First try!
This was great! I played through it several times after the first. I had difficulty locating the power ups the first time the message about them appeared and also didn't realize there were two near the bottom of the level until my second run. Interestingly the top two always seemed to be 2x Attack boosts, while the bottom two alternated at random (as far as I could tell) between health and shield pickups.
I like the idea of using the bits you get from defeating enemies to power your stronger weapons. I found that the second weapon, with its piercing effect, was strong enough to get through everything. It was fun to play around with the others as well. With so many enemies there was never a worry of running out of bits.
I appreciate being able to hold down the button for continuous fire!
The music is fantastic, I could listen to the victory song all day.