@Guillaume

More than you might think. From what I remember...

-You have about 60% health
-Stars are now "hollow" and 1Ups have a Kirby crown (cosmetic change)
-Enemy types are now of wildly varying sizes (mostly a cosmetic change)
-"Void" stages have a wall that moves around twice as fast
-The biggie: every boss and mid-boss now looks different visually (some are palette swaps, others are more), and they all have completely new attacks. There's even a major surprise or two tucked away regarding bosses too.
-Remember those difficult challenge rooms and their next-to-impossible Platinum Medals? Yeah, they're back, and harder. There're more coins everywhere and usually more enemies too, making Platinums even harder to get.
-There is a fairly significant unlockable for beating the EX Game

Ooh. Okay. Sounds good. Kinda. Getting the gears all over again pisses me off a bit though. They seem to be in the same spots. Now that's just tedious. I kind of want to be able to run through this thing.

@Simbabbad The extra Mode is separate from the Story Mode. You don't lose anything from the first by playing the second. And the rooms are the exact same layout but with enemies and coins moved around, if I recall correctly. They aren't THAT much tougher, but some little things do make a difference.

@Simbabbad

Alright, after reading that I went and finished the first world and yeah, it's pretty amazing how adding some tension to the game, the risk of dying against bosses, improves it.

I had to restart the race for the key in 1-3 over 8 times, haha.

I still haven't played KEY...

You guys should keep it up. There're a couple major surprises in store that I was pleased to see. Nothing really earth-shattering but it's clear that some thought went into that mode.

Wow happy to see the game is being received so well. Kirby is one of my favorites need to get this and Mass Attack, to many games not enough time or money.

It definitely took some effort, especially since I did many of those before doing the normal game's (then I went back and did the normal game's and they were simpler in comparison). From what I can tell, you have to get all the bonuses possible, which means...

-all coins
-all enemies defeated
-no damage
-at least 30 seconds left on the clock

It's definitely a challenge! The Hi-Jump one in particular probably gave me the most trouble.

I’m about 47% into the Hard mode, but I haven’t really seen anything as challenging as that first race for that key in the first world again. The tension definitely is ratcheted up during the boss fights though, that’s for sure. But it seems like Hard mode simply makes a really easy game into a normal one, for the most part.

Still, I keep coming back to it again and again when I could be playing Rayman instead, so I guess it does have a hold on me somehow. Difficulty isn’t everything.

I haven’t touched the challenge rooms in a while, too.

How long does it take to play thru the game to unlock hard mode? Would you recommend I download a save file instead?

Maybe normal mode is more fun for a casual romp with friends, while hard mode is for serious business gaming.

Ha, I was just gonna say: play through the normal mode with the girlfriend. Come back to the hard mode for more serious solo play.

That's exactly what I'll do! Hoping this game is under the Christmas tree.

60% completion (just finished the first post-pop star level). Death count = multiplied by 20. Ugh.

Oh, but the lives don't save. If they did, I'd have a good reserve.

Ah what a great game. I feel like going back and playing through some stages.

Simbabbad said:

I love Dedede's look when he's #1 in the rankings.

Yes! What a great expression.

Like in Kirby Super Star, I made great things happen with Bomb. It's a pretty simple move but it's so visceral and fun, and it's quite effective as a long-range attack that packs some pretty good punch. Water is one of my favorite RtDL abilities, but most of its moves are either low on power (the dash and projectile), or a little risky (the upward shot). The best move against bosses with Water is probably the rainbow, which gives some invincibility frames, and you can use it repeatedly while "charging" it during the animation of Kirby using it.

Spark also works nicely due to the shake-to-charge move, solid projectile damage and a built-in shield.

I just barely beat the EX Arena with a friend. It was quite a challenge!

Hope you don't mind, but I blocked out a few key phrases for those that haven't gotten to that point yet (which might be everyone but the two of us at the moment).

I had to literally pry my girlfriend away from this game after we played for over two hours straight. It's really fun and addictive, and we even enjoyed the challenge rooms and minigame we unlocked. I've been having a good time as Dedede, and I'm impressed by the variety of his, MetaKnight and Waddle Dee's moveset.

I'm going to try to get my nephews into this game (to finally lure them away from Burnout Paradise and Blur). Mario failed. Let's see how Kirby fares.

@anon_mastermind

Yeah, pretty much every one of the abilities has a ton of different moves, although each of the other playable characters do have some advantages over the equivalent Kirby powers...

Dedede can throw his hammer repeatedly (dash + minus) without losing it, and I'm pretty sure he takes less damage.
Meta Knight has great aerial mobility plus a couple of Wing dive-bomb-esque moves, in addition to all the sword abilities. I think he has a unique Up + attack too.
Waddle Dee has good aerial mobility as well since he can jump repeatedly and doesn't have to puff up. Lets him hit stuff in the air easily.