Super Meat Boy

Overview

Super Meat Boy is a downloadable 2D platformer developed and published by Team Meat for the Xbox Live Arcade, PC and Mac. It follows Meat Boy, a "boy without skin," as he attempts to rescue his girlfriend Bandage Girl from the menacing Dr. Fetus while avoiding sawblades, piles of salt, lava, missiles, and other deadly obstacles. The original Xbox 360 version was a part of Microsoft's Game Feast 2010 promotion. A PC version was later released via Steam on November 30, 2010 for the same price. The PC level editor, PC level portal, non-Steam PC version, and Mac version came out in 2011. A WiiWare version was planned, but was eventually canceled because of the service's low file size limit.

Like Alien Hominid, the concept for Super Meat Boy began as a free online game made in Adobe Flash for Newgrounds. This game, originally called Meat Boy, was released on October 5, 2008, followed by a map pack. Super Meat Boy references other games and videos from the Newgrounds community, as well as the indie game scene at large (including N, Aquaria, VVVVVV, I Wanna Be The Guy, and Braid).

The XBLA version of Super Meat Boy includes 12 achievements (worth 200 gamerscore) and two avatar awards: a t-shirt resembling Meat Boy (unlocked after a certain number of deaths) and a prop of Meat Boy running around the avatar (unlocked after completing the game). The Steam version of Super Meat Boy includes 41 achievements, adding new ones such as clearing all the levels in each world (Light World or Dark World) consecutively without dying, clearing bonus levels, and unlocking new characters.

Development

In the documentary Indie Game: The Movie, Team Meat discussed the 18-month development process of Super Meat Boy at length. After 17 months, the team was offered a feature on the Xbox Live Dashboard, but there was still a substantial amount of work left to be done. Facing financial trouble and left with almost no options, McMillen and Refenes spent the next month crunching to meet the deadline. In spite of the Dashboard feature being absent for the first eight hours of its launch day, SMB sold 20,000 copies by the end of the day. By January 2012, it had sold over 1 million across all platforms.

At the Indie Game: The Movie premiere, Team Meat announced that they had moved on from Super Meat Boy and were working another project, later revealed as Mew-Genics.

Gameplay

The objective of Super Meat Boy is to guide Meat Boy (or one of the other playable characters) past deadly obstacles to reach Bandage Girl, who will be promptly kidnapped by Dr. Fetus. Navigation of these obstacles requires extremely precise timing to pass. Failure means instant death and a quick restart from the beginning of the level. The player is given an infinite amount of lives and near-instantaneous respawns, but Meat Boy leaves a trail of blood to mark where he has been and what obstacles previously killed him. When a regular level is completed, a replay showcases every attempt within the level simultaneously.

Characters have two abilities at their disposal: a jump button and an ability button. For Meat Boy (and most other characters), pressing the ability button engages sprinting. Some characters sprint automatically and replace the ability button with another power, such as Tim's ability to rewind time or Viridian's ability to inverse his own personal gravity. To keep the difficulty in check, the game features extremely precise controls. Quickly tapping the jump button performs a small hop, while holding down the jump button performs a tall leap. Players can also stick to the wall (which may either slow their descent or slightly continue their ascent) and press the jump button again for a wall jump. Some unlockable characters have special jumping abilities, such as the Kid's ability to double jump and Jill's ability to stall her descent.

Over the course of the game, new mechanics are introduced and obstacles become more complex. These include rising tides of lava, portals, magnetic fields, fans, lava rocks, and eventually enemies that hunt down the player character. All obstacles will result in instantaneous death upon contact. The "bosses" are equally indestructible; instead of actually fighting them, these levels require players to navigate difficult puzzles under time restraints until a cutscene is triggered.

Players can also collect bandages scattered around certain levels to unlock characters and certain levels. In order for the player to keep Bandages, they must collect them and successfully reach the exit in one attempt. Some bandages require specific characters and all are difficult to collect, especially in the purple Warp Zones, where players must not only collect the Bandage, but clear each of the three levels with a limited number of lives.

Levels

Super Meat Boy features five main worlds, each with forty regular levels. The initial twenty levels are referred to as the "Light World". If the player is able to clear a Light World level under its par time, they will be able to access the "Dark World" counterpart (which shares the same basic geometry, but has a different appearance and increased difficulty). Each Light World version of the five main worlds also include a boss level, which must be completed in order to progress to the next world. Boss levels are unlocked after the player beats 17 out of the 20 Light World levels.

