The art and creativity is there but lacks the care of a game design/gameplay.
The simple mechanics are forgivable to a point but the whole attack/movement system needed refinement. There were times when I'd go from 6 hearts to 0 in nearly less than a second just because of an unlucky series of spawns with no smash jumps left.
The castle's arrows didn't even contribute.
I just skipped all except two of the upgrade weapons-- and even still, I didn't really even care about that I was using the strongest weapons, I used the crowbar 90% of the game with no problems. The whole RPG-element in general REALLY needed tweaks and adjustments. This really bugged me as I see a lot of game designers just throw leveling up and upgradable weapons just for the sake of enticing players. I ended up with max weapons and nothing to spend the extra money on (same with the stars).
I liked the "unlockable areas" for more loot but the loot itself didn't feel that rewarding. By the end, I just felt like finishing the game since the gameplay got linear and there was nothing to learn/master/have fun with (just repetitive swing melee and shoot, collect).
Hopefully a sequel will address these issues as the overall gameplay lacked the excitement and presisting enjoyment no matter how nicely drawn the game was.
I really have to commend the artistry and professional, smooth feel to the game though. Seriously people, just take some time to appreciate the background and music and art style and animation this author put into this game!