Chapter 9- All hearts to complete?

[Alx]

I wonder if someone knows if you have to collect all hearts to beat chapter 9?

[Miri Ryllis ミリス]

Not all, just 15.
You can also skip the door if you're fast
Kinda wanna have the skills getting 15 gives you tho

[smeredith]

The level uses techniques that are taught in 2B and 7B extensively after the 15 heart gate, so I strongly recommend doing those levels first. Knowing how to hyperdash (8C) also makes the parts after easier.

[Elisekv]

This kinda bummed me out. I'm missing four hearts and I know I'll have to spend many MANY hours getting those four if I wanna continue. Up until now I've died almost 2000 times in 5 hours on ch 9 so it's easy to tell that I'm not super good at the game. I kinda wish the levels after the heart gate were a B-side or extra stage instead so I could know the conclusion to the story. Though maybe it's for the better that I can't play these levels yet since I heard they are BRUTAL. Maybe I'll just watch a playthrough for the story, then take my time with it later.