If a hazardous part of the level in the game crushes Sonic , the player loses a life .
Official player 's guide , p. 12.At the start of the game , the player is given three lives , each of which may be lost if Sonic collides with hazardous enemies or objects while in possession of no rings , falls to the bottom of the level screen , or exceeds an act 's ten-minute time limit .
Sonic the Hedgehog -LRB-1991 video game-RRB-