This was a really cool shmup mechanic! At first I thought it was going to be too easy because you could just collect powerups as you went, but having to dash into enemies to get the powerup really turned it into a risk-reward struggle. You can't just hold down fire like in most shmups or you'll kill them, and dashing into them without planning often puts you in the line of fire, causing you to lose the powerup right away!
I lost twice against the boss in the Charuto Galaxy before giving up, so hopefully that's right near the end.