The ninjato (sword) wielding mook whose attack can only be stopped by a very well-timed up punch.
The crouching mooks with the tekko-kagi who are hard to hit because of their quick speed.
The dogs who rush at you and can only be hit by a crouch attack.
The black ninjas throwing makibishi are really annoying on the parts of levels where you can't see your feet.
Memetic Mutation: "Are you a bad enough dude to (X)?"explanation The opening to the game asks "Are you a bad enough dude to rescue the President?"
"Hey dudes, thanks for rescuing me. Let's go for a burger.... Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!"explanation The President's line at the end of the game.
Mexicans Love Speedy Gonzales: As one can probably guess, many Americans love this Japanese game about a couple buff, American badasses saving the president from ninjas.
Narm Charm: If The Cannon Group made a video game, this is exactly the kind of game they would have made.
Also, Sly Spy, which is a combination of this game and Heavy Barrel, and painted over with a James Bond skin. (Bad Dudes is one of the other Data East games advertised in the background.)
Unintentional Period Piece: This game was Totally Radical when it came out in the '80s, being a game about... bad dudes fighting ninjas. Now... well, even if you didn't notice President Ronnie or Bush in the game, nearly everything that was slangy and cool when the game came out has since faded from the public consciousness.
. Averted in America and the Famicom/NES versions, however, where it's "Hail to the Chief" verbatim