Hardcore Achievement Guide

Overview

This is a guide for all those insatiably avid challenge thirsty game-wilderbeasts like me out there, showing you exactly how to get the no-death achievements in Super Meat Boy. I will explain each step in detail, showing techniques for dealing with more difficult levels, how to practise, structuring your strategy and coping with the sheer hair-wrenching frustration and testicle-shrivelling ambition that characterise these 14 achievements.

So I Heard You Want to be Worshipped..?

These achievements are demanding. But you are a challenge lover, and that’s why you got so good at Super Meat Boy in the first place!! I know bro, me too.

A breif, beautiful and touching anecdote: I never thought I’d ever go for something as daunting as the no-death achievements in this game. “All 20 without dying?!” But then, about the same time I was getting close to that elusive 106%, I decided to try Wood Boy. It took a few deaths but I managed it, and it was actually genuinely satisfying to have completed this most noble of quests. I never in a million years would have thought I’d be good enough to go for Impossible Boy. But, here I am.

If that first bit about never thinking you could do them sounds familiar, good! We can have the same outcome!!

People in general don’t know how to go about getting the harder no-death achievements, and so this guide was born. Hopefully, using what I explain, and just a little practice, you’ll be _________ Boy’in like a pro.
They can also be used as a badge of honour, a card that says “I am badass at video games and I know it”. You know, Brag Rights. It is extremely hard: that’s why we do it! (And it’s not really as hard as you think. Shh, don’t tell anyone.)

Your First Piece of Hardcore

“When should I start going for them?” I hear you ask. Now!! You can start trying for the achievements whenever you want if you haven’t already, regardless of your progress through the main game. As of now, more people have got Wood Boy than have finished some parts of the main game.

Achievement seekers generally agree that it is not necessarily better (perhaps even counter-productive) to plan setting about getting the hardcore achievements only after the game has otherwise been taken to delicious 106% completion.

I advise you to see these achievements as separate from the main game.

So you want to start collecting these achievements – where do you begin? If you are reading this guide I guess you’ve already at least attempted Wood Boy; and if you haven’t then it’s definitely a good place to start.

Something I see asked a lot is whether it is a good idea to use a keyboard in preference to a gamepad. My answer is that it is totally subjective: I, along with many top players, use a keyboard, while many people can only use a controller. It is totally up to you – if you are comfortable using a keyboard then stick with it!

• Go through the chapter casually a couple of times. Which levels do you seem to die on the most? Choose one to five of these levels, these will be the ones you will complete first in your Wood Boy run.
• Which levels do you seem to have the most trouble with? This is not the same as the bullet point above. Choose two or three of these levels that you will do alongside the ones you chose from the bullet point above. You are doing this because, in the last few levels of a no-death run, you will stress out (if you don’t this just became a hell of a lot easier!). This isn’t useful when you’ve left a level you struggle with to do whilst in this state.
• Your level order will probably change as you practise. This is because you are getting more comfortable with levels you had problems with at first, and are able to do some levels with minimal effort.
• Practise a few levels and find a route that suits you. This doesn’t even have to be the safest path; just the one you can pull off the easiest.
• Leave a level you are unlikely to die on for last. This might sound obvious, but in at least three no-death runs I’ve messed up my level order, leaving some of the levels I find most difficult in the last three. Plan to make sure this doesn’t happen!
• Frustration is imminent. You can’t expect to get the achievements without getting frustrated; I’ve found the best thing to do is to leave the game for a short while and try again when you think you can focus a little better.

With these in mind, go get your first no-death achievement, and enjoy! It’s going to prepare you for the strategies you’ll need for later on, and you’ll get your first taste of awesomeness when your hard work pays off.

Well, Basically, You Need To…

I’ve put this information here both to cater for absolute beginners, and because some people seem confused about the details. If you’re happy you know what the achievement wants of you, feel free to skip this whole section (the next one starts just below the list). Please let me know if there are any other confusions you’d like me to address.

