Konami‘s 1989 arcade sequel, Gradius III, is beast of a game.

There were a couple of moments in the second stage where I thought to myself “How on Earth are you supposed to survive this?!” The sheer amount of bullets, bubbles and enemy ships was overwhelming. Even with quicksaves it was almost impossible to make it through and I almost gave up. How an average gamer in an arcade was meant to do it, I don’t know…

Gradius III is an excellent game, with new ideas brought to the table, and some great graphics and sound. But it’s just too difficult for the average gamer. Only nutcases need apply.

More: Gradius III on Wikipedia