SPECIAL REVIEW: BEYOND SPECIAL! JOURNEYS OF A BYGONE WANDERER FROM SSC3!!!! ||THIS MAP IS PEAK FICTION, THE BEST THING I'VE EVER PLAYED IN THIS GAME, NO DOUBT! …ok, deep breaths, let's start from the top. The presentation in this map is immaculate. The cutscenes are perfectly paced, the locations and setpieces all do their part and everything enhances the experience. The concept of actually flying the rocket to the different planets is already a banger, and its executed really well too, with the actual rocket scenes and the rocket minigames. Each custscene uses music and camera controls to maximise impact, I was fucking hooked in and I never let go. Anyways, let's look at things from the start. The first cutscene lays out the start of the amazing story, with Maddy and Theo about to go on an epic space mission. I'll get more into how insanely peak cinema this story is, but for now we board the rocket and get to play the first minigame, it's not too hard since its the first but I love how fluid the controls are, I wouldn't mind an avoidance map using controls like that in the future…. SO we land on Halcyon and oh man this deco is already this fire? Spooooky did such an amazing job on the deco here it all looks so awesome. After splitting ways with Theo we get to jump into the first proper gameplay of this map and AUGH, WOW. FONDA COOKED TO THE MAX WITH THIS HOLY SHIT. The gameplay is dream block focused, with a good chunk being dream swap blocks. Madeline is loosting and going up all over the place in that kind of extremely flowy smooth satisfying gameplay that fonda just does so well. It's like clockwork on omega-impact supersteroids. Each room is just so flowy and so fun it's an absolute treat. Part way through Maddy calls Theo and for some reason this planet is like completely deserted. Theo found some junkass rocket parts which may be from the failed mission of 50 years ago. Well anyway we have to move on and after more banger gameplay, Maddy finds a note that is quite intriguing but she can't make full understanding of it yet. There's a cool berry room and then it's time to catch up with theo and leave for the next planet. Another rocket minigame follows where the second (and final :weheline~1: ) berry of the map is found, where we have to take some riskier paths to nab all the seeds, This is a great idea for a berry in the rocket-game and my only real "criticism" of this map is that there could've been more berries dotted throughout that took the map's wacky gimmicks to the max. But making maps this good takes a boatload of effort so its understandable that there weren't more. Anyway we land in Valhalla ( :pausefrogelineatthephone: ) to continue our mission. This planet is sooooo good-looking, love the blues and the pinks, very vibrant compared to the gloomier Halcyon. The gameplay here has also somehow gotten even better?? The button activated block-thingies are introduced, and there's a chain of short and sweet rooms that each do unique things. I LOVE just running through sections like these, it just feels great and helps keep the map moving and enjoyable, Ultras are starting to be used here too, and there are even setup casoosts in here as well? It's just SO FUCKING GOOD! Before long we actually find someone! Salem…. I've got a few words about him to give later… For now he's a bit suspicious knowing we're from Earth somehow, but he invites us to get drinks and…. || (1/3)

||Once we get to the Lavender Bar, we meet Victor as well who seems cool though Salem keeps cutting him off… He wants us to help him by bringing him and Victor to a new planet via our rocket. This seems all sorts of sketchy but we follow them anyway. This brings us to one of the best parts of the map, the cosmic highway! This section has some of the best flow gameplay yet, I cannot get over how fun this map is to play, it's just so PERFECTLY FUCKING PEAK!!! Partway through, we get to chat with Victor on his own and yeah, he is pretty cool! It does seem like Salem is a bit on the pretentious side and Victor doesn't really get to do much on his own, but we reassure him that we've got his back. Once Maddy catches up with Salem and Victor (and Theo is just behind), Salem seems a lot less friendly and really puts on the pressure to make Maddy go along with his plan. Madeline does eventually give in, against Theo's wishes but they continue on and do in-fact let Salem and Victor join them for the trip to the new planet. It's here that we get to see a bit of a backstory for Salem, yet again visiting the grave of Asher, someone he must've been really close too. The story of this map really is immaculate; the foreshadowing and the communication of information to the player is done really well that keeps the mystery soooo engaging. After another rocketship minigame (which is funny cuz the characters' dialogue clutters the screen and makes it harder), we land on the final planet! ACHERO- whuh??? oh come on! ok sure let's forget about that game for now and talk about ACHERON!!! Here we are, where Salem wants to take revenge against the people who stole his rocket, and Madeline seemingly keeps giving in to his demands (like to get the key). The gameplay here has new additions: dream hypers! and feathers! and dissapearing dream blocks too! Of course fonda the master chef cooked up more peak fiction gameplay so no surprise there at this point. Once we open the way, Madeline and Theo reconcile and decide to try and finish their mission without running into Salem. This plan kinda falls apart tho after someone called Vander gets shot. We try to continue but do eventually run into Salem who has now gone completely antagonsitic and his hate of humans becomes very clear to see. There's still a bit of a mystery but before we know more he pulls a laser gun on Madeline and she almost gets killed, escaping due to blockfall separating. What a tense set of cutscenes those were, I have barely ever been engaged with a map's story like this one. It's so, so, so, so well written (we're not even at the best part yet lmao). Things get crazy from here with laser shooters going at Maddy as she tries to escape. Even more creative gameplay follows and then the final room… It's quite long but it's so damn satisfying to beat as well, and the visual of flying into the rocket heading into the final rocket minigame which is super tense as many lasers shoot at us. But after dodging everything it's finally all over…BUT NOT FOR LONG as Salem shoots us out of the sky and we crash land! Thankfully Maddy and Theo aren't hurt, but Salem is almost completely insane now, very much wanting us dead, and finally filling the rest of the mystery. The rocket of 50 years ago crashed into Halcyon, not before hitting an asteroid and sending it on path to hit the planet. Not everyone could escape in time, and Asher and seemingly a good few others had to be left behind eventually die… And Salem has had it out for humans since then. The emotional side of this story is beautifully presented and as if I wasn't hooked enough before this point, this cutscene is even better! I'll also mention how GREAT the character designs are! Salem's facial expressions are PERFECT! THEY'RE SO EXPRESSIVELY GOOD!! GRAAAAH I can't get over how polished this map is for fuck's sake! Anyway, Victor steps in before Salem can kill us and tries to convince Salem to step down and… ||(2/3)

You were lost. You found the way. You felt hopeless. You withheld hope. You fumbled constantly. You recovered endlessly.

You felt directionless, and yet you moved with direction.

To witness a second terminus... to surpass another limit... It's funny what the finer details of a supernova can reveal.

But starfruit doesn't glow, does it?