The fourth instalment in the Gradius series was released into arcades in 1999, by Konami.

This one mixes 2D graphics with some polygonal 3D graphics, but the format remains the same as previously: a progressive weapon shooter, and a slow crawl through various horizontally-scrolling levels, each with a boss fight at the end.

The dreaded bubbles, from Gradius III, make a return in the third level of this game, and that sequence is just as difficult as before. Getting through this section of Gradius IV is nigh on impossible, which is shame. There’s no need to make a game this difficult! Unless, of course, you just want to take people’s money… Still, the chances of anyone seeing past the third level are slim.

There are some graphical glitches in the third level too, which are apparently the result of an incorrect ROM dump. Thankfully these don’t prevent the game from being played.

More: Gradius IV on Wikipedia