The Super Meat Boy soundtrack is huge. At 80 tracks, coming in at 2 hours and 45 minutes, it is an almost ridiculous amount of music for one game, and 70 of those tracks are composed by one man — Danny Baranowsky. Now, the majority of the score is actually variations on one theme that is remixed, switched between major and minor chords, smashed apart and put back together again.
But the boss “battle” themes each stand out, representing their respective character’s individuality. “The Battle of Lil’ Slugger” is the first of these themes that you hear during the game, and though it comes replete with its own charms, it is the extended cut 60-some tracks down the line that rattles my skull with joy.
Starting with a pulse-pumping drum beat and bass riff, a declarative robotic noise starts to taunt you, irritated by your presence until it transforms into one of the most memorable electric guitar (or keytar?) riffs in gaming. This is also when the distinction between the original and the extended cut becomes important. In the original, the same fantastic guitar melody plays twice, and the song gives up.
In the extended cut, not only is the melody longer, but the second time you hear it, it goes higher than before and becomes its own beast. There are almost two distinct bosses battling in this special track. Of course, the song doesn’t just lose steam there. The guitar continues to taunt you a little before the beat disappears, and the strings are strummed like the end of a classic rock concert.
Lil’ Slugger may be dead, but he’s not forgotten on my playlist.
