This level blew me away and surprised me to an extent that I'd forgotten a KS level could do. It did a lot of things that I couldn't imagine were possible with KS, and left me grinning with a feeling of "expanded possibilities" which I haven't felt since a decade ago when I played
Gaia. Well done!
Aside from its various surprises, my favourite qualities of this level were its polish and attention-to-detail. The package as a whole feels well-executed and tested. I especially love that it has hidden routes and areas to reward players who go the extra mile to explore its boundaries.
Other thoughts I had during my playthrough of the level:
- This is actually the first time I've ever played a KS level made by someone else where it uses tilesets that I made. You've used my tilesets wonderfully and it gave me a warm fuzzy feeling the whole time I was exploring those forest, temple and heaven environments. THANK YOU!
- In the temple section, the puzzle mechanic you had going on with the reflections in the water was a genius idea. I was hitting myself that I hadn't thought of that myself whilst I was using the tileset in my own level (which was the original reason I even made the tileset to begin with!)
- The idea of having cats named after Nifforum members was a genius way to reward exploration in the level. Also: Thank you so much for making me one of the cats! When I found it I saved a screenshot for memory's sake. :)
- This might be my personal preference, but I really like that the save points are very generous in this level. I really don't like it when games try to add cheap additional challenge just by being stingy with checkpoints. I find it very boring having to repeat challenges every time you die. This level avoids that completely by having save points every couple of screens. I approve!
- Aesthetically, my favourite environment in this level was the Basalt Woods area. It had the perfect atmosphere for its narrative context, and an interesting tileset to boot. I felt inspired to try to use that tileset myself at some point, though if I did I would try to create something aesthetically different (and probably worse!) than what you've created here.
- The entire "Waiting Room" segment with the stage play setting and the removal of jump mechanics was pure, concentrated genius. I was at the edge of my seat the whole way through because I was excited to see what crazy idea you'd throw out next. The way the section ends with that genuinely creepy dark Juni was just ... *chef's kiss*
- THE BOSS BATTLE. MY GOODNESS THE BOSS BATTLE. I laughed out loud at the references to Castlevania and Undertale. ... And then got very frustrated at how hard the challenges were. The altered jumping mechanics took some getting used to, and I actually had to look at a walkthrough on YouTube to help me get through one of the phases (it was the same bit cman struggled with). I got through it in the end though, and it made the level's ending feel very rewarding.
- At the end of my first playthrough I had found 12 of the golden animals!
Massive congratulations to yourself and anyone else who helped you develop this level. It's fantastic work!