Along the way, players can also find purple Warp Zones within certain levels. These portals vanish after a set period of time during the level attempt, though reaching these portals makes the Warp Zone available in the level selection screen. Entering a Warp Zone will transport Meat Boy (regardless of which character reaches the warp zone) to a retro-themed zone which is notably difficult. Each zone comes with three levels that must be completed consecutively with a special version of Meat Boy. Bandages are found within these warp zones, but the player will only have three attempts per level to collect them and clear the Warp Zone. If Meat Boy dies during the final attempt at any level, all bandages found during the Warp Zone attempt will be reset, and the player will be kicked back to the level selection screen. Replays and par times are unavailable for Warp Zones.

Red Warp Zones function similarly to purple Warp Zones but are played instead with a secret character. There are no bandages in red warp zones but there are also unlimited lives. There are only five red warp zones, one in each of the main Light Worlds. Each main world also has a special "glitch zone", reached by getting to Bandage Girl while she is in a randomly occurring "glitch state". Glitch zones feature no bandages and only one level, which is typically longer and more difficult than any of the world's Warp Zones.

Chapter 1: The Forest

Intro Cutscene Tribute: Street Fighter II: The World Warrior

Boss: Lil' Slugger (giant walking chainsaw driven by Dr. Fetus)

The Forest introduces buzzsaws, static sawblade launchers, and impassable tiles that crumble away soon after the player touches it.

Chapter 2: The Hospital

Intro Cutscene Tribute: Castlevania

Boss: C.H.A.D. (mutated living abomination of blood and tissue)

The Hospital introduces fans, crawling slimes that stick to surfaces, floating enemies that bounce around aimlessly, piles of deadly needles, keys that unlock certain tiles, and timed laser beams.

Chapter 3: The Salt Factory

Intro Cutscene Tribute: The Adventures of Lolo

Boss: Brownie

The Salt Factory introduces harmful salt, homing missile launchers, moving platforms, tiles that only crumble away after coming in to contact with a missile, and high-speed conveyor belts.

Chapter 4: Hell

Intro Cutscene Tribute: Ninja Gaiden

Boss: Little Horn (monster made of Meat Boy corpses)

Hell introduces lava pits (that sometimes rise), moving lava rocks, portals, rotating eyes that slowly lock on to the player while shooting laser beams, and demon homing missiles that split in to separate small missiles on impact.

Chapter 5: Rapture

Intro Cutscene Tribute: Mega Man 2

Boss: Larrie's Lament (a group of enormous carnivorous worms)

Rapture introduces orbs that repulse the player, abominations (both running and flying) that head towards the player, and homing sawblade launchers.

Chapter 6: The End

Intro Cutscene Tribute: Pokémon Red/Blue

Boss: Dr. Fetus

Unlocked after completing Chapter 5, The End includes five regular levels (with both Light World and Dark World variations) that can only be played by Meat Boy and are designed to test the player's mastery of previous concepts. After completing all five levels, the player can face Dr. Fetus in a boss level. The boss level is divided in to two parts, featuring a halfway checkpoint and a Dark World variant unlocked after completing 85 Dark World levels.

Chapter 7: Cotton Alley

Intro Cutscene Tribute: Ghosts 'N Goblins

Unlocked after completing Chapter 6, Cotton Alley is a special 40-level world that can only be played by Bandage Girl (who is, ironically, rescuing Meat Boy from Dr. Fetus). Despite the pink and cheery atmosphere, the levels are extremely difficult. There are no bandages in this world; the obstacles are mainly limited to giant buzzsaws.

TEH INTERNETS (Xbox 360) / Super Meat World (PC/Mac)

Intro Cutscene Tribute: Bubble Bobble

Unlocked after collecting 20 Bandages, TEH INTERNETS is a special chapter that provides downloadable chapters. All past and future chapters will be free in the Xbox 360 version, due to Team Meat's method of uploading the content in space reserved for free title updates. (Which bypasses Microsoft's normal method of distribution in their marketplace, which would cost either Team Meat or the end user money) All chapters will also be free for the PC and Mac versions.

As of 1st April 2011, Super Meat World is released on the PC version, along with eight chapters of levels. It is also unlocked after collecting 20 Bandages. The level editor is still unavailable, and should be included in the next update.

Each downloadable chapter contains 20 retro- themed levels (with par times to beat) and its own leaderboards separate from the main game. Chapters consist of either a mix of developer favorites (from user-generated maps on the PC level editor or from the original flash game), levels designed exclusively for certain characters, and other levels.

