Appreciate your feedback! I understand it's not for everyone, and I'm at least happy the Game Boy aesthetic rubbed off on you. I really do think this battle system can be improved and even expanded into a larger game, so feedback like this is important. I've contemplated an alternative approach where it's skills that cost MP instead of expendable items. This also opens up for stronger attacks which cost more MP. I almost feel like I'd be reinventing the wheel though.
The thing with the story is I wanted it to feel like Fred had this nuanced narrative Harold simply didn't care about. As I mentioned in reply to Moogle, the meat and potatoes of the story together was a last-week thing and I had so much to do on top of it that it's pretty much a first draft. May be worth it to at least do all the mechanics stuff in advance next time and try and put more focus on a cohesive story with a proper start and finish.