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I think Bad Dudes vs. Dragon Ninja has to be one of the greatest game names ever. The gameplay was pretty typical beat-em-up fare along the lines of Double Dragon. The game had you taking on the roles of two bad dudes, with the totally rad names of Blade and Stryker, who are on a mission to save "President Ronnie" from the evil ninjas. President Ronnie is of course President Ronald Reagan who was ruling the country at the time.
Our country's leader wasn't the only one making a guest appearance in this game, however. Karnov, fresh from his own game also takes a guest role as the game's first Boss. Other boss battles include various multi-colored ninjas, a Shredder look a like and a pro wrestler looking guy. Once you've defeated all the ninjas and their evil leader you return in your helicopter and are treated to a hamburger with President Ronnie.
As far as flyers go, this one is rather dull although it does give us a nice look at the cabinet and the rather frightening opening screen. These uber masculine guys seemed to be a staple in the late eighties and early nineties with games like Double Dragon, Duke Nukem, and the ultra studs of Contra. The cabinet art features some great ass kicking and of course ninjas as well as what looks to be The Human Torch. One of the brawlers on the marquee even has spiked gloves that are quite reminiscent of Wolverine's retractable claws.
The game would go on to be ported to a many different consoles and shortened it's name to simply Bad Dudes which isn't nearly as cool as the full name. It has since reached a sort of cult status among gamers and has even appeared in such non-impressive movies as Parenthood and Robocop 2. Not exactly a stellar list of credentials, but it's got ninjas and it's bad! And we're not just talking regular old bad here, we're talking Michael Jackson BAD and in the eighties, that went a hell of a long way.
Flyer courtesy TAFA
