The level has undeniable flaws, and it's something I want to touch on before going over everything I love about this level, but I have my own arguments as to why I dont believe it drags the experience down any bit. To start off, the cohesion between parts is... not exactly non existent but it does noticably cut off quite strangely at times. Especially in the drop these issues become more apparent, where each part continuously breaks down the pacing and setting the part before it tries to establish, and it makes for some pretty wonky immersion overall. Theres also the inconsistency between designs, I dont think I need to elaborate much on how certain have much crazier ideas than others, and the gameplay really isnt interesting enough to make up for anything either. These are some pretty massive complaints overall, so why put the level on a pedestal if there are this many points working against its favour? Well, I cant really go over the critiques one by one and excuse them on every front, and instead I want to argue its beauty comes from its informality. I strongly believe art is something to be admired for the way you engage with it, and not the way it shines in isolation, and this work is a perfect demonstration of something suceeding to fill me with inspiration and happiness regardless of all its technical flaws.

My perception of color has always been very noisy, in a way it usually directly affects my mood, and it's part of what made me fell in love with popular nintendo titles like the paper mario and mario & luigi series as a kid. The exaggerated and vibrant color palletes are present everywhere throughout these games, even when the settings are moody or relaxed, it gives the aesthetics a warming effect while never overdoing it enough to overstimulate me. As stupid as it may sound, seeing life through the same child-like wonder I felt playing these games is what kept me seeing light in moments of immense distress, and as a way of reserving these bright feelings I choose to engrave the visuals of these games into my personal aesthetic. Now begs the question, how does my nostalgia for these games relate in any way to a fundamentally different game like gd? Let alone bob ratchet's level? The answer is quite simple, the new textures 2.0 brought imitate the general style of the Wii and its respected games brilliantly. Everyone is well aware of the "mario vibes" brought by this update, it's especially noticable in the way geometrical dominator is designed. And while the art direction gd was shifting towards seemed terrible on paper, many amazing creators have proven to make it work as a seamless part of this game, and I believe nobody did it as creatively as bob ratchet did. Bob ratchet's style is like the perfect mix of cartoonish vibes like Valentinsanity and strong gd essence you see in levels from creators like Taman, and it makes use out of the basic editor tilesets in a way I never could have thought of myself. Forever Bound drags me back into my childhood, every part of it feels like im sitting after my old console exploring the worlds created for me and yet it still holds all the values I have for gd itself. It influenced my way of creating more than any other level ever achieved on its own, because of how deeply it resonates with my own creative vision, and it's the biggest reason as to why I hold this level so dear to me.

About the volume of the level itself, I find the way the progression works really cute despite how jarring it may seem on surface. Obviously part of my feelings stem from growing up with some more lackluster nintendo titles, but I can also empathize with how carefree everything was made. The bundle of ideas are all very charming, and consistent enough for me to appreciate everything as a collective. I also adore the use of player colors everywhere throughout the level, it's more of a subtle touch than a real focus but I still think the personalized look gives the level an extra bit of flavour and helps its retro feel stand out more. Then there are the pulses and movements which are incredibly smooth, with the 3d robot part becoming famous for how dynamic it came to look, it's something I see the level get little to no credit for despite how remarkable it was for its time. Speaking of the 3d robot part, it gotta be one of the most beautiful parts to ever touch this game and holding the rest of the level to the same standard is just ridiculous in my eyes. If anything the buildup to the climax is what makes it hit as hard as it does, it's an amazing spectacle that rounds everything to an experience I'll never forget.

All in all, I understand the point of view from those who cant see the level through the same lense as I do, since its inner foundation is anything but standard. But nevertheless, I'm spoken by the vision of bob ratchet and I would be glad to follow his legacy.

This website has an option to give scores for visuals and gameplay separately, and I'm so thankful that it's optional because... how are you supposed to do that here? Forever Bound is a great example of visuals and designs complementing their own gameplay.

The design is clearly a good focus of this level, and particularly how those designs move around and interact with the player. Take the ship part almost halfway through the level, with the lazer shooter moving around and having you dodging its shots, or the iconic rainbow robot part with the monsters moving the bricks around. The prime example though, in my opinion, is the floating gray blocks in the first half (which, following the level's terminology, I'll call notes). They appear for that first half of the level in basically every part: in the start they serve as notes you have to touch in order to get a coin (which by the way, only now I understood how you're supposed to get it, because every time I played this I kept getting it by accident), the way they float around and relocate themselves in the following wave, or the satisfying moving pattern they form in the next UFO part. I think the biggest flaw with Forever Bound is that it doesn't keep playing around with those notes during the second half, and it would be way more cohesive if it used them for that portion of the level more. That doesn't mean it still doesn't play around with interesting movements and designs; it's just that they feel more like random ideas that still feel and play really nice.

I also love the color palette, and how the level becomes more colorful and rainbowy as it goes on, matching the more uplifting and intense parts of the song. I will say though, does fall off in quality a little bit towards the end. Even then many parts hold up extremely well today, particularly the extremely iconic rainbow part.

Overall this level just feels like an ode to everything that made 2.0 effects and designs so iconic, and while I wouldn't say it's flawless, I think it's one of the most emotional levels of its era.

Incredible work, Bob.

generational level. The decorations are glorious and correlate with the song very well (ForeverBound goat), and the gameplay is surprisingly good for 2.0. i wish bro would return in 2.2

One of, if not THE best 2.0 levels out there (deco wise). It's incredibly well designed and polished for its time. The gameplay also isn't nearly as cancerous as most 2.0 levels, so that's a bonus.