I reached level 2 a few times, and jumping the first monster was so difficult that I gave up ( achieved only one time; to be directly humiliated by the following monster ^^' ).
I support the idea of infinite lives more than decreasing the difficulty. Or at least to be able to start at level 2 after your get there!
Nice game, totally agree with Liam and Noon Moon, the animations are great: the variety of enemy killing you, the entry scene and the level indicator effect!