Hello! First off, thank you so much for the feedback, it is incredibly valuable!
There is quite a bit more content after obtaining the 'megaphone' item; I've got a final cutscene and credits that roll when you finish, so that would be your cue for the ending. With that said, YES, I definitely agree that this demo/prototype can use some more clues or a guide NPC at least. I battled with wanting to be cryptic/obscure with solutions versus having some more obvious clues as to what to do next. I will definitely take this into consideration as I polish this up, so thanks! A quick clue - the megaphone shoots a projectile that may unlock some blocked off areas for you. The way the projectile looks is supposed to tip you off, but it is incredibly obscure and I recognize that now!
As for the art, I must thank you again! I'm typically quite hard on myself when working with my creative outlets; I think most creatives are in the sense that nothing will ever seem good enough (at least for me). So its always very nice when people come out and say, "Hey, that's not as bad as you think" or "Good job!". And while making the grass that's in my mind still eludes me, I thank you for the comments about it. Its so dang hard to NOT make it look like a messy pattern! Flowers and taller shoots do seem exactly like what it should be for this style.
Currently I use Aseperite for asset creation (the MS Paint thing was a jab at myself, heh!), but a majority of what you see in the current demo was made in Piskel. As I have continued making my screens, I have definitely started seeing that in many cases, less is more and indeed, I do not need to fill each to the brim to make it feel alive, especially for an 8-bit game!
Regarding the additional feedback - these are all aspects I struggled with initially and am in the process of correcting them, particularly the collisions getting stuck on each other! For button layout, I'm sure my brain just thought, "Well B button should be 'B' because of...well 'B'!" Haha! I do plan on changing this as well, likely to space bar, so I'll need to work with state-machines I suppose. Quest items and the inventory system is a big one that will be completely revamped as well. It is currently a tad unnecessary for the game, but I wanted to make sure I could get a Zelda-like scrolling menu for future implementation. I did absolutely forgot to add a key counter, so I think I'll move the key you get there out of the Quest Item section.
Anyway, sorry for the ramble, and thank you again for the incredible feedback! I am hoping to power through the pixel art, but yes, I will likely switch to the coding aspect if I burn out!
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!
SpoiledPuppy