Just when you said that,i've do the same method this week, but for now and mostly i've actived the hyper at boss 1.And yeah,about the frame-dropping,i've noticed that too,insane how the game was in slow motion.
This days i'm clearly blow the chain,the run,the score,all of it,so i made some pratice to find good spot to do a great amount at the counter in using hyper.At the stage 3,where the life is hidden,release your hyper and place the ship at the center of the hole (same method of the stage 4 lazer spot) you could easily up from 0 to 2000.