Customer Reviews

Bad Dudes

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Bad Dudes for the NES is a port of the Japanese arcade game of the same name. The game starts out with a fellow who looks a lot like Duke Nukem informing the player that the US President (President Ronnie, a Reagan lookalike) has been kidnapped by ninjas and asking if the player is a "bad enough dude to rescue the president." Thus the player sets out to rescue the president from the ninjas. Frankly, I doubt that the guy assigning the mission was actually intended to look like Duke Nukem, but boy, he sure does. I got a good laugh the first time I played the game.

Bad Dudes is a fighting platformer that has gameplay somewhat similar to Double Dragon. Like Double Dragon, the player must fight enemies on multiple levels and use dropped power ups to recharge and fight. While this game does have a two player mode, it is not co-op like the original arcade version, but alternates between players instead. Like Shinobi numerous enemies, sometimes four at a time, come at the player, who must fend them off with jumps, kicks, punches and the occasional weapon power up.

Unfortunately, Bad Dudes has some problems with it that make it a lackluster game. First of all, the main character jerks across the screen with what looks like three frames of walking animation. This makes control seem sluggish. Enemies that come at the player have heavy flicker when they touch him which make them hard to see and interfere with the player character's animation as well. The result is a quick paced mess that gets a little hard on the eyes after a while. I suspect that a lot of this has to do with programing limitations due to the NES hardware which can only display so many sprites at one time (That includes background elements). With such limitations, to emulate the arcade's fast paced gameplay and numerous enemies, the addition of flicker was needed. Regardless, it's distracting and tiring on the eyes.

Because of that and the gameplay design, this game is pretty hard for the player who isn't entirely used to playing this type of game. It's fairly unforgiving in terms of gameplay and the player receives three lives to start out the game. I'm not terrible at platformers, but this took me a bit of work to get very many levels into it. It's a grueling and I'd say, not nearly as fun as the other two games I mentioned earlier.

On the other side of the coin, the musical tracks for Bad Dudes are unique and driving tunes that enhance the gameplay and move the game forward.

Bottom line, however, Bad Dudes is a mediocre title. Perhaps with better character animations and less flicker it wouldn't be quite as obnoxious to watch. Other titles such as Double Dragon are a bit more fun to boot. But really, how critical can a person be about a game published nearly 20 years ago?

Anyone who grew up during the '80s arcade scene will remember playing this game. Bad Dudes VS. Dragon Ninja is a action beat 'em up where you and another player take on all sorts of ninjas through 5 stages. The fun comes in picking up weapons, drinking cans of soda for energy, using clock icons to extend the timer and defeating bosses who were parodies/cliches of the ninja world. It was eventually ported over to the NES with a shorter name: Bad Dudes. It was a decent arcade port but because of the cartridge limitations, it wasn't a perfect port by no means.

The PROS: Essentially, Data East managed to capture the core design of the game: the one and two player co op modes, same enemies and bosses from the arcade version are here, same weapons and items are here and the stages are nearly identical to what you saw in the arcade. The sound effects are decent as well as the memorable music. Plus, this is one of the better arcade ports attempted for the NES.

The CONS: In order to fit this onto the cartridge, Data East had to cut corners. Frames of animation were cut and it made the game run slower than the arcade version. The graphics aren't as detailed and the controls are very rigid which made jumping a real chore. Finally, the game is a lot tougher so that can be good or bad depending on the player.

Despite the fact that it is not a perfect port, Bad Dudes still succeeds as far as bringing the arcade experience to a console. It was one of the better ports ever attempted and sold well for Data East. But I didn't buy it because I played the arcade game a lot and still prefer it to the NES version. And I suggest you check out YouTube video clips to see the game in motion and decide if you want to attempt to find a copy.

i read the reviews below/above me, and to say the least- i was disatisfied with the bland reviews and enconmprehensable ratings, because final fantasy 1 sucked.
as we speak, im looking at my arcade version of bad dudes (which is overall a better version of bad dudes) and the fond memories as a child playing that game with my older brothers, and seeing if i can beat the game with the smallest ammount of credits with the best score.
well, unfortunately i beat the game with one credit when i was about 17 and stopped playing the game. you max out after you beat the last boss (and she looks like a lesbian)
for christ sake. try out the game before you judge it. its a game that you either hate or love. and its definetly not as great as some of the games i've played in my life but it definetly has a place in my tenspot for the best arcade side scrolling fighter.

its also not the most difficult game i have ever played in my life, and there is far too many red ninja's that drop the specials, like a knife, nun-chucks or time stopper. but dont let that stop you from enjoying it. the last boss is fairly difficult, and is more-less then having better luck on your side then actual skill.
overall. i would give this game a 4. great memories, not too hard for children to pick up and play, and waste their parents quarters. keeps your attention but by no means is it the cannibal corpse of death metal.
it plays great for what it is

...Bad Dudes is a lack luster game. Once you beat it, it goes out of rotation and eventually gets traded in. I would not suggest this to anyone. I would prefer Double Dragon, River City Ransom or even the TMNT Arcade Game before this one. Don't waste your time or money.

Okay, if you've been reading my reviews you might be thinking, "How can Bad Dudes get only 3 stars from this clown?". Let's break it down
this way: 1 star=Terrible (ie. Jordan vs. Bird), 2 stars=Poor (ie. Castlevania III), 3 stars=Decent (ie. Bad Dudes), 4 stars=Good (ie. Contra),
5 stars=Great (ie. Final Fantasy). Bad Dudes is a game that is fun and somewhat original, but every level has the same enemies - stupid looking
ninjas in white and red with a few others mixed in once in a great while. Once you beat the game, there isn't much to do.