Bad Dudes / NES Gameplay

Played through as Blade.

"The president has been kidnapped by ninjas. Are you a bad enough dude to rescue the president?" How many games can claim to start out with such a memorable intro?

Bad Dudes is a port of Data East's 1988 arcade brawler Bad Dudes vs. DragonNinja, and boy did I love it as a kid. A buddy of mine got a copy for Christmas, and we spent a ridiculous number hours after school over the following few weeks doing our damndest to rescue the president and to get those burgers.

It's pretty simple: as Blade or Striker (or both in the alternating 2P mode), you march through an odd, random assortment of levels beating down a veritable army of ill-tempered, palette-swapped ninja (and the occasion attack dog) as you search for the American president.

In addition to your standard range of punches and kicks, you get some fun power moves (like a spinning kick and a fire punch), as well as the ability to pick up daggers and nunchucks. The controls are simple given the limitations of the NES pad, and they're more than responsive enough to accomplish the mission at hand.

The graphics have been simplified but still bear a strong resemblance to the arcade game's, but I personally think that the music improved a great deal in the move the NES. The digitized grunts and groans are gone, but the most important voice sample is still here - in my mind that painfully loud and distorted, "I'M BAD!" clip is one of the most memorable things in the game.