The player begins with three lives and it is possible to play with either one or two players.

The player begins the game with 5 lives, one of which is lost each time that the player crashes into something.

The player begins the game with three lives, indicated by the stacked green boxes on the bottom right corner of the screen.

The game progresses by stages; the player begins with four lives.

Each game begins with three lives, and an extend is earned at 600,000.

Each character begins with four lives and one bag of gold.

The game begins with eight lives (meaning nine attempts) that are shared by all characters and no way to gain more.

Spyro begins the game with four hit points and four lives.

In both single and multiplayer versions, players begin with five lives.

Characters begin with seven lives, which can be replaced in-game.