Rating Curve

I'll always be critical of the way Manix handled the Fusion Z situation, but this version of the level is genuinely better than the old, dated looking version that ended up becoming Molten Core. The 1.9-styled deco goes for a myriad of styles which is very much needed in a 4 minute long level, and the gameplay is... alright, though it has a couple REALLY annoying chokepoints in the second half that makes this a bit iffy to play from 0. Overall a decent level, not much to say.

I remember frantically playing this level for two weeks in September of 2022 and burning almost 60,000 attempts to beat it. This level is quite fun, though the balancing is a bit iffy and the part in the middle with the dual color palette looks frankly horrible, on top of being the most janky part in the level by FAR. The 67% dual is really damn tough to get consistent at from 0% but once you pass it regularly there's not much else in your way. This is probably the best level by Exen and it gets carried by everyone else that's not him that contributed to the level, do you notice a pattern here?

The atmosphere of this level is on point with the song, and the gameplay structuring reflects on the guitar riffs clashing in the background. The decoration in this case does enough to maintain the feeling of weight overall in the level, which would make this level really good for its difficulty... had it been balanced differently. This level is basically a 83-100% simulator once you get consistent at everything else, and the difficulty of the last ship section makes it so beating this is one of the most grueling, frustrating and agonizing experiences you can have beating a level in this game. Genuinely a shame.

This level is just like Sonic Wave: a ripoff of an existing level (Sky Tech, in this instance) with another song, a massive difficulty increase and to top it all off, a really unfunny joke title and endscreen. However I can forget all that because of how incredibly FUN this level is to play, minus a couple bizarre bullshit clicks in the second half. A lot of people say this level is wave-heavy and while I disagree, I can see why the wave segments would pose a challenge for the average joe. A decent level all around, even if the decoration brings nothing new to the table.

Ah, a true CALassic (by Cal Chuchesta). This level is influential as all fuck and it constitutes the first example of grandpa demon we as a community collectively had to face back in the old days of yore, 10 years ago or something. The gameplay is a glorified ship challenge with a major difficulty spike in the late Michigun's part (that I never perceived as such tbh) and the deco is barely passable to be a featured level at the time, but what can I say about this level that hasn't been said already? Play it and beat it if you haven't, it is a must, either to build ship prowess or just off its historical significance.