OK this is her setup (if you know your Gradius lore, pick up yellow orb things to power up).
<SPEED> <BEAM WHIP> <HOLY WATER> <BOOMERANG CROSS> <AXE> <TRIGON> <FORCE FIELD>
Speed is traditional Gradius speed up.
Beam Whip shoots out a long pink whip that you can keep in front of you as long as you hold the shoot button. When you move your ship, the whip will trail alongside you and the whip itself stretches across the whole screen, taking care of any enemies that touches it.
Holy Water throws itself in an arc forward and emits a flame when it hits something, similar to the Holy Water in any Castlevania game, or the Missile/Bomb attack in Gradius games. It only throws one Holy Water at a time tho.
Boomerang Cross replaces your shooting (and/or whip) attack and it will throw the Cross forward at a small distance, then it will return. It also only throws one Cross at a time, so this isn't the type of weapon you want to use when you are in a pinch. In the Weapon Card select screen (before starting the game), replace this with a Ripple or Double weapon.
Axe is just that, the traditional Axe from the Castlevania series. It will throw itself in an upward arc, and you can only throw one axe at a time. It also replaces your shooting (and/or whip) attack and is not a good weapon to use in pinched situations at all. In the Weapon Card select screen (before starting the game), replace this with a Laser type weapon.
Trigon is a little Option/Multiple unit that stays with you and fires tiny things at enemies. You can upgrade it 2 more times. First upgrade it shoots star-shaped projectiles, and the second upgrade shoots blue twin lasers in two directions. It will shoot in a direction depending on your movement, and you can't seem to freeze the placement of the Trigon unit either.
Force Field is a VERY IMPORTANT barrier that has been a staple since the first Gradius game and you must use this as early as possible.
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Sonic Generations Collector's Edition (360) 
*bounce happy*