Bad Dudes

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Bad Dudes
Bad Dudes Title screen
Developer(s)	Data East
Publisher(s)	Data East
Release date(s)	Arcade version 1988 Computer versions 1988 NES version July 14, 1989 (Japan) 1989 (USA) 1990 (Europe)
Genre(s)	Scrolling fighter/Action game
Mode(s)	Single Player, cooperative
Platform(s)	Arcade Game, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Apple II, Atari ST, Commodore 64, NES, DOS, ZX Spectrum
Input	8-way Joystick, 2 Buttons
Arcade cabinet	Upright
Arcade CPU(s)	68000
Arcade sound system(s)	Sound CPU : M6502, Sound Chips : YM2203, YM3812, OKI6295
Arcade display	Raster, 256 x 240 pixels, 1024 colors

Bad Dudes is a 1988 arcade game by Data East. The game is a scrolling fighter typical of the genre and era.

[edit] Name

The full official name of the game is Bad Dudes vs. Dragon Ninja, but the latter part is almost always dropped since the marquee and title screen for the game de-emphasized it (it was in a much smaller font). The game was simply known as Dragon Ninja in Japan.

The NES version of the game used the compact name Bad Dudes without the "Dragon Ninja" addition, while the home computer versions were named the other way around (Dragon Ninja only).

[edit] Overview

"Rampant ninja related crimes these days... Whitehouse is not the exception..." Thus started the game's ominous intro.

Bad Dudes puts players in the shoes of two street smart brawlers named Blade and Stryker bent on saving "President Ronnie" (Ronald Reagan) from the "Dragon Ninja" who kidnapped him. The game is separated into levels, each of which contains a boss to be defeated.

[edit] Description

In Bad Dudes, as a street-smart fighter, the player battles hordes of evil "ninjas".

The game is typical of the genre, with up to two heroes featured at once. The player uses a combination of kicks, punches and jumping to defeat the enemies. Each level contains a boss that needs to be defeated to progress to the next level. At the successful completion of each level, the dude(s) strike a "bad" pose and proclaim, "I'm bad!"

Along the way, the player will come across several power-ups. Some are weapons, such as nunchaku and knives. Some recharge a player's health, such as a soda. Yet others add a few seconds to the remaining time.

The various types of enemies encountered in the game, including ninja women and attack dogs, have their own special means of attack. The normal ninja directly charge the player, while some jump, throw makibishi caltrops, or appear out of thin air and drop on the player. The level bosses also have special attacks; Karnov, for example, can breathe fire at the player.

The cabinet for this game is a standard upright. The controls consist of an 8-way joystick and two buttons. One button is used for jumping, the other for attacking (sometimes just taking action, like picking up a power-up).

After saving the President, Ronnie appears in the Oval Office and delivers this line:"Hey dudes, thanks for rescuing me. Let's go for a burger... Ha! ha! ha! ha!" The hero does not receive one.

[edit] Ports

The NES intro screen. Note that the President was not named, unlike in the original arcade version.

The game was ported to several home systems for personal use. Bad Dudes was ported to the Apple II, Atari ST, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, MSX and MS-DOS in 1988. On July 14, 1989 an NES port was released in Japan; a North American release followed later in the same year, and the game was released in Europe in 1990.

The 8-bit versions (including the NES one) lacked the 2-player cooperative mode; if the players started a 2-player game, both players would take turns playing, switching when one lost a life.

The NES introduction to the game was phrased slightly differently: "The President has been kidnapped by ninjas. Are you a bad enough dude to rescue the President?" Also, in that version, the President did not resemble Reagan at all. This was undoubtedly influenced by Nintendo's policy that they would "not approve games for the NES, Game Boy or Super NES systems (i.e., audio-visual work, packaging, and instruction manuals) which...include subliminal political messages or overt political statements." (Despite this, the President did actually bear a resemblance to George H. W. Bush, who was president when the NES version was released.) The home computer versions lacked the intro from either the arcade or the NES versions.

[edit] Trivia

• The player character can also "charge" their punch by holding down the attack button. You will see the character cock his arm and the fist will glow with fire surrounding it. When released, it will instantly kill any and all minor enemies that it contacts with. Very useful when fighting against the boss character that is a ninja who can divide himself up.
• The game acquired cult status based on its tongue-in-cheek scenario, including an introduction by the Secret Service agent: President Ronnie has been kidnapped by the ninjas. Are you a bad enough dude to rescue Ronnie?
• Karnov, the star of another Data East game, makes a cameo appearance as the game's first boss. The background music during the fight with him is similar to the main theme in Karnov as well. The NES instruction manual claims the reason Karnov is working with the ninjas is a mystery.
• The arcade game appears in the movie Parenthood. The son of Steve Martin's character wonders why the game is so difficult and Steve Martin, groping for an answer, looks at the awning and says: "Because they're... bad dudes!"
• The game also appears in the movie Robocop 2. When Robocop confronts Officer Duffy in the video arcade, he throws him into an arcade machine whose name is blurred at first. However, one frame clearly shows "... DUDES - vs dragon ninja", as well as a "Data East" logo on the side of the machine; Data East had developed the Robocop arcade, and would later release one based on the sequel.
• The British prog-metal band LostProphets named a song off of their first release, thefakesoundofprogress, Shinobi vs. Dragon Ninja. The first song's title was a reference to the video games Shinobi and Bad Dudes vs. Dragon Ninja.
• Three days after the September 11th attacks, Tom Fulp of Newgrounds released a game called "Bad Dudes vs. Bin Laden," which is a content-modified Flash version of the game, in which the object is to beat up Osama bin Laden.

[edit] External links

• The KLOV entry on the game
• MobyGames' entry on the home versions of the game
• The NES HQ Bad Dudes page
• Dudes. Are they bad enough? located at Something Awful