Vanguard isn't bad as a autoscrolling shmup from 1981, and I actually prefer it to many of the more complex shmups included in this collection (for example, the Ikari Warriors series seems to me to be very overrated, which might be because of how few people have played them recently). At least Vanguard is clear on hitboxes, the rules are simple, and there's some variety offered by four-directional shooting and demanded by how some of the levels change direction and pace. But compared to a lot of the arcade greats of the time, it's still on the mediocre side.