The best parts about Hero Mode are the full-power Skyward Strike right off the bat and the fact that the double damage feature made the Lightning Round more challenging. Other than that, I found it to be disappointing.
I was kind of hoping it would be more like Master Quest, yes, but I was fine with the fact that it wasn't. However, I was hoping it would have more incentives. One of my highest hopes was that Hero Mode would allow Link to stay in the clothes he starts out in throughout the whole adventure, like the second playthrough feature of Wind Waker, or at least have the option to switch between his normal clothes and his tunic like in Spirit Tracks. I was really let down when I saw that this wasn't the case.
Like Atticus said, once you get the Heart Medal, Hero Mode is pretty much easy from then on. Before getting the Heart Medal, I actually had a use for potions for once. I actually made sure I had at least one Heart Potion and a fairy on me at all times. But once I got the Heart Medal, potions once again lost their merit for me. If you ask me, Hero Mode would have been better off without the Heart Medals.
There's also the matter of certain characters acknowledging the fact that you're playing in Hero Mode. Instructor Horwell is the first character to do this, and he shaves a bit off of his little dash-and-jump tutorial. Although, he doesn't really say that much less. The Kikwi Hermit also acknowledges it, and lets you skip half of his original explanation about Farore's Flame and the Water Dragon. However, these were the only two instances I can recall in which characters acknowledged it, so it seems kind of pointless to have included it at all.
The biggest flaw of Hero Mode is the fact that when you first start it, it erases your current save data and replaces it with the new game, instead of allowing you to save the new playthrough under a seperate file like the second playthrough in Wind Waker. This was a very poor choice, if you ask me. I didn't make all that progress just to erase it, you know.
The "perks" of Hero Mode are pretty much obsolete compared to its flaws, in my opinion. All in all, I'd say it was a pretty disappointing feature.
I was kind of hoping it would be more like Master Quest, yes, but I was fine with the fact that it wasn't. However, I was hoping it would have more incentives. One of my highest hopes was that Hero Mode would allow Link to stay in the clothes he starts out in throughout the whole adventure, like the second playthrough feature of Wind Waker, or at least have the option to switch between his normal clothes and his tunic like in Spirit Tracks. I was really let down when I saw that this wasn't the case.
Like Atticus said, once you get the Heart Medal, Hero Mode is pretty much easy from then on. Before getting the Heart Medal, I actually had a use for potions for once. I actually made sure I had at least one Heart Potion and a fairy on me at all times. But once I got the Heart Medal, potions once again lost their merit for me. If you ask me, Hero Mode would have been better off without the Heart Medals.
There's also the matter of certain characters acknowledging the fact that you're playing in Hero Mode. Instructor Horwell is the first character to do this, and he shaves a bit off of his little dash-and-jump tutorial. Although, he doesn't really say that much less. The Kikwi Hermit also acknowledges it, and lets you skip half of his original explanation about Farore's Flame and the Water Dragon. However, these were the only two instances I can recall in which characters acknowledged it, so it seems kind of pointless to have included it at all.
The biggest flaw of Hero Mode is the fact that when you first start it, it erases your current save data and replaces it with the new game, instead of allowing you to save the new playthrough under a seperate file like the second playthrough in Wind Waker. This was a very poor choice, if you ask me. I didn't make all that progress just to erase it, you know.
The "perks" of Hero Mode are pretty much obsolete compared to its flaws, in my opinion. All in all, I'd say it was a pretty disappointing feature.