The pirate level is the favorite of the developing team too :D. Glad you enjoyed!

I agree, the pirate level is fantastic from beginning to end (and I didn't even know that the starting point wasn't ACTUALLY the very beginning of the stage until I played the stage several times to try and find the hidden cameo, i was quite surprised to find a certain someone digging for treasure on a sandbar just to the left of the level's initial starting point lol).

Really love the sky, the clouds and the shades of blue used for the ocean waters and everything just looks gorgeous. I also LOVE the underwater portions of the 2nd half of the stage, again the use of blue shades and the backgrounds are just spectacular. The stage gives me Parodius vibes haha

I also laughed when watching the game's ending credits at the kraken wearing the giant eyepatch, it doesn't make me feel as bad for blowing up his eye (even though he deserved it for being a jerk).

I even posted the picture on my twitter feed because it's so funny lol
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DjtNkp5W0AEs0CP.jpg