Oh, i thought it was a more serious problem. I will work on pacing on my next games.
There is a shortcut to avoid the archers (at the sword powerup room). And the onsen works as a checkpoint. (You need to speak to the girl before the boss room to open the door). Did you use them or they weren't easy to notice?
It took me quite a bit to notice it honestly, saves and checkpoints should preferably be in a place where the player is just naturally gonna go to, rather than an area that's off of their current path. All of the critiques for this entry really just ultimately come down to balancing and pacing though, which I think speaks quite strongly to your other fundamentals when it comes to game development which I believe are super polished
