The game provides examples of the following tropes:
And the Adventure Continues: Even after you beat the game, if you still have credits left, you'll be taken straight back to the first stage, no "Press Start" prompt.
Book Ends: The first boss, Simon Greedwell, is fought in front of a building's facade. He shoots the players from behind a barrier with mooks appearing from all directions to support him. The final boss, Sir Richard Rose, is fought under very similar circumstances, that is until you destroy his barrier.
Bowdlerise: The SNES version faced some censorship, including removing all references to alcohol, adding some modesty to the female NPCs, changing a boss' name from Chief Scalpem to Chief Wigwam, cutting his lines from "Me ready for pow wow!" and "Me pow-wowed out!" to "Ready for pow wow!" and "Pow-wowed out!" (though the subtitles say "Get ready for a pow-wow!" and "I'm pow-wowed out!") and replacing all the Native American enemies in one stage with white outlaws. Additionally, El Greco no longer says "Die, gringo!" before battle.
In both console ports, the female dynamite throwers are replaced with dynamite-wielding variants of the male bomb throwers.
Clean Dub Name: Chief Scalpem to Chief Wigwam in the SNES port.
Cool Horse: Dark Horse's steed is fitted with metal plates on its head and legs, which block your bullets directly from the front.
Distressed Damsel: The saloon dancers in Stage 4 of the arcade and SNES versions.
In the Genesis version the player has to rescue a brown-haired girl in a yellow dress at the end of every odd-numbered stage. In a 2-Player game the player who gets to the girl first will receive the stage clear bonus.
Flash of Pain: The bosses flash white upon hit, and red when in critical health.*
Very few destructible objects in the game like the barrels at the end of stage 1 as well as the wooden gates in the final stage have the same seizure-time concept bosses had.
Ironic Echo: El Greco has "Adios, amigo!" as both his entry and death phrases in the SNES version.
El Greco's entry phrase in the Arcade version was "Die, gringo!" which was censored out by Nintendo as it was considered inappropriate.
It Was a Gift: In the arcade version, El Greco gives his red sombrero to Cormano upon defeat. Cormano wears this hat for the rest of the game.
With the other characters though, he'll just throw it away.
Just Following Orders: Chief Scalpem's sister saves his ass with these words, as opposed to all the rest of Richard Rose's thugs who were also "just following orders."
Mad Bomber: The Smith Brothers. One of them has enough sense to talk, but the other is completely Axe Crazy. Their boss fight (the only one without a preceding stage) could be dangerous to play if you're epileptic.
Mirror Boss: Sir Richard Rose. After you destroy the barrier protecting him on his balcony, he'll to begin dash, jump and slide around the stage with agility that rivals that of the players. One difference is that his slide can do Collision Damage to the players.
Reformulated Game: The Genesis version is missing Steve and Bob, and only four of the arcade version's bosses are included. However, the stages are completely redesigned and are now divided into two segments, while the bonus rounds are different as well, so it's not a complete loss.
Shotguns Are Just Better: Since all regular enemies are One Hit Point Wonders, Bob and Cormano's shotguns make them far more useful most of the time over sixgun-toting Billy and Steve. However:
Spiritual Successor: Two in particular. Mystic Warriors was made by the same team and even features a cameo by Steve, while Konami's arcade game version of Wild West COW Boys of Moo Mesa is a very similar western-themed side-scroller. The game also acts as a spiritual successor to Konami's earlier western-themed shooter Iron Horse.
Spread Shot: You get this by picking up the Dual Wielding power-up. However, Bob and Cormano had these right off the bat.
Squashed Flat: The death sprite used when anyone, be it either player characters or enemies, gets crushed by falling rocks.
Sweet Tooth: Paco Loco if the Genesis port is to be believed, as all money on his stage is replaced with candy, including the large amount he drops upon defeat.
Token Minority: Cormano is the only Hispanic in a team of blond-haired white cowboys.
Traintop Battle: The boss fight against El Greco. But that's not the only stage where you have to walk through a moving train.
In the Genesis port, Paco Loco is the one fought atop a moving train.
Vocal Dissonance: Cormano, the Mexican gunslinger, has the exact same twangy Western accent as the other three heroes.
You No Take Candle: Dark Horse says, "You in big heap trouble!" when you fight him, and "Me in big heap trouble!" when you defeat him. Chief Scalpem also introduces himself with, "Me ready for pow wow!" and croaks, "Me pow-wowed out!" when defeated.
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