I can't think of any shmup that's more unbalanced than this. When you're fully-powered up, your destroy basically everything and your shield can absorb a ton of hits. But dying once sends you back to the START of the stage, with no power-ups.

I got up to Stage 6 without dying once, but then took a hit from a block that spawned literally into thin air. Lost every single power-up and got sent back to the start of the level, and no matter how many times I tried, I couldn't get past the first 10 seconds without my power-ups.

I didn't 'hate' the portions leading up to that part, it's still fairly fun and has a good OST, but I can't think of any moment in a shmup that felt more demoralizing and frustrating than this. To grind your way through this slow-ass easy-ass game for what feels like 40 minutes and suddenly throw it all away because of a single fucking block.

Fuck this game lol