This could have been an addicting and fun arcade game, but it was ruined by greed.
It takes so long to actually earn the items within this game that it becomes a boring grindfest long before you reach a place where you can upgrade, and the impermanence of those upgrades is one of the most infuriating things I've ever dealt with in a game.
Upgrades in a game like this should almost never be consumables.
Sorry, no stars for you.