I played up to the point where, after battling several enemies in what looked like a castle, Kiro was struck down by a surprise attack during a cutscene.
Battle System
To be honest, I didn't really understand it at first — right up until around the fight with the boar. But once I got the general idea, I found the battle system had a really strategic kind of fun to it. I think the way to enjoy it is to think about two things: "what's the right action to counter the enemy's move?" and "how should I adjust my timing (using swap and so on)?" (apologies if I've misunderstood). I found myself playing while wondering things like, "What happens if I deliberately attack a guarding enemy to shift my action timing?" or "Wouldn't it be better to swap here and let Kiro act?" In other words, I felt it has real potential for puzzle-like play.
Story
The way the story unfolds was much to my taste. The scene where the dojo burns down, in particular, was sudden but a pleasant surprise. The developments after that let me feel the Master's sorrow and made me want to root for the characters. There was never a moment where the story's progression or a character's actions felt off to me. The scene where — at least as I understood it — Kiro thinks about their mother while the Master thinks about a child who can't return to their own mother felt very real, and it's one of my favorite moments. Since English isn't my native language, I apologize if I've misread anything.
Music
I thought it suited the game's atmosphere well, and I enjoyed it.
Sprites
I liked how the character sprites move and convey a little of the characters' emotions.
UI
I never had any trouble with the controls. I think it's a good UI.
Things I noticed
- The introduction to the battle system felt hard to follow. During the first fight against the animals, I was left wondering, "What's the correct move here?"
- Since I couldn't fully grasp the battle system and its rules, I wished there were a way to re-read them at any time.
- The mechanic where you slow down when walking on grass conveys the "this looks hard to walk through" feeling well, but personally I found it a bit of a chore.
- I ran into something I couldn't tell was intended behavior or a bug: the enemy attacked the Master the moment it became Kiro's turn (i.e., when I was able to select a command). I suspect that when the action timings happened to line up exactly, both actions ended up executing at once.
- On the battle screen, it looks like an enemy in the back is being drawn on top of an enemy in front. It's not a critical bug, but it caught my eye, so I thought I'd mention it.
All in all, I had a great time playing. Thank you for making such an enjoyable game!