i remember finding out about tidal wave back when it was a top 10 open verification-well before zoink picked it up-and its been caged in my memory since. its rare for a level to strike me like this one did on a first watch, but the unpolished nature of this level combined with its length and theming really connected with me. fast foward to tidal wave being verified as a top 1, and the level is given new meaning to me. with the verification of grief ongoing right now, i cant see us ever getting a top 1 like this again. despite being the undisputed hardest level in the game as of writing this, in a game where the skill ceiling has been risen so high that the difficulty of the top levels have to be compressed more and more to stand a chance at the top of the demonlist, this levels difficulty is relatively spread out. at its hardest parts, the level is absolutely ruthless, but the level still gives the player space to breathe. there are dynamics in the balancing, and i think that is one of the overlooked aspects of what makes watching players conquer this level so exciting. as for the visuals themselves, you could argue that they are sloppy and unpolished, but the decoration in this level really does remind me of a modernized take of early-mid 2.1 deco in a sense. whether that comparison makes sense to you or not? im not sure, but i can look past a lot of the blatant design flaws this level has, particularly in the bright beach part. i will say though, i dislike the transition from the deep blue ocean beginning to the bright beachy part that starts in the middle of the level. it feels incredibly jarring, and it doesnt really work with the song as the song doesnt change up enough to justify that kind of switch up. though, the transition from the beachy part to the sunset part is wonderful, and makes the ending of the level that much more nervewracking. unfortunately, i also dont like the song. its not like offensively bad or anything, it just sounds rly generic to me. maybe that one dap do do do video ruined it for me. overall though, i think this is one of the best top 1s we've ever had, and i am super happy that this level is viewed in a far more positive light now that its gotten more time in the limelight :)