The End

The End
Tumors	20 small, 7 mega
Cartridge	Mortaman
Next area	Arid Flats

The End is the game's very first area. It's a rainy, slowly collapsing city, where Ash resides after the apocalypse. Its starting level contains a warp, which is always unlocked on the map, Ash's gaming console which can be used to access collected game cartridges, and a stand with a hook. The hook stand is used for placing collected Friend parts and, eventually, activating the Friend cutscene.

The End's main path consists of 20 levels, not counting The End 0. Main levels contain 20 regular tumors.

The End contains 13 secret levels, in which 7 mega tumors and 1 cartridge (Mortaman) can be collected.

Above the starting level is an extra level, The End 0, which doesn't count as a secret. Steven IV can be found here.

Getting through The End leads Ash to Arid Flats.

Mechanics[ | ]

The End introduces the player to a whole bunch of basic mechanics. Its tutorial graphics and NPCs explain how movement, jump height, ledge grabs, pull-out jumps, and collectibles work. Aside from those things, the area also introduces a few obstacles:

Spikes[ | ]

Spikes are the most basic obstacle in the game. Touching them from any side is deadly to Ash. They can be stationary or attached to moving blocks.

Crumbling blocks[ | ]

Crumbling blocks, first introduced in The End 10, fall apart and disappear shortly after Ash touches them.

Enemies[ | ]

There aren't any enemies in The End's main levels, except for ghosts seen floating upwards in The End 1 and The End 0, used as a decorative element.

The damp levels of the downwards secret of The End 14 are populated by Slags, which can also be found in Arid Flats.

Secret Entrances[ | ]

The End 3 (downwards secret) - 2 levels, 1 mega tumor, 1 NPC. Accessed by breaking the blocks in the building's roof next to the skull.
The End 6 (downwards secret) - 1 level, 1 mega tumor. Accessed by breaking the crumbling block under the left platform.
The End 8 (upwards secret) - 1 level, 1 mega tumor. Accessed by jumping onto the upper platform from the building in The End 9.
The End 12 (upwards secret) - 3 levels, 1 mega tumor. Accessed by climbing the wall of the rightmost building.
The End 13 (downwards secret) - 1 level, 1 mega tumor. Accessed by jumping into the small hole at the bottom of the level.
The End 13 (upwards secret) - 1 mega tumor, 1 NPC. The secret is split into two parts by a wall. Left part with the NPC is accessed by climbing into a small hole in the ceiling revealed by a falling block at the start of the level. Right part with the mega tumor is accessed by climbing into the large hole revealed when the central part of the building falls down.
The End 14 (downwards secret) - 2 levels, 1 mega tumor, 1 key. Accessed by unlocking the gate in the bottom part of the level.
The End 15 (upwards secret) - 2 levels, 1 cartridge, 1 NPC. Accessed by jumping on top of the rightmost building.

Characters[ | ]

The End contains 7 NPCs. Click on "Open" to see their dialogue.

Steven IV in The End 0, who allows Ash to access a challenge area in The Future, which contains the Depression cartridge.

Skeleton in The End 2:

oh
. . .
it's you . . .

must be nice
being alive
n' all that

when i died
that tumor
wiggled out

it's been floating
up there for years
watching me

please
don't take it . . .
it's all i have left

Skeleton in The End 3:

when i wasn't dead
i used to hang on
corners n stuff

just like . . .
. . .
hanging out

get it?

. . .
. . .
please don't die

Skeleton in The End 5:

when i used
to hang off
a wall

i'd pull
out from it
and then

i'd do a
jump . . . and go
like super far!

but when i
didn't pull
outwards

i'd mostly just
go up higher

i call it the
pull out method

. . .

i made
that one up
years ago

i imagined it
would get more
of a laugh

. . .

please
leave me alone

Descender blob in a secret below The End 3:

ah ha!
finally someone
i can relate to!

us descenders
gotta stick together
ya know

it's very important
to become part
of a group

that way you instantly
know who's good
and who's evil!

obviously we are
the good ones
and everyone else . . .

ALL HITLERS!

seriously though
think
about it

if we are right
everyone else has
gotta be wrong

Ascender blob in the secret above The End 12:

it's
really
happening!

the ascension
is
real!

i've paid
my penance
i've been forgiven!

i can see my future!

i see a white light

i see a foot . . .
something about a
fingernail

i'm feeling feelings
again . . .
this is finally over!

goodbye
cruel
world!

Ghost in the secret above The End 15:

wow
we are sure
high aren't we?

so high in fact
i think i can make out
your fate from here

you are going to
make a mistake
. . .

you will create
something

that will come back
to haunt you

i can see
a pile of bones
. . .

something about
. . .
cancer

wait
who
are you?

why do i
share your
memories?

i'm tripping out!

Trivia[ | ]

The music theme for The End is a remix of Camille Saint-Saëns's Danse Macabre.
The name of the area may be a reference to the final area of Super Meat Boy's main story.