Tap up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A. That brings up the cheat menu where John can get infinite lives, as well as choosing where he wants to respawn. Tell him to save his progress first, as it's been known to crash the game.
At the age of five, Skagra decided emphatically that God did not exist. This revelation tends to make most people in the universe who have it react in one of two ways - with relief or with despair. Only Skagra responded to it by thinking, 'Wait a second. That means there's a situation vacant.'