Itsa me, Mario!
Excellent game. Top notch programming, nostalgic-as-hell graphics, and the "Normal" difficulty is just challenging enough. I was planning to curse you out at first for making the Normal level boss' firing pattern practically unavoidable... until I happened to accidentally stumble into the solution (stand real close to him before he jumps, and he'll miss you every time).
My main complaint: most of the powerups are either only usable in niche situations (especially the C.Cane) or completely useless (S.Spread), making the basic weapon the weapon of choice over 95% of the time. I get that the special powers are supposed to be that - special, but I almost never get to use them. It almost seems pointless to have ammo rechargers at all, since a round of each is probably all you'll ever need, even if you die.
I still cannot fathom how to get at that life at the beginning. No doubt you placed it there with the intent that it could be gotten by a persistent player, but fuck me if I can't figure out how to get at it.
But given that these are the only things I have to gripe about, I'd say you did a top-notch job. I'd give it a 10 if there were more levels. (Hint hint)