When I was a really small kid and the youngest in my extended family, I remember crowding into a room with my relatives to watch my cool older cousin play this game for the first time.

"You're a spaceship?!"
"Watch out for the flying caterpillars!"
"Are those big pink things enemies too?"
"Don't crash into the ground!"
"Wait... can you even crash into the ground?"

Then my cousin moved Opa Opa the sentient spaceship towards the ground... and he sprouted little feet and started walking around. The room erupted in laughter. Then we all took turns at the controller - I lasted all of ten seconds, but that was enough. Pandora's Box had been opened and kid-me was now a Gamer with a capital G.

It's definitely awkward to play by modern standards; the slippery controls, large hitbox and lack of mercy invincibility when starting a level or exiting the shop menu are indicative of an era when games as a whole were still figuring these things out. But the aesthetic and soundtrack are definite plus points, and the ability to buy upgrades at shops add a nice little layer of strategy to the gameplay loop (I wish you were able to save weapons for later when you needed them most though). And the very first game I ever played is deserving of at least some nostalgia points!