The Adventures of Bayou Billy

Most of the game follows a side-scrolling beat-'em-up format where the player character must engage in hand-to-hand combat against every enemy he encounters to proceed from one area to the next until reaching the end of each stage before his health runs out. Billy's basic attacks consists of a punch, a kick and a jump kick performed by pressing the A and B buttons simultaneously. The player can also arm Billy with one of three melee weapons dropped by certain enemies: a throwing knife, a club and a whip. Picking up a new weapon while in possession of one will replace it.

Billy can also pick up guns, which the player can draw or withdraw at any time by pressing the Select button (when Billy is using a gun, the number next to the "bullet" indicator at the top of the screen will start flashing). Other power-ups in these stages include a chicken drumstick that refills Billy's health and body armor which protects Billy from enemy bullets and reduces the damage he takes from different attacks. While most the enemies in the beat-'em-up stages are human, the player will occasionally fight animals as well such as crocodiles, eagles and guard dogs. In Stages 2 and 7, the game adopts a rail shooting format viewed from a first-person perspective , which can be played with a standard controller or with an NES Zapper , depending on the mode chosen by the player at the start.

In these stages, the player must shoot as many gunmen as possible and then destroy the boss at the end without running out of health or ammunition. Certain enemies will drop additional ammo and health kits, as well as other power-ups such as an hourglass that gives Billy unlimited ammo for a brief moment, a bulletproof vest that leaves him invulnerable for a while, and a star that destroys all on-screen enemies. In Stages 4 and 5, the player must drive Billy's jeep through the freeway from the grasslands to the suburbs before time runs out. In these two stages, the player steers and accelerates the jeep with the d-pad , while the A and B buttons are used to launch grenades at airborne enemy vehicles and shoot at other cars in front of the jeep.

These are the only stages where the player does not have a health gauge and as a result, a single collision with an enemy vehicle, bomb explosion or any other road hazard will cause a life to be lost. The player can pick up gasoline cans along the way to extend the time limit. In addition to the main mode, there is also a practice mode featuring shorter versions of select stages in order to help players familiarize themselves with the controls for each gameplay style. Completing a practice stage will award the player with a power-up that can be used in the main game.