I'm raging hard enough at the first part of the Darker Side to want to make my first forum post about it. Don't think I had any problems beating any level except for the first moon escape, but this part with the fucking swinging bars and the lava is making me mad.

I know (hope?) it'll be worth it, but it's really throwing off my this-is-the-best-game-of-all-time momentum.

I played through that for about 3 hours with a couple friends, passing the controller back and forth between runs. It felt so good to finally win.

I found that section so hard until I went chasing some other stars and came across some special stages that forced me to learn a few new techniques. Once I did, heading back to Darker Side made a lot more sense and, while still an intense challenge, it was much more "doable" and felt less cheap and more challenging.

That said, it's still a brutal gauntlet of Mario platforming challenges that require near-perfect precision. Felt great once I finally beat it, though!

Took me many, many tries but beating it feels good, man.

I don't think it's really "worth it" if you expect a big surprise out of finishing it. I enjoyed what's there but don't expect something big. The satisfaction comes from beating the thing itself.

Also if the first part is enough to frustrate you... I dunno, it gets worse. It's doable, I'm sure with some practice you can do it, but don't be afraid to go do something else elsewhere in the game if you're too frustrated.

Turn on assist mode

I absolutely loathed the darker side of the moon level. Must have tried it a few dozen times before just giving up and seeing what the rest of it was like and what happened at the end. Would not have been worth it had I finished it. The most interesting part that was in there is the rolling metal waves section, which is the only time while playing that Odyssey where game strongly emphasized maintaining a rhythm and I was kinda disappointed that it only showed up in one other part of the game.

It's not THAT bad - just keep at it. The section you refer to is just about getting the timing down: the third from last bar does not drop in to the lava, so camp here and only swing when the last 2 re-appear. Some more general tips: (1) def. run past the initial section with the goombas and the floating hat thing - do not attempt to fight them, it's not worth it; (2) some sections have a hidden health heart in them (see behind bottom of tower in lava pool you land in from cannon flight for an example); (3) get the additional life hearts at the half-way point by answering the sphinx (he's off to the left during the travelling flower path section). It is tough, but I also recommend trying to get most of the other moons in the game first - learning the skills required to beat some of these will definitely stand you in good-stead for the challenges in the darker side.

I'd recommend watching a video so you know what's coming. It's a long-ass level with no checkpoints and it overall just kinda sucks, so dying because you didn't fully grasp what you needed to do for one section of the level and having to restart the whole thing feels really awful.

I was going fucking CRAZY, ended up throwing on assist mode, and then miraculously never fell and only got hit twice....but its still in my head that I'm a dirty cheat and will never look Mario in the eyes again.