Oh I just ADORE the art style of this one!! It's so unique and well done. AND I love an elderly protag, you don't see that enough tbh. It adds to that air of mystery and many truths hiding there to be found out.
I thought the battle system was really cool as well. I agree with abra that it's hard to really know what you're doing. People have a tendency to think what is in front of them is what has always been there. It was really tricky to really be able to tell when the heart rate was going up or down, at least for me. I think keeping the mechanic but just including some kind of numbers would help a lot. I totally understand the running out of time thing though, haha. I loved all the different unique commands in the battles, always fun to have something different than just attack and block etc. I really wish there was a small description of what they do. Trying to figure it out is fun and all but I think even a little hint of what you're clicking on is still helpful.
I got to the ship kind of north of the beach and then felt unclear of where to go. I think random encounters are kind of a double edges sword because I felt almost flinchy trying to explore. I did end up just running from most of the battles - but even then I feel bad doing that! But I can only soothe and bop so many crabs before I feel done haha.
I dont know if you did all the art yourself but I really loved the look of all the maps and sprites. I loved the little flashback encounters that gave me a new skill, that felt cool and is a good mix of exposition and game mechanic. All in all I was so genuinely immediately blown away by how much I liked the art and I have never seen that kind of battle system before, huge kudos. I really hope you keep fiddling with it and finding a good balance! And I hope to see you again in future jams!! Feel free to join the discord if you haven't, it's a nice community and people are very happy to playtest and give tips and feedback as you work on things.