Howard Day, Thanks for the update, it's hard to be patient when the project is this awesome!

Going into a secret world has been the beloved staple of adventure fiction since the genre started (think Jules Verne and 'Journey to the Centre of the Earth').

So it seems to me that your character could find some kind of buried world?  There are fabled treasures there, and the Buff Boys have been searching all over for it, digging under half the town (perhaps they work for a well-to-do rich billionaire with lots of money, who is a flashy entrepreneur who has a chain of hip retail construction companies with their own brand of sports shoes, and that's why they know how to dig -- and also dance...all villains need to be able to dance).

The Boys are looking for ways to get into this lost world, but your character has found it first.  What compels him to go into it for the adventure of his life, and not go back to his favourite breakfast cereal?  Well the most endearing characters have non-selfish reasons for their actions, so if he has a sick mother or something, then he'll want some of the treasure for her medical bills.  She's too sick to run the museum she built (to display artefacts which inevitably turn up from the lost world from time to time), and it'll close down soon.  Rich dude has always been bugging her for secrets about this world, but she knows what he's like and refuses to help -- so maybe he's been leaning on the bank to keep them from extending her credit for her bills.

So its up to your character to explore this forgotten realm and to gather its goodies, while staying one step ahead of the Buff Boys -- as well as confronting them a lot.  But there may also be old robots that the people of the lost world left behind that give you trouble, and soon you come to realise that this place could be dangerous in the wrong hands.  Enter the wealthy, cash-flush rich guy with bursting bank accounts and lots of ready dosh (he's a real pain in the assets).

He learns that he can raise the lost world (oh no, your home!) and use its technical wonders to completely and utterly take over your whole entire town.  And maybe the next one, too, if -- ya know -- it all works out.

(SPOILERS?  And as for a happy ending, why not have the mayor show up just as you've defeated the last baddie, look around at all the loot, and ask what's going on -- at which point you reply that the treasures were found by the rich dude, so that he could donate them to the museum.  The rich dude will have a change of heart -- of course -- at being considered such a selfless, giving, philanthropic altruist and donor, as well as all around great guy, that he'll turn over a new leaf.  He'll even pay for your Mom's medical bills and make sure she can always afford to run her museum -- which will be the best museum devoted to the display of artefacts from the lost world in the whole entire town!)

What you have so far is really compelling and interesting -- I haven't played the Mother games (so sorry if I'm ignorant of any elements from it you are referencing) but it feels to me like a pretty fresh take on the 'boy trips into adventure' story, and if any of the ravings I've offered here can be of any help whatsoever (in any form) then I'll be more than happy.

Good luck with it!

Looks a lot more like a moustache now -- great character, too.  Varmints, beware!

The cyan creatures did read like ghosts to me, but unless my eyes are playing tricks, then in your excellent title screen they appear to be a reasonable 1.5 to 2x the height of a human character (i.e. just right for a monstrous creature with an emphasis on a hazy, stretched aspect because of their temporal nature).  But in the game mock-up, they're 20 or 30 times as tall.  I don't know if this discrepancy is contributing to your discomfort, but I wonder if these creatures would look better if they were pixelled to be about the size of a large boss, rather than something the size of a background layer.

Oh, and the glove and knife look great!

I also really like what you said about his attitude in the title screen, and had to think (maybe for the first time?) that 'hey, that's right, what would it be like for a person if things like video game rules could actually inform their world view?' - so thanks for that, it's exciting and stimulating to explore!

I also love that he can resurrect earlier explorers - adds a lot of heroism and potential story depth (it's not all just about grabbing as much loot as possible) as well as opportunities to reveal plot details ("here's the key to the next cavern - I couldn't make it but maybe you can...").

I do like 'Endless Cavern', though I think the reason you might have tried to change it is because - despite how it rolls off the tongue - it lacks a good verb for pep (or at least a more descriptive noun) and so 'Crystal Blast' must have sounded very exciting in comparison, but maybe began to feel too exciting (like it was supposed to be some kind of high-energy Columns or Tetris clone...).  At the risk of suggesting something that sounds too comical and throw away, would 'Crystal Caverns' be too alliterative for you?  Then there's also 'Phantom Caverns', 'Crystal Depths', 'Ancient Caves', 'Adventure Mine', 'The Under World', 'Caverns of the Dead', or many other possibilities and combinations of possibilities.  (though I doubt any of this is much better than 'Endless Cavern'. )

I saw no problems with the proportions on the title screen - it was very convincing!  (to be fair though, I do often underestimate just how long a forearm can be, so maybe you can try the pose in a mirror and that may be the only evidence you need.)

I like your heart container!  And your new sprite helmet looks very realistic (though it obscures that cute, wide-eyed expression a bit).

With moves like this, there's a bit more than a slight discrepancy.

A discontinuity between game art and sprites is - historically - pretty much par for the course.  Maybe even an expected feature if you want to rekindle memories of playing classic games.  For me, a realistic art plate or title screen creates the conceptual coolness for helping me take the game seriously, while the game-friendly sprites add the cuteness that helps me become attached to the game emotionally (this is a way to say 'fall in love with' without sounding too corny...).  This is the kind of cognitive dissonance I can live with!