Junior Member
The song is doing some insanely heavy lifting here with this level. Every part feels like it could be so much better, with the first cube looking a bit too basic, the ship being too boring, the dual looking downright ugly, and the drop... idk how to describe it but it could be improved.
In the end, I would have rated it lower, but I remember somebody saying that the level felt like you were "playing the song", and while I kind of understand it, it still feels like the song is carrying the level more than anything, because the level just feels kind of incomplete.
Oh, and another thing, I've heard that the level is intentionally boring so that the drop delivers that much more of an impact, but I don't think that's an excuse. A level can be engaging while still leaving the drop to deliver a powerful climax. Well Rested is probably the best example, and while not every level can be as good as Well Rested, I still think Lit Fuse leaves a lot to be desired.
This is proof that even the best have their off days. Nacho21 is one of my favorite creators, but I cannot defend this level lmao.
It's a shame because it actually starts off promising, the predrop looks very nice with some background designs and invisible objects setting the tone of the level. There are some memory parts, again helped by the invisible objects. At this point it looks like it will be a nice greyscale level that uses invisible objects to add an extra layer to it, but then the drop hits. It really just looks like a standard nine circles from then on, and even worse in fact, since the invisible objects end up looking completely clear. This level just ends up looking bland. And this continues for the remainder of the level, doing nothing to help itself. The sawblades in the level that would otherwise be used for decoration, are invisible and add nothing unfortunately. It's insane that this came after Retro Circles.
The gameplay at the drop is not much better. It's mostly unmemorable, feeling like every other Nine Circles level and blending together into wave mush. And to make things worse, the invisible objects only make the gameplay even more frustrating. Have fun dying to sawblades you didn't see coming! The slow wave at the end with the invisible shurikens actually could've been interesting, but just wind up being unfun because of the invisibility.
I give this level props for trying to do something different and trying to use the invisible objects in a modern context, but it failed. Massively.
With the exception of maybe Colorful Overnight, I think this is Woogi's best. Leans hard into the 2.0 update and delivers a bunch of unique styles at the drop, many which I hadn't seen before. The parts before the drop were very nice too, each fitting the intensity of the song. Koreaqwer's part being more calm and colorful, and Woogi's buildup changing styles and colors frequently.
The gameplay I cannot give as much credit. The transitions between most parts are jarring, and the gameplay often requires unexpectedly high cps. The worst part is that the level is filled with invisible portals so becoming consistent is quite a drag.
Pretty sure this is the first Undertale-related thing I ever saw. What an intro.
This is a level I picked up and dropped numerous times before finally beating it, so what can I say. The decoration is really minimal, but it obviously fits with the minimalistic colors of the Undertale battle screen. Would've liked a bit more here and there but I can't complain.
Gameplay is a whole other story, the robot parts get piss easy while the wave sections are ridiculous. Every attempt is just dying to a wave section whether it's the end of the bossfight with Gaster Blasters, or the cursed mini waves at the end. The level is so unbalanced and ridiculous it's honestly laughable. At some point the robot parts feel like unskippable cutscenes, while the waves remain pretty dang tight.
Song is the only redeeming quality of this level. That's really all there is to it. Thinking Space did not look appealing back in 2.0, it doesn't now. Only got rated because of the achievement, and nowadays nobody would look twice at it if it weren't already rated.
I don't hate Thinking Space, it just sucks. People only like it because it looks bad, and because it looks bad, it looks original. It looks unlike the other levels that get rated and played. I don't blame people for liking it because of its strangeness, I just think it's a bad metric to judge levels off of. There are plenty of ways to make levels look unusual while still having an elegant design, this is just not it. At least the last cube isn't half bad.
Honestly insane how overhated this one is, best level in the gauntlet imo. Where it falls flat is in the crystal theme, I don't quite think it executed the theme well enough, or abundantly enough, cause I can't remember a single actualy crystal being in the level.
The decoration is very captivating and matches the song wonderfully. Maybe there could have been some more variation between parts, but why change what's perfect right?
The gameplay is the level's main talking point, and it really isn't that bad, though the dual did not have be 3x speed. It was hard to read even after practice, especially the wave, which was the worst part of the level. Otherwise, the gameplay was really fun and would be much more well-received if it was not in a gauntlet.
Okay, so basically I think this is the best level of 1.9. 'Nuff said.
Fine I'll say more, the beginning is the best part of the level, expressing the arpeggiated nature of that part of the song. The way the elements flash is so bold, yet subdued at the same time, as to not be painfully in your face. I wish that Nine Circles level could have used that philosophy instead, but it is what it is. The color choices are also just beautiful, invoking the more neon aesthetic. The gameplay is not that difficult, but that makes sense since much of the detail is hidden within the flashes.
In the ship, the difficulty is cranked high up, the color changes are far more erratic, and the flashes become more in-your-face. While not nearly as nice as the cube, this change does make sense, since the music and speed has turned up. The gameplay is also more visible, which NC levels still fail to do. All in all, a very dynamic part.
The drop design is much less flashy, using mostly pulses with an orange and later a green color scheme. It's honestly impressive how well Jeyzor managed to design over such unconventional duals. Speaking of which, the duals are pretty hard! Way harder than in Ditched Machine, and I'd wager skill-wise they even clear Abandoned Machine's dual sections in difficulty. They are so satisfying to pass, and well made (excluding the secret way).
The level transitions into a short slow wave, and then the last stretch. Not much to say about these 2 sections, but I will add, using purple for these parts was such a good idea. The song just feels very "purple" idk, maybe that's just me.
All in all, a phenomenal level level for 1.9, doing an incredible song more than enough justice too.
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sorry about this gang