Both the ice and the wind mechanics tend to be the weakest in the game because they don't actually make the game harder, they just lower your precision. It almost feels too bad when a string of good levels gets interrupted by a boring mini-boss or end boss. Some great level design through and through, but the bosses are underwhelming the entire game. One thing that I noticed this time around and had forgotten from before-the timer and life counter disappears in the 9-9 fight which makes the whole thing feel a little more epic. He was also significantly easier than I remember (obviously I had 4 deaths, versus I remember it taking me 30+ tries the first time I finished it). I was expecting some big-ass Yoshi's Island / Kefka level stuff. DK is smaller in the 9-9 fight than I remember. Amazing how they did so much with so little. Forgot how killer the soundtracks are in World 9.

It's like the game tricked you into thinking it was just going to be Donkey Kong, but then you find out there's 100 more levels out there waiting to be played. Going from 100m to 1-1 is still impressive after all this time.

Impressions from someone who beat the game when it came out but hasn't done a replay in 10+ years:

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