False Alarms/Sonic Does Not Lose Rings Twice
From Sonic Retro
Sonic Does Not Lose His Rings Twice
The s2b-3.avi video clip of the Mean Machines Sega VHS gives an impression that in this prototype Sonic can loose his rings more than once, like in Sonic Crackers.
Sonic getting hurt from a coconut thrown by a monkey...
...and again by landing on spikes. Or so it seems.
The above shot is taken between the first two. Notice Sonic suddenly has 1 ring instead of 0. Explanation? Tails (off screen) grabs a ring after Sonic is first hit. Therefore Sonic can afford to land on the spikes without dying.
Like the prototype we have, Sonic does not become invincible for 2 seconds when landing on spikes. However he does become temporarily invincible when landing on the ground, as illustrated by the Hill Top clip.