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Bear in mind that the game on default mode is tough. Once you navigate through the initial level, there's going to be so many bombs, enemies, missiles, and other assorted shrapnel thrown at you that you'll be hard pressed to make sense of it, much less keep your ship from being eviscerated. However, seemingly every possible setting is configurable to your any desire, including difficulty, number of lives (not unlimited, but up to 7 in most cases), screen size, hit size of your ship (meaning how hard it is for your enemies to blast you to smithereens), and whether your powerups will be handled manually by button pushes or semi-automatically by the game.
All of these settings take any pain out of playing the game, and in reality extend the lifespan (and reduce the frustration factor) immensely. Once I discovered that I could learn the levels on a difficulty level less than "Kick Your Ass", playing it became that much better. Learn the levels, up the difficulty - a perfect equation.
The progression of title from the first to the last is entertaining. Purists will likely enjoy the original 1986 iteration immensely, and they should, since it packs quite a punch. It's also got that great music that will instantly cause longtime fans to smile (I've seen it happen – these guys can't stop themseleves even if they try). On the other hand, it is the least good-looking and sounding of the five, but that won't stop anyone from having fun with it.
An immediately noticeable change from the original to 1988's Gradius II is the introduction of a voice, urging you on to do things like "Destroy them all!" and the always-enjoyable "Shoot it in the head!". Normally, that applies to zombies, but in the case of the Gradius games it's also pertinent for the bosses. The voice remains (in various incarnations) in each of the games moving forward. I may be the only one, but I've got to tell you that hearing that voice over and over, imploring me to do the same things all the time becomes very grating. Usually, this is because I get killed so often and that voice repeats itself; regardless, this is my one and only true complaint about the game. I wish I could have turned if off - oh how I wish!
The other big change in the later installments is the change in enemy type from just smallish ships to huge, dragon-like megacreatures that flail around and spew fire and destruction. Oh, you've still got the ships and ground artillery to deal with too - they didn't go anywhere. These enemies make their way in each progression of the series, winding up with the grandest visual presentation (naturally) in the last of the games, Gradius Gaiden. Gradius III and Gradius IV are simply greatness redux, improving incrementally with each iteration.
At the end of the day, this collection of superb old-school side-scrolling space shooters should be at the top of the list of anyone who considers this genre one of their favorites. It's a lovingly compiled, brilliantly executed homage to a lost gaming paradigm that frightened me away back in the day, but now invites any and all comers to bask in its glory
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