Gradius

Gradius: the first game as a child to cause me extreme frustration, but also extreme addiction.  Being a huge fan of side-scrollers Gradius is one of my favorites despite it's high level of difficulty. 

Gameplay is rather simple compared to today’s standards, but back in the day it was totally cool.  Collecting orange orbs by either killing strings of enemies or being in the right location on the screen when they pass will earn you power ups.  Power ups can be applied to different abilities such as speed boost, multiple guns, laser upgrades. 

Graphics were very simple, but highly effective.  The screen never became too complicated or confusing causing you mass amounts of strife. 

Gradius wasn’t a consistent bullet hell.  The difficulty became learning what upgrades to have and where to be exactly to avoid dying. 

Overall I fell Gradius is a timeless side-scroller that can be enjoyed by gamers of all ages.