Which Version of Dragon Ninja Did I Rank No.1?
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ก.พ. 2025
- In this video, I will be ranking 10 ports of the 1988 Data East arcade classic - Dragon Ninja. This ranges from home micro computers and console versions.
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#baddudes #dataeast #c64 #amiga #zxspectrum #atarist #16bitgaming #16bitgames #retrogaming #retrogames #justjamie - เกม
Note: ST version wasn't this slow. Editing issue.
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This was one of my favorites games in the Arcades. I finished it in the Arcade with a friend once. For sure using a tons of coins.
Jaysus fella. Your banging out these videos. Keep em coming💪
More to come!
The era from around 1988 to 1991 was really interesting as far as arcade ports go. The new 16bit systems like Genesis and SNES were not mainstream yet, so most arcade ports had to go to either the weaker 8bit NES/SMS, or the Amiga and ST.
Yeah for sure. Some absolute gems came out during this time.
at the bowling alley in those days the arcade way my go-to.
I had it on my CPC and indeed it was a good adaptation
the jump from the hanger to truck in the second stage. on amiga version was impossible for me as a kid. And the guy in the intro when he talked. the sound effects was more like a machine gun 🤣🤣
Yeah mate! Go the Miggy! Me and my brother had alot of fun with this one! Dying when you fell of the truck was cracker as you could not jump back up!
The funny thing about this game is that I remember it being called Dragon Ninja. I played the arcade game and I'm sure it had nothing about "Bad Dudes" written anywhere on the cabinet, yet I can't find any picture online of a cabinet that only said Dragon Ninja. I first heard of the name Bad Dudes Vs Dragon Ninja early in the 2000s when retro gaming started becoming popular and I thought it must have been what the game was called abroad...yet it was officially called that in the UK. I also remember loving the music on level two which I'm sure was different.
This game had iconic print adverts in the magazines. Great art. Lovely graphics in the Amstrad version
Nintendo Power magazine
Really enjoying your comparison videos! Keep 'em up!
Thank you
One of my Favs ever never understood why the c64 version could not of been 2 player id love some remakes of c64 games that could of been so much better
loved the Amiga version even though the forward jump was busted used to dream of getting an Amiga to play games like this
Loving these uploads
The channel is getting better and better.
Happy Christmas to all
Thank you. Merry Christmas 🎅
I'm a c64 guy but I loved the cpc version. the trade it paper.!...... wow 😂 I forgot about that. I bought my megadrive from there back in the day. Cool video mate 🤟
Haha, Trade-it really was the way back in the day!
Hey Jamie, I am absolutely loving your videos, they really are excellent! Any chance you could have a look at Renegade and Enduro Racer? I was a Spectrum 128K fan back in the day, we also had an Atari 2600! I went onto own a C64 (the playground enemy!), Master System, original Gameboy, Amiga 500, Megadrive, SNES and Gamrcube! During this time I got my nephews into gaming! I now have two boys, 10 and 11 who love retro and modern gaming! We currently have a Atari flashback 8 Gold, a Megadrive (sadly not my original one), my original Gamecube, with Gameboy player, PS3, PS4, Nintendo Wii and Switch, all hooked up to one TV,! We also have a Nintendo DS, DS XL and 3DS! Gaming certainly has changed over the last 40+ years, but I still love it! Thank you for helping me relive my childhood, your videos are making this 50 year old man very happy! Keep up the excellent work 👏🏾👍🏾😀
Hey, all on the to do list 😉
Been watching this series of videos. Great work. Now subbed! Also Double Dragon 2 would be an interesting video maybe. I loved the C64 version.
If you do this one, please include the good Amstrad version too this time
Awesome, thank you!
Love these vids. The CPC version looks fantastic! The Atari ST version though... nope. Not good. I've checked other videos of it, and it does indeed seem to run at the same speed as it does in your vid (or at least close to the same speed). I had the Amiga version back in the day, and remember having big problems getting jumps to work consistently. Other than that it was very good.
Thanks for watching!
I feel like with this one, Arcade is, the only way to go...
Merry christmas 🌲🎁☃️
Happy Christmas 🎄
I only played the arcade and NES version. Stage 2 has the *best music!* 😎
Absolutely
Agree! It made me feel so hyped up fighting on that truck.
Played on the NES. Thank God for that 64 lives code!!
Haha
I never knew about the 64 Lives code only the infinite one on Game Genie 😂😂😂😂
The difference between the ST with software scrolling Etc. to taking advantage of the custom hardware on the Amiga that made it run much smoother despite the slightly slower processor. I've still seen the ST do better with clever programming, but it's always great to see an Amiga game that not a just lazy port. PS: Just saw your comment saying that the ST version wasn't this slow with an editing issue, so I watched it played elsewhere and it's still very choppy compared to the Amiga.
