Bad Dudes NES

• Released:    1989-
• Developer:    Data East
• Genre:    Beat 'Em Up
• Mode(s):    Single Player | Multiplayer Co-op

*Bad Dudes Vs. Dragon Ninja, often referred to simply as Bad Dudes (on the American NES port of the arcade original), and known in Japan simply as Dragonninja, is a 1988 arcade game developed and published by Data East. It was also ported to many computer and game console home systems.

Bad Dudes is a side-scrolling beat 'em up where the players are set in the role of the titular duo tasked with rescuing "President Ronnie" from ninja kidnappers. It was met with commercial success, and a generally positive to mixed critical reception. It has since become widely known for its general premise and introduction cut scene.

The game was ported to several home systems, including the Apple II, Atari ST, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, MSX and PC DOS in 1988. Most of the ports were done by UK-based Imagine Software; Quicksilver Software developed the Apple II and PC ports. On July 14, 1989, a NES/Famicom port was developed by Data East and published in Japan by Namco as DragonNinja. In North America, the same version was released the same year by Data East USA simply as Bad Dudes, featuring an illustration by Marc Ericksen. In Europe, it was released in 1990 by Ocean Software as Bad Dudes Vs. DragonNinja, although the "Bad Dudes Vs." was heavily de-emphasised in the cover art, and the home versions (excluding the NES version) were simply titled Dragon Ninja in game, resulting in the game commonly being known by the latter title (including among the European gaming press of the time.

*Wikipedia