Bad Dudes vs Dragonninja

Rampant unused content related crimes these days... Bad Dudes is not the exception...

Version Number#

Japan	US

There's code to display a version number that's never called by the game. Put the following codes in drgninja.xml or baddudes.xml and reset the game to see this text.

(The US version number is supposed to display as 1.1, but the text wraps around, below the lower bound of the screen).

  <cheat desc="Version Number">
    <script state="on">
      <action>maincpu.mw@000006=DCA2</action>
      <action>maincpu.mw@00DCAC=7010</action>
    </script>
    <script state="off">
      <action>maincpu.mw@000006=1386</action>
      <action>maincpu.mw@00DCAC=701E</action>
    </script>
  </cheat>

  <cheat desc="Version Number">
    <script state="on">
      <action>maincpu.mw@000006=E002</action>
      <action>maincpu.mw@00E00C=7010</action>
    </script>
    <script state="off">
      <action>maincpu.mw@000006=13Dc</action>
      <action>maincpu.mw@00E00C=701E</action>
    </script>
  </cheat>

NOTE: Normally the game tries to draw the copyright string and the version number at the same time, creating an overlap. To see this, turn the code off after resetting the game.

Unused Graphics#

A tiny little ninja can be found in the object graphics ROM, right before the Fire Ninja graphics.

Just a couple of squirrels, found in the background tileset for Stage 4 (which takes place in a forest). Perhaps the devs thought they were a bit too cartoony-looking for the game's aesthetic?

In the Japanese version, each developer has their own icon in the credits. These four icons, which include a side view of Dot Man's icon and what appears to be Astro Boy and Kinnikuman, are left unused.

While reversing the game, a table with all composite sprites was found. Most of those are used but some are never displayed in the game. Two images show the main character wearing a different outfit and a tennis headband, and the other frame shows a low kick removed from the final game (the double low kick probably replaces that).

Japan	US

One last unused developer icon. For some reason the localization team updated this graphic, but it's still unused!

Regional Differences#

In Japan, the Bad Dudes player characters are just two (non-BAD) nameless vigilantes. No traces of Bad or Dudes there.

Title Screen#

Japan	US

• The DRAGONNINJA logo was drastically shrunk and moved slightly downward to the right to accommodate the new BAD DUDES logo, with a "VS" added next to the shrunken DRAGONNINJA logo. Also, the BAD in the logo was colored red because red has the meaning of bad! Talk about dedication.
• For obvious reasons, DATA EAST CORPORATION was changed to DATA EAST USA, INC.

Opening#

The Japanese opening text is a bit less flavorful and doesn't refer to Ronald Reagan President Ronnie or the ninjas by name.

Gameplay#

• In the Japanese version, pressing 2P Start will put both Player 1 and Player 2 in the game. In the US version, pressing 2P Start will only bring Player 2 into the game.
• The dip switch that sets the player's number of lives has a range of 1, 3, 5 in the Japanese version, and 2, 3, 4 in the US version.
• In the last boss (DragonNinja) fight, the US version adds respawning attack dogs in the ground, making the end sequence much more difficult. That is independent from the difficulty setting.

Sounds#

All of the player voice samples were changed in the US version, while enemy voice samples were left unchanged. Notably, Player 2 was given a unique jump kick sound, whereas the Japanese version simply reused Player 1's.

Graphics#

Japan	US

The time power-up design changed from a stopwatch to a clock.

Japan	US

The soda power-up palette changed from blue to red, making the item's resemblance to a Coca-Cola can unmistakeable.

Japan	US

The truck at the end of Stage 2 seemingly changed its alliance between versions, alongside the cargo gaining a bit of sneaky advertising.

Ending#

The ending is the biggest change between versions.

• Ronnie's dialogue was spruced up a bit in the US version. He doesn't laugh or make any mention of going out for a burger in Japan.
• The background of the credits was changed from a park at sunset, with a statue of the two Bad Dudes, to the front of the White House with Ronnie holding a delicious hamburger, fitting the new ending text.
• The music was also changed. In the Japanese version, the track starts out similarly to The Star-Spangled Banner before going off into its own thing. In the US version, the track is a straight rendition of Hail to the Chief, which also doesn't loop unlike the Japanese track. To give the new theme time to wrap up, the US credits last about thirteen seconds longer.
• The Japanese version has an enemy cast list running with the credits. This was eliminated in the US version, though the cast text is still in the ROM.
• Each developer has their own icon in the Japanese version. These were all removed in the US version, likely due to many of them depicting various copyrighted characters, though it seems there were plans to keep them at some point...

Japan	US

... since the icons of Makoto Kikuchi, Kansaiman, Kinta58000, and Maro were changed, even though they now go completely unused. Makoto Kikuchi's Japanese icon is a parody of Japanese candy mascot Peko-chan. Likewise, Kinta58000's US icon appears to be a red M&M.

The credits were also changed:

• "Planner" was changed to "Planning", and "Programmer" was changed to "Programming".
• The credits were reformatted slightly to take advantage of the increased space resulting from the cast list and developer icons being removed. This includes Monsieur Micky's name being written on one line as opposed to two, and the planners, programmers, Special Thanks people (barring Mentaiko), and Azusa Hara now going by their full names.
• The Omake ("Bonus") section of the credits was deleted entirely in the US version, meaning Kinta58000, Ganganhonda, and Sherlock Tororo go completely uncredited in that version, though Kansaiman ended up being moved to the Graphics section.
• Kenji Fujimoto and Hiroyuki Iwabe were added to the Special Thanks section. It's possible they helped with the localization in some way, though we don't know for sure.