I have the Commodore 64 game and the NES game. Both are great. Love me some Bad Dudes.
Oh how I wish there had been a handheld version of this either on Game Boy Color or GBA.
That would have been awesome.
It was known (the arcade at least) as Bad Dudes vs DragonNinja for North America and Asia version, just DragonNinja on the European and Japanese markets and just Bad Dudes for the north American NES release. Same went with most of the ports that followed
Killing it man with the port videos but I like them
And it's killing me making them lol
The arcade original is still better than all of them. I have the Retro Classix release on PC and Switch, which was previously released as the Johnny Turbo's Arcade series of Data East arcade ports by Flying Tiger games.
By the way, have you done a ranking for the ports of the successor: Two Crude Dudes? If not, it would be an interesting episode to see it in the future.
Southern Englishman here 👍🏻
Was firmly called dragon ninja round my way
Hey there 👋
Remember seeing this down the arcades in Barry. Think it was the fighting on the truck thing that hooked me... short-lived.
Ah, Barry, I went there as a kid
@JustJamie1983 Needless to say the Version I had was the Amstrad CPC... I was quite a fan of the arcade game even though I was never any good at it...
The Old CPC port was OK... I am actually shocked it did better than the C-64 in your opinion! As for the Magazines, Jesus you could have some fun if you find any old scans from back in the day as the dodgy screenshots... That happened SO MUCH! I forget which magazine it was but in Reviews for SALAMANDER / LIFEFORCE on some of the 8-Bit Micros... One Magazine literally printed a "Mock Up Image" That still had the artists SIGNITURE IN THE PICTURE!
Now in the 90’s the first time I played Bad Dudes was at a Mexican bread store and later on at the Arcades.
I put in like $3 in quarters to almost get to the end but lost and had to go because it was almost time to go watch a movie at the theater.
But I had an NES and asked my parents to buy me Bad Dudes at a KB Toys Store at a Mall.
Then they bought me an NES Advantage Joystick with the turbo speed switch so I would do the jump kick repeatedly beating every ninja, creature, and boss until I got to the end.
FINALLY, I beat the game!!!
Great times growing up
But later on, in my adulthood years I played it on NES again without the NES Joystick and turbo switch only with a regular NES controller and after much losing beat the game.
😊😊😊😊😊😊
Such a classic title
Bro, those were the best times growing up for every kid.
That and playing outside riding bikes far away and getting home late 😂😂😂😂
After that getting in trouble with my parents waiting with the belt
@davidbermudez7704 proper times when kids had a little more respect too.
Had this on the Speccy and was shocked to find out years later it was called Bad Dudes Vs. Dragon Ninja as all the ports on computer reduced the title to just Dragon Ninja.
Yup. Crazy stuff.
I remember that too
I knew this game as "Bad Dudes" cuz I had the NES version which removed "Dragon Ninja" from the cover and title screen.
Also, the characters would say "I'm bad!" after beating each boss further adding to the "Bad Dudes" theme. 😂 That and the Arnold character in the beginning asking if you are a "bad enough dude to save the president".
Same. Even when I heard the full title I'd assumed I was Dragon Ninja and I was fighting "Bad Dudes". Still was a fun game, enjoyed it on both Speccy and CPC.
Played it quite a lot on the Amiga. I was really surprised when I noticed that my new 1MB memory expansion (well, it was an additional 512k) added some enhancements to the game! If I remember well, the female enemies only appeared with the extra RAM, and you could also see the elevator move up - while in the basic version it just teleports you.
I think this is one of the port comparisons where the original arcade version outshines all the ports...
They should've ported this game to the Sega 16-bit, released in 1989 (though the console was released in 1989 in North America, it won't be a launch title in that country...)
CPC 464 green screen. My childhood was different tones of green.
I remember the c64 version to be really easy, maybe there was 2 different versions? Like happened with street fighter or bionic commando
Same, I could beat the game on a consistent basis when I had it. It was much easier than some of the other arcade conversions that I had such as Contra.
I’m no gaming god but I clearly remember completing this on my first play through. It was nice though.
First game I played on my C64!
I called it dragonninja too, definitely something cool about it. I seem to remember the ST version being half decent. I had this on Speccy too, wasn't my cuppa tea tho.
Always put 10-20p in the arcade when I was in a fair.
👍🏼
PS: C64 was decent looking at it, tbh quite a few c64 games look excellent.
Played a single level demo disc for the Amiga A LOT.
I had the same 2 conversions you had, the C64 and Nes. What I didn't like was the lack of 2 player mode.
Yeah that could be annoying if you were into 2 player games.
Thanks Mate. I played a fair bit of this as a kid in the arcades. And it is one of the few I went "I'm going to beat this" on MAME in my mid-20's (that, and midnight resistance).
