After playing this, I must say I'm very impressed, is the main point to make. :) Very impressed, indeed!
But since this game clearly took a lot of effort, I feel I have to leave a more detailed response. I loved the dialogue of course, it's the right balance of cheeky without being so self-aware that the deconstruction loses itself. Like early on, when I thought Zack was merely complaining about the price of items, only to realize the significance of that line a bit later! :o
I played it many times over, trying to see if there were any obscure alternate endings or Easter eggs I had missed the first time. I think I got both endings... ;)
The feel of it gameplay wise was very solid, despite the short length I felt satisfied going back and mowing down enemies that only a short time ago my stats were struggling against. Took me back to the days when this RPG era was the norm and not a few generations of retro ago.
Overall, I loved how this is both a love letter to older games, but also tweaks your expectations just enough. Feels fresh but also comfortingly familiar. Thanks for sharing this with us!