I got progressively more and more excited as I read this announcement! I'm looking forward to the return to Spunkstock and honestly cutting back on exploration and the number of characters is a HUGE WIN for me! I'd prefer fewer, more fleshed out characters than many less-developed characters.
The focused scope, added features (dynamic music and VOCALS!), and the return of some legacy characters are basically a wishlist of everything I'd hope for in a sequel to Spunkstock.
I'll be eagerly awaiting further updates.