hm, well I can kinda see how you're salvaging the wall tiles with all the harshly lit windows that protude....and it works, but I think it is better to plan out your readablity whitout counting on variation tiles, since it IS a game we are talking about and readibility is the biggest issue.
I'd go with a gradient dark below, light above for the walls....I know how cheap it sounds but I'm not saying open up photoshop make a 25% visible layer and the put a gradient on it, I mean carefully pixel the details in such way that light is gradually greater towards the top :p (hey if it is good enough for boktai, why dont you give it a try?)
I say this because the way I see topdown tiling, it basically goes down like this....only one of the planes (by that I imply there's only two, vertical and horizontal) can be regularly lit and basically just show off texture. the way you have done your shading it seems the horizontal will be the one on your game, so the vertical plane (which also seems like it'll just pretty much be 1 block high in your game) by elimination must have gradual lighting....it also makes sense, because the vertical plane is the one where characters move in and they should have an interesting lighting situation going on.
BTW, it's just an opinion but I prefered the old leaf pattern, I favor the more suggestive quasi-impresionist style because it gives a better sense of scale growth patterns and texture, it teases the brain much better than the new one.
to me the new trees look like a plastic bonsai from the unrealistically big, unrealistically structured and unrealistically well lit leafs. I seriously love the old foilage, it's a good example of where I think pixelart should go.
I know you'll probably just give me a "what I have is better for my idea of the game's aethetic" type excuse, but I felt it had to be said.
