Aw man, I love Star Soldier! I think the most important criteria for enjoying it, though, is recognizing that it isn't really the same category of shoot-em-up as Gradius or Salamander. It's almost more like Galaga in some ways.
That being said, I've never made it very far in the game, either. And I ALWAYS play with turbo haha. Does your Analogue Pocket support auto-fire?
[T-Pac]