• There is one achievement for completing each chapter in both the light world and the dark world without dying, giving a grand total of 14 of these no-death achievments.
• To get a no-death achievement, you must complete all 20 levels of said chapter without dying. This does not include the boss, or the glitch level, or any of the warp zones. Just the levels!
• You are very welcome to use any character, and switch between them all you want – choose the one you can use most consistently well for each level.
• The above point being said there are a few characters that you can’t use. These are Meat Ninja, Steve, Tim and (surprisingly) Tofu Boy. Completing a level with any of these characters will not contribute to your run.
• The order does not matter at all. You can do them in order, or you can do them backwards. You can do the ones you find hardest right at the beginning, so you don’t have to worry about doing them later.
• The only thing that constitutes a death is a death (or turning the game off, of course). This means you can exit to the level select screen whenever you want during a level; as long as you don’t die your no-death run is still on. Please note you cannot turn the game off or exit to the main/chapter-select menu either.
• If you die on a level you do not need to exit to map or anything to properly ‘reset’ the run. You can just keep going, hence starting again from one.
• Just because it’s further on in the game doesn’t mean it’s harder. Notable examples are Dead Boy and Dr. Fetus Boy (namely because both chapters only contain 5 levels), and the dark world being significantly harder than the light world – I found the achievement for dark world Chapter 2 harder than that for light world Chapter 5, and I thought that Girl Boy and Demon boy were about the same difficulty. This is, of course, subjective.
• The definition of an Iron Man run isn’t set. Usually it refers to a no-death run, completed with the levels in order, using only meat boy, and never escaping to menu to avoid a death. The term can just refer to any no-death run, though.

You might know what they are all called; if not I have included a list of names and pictures you may want to refer to when reading the rest of the guide. I will use these names to refer to the achievements from now on.

Achievement

Name

Chapter

Wood Boy

The Forest (light world)

Needle Boy

The Hospital (light world)

Salt Boy

The Salt Factory (light world)

Brimstone Boy

Hell (light world)

Maggot Boy

The Rapture (light world)

Dead Boy

The End (light world)

Girl Boy

Cotton Alley (light world)

Squirrel Boy

The Forest (dark world)

Bloodclot Boy

The Hospital (dark world)

Missile Boy

The Salt Factory (dark world)

Demon Boy

Hell (dark world)

Zombie Boy

The Rapture (dark world)

Dr. Fetus Boy

The End (dark world)

Impossible Boy

Cotton Alley (dark world)

Death – Not Even Once.

As you progress through the achievements, in an order that suits you, they will get harder. But – so too do you get consistently better and better at doing them. What did you learn from your Wood Boy run? Maybe there were some levels that you thought you could do every time that, really, you couldn’t? Maybe you had to shuffle your level order around and around to find the most effective, or maybe you just ploughed through the chapter over and over until the achievement finally popped up (which is not a good habit to get into, by the way). You should be constantly using your experience to shape your play-style.

After Wood Boy, I suggest trying out Needle Boy or Dead Boy. These two, for me at least, are the easiest apart from light world 1. If you have a favourite chapter, you should start looking at that one too. It doesn’t matter if it seems too ambitious to actually go for that no-death run right away, but in a chapter you are very fond of you are likely to surprise yourself with how well you can do. This could be among the first three or four of these runs that you do, even if it is considerably more difficult than the easiest three or four chapters.

• Practise every level over a few times separately, even if you think you’re already a pro at them. More than once, I’ve left the easiest for last and then forgotten how to do it under the pressure; that wouldn’t have been a problem if I’d practised it!
• Practise blocks of a few levels. This will ready you for each level, which is useful for moving obstacles that require you to start moving at certain times. Doing this, you can also know what level you’re about to face without really having to think.
• Don’t take it seriously until your practice period is over. Have fun getting to grips with each chapter! If you don’t, you will not enjoy getting the achievements as much, and are more likely to get frustrated and give up.
• Don’t think speedrunning is a bad thing in no-death runs. If you are a speedrunner, you don’t need to find a different, slower, safer path through any level. If you are comfortable dashing through a level you’ll probably find it easier sticking to your fast path (unless it’s unreliable: level 5-13x Halo of Flies comes to mind). Plus, speedrunning through a level in a no-death run feels more epic.

