DAMMIT!!
I just played through and was able to beat the stage 3 boss. I actually made it all the way to the final boss in the "hard" mode but I used up all my continues in the process. He schooled me and sent my ass straight back to the title screen.
Incidentally, my attempts to get the two rifles to the boss of stage 3 failed miserably. So when I got there, I made a half-ass attempt to beat him the way I normally do. Well, I found the "sweet spot" and beat his chainsaw-toting ass to a pulp with just my fists and feet. The stage 5 boss actually didn't seem any harder in "hard" mode. Where I lost most of my continues was in the damn "Womb" level where those hatchling mutants are born. I swear there are twice as many of the f*ckers in "hard" mode.
Well, at least I know it's not impossible to beat "hard" mode. I'll give it another go this wekeend or something.
As I was playing, I was thinking a lot about the msuic. Anyone here have MP3s of the arcade audio so we can compare to the Turbo versions?