Ok I just played the game.
First of all I love the new title's 3d model, it looks great. I think the main menu music is also new? I really, really like it! I couldn't tell the difference between story mode and arcade to be honest, but the difficulty levels felt great. I'm still unable to beat the hard difficulty but I WILL god dammit! The only thing about the main menu I found rather weird is the lack of a 'start' button. I know I have to press enter while choosing the game mode, but when I'm selecting the difficulty I also try to start the game with enter by intuition, I think a start button would solve that: you choose the game mode, then the difficulty and then you hit start. The game tips are also a nice addition.
About the gameplay itself. You added new voice acting lines? I love them, they sound great. I also really like the new repair and slow time power-ups, but that makes the weapon upgrades less common and I kind of miss the old weapon upgrade system. The life hub next to the ship turned out great and now I can't imagine not having it. The fact that the boss can escape now makes it a little too difficult, especially on hard mode in my opinion.
I don't know what you did, but the game feels a lot faster and responsive. The only way i can describe it would be "PEW-PEW-PEW-PEW-PEW-PEW KAPOOOW" if you know what I mean. I really like all the pew-pews!
Anyway, GREAT progress as always and I'll be waiting eagerly for the next update.