Hi! I am so glad you liked it <3
I felt like the walkthrough was necessary because the last thing I want my game to be is frustrating. I am glad you found it useful :) To be fair, many problems in this game come from a lack of experience on my part...
"do I need to keep my save files from this run?" No.
I still have not decided on how to transition from chapter 1 to chapter 2, but I think I will do something similar to what Deltarune did: a simple "What chapter do you want to play?"
Thank you so much for your interest in my story! It truly is a joy to hear that someone enjoyed something you have worked hard on! <3