I greatly appreciate this level of feedback. We decided to keep the level of difficulty a bit high to encourage players to fight all available villains to unlock the skill and gain the gold to buy needed items in the shop. I do worry that the game was a bit too difficult in the end though. I will say though I'm, did you also fight the optional zombie in the arcade? It was meant to be a bonus so you can gain the best skill.
I'm happy that the story elements shines through as we had many conversations about them. This was a labor of love and I'm overjoyed that even with its faults it can be enjoyed by people!
I love long-form feedback so thank you so much!