The game was commercially successful in arcades. In Japan, Game Machine listed DragonNinja on their May 15, 1988, issue as being the seventh most-successful table arcade unit of the month. In North America, it was a high-earning arcade game, becoming one of the top five highest-grossing arcade games of 1988. On the UK Coinslot charts, during Summer 1988, Bad Dudes was number two on the monthly arcade video game chart. On Hong Kong's annual Bondeal chart, it was the seventh highest-grossing arcade game of 1988.