Frustration

Frustration is one of the biggest problems you’ll face. After all, it’s more horrible to die on the 20th level in a run than on the 2nd. I’ve always found that getting frustrated, although it makes me more determined to get the achievement, detriments my dexterity and skill, making it physically impossible to get a decent run of the chapter. If this happens, the best thing you can do is to take a break. This could be 10 minutes to calm down, or for the more difficult chapters you may want to leave it for days (or weeks) to start fresh. This might sound counterintuitive, but it will totally get rid of the frustration, and you’ll not be as annoyed or bored with any level in particular (7-20x was my worst enemy for ages, for example).

Apart from that, if you can’t get past a run of 8-14 levels, you should consider going back to the practice stage. Yeah, it’s going backwards, but you’re making progress. Don’t just practise the hard ones either; keep trying the easier ones until you can do them every time, no problem.

Help for Individual Levels (Chapters 1 to 4)

I figured individual levels may cause problems for someone reading this guide – I know they did for me. So, I’ve included tutorialettes for some notably tricky levels throughout the whole game – these are usually levels people generally struggle with when trying to do them consistently without dying.

I’ll keep the list brief initially, however if there is a level you are struggling with please contact me and I will add the level here as soon as I can.

So enjoy! It’s a short list split into chapters; each level name can be found below the respective picture.

Level

Method

1-18 Altamont

This is a very short level, but an absolute beginner might find it tricky to do it without dying every time. If you’re having trouble, jump when all the saws are on their way down, onto the middle platform. Do the same to get to the right hand ledge.

Level

Method

2-2 One Down

If you have The Kid, use him to fall from the starting ledge, and you can avoid all the weaving (as long as you remember to double jump to the end at the bottom.)

2-3 Memories

Get used to the timing and magnitude of the jumps. Depending on how far through the game you are, you may well have already perfected this. I reccommend using this level to practise for its dark world equivalent if you’re going for Bloodclot Boy.

2-11x Spineless

Many people struggle with the jump that Meat Boy’s about to do in this picture. Wait until the disappearing chain of locks is about to go upwards (so there is one block left to go before the four going vertically) and then go for it. Keep trying this until you get a feel for when to jump.

Level

Method

3-4x Assembly

Make sure you can do the light world equivalent flawlessly and easily before practising this one – it will feel a lot easier to pull off.

3-6x Not You Again

Choose a character that you can control comfortably in conjunction with the conveyor belts. Bear in mind you can skip more than half the level if you use Captain Viridian.

3-7x Pluck

This level is tricky because of the timing and manoevers required to catch the falling keys. This can be avoided completely by using The Kid to jump onto the platforms without collapsing them, and always remember you can exit to map if you let a key fall off the screen.

3-12x Hellevator

Get to know the rythmn of the missile launcher, and time your jumps accordingly. Find a path that works for you; I reccommend practising this level for a while longer than you usually might. Alternatively, Flywrench can be used to cling to the wall as you slide up and down to avoid the missiles. When you reach the salt and can’t move any further, jump to the other side, collecting the key on your way over. Although it may initially be awkward to get used to, this character makes the level a lot easier for the most part (see credits).

3-13x Black Circle

If you’re used to Meat Boy or The Kid, then please don’t change your path; however if you’re having trouble with this level then you could try using Flywrench, who can slide down the wall in a controlled way (make sure you leave the directional controls alone) without touching the salt (see credits).

Level

Method

4-5x Wicked One

The jump shown in the picture can be made a lot easier by using The Kid to jump onto the small ledge under the saw, and then double jumping through the gap.

4-18 Boris

This level can be made a lot easier if you don’t move until you need to. If you wait until the timer is at 12 seconds, you can jump down onto the moving platform just before it moves out of the way of the maws. Experiment with the timing until you find exactly when suits you the best.

4-19x Long Goodbye

Viridian can stand on the ceiling, where the maws can’t see him. This means you avoid any danger for basically 90% of the level, and decrease the difficulty by about the same proportion. This works just as well in the light world.

Help for Individual Levels (Chapters 5 to 7)

Level

Method

5-1x The Clot

You can skip the second half of this level by dashing to the end, as shown in the picture, with Naija. Try not to dash anywhere else if you don’t know where the glitchy ceilings are.

5-2x Loomer

Naija will help with the difficult jump about half way through this level. As shown in the picture, stand right on the edge of the platform, do the smallest jump you can, and dash, all without pressing any directional buttons. You will float effortlessly through one of the hardest manoveurs in the game.

