The issue with being unguided is that I did not have the time to put in a starting cutscene to explain your goal.
Oh, this wasn't so much about an opening cutscene, it's that the map felt too open, especially in the beginning. I didn't really have a sense of where the game wanted me to go, it felt like there were too many decision points and branching paths. It probably took me a good five minutes of wandering through every nook and cranny available before I found the fireball ability.
Maybe I should make the vertical camera movement go further?
This was specifically after getting the fireball ability and trying to get back into the palace, you have to shoot a gem that's very high above you to open a large door. This gem is very easily obscured by the HUD. It might be as simple as moving the gem down a bit.
Can you tell me exactly where and how you got stuck?
Right from the start of the game, if you go right and exit the palace which requires leaping off of a ledge, you'll end up in an outside area I couldn't find an exit from. All of the platforms back into the palace were too high up, and all of the pathways that I found (including one built into a cave - which had a nice transition hint btw - which was ultimately a dead end at that point in the game).
I hope this helps. Let me know if you need any screenshots and I'll see what I can grab for you.