| Bad Dudes Vs. DragonNinja | |
|---|---|
 North American arcade flyer | |
| Developer | Data East |
| Publishers | Data East
|
| Designer | Makoto Kikuchi |
| Programmers | Tomotaka Osada Masaaki Tamura Nobusuke Sasaki Naomi Susa Kenji Takahashi |
| Artists | Dot Man Mix Man Monsieur Micky Torba-RR OK Youichi Kansaiman Milky Kikuchi |
| Composers | Azusa Hara Hiroaki Yoshida |
| Platforms | Arcade,Amiga,Amstrad CPC,Apple II,Atari ST,Commodore 64,MS-DOS,NES,Nintendo Switch,ZX Spectrum,Zeebo |
| Release | |
| Genre | Beat 'em up |
| Modes | Single-player,multiplayer (co-operative gameplay) |
| Arcade system | Data East MEC-M1[5] |
Bad Dudes Vs. DragonNinja,[a] also known simply as eitherBad Dudes (on the AmericanNES port) orDragonNinja[b] (in Japan[6] and Europe),[3][7] is aside-scrolling cooperativebeat 'em up developed and released byData East as anarcade video game in 1988. It was ported to computer and game console home systems.
InBad Dudes, the players are tasked with rescuing "President Ronnie" fromninja kidnappers. The game was a commercial success, becoming one of America's top five highest-grossing games in 1988. The arcade version received generally positive reviews from critics, while the home conversions received also a positive critical reception. It has since become widely known for its general premise and introductorycutscene.
The game is set inWashington, D.C., United States, where President Ronnie (based on 40th PresidentRonald Reagan) has been abducted by the evil Dragon Ninja. The game begins with the following introduction: "Rampant ninja related crimes these days ...Whitehouse is not the exception". ASecret Service agent speaks to the titular "Bad Dudes", a tough and heroic duo of street-smart brawlers named Blade and Striker: "President Ronnie has been kidnapped by the ninjas. Are you a bad enough dude to rescue Ronnie?"
The Bad Dudes pursue the Dragon Ninja through the streets of downtownNew York City, onto a moving big rig truck, through a large storm sewer, through a forest, onto a freight train on an oldSouthern Pacific line (where the titular character of another Data East arcade game,Chelnov, can be seen being transported in a frozen container in the arcade version), through a cave, and into an underground factory in order to save President Ronnie.[8]
After the Bad Dudes defeat the Dragon Ninja, they celebrate by eatinghamburgers with President Ronnie. At the very end, President Ronnie is seen holding a burger while standing between the Bad Dudes. Behind them are many security guards, withthe White House in the background.
President Ronnie gives the Bad Dudes a statue of them, as a reward for rescuing and protecting both Washington, D.C., and its leader. The Bad Dudes are seen leaning against a fence on a sidewalk next to their statue.
Up to two players can play simultaneously. The first player controls the character wearing white pants, while the second player character wears green pants. Players start with the ability to do basic punches, kicks, and jumps. Some moves are special like spinning kicks and the ability to charge themselves up with"inner energy" by holding the punch button to throw a powerful long-range attack that hits all opponents in front of the player. Players will also come across severalpower-ups; some are weapons like knives andnunchakus, some recharge a player's health, and others add a few seconds to the remaining time.[8]
The various types of enemies encountered in the game have their own means of attack. The basic blue-colored ninjas directly charge the player, while some leap with their swords, or throwshuriken andmakibishi; there are also acrobatickunoichi (female ninjas), attack dogs, and people who are on fire. The enemies may be beaten down or avoided. Most enemies can be beaten with only a single hit of any kind, and multiple enemies can be defeated with one hit if they are standing close together.
At the end of each level, one of the super warriorbosses will appear, who needs to be defeated to progress to the next level. The first of them, at the climax of the City stage, is Karnov, who makes acameo appearance fromthe Data East game of the same name.[9] Second, at the climax of the Truck stage, is a talon-wielding ninja, Iron Arm. Third, at the climax of the Sewer stage, is Kamui, another ninja master, who creates illusions by copying himself. Fourth, at the climax of the Forest stage, is Animal, a behemoth-of-a-man who is also not a ninja. Fifth, at the climax of the Train stage, is Akaikage, akusarigama-wielding warrior. Last, at the climax of the Cave stage, is Devil Pole, abōjutsu-master. Finally, the leader of the Dragon Ninja gang, coincidentally also called Dragon Ninja, appears during the climax in his headquarters, where there is a final showdown on a helicopter. The background music during the fight with him is similar to the main theme inKarnov.[note 1]
Each boss has his own special attack: Karnov, for example, can breathe fire at the player. Upon the successful completion of each level and after defeating the boss, the dude(s) will strike a "bad" pose and proclaim, "I'm bad!". The shout, and the game's Americanwordmark logo are both similar to the Michael Jackson song "Bad", released the previous year. In the Japanese version of the game, this quote was originally abattle cry.
The game wasported to home systems, including theApple II,Atari ST,Amiga,Amstrad CPC,Commodore 64,ZX Spectrum,MSX,MS-DOS in 1988.Quicksilver Software developed the Apple II and PC ports with the rest produced by UK-basedOcean Software and published in Europe on their Imagine label[10] asBad Dudes Vs. DragonNinja. These versions were titledDragon Ninja in-game,[11] and the"Bad Dudes Vs." was de-emphasised in the cover art,[12] resulting in the game commonly being known by the latter title (including among the European gaming press of the time).[13]
ANES/Famicom port was developed by Data East and published in Japan byNamco asDragonNinja on July 14, 1989. In North America, the same version was released that year by Data East USA simply asBad Dudes, featuring an illustration by Marc Ericksen.
