i didn't think a level on the SGC would be able to combine the fun gameplay of the beyond and stardust sanctuary and the insane visuals of aperture and spacetime continuum. turns out kisaragi exists. this is my favorite level from the entire contest, and is very close to being my favorite mythic of all time (if only wannacry and the towerverse didn't exist).

for this i won't go part for part, because the entire thing is consistent visually. there are zero moments that don't fit, are out of place or look worse than others. there are no weak spots here, but i will give a shoutout to the ending for being executed so well. the mix of a "liminal" decoration and the relief of finally being able to rest after such an insane journey is GOLD

but for me the best aspect is the gameplay. you cannot, i repeat you cannot make a level that looks this good so fun. it relies mostly on sync, and if you know me you know i'm a sucker for that. it also helps that many clicks (if not every click) has an indicator to mark it out, which sometimes is unnecessary but on faster parts it lets you breeze through it pretty easily. i think it pulls it off pretty well. also, sync gameplay to a camellia song is a genuine dream come true, since kisaragi is also a very good song. this level is also incredibly replayable, to the point where i've beaten it like 6 times (mind you this is an XL level and i usually never come back to rebeat them), sometimes even accidentally, but it's because i don't mind playing something i've already beaten for 2 minutes since it's so fun

kisaragi getting 2nd place on the SGC might be controversial for some, but if i were to do the rankings i'd put it on 1st. it cares about experience and attractiveness, and that's something that i appreciate a lot after seeing so many other levels forget about playability. we gotta start keeping an eye on empsea, i did NOT have them on my radar at all and i'm glad i got to know his levels through this masterpiece.