Yeah, this is definitely a game where you "learn" the levels. Which is fine until you get to the later ones, and you're trying to learn but each time you die you have to do it all again. And then maybe you lose a life or two stupidly early on and start over again .
I got to the final stage on my own a few times, but it's got some really tricky parts. I ended up completing the final level via the emulator and save states. Not my preference, but I'm not 13 any more, I got things to do!