yesh LL you can definately finish it in 2days easily without the missions, and if you do all the missions, it expands it to a week.. Depends on who you are, but that can be a good thing.
Is the Hard mode new from the Jap Version??

No, I got 28th of March, but i think the game still at launch in this date.

Got it at launch and recently finished it (two days ago). Spectacular game.

The battle system takes getting used to, but once you learn it it is surprisingly fun and addictive. The DMW is quite annoying at points, but the payoff at the end of the game is so stunning and beautiful that it is more than worth it. The missions are mindless and plentiful, but some actually give some nice little quirky bits of information that add depth to the world of Gaia.

But it is the story that makes this game worth any price, annoyance, or handheld bias one might have. It is engaging, intriguing, and utterly beautiful in its tragic nature (not really spoiler if you have played VII first). Taking a relatively bit character from the orignal and flushing him out so completely that he rivals the best characters of ANY entertainment medium is a fantastic achievement. Also the development of Sephiroth and the delving into the infamous Nibelheim memories is wonderfully flushed out while still being true to the original... but it is the final sequences that take this game into a realm of pure emotion and I believe have this game overtake FFVII wonderful story.

I had to cotinually pause and put the PSP down because I just could not hold the damn thing steady. It wasn't just knowing what was coming, but the deepened aspect of Aerith and Zack's relationship and the execution of those last moments had me breaking down.

This game takes a small but significant role from VII and takes it to levels that few games could ever hope to attain with a completely original story. This game was worth the wait, the pre-order, and the price I payed for the PSP at launch.