Released TEH INTERNETS Chapters

• The Butcher Boy (by Team Meat, released 10/20/2010) - 8-bit Meat Boy only. Retro-looking chapter that explores mechanics that weren't used in the main game.
• Sewers of Dross (by Team Meat, released 11/21/2010) - Gish only. Makes use of his ability to stick to walls.
• Cramps (by NovaSilisko, released 2/22/2011) - Meat Boy only. User-made chapter.
• Expert Remix (by Team Meat, released 2/22/2011) - Meat Boy only. Remixes twenty levels from the main game (including the first level of the Chapter 5-7 Warp Zone, previously exclusive to The Kid) while making them significantly harder.
• Remnants (by Code92, released 4/28/2011) - Any Character. User-made chapter.

Playable Characters

Each version of the game comes with around twelve unique playable characters to choose from, half of them being platform-exclusive characters. They can either be unlocked by collecting bandages, reaching certain Warp Zones, or entering secret cheat codes in the character selection screen. Each character has his/her own unique abilities that differentiate them from Meat Boy, such as the ability to double jump, perform unique jumps, or act differently around map tiles.

Standard Characters

Meat Boy

• Available by default. Made of meat. Heroic by nature.
• Also unlockable in 8-bit form (40 bandages), 4-color form (60 bandages), and 4-bit form (80 bandages). Achieving 100% completion earns you Meat Ninja, who sacrifices the ability to be ranked on the leaderboards for the power to temporarily teleport out of existence right before he dies.
• The default character, he is the fastest in the game with the most pinpoint control.

Bandage Girl

• Only playable in Chapter 7. Made of bandages. Only has eyes for Meat Boy.
• Bandage Girl plays exactly like Meat Boy, only swapping his red blood trail for a pink trail of calamine lotion.
• Known as "Band-Aid Girl" in the original Meat Boy Flash game. Her name was changed to avoid copyright issues.

Brownie

• Only playable via cheat code after completing Chapter 3. Made of feces and corn. One of Dr. Fetus's evil creations.
• Brownie plays exactly like Meat Boy, only swapping his red blood trail for a brown fecal trail.
• On the character select screen, quickly enter RB, RB, RB, B, B, B, X (when using the Xbox 360 controller), then choose any character.

Commander Video

• Cameo from the Bit.Trip series. 8-bit rainbow runner.
• Unlockable in the chapter 1-12 Warp Zone.
• Although the Commander is the slowest character in the game, he has the ability to stop his fall and float horizontally in mid-air for a limited amount of time by holding down the jump button.

Jill

• Cameo from Mighty Jill Off. Masochistic lesbian shoe fetishist who will do anything to please the Queen.
• Unlockable in the chapter 2-8 Warp Zone.
• By pressing the jump button multiple times, Jill can slow her descent.

Ogmo

• Cameo from the Jumper series. Failed experiment longing for freedom.
• Unlockable in the chapter 3-16 Warp Zone.
• Ogmo has the ability to double-jump horizontally, despite his weak wall jumping.
• Resemblance to Meat Boy coincidental.

Flywrench

• Cameo from Flywrench. Abstract wing-flapping spacecraft.
• Unlockable in the chapter 4-18 Warp Zone.
• Flywrench is very heavy and very unruly, but has a strong triple-jump and can slide up walls with a very thin frame.

The Kid

• Cameo from I Wanna Be The Guy. He wants to be The Guy.
• Unlockable in the chapter 5-7 Warp Zone.
• Sacrifices speed and jump height for the ability to double jump.

Alien Hominid

• Cameo from Alien Hominid. Fragile alien invader; friend to children, enemy to the government, connoisseur of heads.
• Unlockable by collecting 30 Bandages.
• Pressing the run/action button while jumping allows the Alien Hominid to fire his gun downwards, slowing his falling speed slightly or increasing his jump height and wall-climbing speed.

Tim

• Cameo from Braid. Gentlemanly sort, seeks to rescue the princess. Has that time-rewinding potion.
• Unlockable by collecting 50 Bandages.
• Holding the run/action button rewinds Tim's position for up to three seconds and doubles as an invincible force field. Unlike in Braid, this cannot be used directly after dying.
• To play as Tim on PC, type "outtatime" on the character select screen and select a character.

Xbox 360 Exclusive Characters

Gish

• Cameo from Gish. Sentient glob of tar; seeks to rescue his human girlfriend.
• Unlockable by collecting 10 Bandages.
• Just like the Headcrab and Goo Ball, Gish is able to stick to walls (by holding down the run/action button) and slide along ceilings (by holding both run/action and jump buttons down).

