When my partner couldn't get to his bomb supply and I had to run to him.  I would get to the top pretty quickly.....only to realize I was on the opposite side of the arena.  One time, I totally made it in time and when I got shot from the catapult, I missed the boss!!

Completed now playing on Hero Mode.

That almost happened to me on the main game fight (missing the boss on the last shot). Luckily, even though I had an overshot trajectory, Link hit the ring above the boss's head and fell right onto the weakspot xD.

I found out later that abusing the hell out of the giant geyser in the middle of the bottom level was the way to go for super fast times against all forms. Just go to the top level and roll your way to it's head (also works wonders against that last part of the final form).

I beat hero mode 2 days ago. I didn't try the boss rush this time, too hard. Just beat RER in normal, not so hard.

What's the difference between hero mode and regular mode?

Double Damage for everything, no hearts in the grass until you get a heart medal, but you have an upgrade sword from the start and all your collected items.

That sounds pretty sweet!  Gonna have to give it a shot after I clear some of my backlog.  I was ready for Zelda to end because it was taking so long to get to the ending.  Still, part of me never wanted the game to end.

I'm not far at all.
First Dungeon and I haven't even beaten it yet. XD

Lol...?

Actually, you have the Goddess Sword and have to upgrade it all over again, but this time, the Skyward Slash has the same power and charging time as the True Master Sword. When you get the TMS on Hero Mode, the Skyward Slash charges instantly, so you can spam it. And you only get to keep collection items (bugs and materials), losing everything that you have upgraded till then (potions, equipment, etc.).

If you have a shitload of Rupees (I ended up with the full 9900 rupees), there's a neat trick you can do to carry at least half of that amount to Hero Mode. If you go to the waterfall in Skylof at night and play the harp near a group of butterfly, you'll summon a gossip stone that's called the Moonlight Merchant, which sells you all kinds of upgrading materials. Spend your entire wallet on Dusk Relics (200 rupees a piece) and then when you go to Hero Mode, and are able to summon the Merchant again, you can sell them back for half the price. So for 9900 rupees you can buy 49 Dusk Relics for 9800 Rupees and sell them and keep 4900 Rupees, more than enough for any upgrading need on Hero Mode.