Despite the level name being complete clickbait, because there are not, in fact, nine circles in this level, it's still enjoyable. This level was clearly inspired by Sonic Wave or Jawbreaker, and it does hold up their legacy quite well.

Awesome level 10/10

One of the most, if not the most influential levels of all time, despite it being over 10 years since its release the style it started still lives on. That makes it quite difficult to judge in the current day. For the time, it is quite impressive, nothing incredible I would say, there are ways it could've been improved (and got improved in future NC levels), but for what it is, it is damn solid. I just can't help but wish it was never made due to the absurd number of copycats it got, it's tiring. In classic Zobros fashion it also doesn't exactly play great, though it is on the better side, compared to sth like Forsaken Neon for example. Overall, an interesting, pretty solid level that gets dragged down by being the origin of the most overdone style/trend in the game's history.

When I beat Nine Circles, it felt super hard, especially that ship part. Wave part was only really difficult in the first half, though. Overall, I think this level deserves to be Medium Demon (imo). Right alongside Jawbreaker and Fairydust, I played those levels to understand how to navigate semi-memory waves at high speed, and they really helped. From a gameplay perspective, it's not the best choice as your first hardest, but it's definitely not garbage either. For 1.9 level, decorations is really good, fresh, and interesting. This level created a whole new style of decoration that's still relevant today! Zobros definitely made an interesting effect-styled level.