Gradius V is the "easiest" Gradius I've played, mostly because the smoother difficulty curve upon death makes it easier to apply consistent strategies to sections.
That said, it's not an easy game. Congrats, BUHA. I bet you were tense going into stage 8;)
IMO, both games have different "types" of challenges that they throw at you...GV is more "forgiving," with the smaller hitbox, more versatile options, etc., but it also throws a lot more stuff at you than Gaiden does. Gaiden's a bit more "traditional," in that you've got a bit less "wiggle room," but the overall challenges are a bit easier than V's.
BulletMagnet wrote:IMO, both games have different "types" of challenges that they throw at you...GV is more "forgiving," with the smaller hitbox, more versatile options, etc., but it also throws a lot more stuff at you than Gaiden does. Gaiden's a bit more "traditional," in that you've got a bit less "wiggle room," but the overall challenges are a bit easier than V's.
I would say GV is more difficult of the two as well. I cleared Gaiden after 11-12 hours of play, I've got about 20 hours into GV and the infernal green goo in Stage 6 still kills me most of the time. Maybe the majority of us are just more suited towards the traditional Gradii.
No matter how good a game is, somebody will always hate it. No matter how bad a game is, somebody will always love it.