Bad Dudes VS Dragonninja

A BAD ENOUGH DUDE






Proprietor of one of the most hilarious titles of videogame history, DataEast's 1988 effort Bad Dudes VS Dragonninja emerges as a statement of solid rivalry towards the era's flamboyant Beat'em Up traditions. While our present subject matter isn't afraid to borrow its basic gameplay mechanics from the 1984 classic Kung-Fu Master and its direct descendant Vigilante from 1988, the output's primal agenda is to ride with the well defined modal waves established by Double Dragon one year earlier.

A copycat then? Far from it. This retroid delicacy possesses both a tremendous global charm AND the most memorable Mission Briefing you'll ever see in a Beat'em Up. Got doubts? You are about to lose those utterly ma'man, as the Bad Dudes, Blade and Striker are Back in Town - and they are about to dominate hostile ninja assets of the midsection character as they make their way to save the President of the United States from the Gruesome Clutch of the Dragonninja! Are! You! a! Bad! Enough! Dude! to present their amazing skillset with intact convince power?

Enjoy and Read on!




Bad Dudes VS Dragonninja is more complex than the good old first glance will probably suggest. Controls are simple, yet are supported by firm context sensitivity, meaning certain moves are available only in case particular conditions are fulfilled. We will see into this matter later. Your basic arsenal is seemingly - even practically - limited to an Attack and a Jump button, yet the aforementioned context sensitivity and some variations with the basic tools will give you a more flamboyant palette of maneuvers to rely on. Let us see into these in relation with the basic pace- and character of the gameplay.



The Ideal Place to settle a Conflict.

To put is simply, Bad Dudes VS Dragonninja is about: Bad Dudes and Ninjas, AND a Dragonninja. More precisely: it is about Bad Dudes and a BEEP!load of Ninjas to be found-, and to be dismissed by demonstration of an amazing skill set of martial arts. The screen is ruthlessly, fervently frequented by massive packs of the generic enemies, yet each of them exhibit a different method to punish you. Thus, learning, then preparing for the attacks you will most likely be subjected to in a given moment is one major chunk of the fun here, while, naturally enough, the second portion forms merely by the casual fact that you are not only supposed to defend your butt(s) - you are definitely supposed to punish all others that are fool enough to present themselves with the Bad Dude(s) around.

Your basic punch seems rather scarce. You know why that is? Because it IS scarce. Once there are enemies in front of you though - an occurrence to consort with relative frequency in this here game - you can start a semi-coarse combo of three-four consecutive hits, though being stationary is a risky stance to rely on, for most of the time. Notice that we have just seen an example of context sensitivity. To put is simply: do the combo when you are not approached from different directions. Let us see the other tricks that are waiting to be unleashed.

Charge up the Attack button by pressing on it, invoking the Long Forgotten, and Even Forbidden Technique of The Electrified Fist of Gruesome Atomic Shattering!, even: !!. As results of the firm amount of time it takes to spend in a stationary position to invoke the move, be aware that this particular Special is rather risky to rely on, not to mention that most of the generic baddies will be knocked out cold by a single attack you connect with. Not all, though: more advanced enemies at the later stages will ask for more of the quality punishment, to them, it is a logical method to introduce the Charge Special - you will need excellent timing and an excellent screen position to state it successfully, nevertheless.



NOBODY! Steals our PRES'! - and LIVES!

Try and smash the respective Direction buttons supported by each Actions, inlcuding a combined press of Attack + Jump. Some rather interesting maneuvers will occur, including an unorthodox "jumping lowkick" that comes in handy against the doggies, - in this here game, they are a PITA, no doubt. Your most frequently used weapon will be the Hurricane Kick though, the move quite similar to Ryu's Trademark (?) Special. In Bad Dudes VS Dragonninja, you invoke the maneuver by Jumping either towards Left or Right, then you want to push Attack immediately. It does not work if you simply Jump up. This is a nice, trusty method to connect on multiple enemies while keeping your movement consistent.

Jumping up remains an integral part of the game, as well: Player Characters are able to demonstrate a Jump of Definite Bean Overdose, something which comes rather handy when you plan to evade a massive swarm of baddies you would prefer to loose their usually tight formations up. The High Jump is simple to rely on, just press Up while you press the Jump button, as well. It is also worth mentioning that this is partly the way you switch between the upper-and lower sections of a stage, granted you are on one that has multiple stories to wage war on. To get to the lower section from a higher one, press Down + Jump.

Extras are present, too: knives, nunchakus, and Hate, the Weapon of Mass Destruction. Surely, one of them is absent, or at least I did not notice its evident presence yet. While knives and nunchakus have a different attack range, they will make your Bad Dude turn much more swiftly. Other extras are coming to you in forms of Time bonuses and Coke to re-supply health. Yeah baby, this, even ZIS! is the Coke way. The exact method of picking Extras up is a Riddle begging to be solved by the Dearest Visitor. As for the context sensitivity we touched upon earlier, a further example for this is neutralizing the shurikens on the floor: approach them superclose, then unleash a combination of Down + Attack to get rid of the thing. You can't execute this amazingly satisfying kick though without a shuriken in front of your feet. Yet, in case you CAN: then you are a Badderer Dude than I Is.



Each of the game's seven stages is concluded by a classic Boss Fight, with a Final Showdown coming to you via a surprisingly clever dramaturgical buildup. Like most Beat'em Up titles, Bad Dudes VS Dragonninja is particularly grateful once you decide to play it rigorously, meaning: you refuse to get kicked around, and choose to exploit weaknesses and gaps in the opposition's lines instead. With its now-supercoarse, though timelessly intact presentational values and memorable gestures/lines placed throughout its mere fabric, Bad Dudes VS Dragonninja weighs in as a piece that delivers the hilarious modal cheesiness of the original, One-and-Only Ninjamania of the late '80s. A definite retroid delicacy.



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