Diagonal movement presented technical issues as well due to the limitations of the engine. It has a tendency to not allow you to turn while you are moving in some cases. It is possible to work around this in construct but the time investment would be fairly significant and one we could not afford with just one developer working on the mechanics.
I'm glad you like the music! I really want to explore the gameboy chip more. I discovered during this jam I prefer working with it over the 2A03 which is what I'm more used to. For my next project, I'm going to do a little more experimentation I think with the wave channel in particular c: