Those are the powerups, shot up increases the damage of your shots (or give you the shot attack if you don't have it), area up give you an AoE attack centered around the character, and HP up increases your max HP
ok. now i get it. cz i felt that they were just levels. smh.
ok. so now as i get the game and played it. i can rate it. thanks. ngl. it really needed some narrative or tutorial
Glad it ended up working out & thanks for voting