Spelunky

• Cameo from Spelunky. Adventurer by trade. Never-ending cave explorer.
• Unlockable by collecting 70 Bandages.
• Pressing the jump button while in the air causes an explosion, propelling Spelunky horizontally in a chosen direction. Then, while still in mid-air, pressing the jump button again causes another explosion, propelling Spelunky downward.

The Pink Knight

• Cameo from a Castle Crashers fangame. Heroic knight with a sweet tooth.
• Unlockable by collecting 90 Bandages.
• While fairly weak in speed and jumping ability, pressing the jump button in the air causes the Pink Knight to flail his arms ("flutter jumping"), granting him extra height and distance based on the point during the jump it is used. He can also jump in mid-air if he runs over the edge.

N

• Cameo from the N series. Skilled ninja. Very fast. Limited lifespan.
• Unlockable by collecting 100 Bandages.
• N is much lighter than the other characters, allowing precision air control. Pressing and holding the run/action button will cause N to start sprinting for two seconds, greatly increasing his run speed and potential jumping distance.

PC/Mac Exclusive Characters

Headcrab (Steam version only)

• Cameo from the Half-Life series. Alien parasite. Seeks heads; create zombies.
• Unlockable by collecting 10 Bandages.
• Just like Gish and the Goo Ball, the Headcrab can stick to walls (by holding down the run/action button) and slide along ceilings (by holding both run/action and jump buttons down).

Goo Ball

• Cameo from World of Goo. Incredibly unintelligent blobs of goo; like to become structures.
• Unlockable in non-Steam versions by collecting 10 Bandages. Unlockable in the Steam version by inputting "ballgoo" in the character selection screen, then picking any character.
• Just like Gish and the Headcrab, the Goo Ball can stick to walls (by holding down the run/action button) and slide along ceilings (by holding both run/action and jump buttons down).

Josef

• Cameo from Machinarium. Confused for trash, wants to find his way home.
• Unlockable by collecting 30 Bandages.
• Josef has the ability to perform a helicopter spin, which increases his jump height, or jump in mid-air should he run off an edge.

Naija

• Cameo from Aquaria. Lone mermaid seeking the history of her lost people.
• Unlockable by collecting 50 Bandages.
• Naija has the ability to transform into her Energy Form and fling herself at high speed through the air.

RunMan

• Cameo from RunMan: Race Around the World. Amazingly enthusiastic, nothing can keep him down.
• Unlockable by collecting 70 Bandages.
• Runman can use his signature Star Dive to hurl himself long distances horizontally very quickly.

Captain Viridian

• Cameo from VVVVVV. Gravity-defying. Courageous. Cyan.
• Unlockable by collecting 90 Bandages.
• Viridian has the ability to reverse his own personal gravity.

Mr. Minecraft ("Steve")

• Cameo from Minecraft. Loves to build. Hates hissing green things.
• Unlockable by collecting 100 Bandages.
• Mr. Minecraft can build solid tiles out of thin air and destroy tiles in front of him, allowing him to easily bypass almost all challenges.

Tofu Boy (Steam version only)

• "Cameo" from Super Tofu Boy, a parody game by the militant animal rights group PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). Wishes he were Bandage Girl's boyfriend. As if.
• Unlockable by inputting the code "petaphile" in the character selection screen and picking any character.
• Tofu Boy, being malnourished due to iron deficiency, cannot run or jump as well as the other characters, making it impossible for him to clear the vast majority of levels.

Soundtrack

Super Meat Boy's old school soundtrack was engineered by Danny Baranowsky of dB Soundworks. Composed of 34 tracks, it is available at meatboymusic.com.

A two-disc soundtrack titled "NICE TO MEAT YOU" has also been released, with an additional 39 songs for a total 73 tracks. It contains new remixes, menu and cutscene music, and some unused songs. The CDs feature the sawblade motif seen on the retail install disc.

Playable Rock Band 3 remixed tracks are available for download via Rock Band Network:

• The Battle of Lil' Slugger (Remix) ( XBL & PSN)
• Betus Blues (Retro Remix) (XBL & PSN)
• Can o' Salt (Remix) (XBL)

Super Meat Boy OST Track List

Super Meat Boy Double CD Special Edition Track List

Disc One (Soundtrack) is identical to the first 28 tracks of the OST

Disc Two (Extras)

System Requirements (PC)

System Requirements (Mac)

External links

• Official website
• Meat Boy Prototype