has gradius aged terribly? in the process of getting a 1cc right now and some sections are just terrible. every boss is shit and there's some sections that just carpet you with bullets so if you don't have a full loadout you just die outright. Even playing the NA version with easier recovery it still feels near impossible in some sections. Stage 2 feels harder than stage 3 just because there's a turret swarm that cover the screen in bullets while you're dealing with tight corridors. either you have shield to deal with it or you die