Yes totally intended! You'll be immune to enemy attack while in that state. Also you'll still be able to press the start button and shoot a missile while in that state. So if a monster is all up on you while your bouncing around, shoot a missile and kill it!!!
i made it to the boss never beat it [yet], those are some jammin tunes!!! everything played well for me. the hurt mechanic is an interesting one...
thanks for letting us try it out!!!