Hehe, yes the music could stuck in your head very fast, so congrats on that ;)
So I understand why the strafing wasn’t there in the first place, but as you said if the phonetic keys are only available within the battle now, that make it easy to add, I think it would be nice to have it.
I like the idea of Spellington shouting random words you have to counter. Is it like, he is shouting something like “Blizzard” and you then have a list of counter-words you could possible spell (but have to learn them while playing)? I think that could be nice having like a “Spellbook” you filling up with words you encounter or tried using. Maybe something of a hidden list you have to figure out yourself.. like some logic behind it based on elements that counter each other? I see alot of potential here! This could even be expanded to a PvP mode where you “battle” other player / friend maybe just locally but could be a fun addition!
Looking forward to what you making out of it!