I grew a quick attachment to the story and banter mechanics since writing is such a difficult thing to put out confidently, yet when the first floor taught me that most items have a randomized pool of dialogue, all of the burden of intrigue was placed onto the before-and-afters of each combat encounter, as well as the ending, which did reinvigorate the charm, despite being inescapable since 'Restart' only placed me at the start of the ending and 'Quit' did nothing.
The game is a dungeon crawling mazer wrapped in the affectations of a Mind-Heart banter, yet these sections are too easily winnable to claim mechanical prominence. Implementation of the mazer elements such as the locked doors and repeating projectiles derive a simple and pleasing flow; however, the paths of magma are an odd element, since I'm able to be damaged by them but not cross over them. Imagine further incorporation into the mazer such as an item or upgrade that allows me to traverse the magma, or allowing me to do it at the risk of damage and the reward of a correct or quicker path.
Pokemon's dialogue strikes a delicate balance against its text based combat in being largely inconsequential, which places more tension on the combat interactions. There's something to be said about the shift in priorities as the series has gotten gradually easier with each entry, but my point is that if the story beyond the game is consequential, it ought to try and match that energy everywhere else. I imagine the instructors wouldn't be satisfied with the combat taken out in place of nothing but environmental descriptions and level design, but its something to consider once you're free of a grade and bound by a budget, because it'd definitely satisfy someone like me.