I guess back in 1985, it was the easy to use version of C...

It handles allocating and deallocating memory for you, keeping data and code together, a nicer way to write to the console, and other basic things.

I think you have to look at it with 40-year-ago eyes to see it...

With the right tooling and libraries, C++ could be both powerful and easy. Of course it means marrying a platform usually, of which there are many..