Originally based on a Flash game, Super Meat Boy is a downloadable game from developer Team Meat. Everything about the long-delayed platformer oozes retro style, from the sprite-based graphics to the incredibly challenging difficulty level, and especially some great old-school references.
Super Meat Boy’s story is comparable to Super Mario Bros. That is to say, it’s not overly deep. Bandage Girl (a girl made of bandages) has been kidnapped by Dr. Fetus (a fetus wearing a tuxedo, top hat and monocle), and her boyfriend Meat Boy (a boy without skin) is out to rescue her. If I may say so, this is the most brilliant scenario I’ve ever seen in a video game. Bandage Girl waits at the end of each stage, but when Meat Boy reaches her, she is snatched away yet again, and you must continue on. The story is told through cut scenes that bookend each world, as well as each boss fight, but really, you know as much as you need to from this paragraph.
The meat of the game is the incredibly challenging gameplay. (Yes, that pun was absolutely necessary.) Meat Boy must avoid buzz saws, lasers, missiles and other obstacles while jumping huge gaps, running through tiny tunnels, and kicking off of walls (or all of the above at the same time). As a result, the game requires a high degree of precision. The controls are a little loose at first, but the game starts off simple, giving you plenty of time to get used to the controls and the physics.
Meat Boy? Or Game Boy?
Super Meat Boy contains six worlds. With the exception of the final one, each has twenty main levels and a boss fight. Additionally, they also contain twenty Dark World levels, which are much more challenging versions of the regular levels. In each level you can get an A+ ranking and be ranked on online leaderboards based on how quickly you complete them. Throughout the forty levels are hidden warp zones which take you to hidden retro-styled levels, or to levels inspired by other indie games (which range from popular to obscure) where you can unlock characters from those games. There are also bandages to collect throughout these levels, which unlock more hidden characters.
When you complete a level, you’re treated to a replay of your run through the level. However, rather than show a simple replay of your successful run, it shows all of your failed attempts as well, simultaneously. Seeing dozens of Meat Boys running through the level together is pretty amusing, and it can blow you away seeing how many attempts it took to complete a level.
Many of the hidden warp zone levels are throwbacks to the 8-bit era. Each one features its own pixelated title screen, which are well worth discovering for that alone. Some are even designed to look like a GameBoy game, cropping the screen and displaying monochromatically. In keeping with their 8-bit inspiration, these areas’ visuals take a hit and look more like 8-bit games. Also, unlike the rest of the game, they limit you to three lives. However, each warp zone area consists of only three very short stages, and the number of lives you have resets as you beat each one; for example, if you die twice in the first stage, you’ll still have three lives when you start the second. Once you unlock an area, it appears on your map and you can try again from the first stage if a game over occurs, so it’s never bothersome.
Replays show you all your failed attempts simultaneously.
The game is very challenging, though not frustratingly so. With the exception of the warp zone levels, there are no game overs. In fact, there’s almost no pause in between a death and trying again. As a result, I often felt compelled to retry again and again until I was able to overcome a challenge — something I wouldn’t normally do in an NES game. While I will freely admit I wasted a lot of lives (over 2,100 by the time I beat the game — yes, 2,100), being able to continue instantly made it much less frustrating than it could have been. If you find something too challenging, you’re not required to beat every single level in each world to unlock the boss. As a result, if there’s one you can’t beat, you can skip it — levels can be played in any order. Also know that while you’ll probably die a few times in the main levels, beating the game is far from impossible. The real challenge lies in the optional Dark World stages and warp zone areas.
Super Meat Boy is a great old-school throwback. It has some great sprite-based visuals, quite a bit of challenge, and a bunch of references to popular NES games like Super Mario Bros. and Ninja Gaiden. With forty levels in each world, hidden warp zones, bandages to collect, characters to unlock, and online leaderboards, there is a whole lot of content to be had. If you’re looking for a challenge, check out Super Meat Boy. You won’t be disappointed.
Super Meat Boy was reviewed using the Xbox Live Arcade version.
