Health

Not to be confused with enemy health bars.

Health is a part of the user interface that tells the player how much life they have, whether it be full or close to death. There are 22 segments and is divided into four groups, determining the level of danger the player is at of failing the level, with green being good, yellow/orange in the middle as average and red being bad.

Taking damage by an enemy, projectile, touching lava or falling into a pit causes it to drop. The number it decreases by depends on the damage output. Health can not be regenerated, so the player has to take precautions when playing difficult levels. It also cannot be increased.

When the meter falls to or below 5, it will begin to flash rapidly as a warning. If the meter is fully depleted, the level terminates and the player dies.

Trivia

 * The maximum damage the player can take and survive is 11. This can be inflicted from the Spike Wall or falling into a pit on platforming levels.
 * Because 'insta-kill' attacks deplete the meter entirely in one hit, having max health and taking a hit from one of them will not allow the player to survive.