Bad Dudes/Gameplay

Characters
There is no difference between Blade and Striker, only their names and their portraits. When selecting characters, each player is represented by a Roman numeral (I for player 1, and II for player 2). The second Roman numeral will only appear if 2 player mode was selected from the title screen.

User interface
The user interface shows you who's character is playing, what their health is, how many lives they have left, and how many points they have. You can also see the time you have remaining before you automatically die, and the top score achieved (HI followed by points).

Moves

 * Standard punch: press . You can use this while ducking. It will automatically be replaced by a low kick if you are close to an enemy.
 * Low kick: press while ducking. Only works sometimes.
 * Back kick: press or, and  at the same time, in the opposite direction your bad dude is facing.
 * Upper cut: press . This attack has no use in the game.
 * Jump kick: jump to one side, then press . This attack is very difficult to use.
 * Spinning kick: jump to one side and press immediately. This attack is very difficult to use.

Power ups

 * Cola: gives you four health.
 * Sword: gives you a short ranged weapon. Is more effective than normal attacks.
 * Nunchuks: gives you longer ranged weapon. Is more effective than normal attacks. All shurikens must be deflected while ducking.

Enemies
Ninjas come in three colors: blue, white, and red. Blue ninjas will either run up, stop, and punch you, run past you, or run and do a jump kick. White ninjas either run past you like a Blue Ninja, or throw a shuriken standing or kneeling, or throw down four spikes on the ground. You can attack shurikens and spikes while they are in the air to destroy them without taking damage. Red ninjas act like blue ninjas, but sometimes carry weapons. When killed, Red ninjas always drop a power-up.
 * Ninjas

Female Ninjas look like they are jogging and behave like Blue Ninjas. They come in two colors, but have no difference between one another.
 * Female Ninjas

Claw ninjas look like the stage 2 boss. Blue Claw Ninjas act like Blue Ninjas, but walk slower. White Claw Ninjas are a little bit faster, and try to jump over you when they get close. Either hit them in mid air, or duck underneath.
 * Claw Ninjas

The red dogs you see in stages 4 and 6 won't do anything until you get close enough. You can easily jump over them, or duck and attack when they start to charge. Having a weapon will help you kill them.
 * Dogs

Sword Ninjas are unique in that they will not chase you across elevations (they won't jump up or down) so you can't get a cheap shot on them that way. Luckily they are very easy to manipulate. When you get close enough, they will always jump high into the air and try to land where you were standing. Simply walk towards where they lept from, turn around, and then attack. Depending on what color the Sword Ninja is, perform a different attack. For Blue Sword Ninjas (as seen at the end of Stage 1), attack them standing up. For White Sword Ninjas, attack them while ducking (since they duck when they land, you won't hit them any other way).
 * Sword Ninjas

There are four dangerous objects in the game: spikes, stalactites, sewer water, and moving ground. Spikes and stalactites are encountered in stage 6, sewer water in stage 3, and moving ground in stage 2 and 5. To avoid spikes, you have to high jump across them. Stalactites won't fall until you are close to them, but all you have to do is move backwards a bit to avoid them. Stalactites can be destroyed in mid air, but don't give any points. Sewer water can be avoided by jumping across the gaps. Moving ground can be avoided by not falling through the gaps of the moving vehicles, or by not jumping down a level.
 * Objects

Enemy behavior
When certain enemies are on a different elevation than your bad dude, the ninja will often jump or drop down a level. When this action is taken, the enemy slows down significantly and is vulnerable to attacks.

Similarly, when an enemy runs after your bad dude but there is a pit or gap in the way, the ninja will slowly hop over the gap, also leaving themselves open to attacks.