[cjbprime]

Yeah, the blue laser feels more powerful than the third wide powerup.. but there's a point with the boss where the only place you can be without any chance of getting hit is off to the side, so I bet the third powerup is good for that. (If you don't hit the boss, it doesn't change firing pattern.)

[cjbprime]

Ah, I just won. Pretty sure the trick is indeed to not die while collecting powerups, and then not die while fighting the boss; I didn't lose any lives. I had to use all three bombs on the boss, there seem to be three places where there's no way to avoid a hit without the bomb.

[leot]

Yes. There are at least two places you can just park the fighter during the boss.