If I was in charge of a port I'd be tempted to add in more ways to earn credits through gameplay, be those extra lives or score bonuses, whatever fits. Just something that makes getting extra more satisfying then just being given them from the start. It would have to balanced well of course.
I find it hard to restrain myself and set my own challenges so having it on freeplay stops me trying my best to git gud as I can just walk to the finish destroying a lot of the fun. Why risk getting to that health pickup if I just respawn next credit anyway. Forcing myself to restart the game when I lose x number of credits feels weird. I think free play should be hidden behind cheat menus or better yet unlocks.
Definitely. Its even worse in games like Metal Slug.