Now when I think of a good HAROLD game this is very close to perfect. Very close.
The game play was well balanced and felt like a well thought out, pre-planned adventure. The pacing was good most of the time.
Combat was actually engaging for me. I liked the fact that it made me think about how to use who I had and why. Nothing we too hard to soon yet I still felt challenged.
A few things were amusing, nothing made me really lough out loud.
I think for what you had to work with you used the sounds well enough.
THOSE TREES! Those trees. Other than THOSE TREES I thought the mapping was competent, easy to read and helped progress the game forward well enough. The sprites and faces and enemies all felt used well. But you just had to go and use... those trees....
How dare.
Lets talk a bit about the story it's self. While the over all pacing was very good, meaning that everything progressed rather smoothly a narrative stall hurt the game for more than 75% of the play through. Harold's growth happens in to short a time near the end. It might have been better, I think, if in every town he had to make a choice (even if the player can't make that choice for him) between getting mad and saying NO to some one, or learning a lesson and relenting, even if reluctantly.
Thus, over time, we see a gradual change in him. Then when he gets to the supernatural creatures we have seen him ALMOST there, but then I would have worked it so the lady was far more demanding and pushed Harold's fears and insecurities to far.
Then the pep talk would have had more weight.
Also the end DUNGEON felt out of left field. You had those slimes all over as well as the minotaurs, that would have been a perfect place to give THEM a capital. It would have fit the theme a lot better, and felt like a conclusion to those creatures as well.
I feel cheated out of true Marsha joining the party. What you got against my lil girl mage? Huh?
Overall I really liked this game. It felt like a REAL GAME. It played to hard into the trope of Harold being dumb, it could have been neater around it's over all theming, but it was good.
I hope to see more good work from you in the future!