Bad Dudes

Bad Dudes Vs. DragonNinja, often referred to simply as Bad Dudes, and known in Japan simply as DragonNinja (ドラゴンニンジャ), is a 1988 arcade game developed and published by Data East. It was also ported to many computer and game console home systems. The game was followed by a 1991 spiritual successor Two Crude Dudes (known in Japan as Crude Buster). 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.

The game is a side-scrolling beat 'em up where the players are set in the role of the titular duo tasked with rescuing "President Ronnie" from ninja kidnappers. It was met with a mixed critical reception, but has became widely known for its introduction cut scene.

The gameplay of Bad Dudes is roughly similar to the 1985 Konami side-scrolling arcade game Rush'n Attack, but featuring up to two players at once. Player One controlling the character named "Blade" in white pants and Player Two controlling the character named "Striker" in green pants, will start with nothing but the ability to do 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. Most enemies can be beaten with only a single hit of any kind (or multiple enemies can be defeated with one hit if they are standing close together). Players will also come across several power-ups: some are weapons like knives and nunchakus and some recharge a player's health, and yet others add a few seconds to the remaining time.

The various types of enemies encountered in the game have their own means of attack. The basic blue-colored ninja directly charge the player, while some leap with their swords, or throw shuriken and makibishi; there are also acrobatic kunoichi female ninja, attack dogs and even people who are on fire. The enemies may be beaten down or avoided. At the end of each level, one of the "super warrior" bosses will appear which needs to be defeated to progress to the next level. The first of them is Karnov, who cameos from the Data East game of the same name; the background music during the fight with him is similar to the main theme in Karnov as well. Each boss has their own special attacks: Karnov, for example, can breathe fire at the player. At the successful completion of each level, the dude(s) strike a "bad" pose and proclaim, "I'm bad!". The shout, and the game's American wordmark logo are both similar to the Michael Jackson song released the previous year. In the Japanese version of the game, this quote was originally a battle cry.