Developed by Toaplan and released by Taito in arcades in 1989, this space-shooter was ported to the Sega Mega Drive by Nippon Computer Systems, who didn't think once about dialling down the extreme difficulty.
As side-scrolling space-shooters go it's hard not to resemble R-Type, though there's nothing dynamic or memorable about the enemies or level design at all. It's very uninspired and by-the-numbers, though it's mildly notable for having multiple orientations of your bullet spreads. Cycling through them to hit the right enemy at the right moment is a nightmare, so it's an innovation that doesn't even work. Hellfire is INSANELY difficult, to the point that enjoying your power-ups is virtually impossible as you'll die literally every ten seconds. I died at least a hundred times playing through the first stage alone. It turns progression through the levels into a fairly joyless experience.
The Mega Drive port has chunkier graphics than the arcade and the soundtrack is a bit better, driving the chaos of the game forward. The sound effects in the Japanese version are also louder, for some reason. But unless you are talented at "bullet hell" shooters or are a glutton for punishment and can tolerate mundane level design then I'd give Hellfire a wide berth. Most certainly not a classic and no one's favorite.