Seemed brutal, was actually pretty easy, when it's not a coinage problem.
(Was the evil ninja clan that bad? Considering it was made up of blokes in their pajamas with hoodies, ladies in fishnets, a few fat blokes, and some actual ninjas. Like, did you just totally destroy a trucking company's Christmas party in this game?)
Is it just me, or does the walk cycle in the Spectrum version makes "Bad Dude" look like he's sashaying along in high heels?
I was really happy with the Amiga version at the time, I loved the arcade and I felt it played pretty close, it was satisfying as a port. And looking at the other versions here I would agree its the best, and the Amstrad version looks like it plays pretty well, hadnt seen that one before, a nice effort by the programmers on that one. But I love this game, only just been playing it in Mame the last few days.
Totally agree!
Bad Dudes is the most 80s game ever made. The president has been kidnapped by Ninjas!!!! lol. love it.
Totally. The best decade. Ever.
@@JustJamie1983 Absolutely. There are two types of people in the world. Those who lived through the 80s, and those who wished they had lived through the 80s.
Good fun :) i remember seeing the adverts in the magazines back in the day and quite enjoyed it on my spectrum, and then later on my amiga. How's that Nebulus comparison looking? ;-)
That will be next year my friend.
I grew up with spectrum version but I think the Amiga version is no doubt the best.
Finally beat the C64 version using save states. Wow, is it a hard game. Died hundreds of times.
Yup. It's definitely a toughie.
Jamie I enjoy your reviews, would it be possible to do a midnight resistance review from data east when you get a min
Thanks. Consider it on the list 😀
❤
After ZX Spectrum, the ports does get faster and of course better visually
Armstrad CPC surprised me though, it was an incredible sight to see good ports on this thing over and over again despite the limitations
Atari one though…I don't know what to say about that version, it does look good and faithful I guess despite the slow frame rate
Okay it's a editing issue, no wonder it's that slow
Yup. The ST version came out much slower than it actually was. Take no notice there.
Amstrad games. When the C64 and Spectrum versions got months of coding and optimization and the Amstrad got ported in days you get these bad ports. It even often emulated parts the Spectrum code. Code that works fast on the Spectrum can make the CPC version crawl. Check out Amstrad CPC Pinball Dreams for a games impossible on the other 8 bit micros. The machine isn't underpowered, but underused. Even the hardware scrolling was rarely used
Amiga version way too fast and should be out further down in the pecking order. NES, jerky main sprite, bland colours and doesn't look right. ST version embarrasses the ST and Jack Tramiel.
8 bits should often be rated higher than Jamie do. This time the Amstrad version has some effort put in. Plays really well, smooth and colourful.
Winner Amstrad CPC. The C64 version is good too
1988. When you could choose between saving either President Ronnie from the ninjas or Madonna from the skinheads
Exactly. Some bad stuff happening back then. Not as bad as today for course 😉
@@JustJamie1983No side scrolling gang even tries to kidnap a president or Madonna anymore lol
Power drift next? Or final fight
Hey there, Final Fight is here:
th-cam.com/video/g9qF9UtS7Uo/w-d-xo.html
Power Drift at some point.
FYI the Amiga ports have more detail of you had more ram. Significantly better with just an extra half meg.
Cool
I played the NES before seeing the arcade and never rented it again, imagine if Sega had made a version.
Yeah wasn't brilliant.
I think the nes version is the best version, I even prefer it over the fantastic Arcade version.
Yeah the Amiga port does certainly look the part but there is one major flaw which stops you from progressing beyond the 2nd stage, you cannot diagonal jump so you are not able to jump from truck to truck 😓
Thank you.
You're welcome!
I remember ninja warriors being good on the Amiga
A great game too.
The real bad dudes were the friends we made along the way.
Amiga port is still a masteropiece
You would think that the Apple 2 would have a good version !!
Exactly
Is there an explanation of how to play Windows games on Batosera? I hope it is explained.
I've not covered this. Only on Retrobat.
I had the Amiga version and the conversion was ver y similar To the arcade but have a big trouble cause the Mc cant jump foreward… so intuye truck and in train is imposible no fall down in each jump
Only the arcade is best
I always think the scrolling on your Atari STE videos looks worse than I remember. Have you got Blitter Enabled?
It was yes. Please see Pinned comments.
Winners dont use drugs.
Ah, the American anti drug campaign
"Atari ST being somewhat on the slow side" is putting it mildly. Very mildly.
Please see Pinned comment.
The emulator your using for ST needs tweaking. The game never moved this slow... Similar to Amiga 😂😂
Yeah it was never as slow as what was portrayed in this video
amiga commodore
Yeah, horrible version. Way too fast
1942 please
It's on the list