With the game in slot 1 and the Konami Game Master 2 cartridge in slot2, the game will give you the option to start at a higher level and/or with more lives.
Tip
When you have two shadow ships, if you press the second trigger button the shadow ships will change their direction of fire. The top shadow ship will shoot forward, behind and up while the bottom shadow ship will shoot forward, behind and below. If you keep the second trigger pressed you will get a real barrage.