5-7x Downpour

The Kid seems to be an ideal character both for catching the falling keys and controlling your jumps over the three small saws at the end of the level.

Level

Method

6-2 Schism

This level has no moving parts, so split it into segments and take your time. This also applies to the dark world counterpart, and largely to levels 6-1 and 6-1x, too.

6-5x No Quarter

If you stand as I am in the picture, right at the edge of that platform, you can just run to the right and drop flawlessly through this otherwise tricky section of the level. The same trick works in the light world.

Level

Method

7-2 Run Rabbit Run

The eleventh saw on the upper layer does not fire for some reason. If you count for eleven saws, and go just as the eleventh is meant to fire, it can essentially buy you double the usual time, so making both staying in the right position between the saws and moving down to the lower layer a lot less stressful (see credits). I think this happens on all systems and with all versions of the game; if not please tell me.

7-2x Flipside

The jump from the bottom to the top is a difficult move. If you’re having problems with it, try to make sure your last jump of the bottom layer lands right in the corner, next to the sawblade launcher, then slide up the wall right into the top corner. From here, it should be significantly easier to judge when to wall-jump between the saws in the top layer.

7-3 Spinal Tap

Take your time with this one. Wait in the corner as shown in the picture each time you come to one, and wait until all the saws are moving out of the way before you jump over, and run to the next safe point.

7-7x Going Up

In the picture, I’ve moved slightly right of where I started. If you get this right, you can just jump and be automatically taken up to the last fan, meaning you won’t have to move left or right at all until you get to the final fan.

7-8x In Line

The hitboxes for the Clots seems to be slightly to the back – meaning you’re probably safer in front of them than you think (and be careful when you’re behind one). Jump instantly at the start of the level, and then on your way back wait for the larger gap to appear. Learn what position the Clots should be in before you jump, and with practise this could even end up being one of the later levels you do in your Impossible Boy run.

7-9x Salt Shaker

I always used to struggle with gauging when to start moving away from the conveyor belt. If you start to press left as you get halfway up the wall, you should get the ideal momentum to weave through the saws without slamming into the saw at the top of the belt.

7-13x Bleach

The jump rythmn is the same for the first few segments. Get a feel for when and how high to jump, and practise the whole level to get to grips with how it flows.

7-17x They Bite

Remember there’s no time limit – spend as long as it takes to get the Oobs together in a cluster before you pick up the key. This makes the rest of the level a lot more manageable.

Moar Plz

Thank you for reading, and I hope I’ve been helpful to you and your journey of awesomeness!

This is my first guide, so it will by no means be perfect. So it will be updated frequently, to sort out typos and outdated information etc, and I’ll also add content where appropriate whenever I can, to make the guide as accessible and versatile as possible.

I will also respond to suggestions and criticisms, usually withing 24 hours, and will answer any questions you may have, clarify any data, change any errors you’ve spotted, or add something to the guide itself (if I feel it is appropriate and beneficial to other users). I will add any requested levels to the ‘Help for Individual Levels’ section, for example. Please post a comment underneath for me if you have any problems or if you think I can extend the guide in any way, and tell me if there is a level (or part of a level) you have trouble with.

Also, please rate the guide! I appreciate the feedback.

Credit to Kuhaa for further guidance on specific levels 3-12x, 3-13x and 7-2.

“Some contribution-ish stuff: [By MalikNZZ]

2-3X: Buzzcut used to make me a nervous wreck, until I started using Ogmo instead of Kid. His even shorter jump made that level a breeze; I stopped dying there completely.

2-8X: Grape Soda’s first jump between the two needle piles at the top can be done consistently with Kid’s jump arc by standing on the small clear space to the left. It’s a beautiful sight.

For 5-20: Judgment, I run to the right immediately, going under the first two flies, then wait for the third one to fully open its mouth, then jump back over the first two flies to the left, and slide up the wall as far as Kid will go. The third fly will fly under you while you’re on the wall, and the first two will fly over you, giving you a clear path. I found this to be very safe and consistent.”

So now it’s down to you. Good luck, I’m proud of you for the attempt bro 😀 you have no idea how satisfying it is until you’ve done it… And of course, above all, enjoy your achievement hunting!!