Yes, I also feel a lot of that classic style in the game, I think I got hooked on how they reproduced the genre itself. I want to finish it hahaha, I don't want to download so many games and not end up playing any, or play every 3 months, I tell you that last year I had a lot to do and I really want to stay constant, including here on HIVE haha.
But well, the same thing happened to me, I started on medium difficulty, and I reached old age very quickly, practically when I killed the crazy guy on the grass xD I was about 70 years old haha. So I had to put it on easy, the game has a lot of the arcade combat of the time, I'm sure it could be played with the classic stick and button controls like in the final fight machines. Getting the hang of the combat, I won't lie to you, is hard. Haha!