Dead Dude: Undead Cool Guy


 * Surf's up, chums! But, whoa! So's the necromancy, dude! You gotta help this radical bag of bones take down this evil necromancer's army of undead goons and save the day! You can, like, do it on your TLB2, man! Get Dead Dude: Undead Cool Guy from your local shops today!
 * -TV advert

Dead Dude: Undead Cool Guy is a platforming game developed and published by Murphy Computing for the TLB2, released in 1985.

Synopsis
Dead Dude: Undead Cool Guy tells the tale of the titular Dead Dude, the reanimated skeleton of a deceased Californian surfer dude brought back via necromancy. The necromancer who resurrected him, Rolazar Kane, intended to make him part of an army of gnarly undead baddies with the intent of taking over the State of California. However, he escaped before Kane could put him under his control. Dead Dude vowed to put an end to Kane's totally bogus and evil plans.

Cast of Characters

 * Dead Dude - The titular character, and you play as this radical bag of bones, who had been brought back from the grave to be part of this army of gnarly ghouls and monsters, but he wasn't gonna have any o' that, so he swore to stop that totally evil necromancer from taking over the State of California.
 * Rolazar Kane - The very necromancer who resurrected Dead Dude with the intent of making him part of an army of undead monsters to take over the State of California, and is totally bogus for that. He acts as the final boss of the game. Waste him and his goons!
 * Chelsea - A local Californian girl who would get tangled up in Dead Dude's adventure to stop Rolazar Kane. She'd at first get in the way and would need to be rescued, but becomes a valuable ally later on in the game.
 * Henry - A local Californian dude who likes to exercise and build up his muscles to show off for the ladies. Chelsea is his target, and hates it when Dead Dude gets in the way. He occasionally appears as a mid-boss to try and drag Dead Dude down.

Gameplay
Dead Dude can takes up to three hits before dying, but can restore his health by collecting food items, or temporarily extend his maximum health by collecting medkits. He can jump on and bop enemies from above (like in Super Mario Bros.), perform a spinning attack he calls the "Bone-nado", or pick up stuff to throw them at enemies. Collecting a skateboard item can enhance his mobility and jumping attack to take down stronger enemies with fewer hits, as well as performing tricks to earn extra points. While most of the levels involve platforming or the obligatory boss battle, there are also bonus stages where Dead Dude takes to the wave with his surfboard for an opportunity to earn extra bonus points.

Main Gameplay

 * D-pad - Movement
 * B - Jump
 * D - Bone-nado/Perform skateboarding trick (when using a skateboard)
 * A - Pick up item/Throw item
 * Start/Pause - Pause/resume game

Surfing Bonus Stage
NO INFO YET

Reception
Like Bladenite and its two sequels on the TLB2, Dead Dude: Undead Cool Guy received critical acclaim. In its case, for its smooth gameplay, well-researched setting based on real-world locations in the State of California, and cartoonish tone.

It is followed up in 1989 by a sequel, Dead Dude II: Night of the Living Uncool.