The majority of users accused Cyclic of hacking the level. The community argued whether or not this level had been hacked, since it was much too tough for most gamers at the time. Cyclic deleted the unrated level in July and produced a boosted version with a dark blue color scheme based on a vote made on Korean forums in which he invited people to select between five color schemes: black, dark blue, navy blue, yellow/green, or orange.
A few gamers attempted it, but none made much progress beyond the initial ship. Sonic Wave was initially built in mid-Update 1.9, when Cyclic provided a preview for a new Nine Circles level with a light blue color scheme (this version is now considered as Old Sonic Wave). Geometry Dash Sonic Wave by Cyclic and Sunix is an Extreme Demon Level rated 10 stars.