review with price, trailer and game experience for Arcade and Nintendo Switch

It’s hard to remember what it was the first arcade we tried, having to take us back to our childhood, but in my case one of the games that always comes to mind when trying to find out, is Bad Dudes vs. DragonNinja. Or at least, the first arcade I tried in a bar, almost certainly.

Not that I had a good memory of this work by Data East, since it was widely surpassed by other games of the time and in other styles there were icons of the stature of Street Fighter II, but I certainly wanted to replay it decades later to see how the passage of time has treated it since its debut in 1988.

I’M BAD

Bad Dudes vs. DragonNinja It was a game that was quite to the point: the White House itself has been attacked by a group of ninjas and they have captured the president. But instead of calling in the usual elite corps to solve the case, help falls to a group of two pimps who keep reminding us how bad they are when they complete each mission yelling I’M BAD. Yeah the game title doesn’t lie.

This Data East work supposed an evolution with respect to the mythical Kung-fu Master of Irem of the year 1984, being, in essence, a beat ’em up in a single 2D plane where enemies do not stop assaulting us from both sides of the screen, having to use our fists and kicks to kill him without questions.

All the enemies, except the bosses, fell at once, being quite benevolent in relation to our life, since we could withstand several hits before dying. Although it was not an easy game, far from it. And it was also quite whimsical with the luck of the objects that the red ninjas dropped, the ones in charge of dropping weapons, overtime or soda cans.

The most coveted weapon was the nunchucks, of course. With this weapon the journey was much easier, although ironically the most powerful blow was still the jump with kick. In fact, it was the best tactic against Karnov, first boss of the game and unmistakable wink to the classic 1987 Data East namesake.

The years are not in vain for the Bad Dudes

At the level of possibilities or mechanics, Bad Dudes vs. DragonNinja was quite limited and repetitive with enemies, when pulling the blue, red and black ninjas, with some girls from time to time, throughout its seven phases, without having any thematic for each area, with slight exceptions, such as the cave dogs or some ninjas that they became a human torch to run away.

In its day it attracted attention, yes, in some phases, such as the second, on top of moving trucks. But of course it suffered from simple, especially if we compared it with the Shinobi by SEGA, released a year earlier. Without going any further, the Bad Dudes’ only “magic”. DragonNinja it lay in that ability to charge up his fist attack to deliver a more powerful blow at close range.

The whole adventure forced us to fight very close to the enemy, since we did not have shurikens or weapons that could be launched. But with not having to rescue any survivors, it was a fairly straightforward game that did not take long to see their seams, like the few patterns of the bosses.

While his legacy continued spiritually with him Two Crude Dudes In 1991, in the middle of 2012, Pinstripe Games tried to bring its sequel to fruition through KickStarter, but failed miserably and never saw the light. And let’s not forget that Golgoth Studio wanted to resurrect the original With Joe & Mac: Caveman Ninja and Tumblepop, but we already know how it all ended … at least Sure Yes he was able to enjoy his long-awaited remake in 2018. So, Is it the final end of Bad Dudes vs. DragonNinja? Not quite, because it will have a special version for Intellivision Friend. And if it is in the style of Breakout, welcome.

Has it stood the test of time well?

No, of course. Nor is it that at the time it was a panacea, as there were better representatives at that time of the 80s, but now Bad Dudes vs. DragonNinja seems simpler and more repetitive than ever. At least Data East has other timeless gems, like the iconic and addictive Windjammers.