@Fredg999, I see where your coming from, and it's not a bad idea, but then what about level required weapons? That would be kind of unfair to higher levels, and there time would have been wasted.
I just realized something... This game pretty much takes place on Earth during nuclear winter. Ashrock largely resembles North America, Arctis looks like Australia, Cyprion looks like South America... (Yes I realize there are too many places to resemble continents...)
When you get the shield power-up you should destroy any laser you touch, because I've gotten hit way too many times from getting out of shield mode on top of a laser.
IMPORTANT TIP: Use the fish of luck as much as you can until the point you can't use it anymore. It helps you stock up on a lot of good items and mana pearls early in the game.
Erm... I have to say that first of all, the enemies are way too hard to kill, and the effect of upgrades is almost un-noticeable... There should be either more basic or better upgrades.