"So bad, it's good"

Sometimes games are made that are so cheap, so gaudy, and so bad, that one can't help but love them. Bad Dudes vs. Dragon Ninja is one of these games. This particular game has been frequently mocked for being a combination of a bad surfer dude movie and a senseless ninja movie. Despite it's obvious short comings, Bad Dudes proves to be genuinely entertaining.

Graphics: 8/10
For a game made in 1989, the graphics are pretty decent. The sprites are sharp and clear, and because this is an arcade game, it doesn't pose the problem of slowdown due to way to many sprites on the screen. The shading of levels and characters looks very nice. Despite the good graphics, the look of this game has a very definite cheapness to it.

Sound: 4/10
There is probably a total of 5 actual sound effects in this game. You've got your character connecting with a hit, your character getting hit, your character losing, the enemy losing, and the obligatory ''I'm Bad!'' after you complete a level. All of the sound effects sound fairly muffled as well. I would definitely expect better sound quality from an arcade machine.

Music: 1/10
Here's the best way I could think of to describe this game's music: random notes on a synthesizer soaked in a bucket of water. The music shouldn't even be qualified as music. It's nothing more then noise meant to accompany the ''ARGH!'' and ''I'm Bad!'' sounds in the game.

Gameplay/Fun factor: 9/10
One would think doing nothing but plowing through faceless ninja's would get really old, really fast. It is this very aspect of the game that I enjoyed so much. Some beat 'em up have fatal flaws, such as losing to easily, not enough enemies, to many enemies, impossibly difficult bosses, stale and repetitive enemies, etc. Bad dudes seemed to avoid most of these problems. There are a lot of enemies, but you aren't just beating the same ninja over and over. There is an actual variety to them. Some throw stars, some hit you with a huge sword, some appear out of no where and claw you. Even the levels are varied. Bad dudes doesn't exactly have depth, but it will entertain you for a while.

Rent/buy/download?
Since I doubt you'll be able to buy or rent an arcade game anywhere, download it. This one is worth looking at, even if it is just to laugh at the badness of it.

Overall: 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/04/03, Updated 06/30/03