Rating Curve

Surprisingly decent to play. Decoration and gameplay style seek to make the level intimidating and weird to match the song and I think it's executed quite well. Wave is very iconic, I remember making wave challenges based off of it for fun many years ago. Not the best KrmaL level but usually underappreciated.

I've beaten this around four or five times now because of updates, new versions and everything so I feel like I should leave a review here. I haven't actually beaten the current version that nerfed it to easy insane but it just seems to be the same level but easier and the nerf is supposedly better than the versions before it so I feel like if I liked the older versions I'd like the newer versions. I also never beat the very first version that Baeru verified, but that was the hardest version overall so thank god.

I don't really know why this got a 2.2 update, I dislike when people do this just to throw in a few shaders and camera effects. The level beforehand was fine too, so I don't really know why it was changed. Some decoration was improved such as in the predrop (though it feels a bit more cluttered now), but some weird decisions were made such as making the blue lines at the drop thicker and more distinct.

MY SONG was mainly fun for me due to how short, snappy, and consistent it was for me. The wave at 57% used to be really hard but it was made free when it was nerfed to high insane demon so I assume it's nerfed in the current too. I think the high-insane demon update was probably the best version of this. Honestly I think that I would heavily dislike this if it was more balanced since I would feel worse every time I died. The ending of this is super chokeable but honestly its fine now that the level is slightly more balanced in the middle. Basically if the level's too unbalanced, you get stuck at certain chokepoints, and if it's too balanced, it's really frustrating wherever you die. This is a nice in-between.

The decoration overall is simple, but gets the job done with a fairly consistent quality. Honestly the structuring is very satisfying, with there not being that much unnecessary empty space.

Overall has aged a bit, but still Zylenox’s factory style just satisfying to look at. Wouldn’t say it’s Zylenox’s best level due to the lack of polishing in some areas (mainly some arts clash a bit due to some being overly complex and others not) but I like it. The complexity of the design in the wave is super neat.

Love how expressive the movements and animations are. The simplicity overall works well but there are some parts where I’m left wanting a little bit more.

Very very torn on the nature of this level's gameplay, since the repetition is extremely memorable, original, and works beautifully with the song, but also I've heard it isn't very fun at all. Still, the way the creator approached making gameplay to this song is a thousand times cooler than if they had just made a typical flow layout or something; the uniqueness of the song fits with the uniqueness of the level's gameplay. I love the dark grid-like effect that is persistent across the level, as it almost feels like an older screen or monitor. The way the level slowly starts building up and lighting on fire is awesome, and the ending where the gameplay suddenly disappears while the effects go crazy honestly is pretty impactful.

Edit: I heard that the attempt count is also the time signature. If true, that’s a really neat subtle detail

I mean it formed an entire style. It's definitely a classic. Aged really well, still is a pretty solid 1.9 level. For its time the effect is pretty neat, but I overall think the success of this level came also from it being fairly simple in terms of layout. There's a clear first cube that's memorable, a clear ship, a clear ball, then a wave and a cube. This order became a very popular way of making a nine circles level, and I think if Zobros had tried to vary the gamemode more in his level the trend would have had a harder time catching on. The simplicity of Nine Circles's distinct parts make it memorable too, in a way. There's a reason so many people felt inspired to copy this level.

I don't like wave all that much and I don't really enjoy playing nine circles levels because of that. The original is alright though.

Super fun level to play

Aged a bit visually especially in the predrop but overall holds up alright. The drop wave is iconic, and the level mix before the drop is incorporated well. Feels a bit random in terms of theming if it has any theme but that's just normal for the time it was built in anyway; in some parts there's an ocean theme but this really only is shown in like a few arts in the very beginning.

I'm really liking Kira as a creator, but I don't think this hits as strong for me as WANNACRY despite this technically being "more impressive" than that. Feels a lot more overstimulating without really offering much substance, the predrop is probably the strongest part of this because of that. The first part of the drop just feels very unnecessary if I'm being honest; it's alright to play and isn't horrible but I don't really understand why it's there. The ending cutscene is very pretty but the cutoff of the song to get there feels quite jarring.

About the song, I don't really like the use of Exit this Earths Atomosphere here, since this song has already been used a lot in the past. Very little creative opportunity is left by choosing this, so I wish Kira had just went with a fresh song nobody had used before like they had with WANNACRY.

The theme the level's going for is really neat with the "emulation", and I actually do like the part where it switches between all of the different space gauntlet entries since I feel like it gives new life to entries that didn't place. I heavily studied the space gauntlet entries so this was a nice surprise for me. While it isn't the most original thing Kira could have done for this part, it still I suppose got the job done. The other parts somewhat lose this theme a little though, prioritizing crazy effects to both its benefit and downfall.

Gameplay is whatever. I fluked the drop and the predrop was alright to play.

Overall still a decent level, just a bit confused in what it wants to be.

Creative and satisfying use of the spider gamemode. Cool vibes overall too; I think it works well with the song and I also like the song! Pretty fun.

I feel as though one of the most important qualities one should prioritize when making a modern nine circles level is whether or not it feels different from other levels of the style, and I feel like Pulsar meets a really good balance between being original and adhering to the chaotic pulses that are a staple for the style. The ending is super creative, I remember being amazed at it years ago when I first looked at this.