Bad Dudes

Bad Dudes was a 1988 arcade game by Data East. 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 is a scrolling fighter typical of the genre and era. Bad Dudes puts players in the shoes of two street smart brawlers bent on saving 'President Ronnie' (Ronald Reagan) from a notorious gang of 'Dragon ninjas.' The player must battle their way past hordes of ninjas who have kidnapped the President. The game is separated into levels, each of which contains a 'boss' to be defeated.

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 have their own special means of attack. The normal ninjas directly charge the player, while some jump, throw star-darts or appear out of thin air and drop on the player. A few of them set themselves on fire and charge the Bad Dudes. The level bosses also have special attacks. One, for example, can breath fire at the player.

This game allows for two players to play cooperatively simultaneously.

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, Reagan appears in the Oval Office and delivers this line: "Hey Dudes, Thanks for rescuing me, Lets go for a burger... Ha ha ha ha!"