Frontier: Dead or Alive is a game that draws inspiration from the 1979 Nintendo arcade title Sheriff. There are three options on the main menu: Sherrif V Bandidos (single-player game), Outlaw Hill (two-player game) and Townsfolk Gallery (overview of all the saved people). In Sherrif V Bandidos the player's character is a sheriff in the middle of the screen that can be freely moved around in any direction using the joystick. He is surrounded by outlaws that move around him clockwise. They sometimes shoot and move inwards. The sheriff can fire in the direction he is facing and needs to take out the bandidos. However he also needs to protect an innocent townperson who follows his around and needs to stay alive. There are twelve stages in total, each with a different character to save and an increasing difficulty level for instance introducing exploding TNT. Sticks of dynamite can be picked up quickly before they explode to disable them. After shooting a bandido a bird appears near the top of the screen. After completing a level a bonus can be played as a quick-draw shoot-out shown from a behind view with only a single bullet. Quick reflexes are needed to shoot first.