Yeah, stuff that you can't see coming your first time through is pretty cheap design.
I'll also note that games having a limited number of continues (assuming that continues put you back at the start of the world) is a very artificial way to raise difficulty. Which is to say, it honestly doesn't raise difficulty that much, just makes you replay the first few chapters of the game if you run out.
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Cats land on their feet. Toast lands peanut butter side down. A cat with toast strapped to its back will hover above the ground in a state of quantum indecision