I'm glad that you enjoyed my two characters! I definitely already put it in my notes for the future to have a better sense of place with location name popups but it came to me too late to properly implement it - but I'm glad to see it pointed out here! I think a little bit of it got lost in that like, all of the cave is Whisper's Hollow, but it was a part of the somewhat uncomfortable transition when I crunched a much larger and longer project into a prequel game set before the main one. I'll have to be more aware of conveying location next time ^^
Funnily enough with Sir James, that room inspired my jump pads that I ended up utilizing in other parts, though I probably should've went back over that section of the tower. One of my playtesters found it to be a little too odd as well but I stuck to my guns. It is something I'd do differently if I were to redo it for certain!
I felt the random encounter rate is a little too high but I also had hit that wall of big project becoming a significantly smaller one and it ended up being a matter of making sure the player could focus on the writing aspect at that point, which makes it messy but that's also why the Battle Ward is pretty expensive. I think it's safe to say I learned a very hard lesson about giving myself enough space to balance a full experience so there isn't weirdness like what you mentioned with the combat, bosses and the encounter reduction item.
Mathilde def has those problems too because I ended up tuning her down to pretty basic but tanky so there would be at least a little resistance in this regard. Overall, like I said, lessons for when I balance my main project!
I appreciate the feedback with the Emperor too - I can see your point with me making it last too long and I will also take notes regarding any future encounters that might be unwinnable situations.
I'll keep the door opening in mind too! That is probably the most rushed part of production next to the battle balance and I will make sure that it works better in future projects.
Overall I really appreciate the incredibly detailed feedback and didn't expect to see so much love while also seeing so much excellent constructive criticism. Thank you so much for playing and I hope you enjoy what I release in the future!