hopeless. You can't rely on his class skills because they recharge unreliably and that idiot bloodlust meter doesn't stay charged unless you throw yourself repeatedly into huge groups of enemies, which the Barbarian is badly suited for since he has to rely so heavily on melee. The only way to win with him is by pure luck and getting just the right combination of items where you don't have to rely on his innate skills. But then what's the point of playing him?
Stage 19 really sucks. 95% of the game is about strategy and archery skill, and then suddenly we have a series of ridiculous jumping tests worthy of NES Ninja Gaiden. Really took me out of the game.