After Data East became defunct due to their bankruptcy in 2003,G-Mode bought the intellectual rights to the arcade game, as well as most other Data East games, and licensed them globally.[14] The arcade version is also featured, along with several other Data East arcade games, on theWii titleData East Arcade Classics, produced byMajesco Entertainment with permission from G-Mode. In 2018, theNintendo Switch version was released in theJohnny Turbo's Arcade series, featuring a live-action intro.[15] It uses a fanart mockup screenshot, but actually has the original arcade graphics.[16]
The 8-bit versions and the PC version lack the two-player cooperative mode in any form, instead having an alternating two-player mode. The title screen of the Japanese version became different, while the English version is unchanged. The Secret Service agent's quote on the intro screen of the NES version is phrased slightly differently as "The President has been kidnapped by ninjas. Are you a bad enough dude to rescue the President?", while the Famicom counterpart's quote is slightly similar to the international arcade and NES quotes. The reference to President Ronnie (an overt reference to former president of the United States Ronald Reagan) was removed becauseNintendo of America did not allow political content in games. In that version, the President bears a resemblance toGeorge H. W. Bush, who was the president of the United States when the NES version was released. The endings of the Japanese and English language versions of the NES port are based on the international arcade version, but the Japanese version does not show the credits and only shows "The End" at the White House scene and lasts a shorter time than the English version. The 8-bit home computer versions lack the intro from either the arcade or the NES versions. The "I'm bad!" speech is only present in the NES version.
| Publication | Score | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amiga | Arcade | Atari ST | C64 | NES | PC | ZX | |
| ACE | Positive[17] | 860[18] | 856(CPC)[19] | 792[20] | |||
| Crash | 46%[21] | ||||||
| Computer and Video Games | Positive[3] | 49%[22] | 69%(CPC)[23] | ||||
| Sinclair User | 9/10[24] | ||||||
| The Games Machine (UK) | Positive[25] | 50%[26] | 47%[27] | 63%(CPC)[27] | 61%[27] | ||
| Your Sinclair | Positive[7] | 7/10[28] | |||||
| Zzap!64 | 87%[29] | ||||||
| Commodore User | 73%(1989)[31] 19%(1991)[32] | 5/10[30] | 84%[33] | ||||
| Publication | Award |
|---|---|
| Sinclair User | Beat 'Em Up of 1988[34] |
The game was commercially successful in arcades. In Japan,Game Machine listedDragonNinja on their May 15, 1988, issue as being the seventh most-successful table arcade unit of the month.[35] In North America, it was a high-earning arcade game,[36] becoming one of the top five highest-grossingarcade games of 1988.[37] On the UKCoinslot charts, during Summer 1988,Bad Dudes was number two on the monthly arcade video game chart.[24] On Hong Kong's annual Bondeal chart, it was the seventh highest-grossing arcade game of 1988.[38]
The arcade game received generally positive reviews from critics upon release.Sinclair User magazine, in its January 1989 issue, gave it the award for bestBeat 'Em Up of 1988.[34]
In the ZX Spectrum sales charts, it was number two, behindRobocop.[39]
The home conversions received a generally positive to mixed critical reception.Computer Gaming World noted the IBM port was satisfactory and compared it favorably to similar ports ofDouble Dragon andRenegade, but the Apple II port suffered greatly.[40]
President Ronnie, as he appears in the arcade version of the game, was ranked second inEGM's list of the top ten video game politicians in 2008.[41] In 2010,UGO wrote: "No ninja game retrospective could possibly be complete without some mention of ...Bad Dudes".[42] In 2013,Complex had it top their list of "the video games where you kick ass in the name of America" as the most American game of them all.[43]
The game was followed by a spiritual successor in 1991:Two Crude (known in Japan asCrude Buster). A sequel which was supposed to take place 23 years after the first game was unsuccessfully attempted to be financed viaKickstarter by Pinstripe Games in 2012.[44]
The arcade version of the game appears in the 1989 filmParenthood, where the son ofSteve Martin's character wonders why the game is so difficult. Martin, grasping for an answer, says, "Well, they're bad dudes. That's why they call the gameBad Dudes". TheBad Dudes logo can be seen at the end of Stage 4 inSly Spy, another Data East arcade game. In the 1990 filmRoboCop 2, Officer Duffy gets pushed by RoboCop into aBad Dudes Vs. DragonNinja arcade cabinet, but withSly Spy built into it.[45][note 2]
The game's introduction, challenging the player to be a "bad enough dude to rescue the President", became a popularInternet meme and is often lampooned on various websites.[46][47][48][49][50] The 2008 video gameSam & Max Beyond Time and Space spoofs on theBad Dudes intro in the episode "Chariots of the Dogs". Alternative rock bandLostprophets' first release,The Fake Sound of Progress, includes a track titled "Shinobi vs. Dragon Ninja" in a reference to the video gamesShinobi andBad Dudes vs. DragonNinja. The webcomicThe Adventures of Dr. McNinja often references the Bad Dudes, among many other 1980s pop culture touchstones.
In 2018, an updated version of the game was announced for theIntellivision Amico.[51]
In 2023, filmmaker BenDavid Grabinski discussed how he tried to make a film adaptation of the video game.[52]
Reissues of the game were nonexistent in the two decades that followed its original release. In recent years, however, rereleases of the original arcade versionBad Dudes Vs. DragonNinja and its NES portBad Dudes have become increasingly common:
| Franchises |  | |
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| Other video games | ||
| Pinball machines | ||
| Related | ||
