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It doesn't get any better than this. ;P

I'd have to say that this is the top of the Ladder when it comes to Sprite Animation, and I'd love to see the proof that it's not. ;P Also, the art you he started using near the end is top notch. I'd definitely say this is worth a watch.

Hehehe, Cute Song, Good Animation.

I liked the song, and the Animation went great(Though a mite abstract in the way only Anime can be. ;) ) with it. The 1 in Violence is because she shot da wittle robot! ;) And for sound, whilst the pairing of sound and video were great, there were no other sound effects outside of the song itself, and there could have been. (Not a criticism, as much as an observation.)

Funny at points but...

It had it good points, but overall a bit on the cheesy side. Dry humor if you will. Nothing too spectacular on the Graphics end, but not horrible either. All and all Ok for a 2nd Attempt.

If you like math, and I mean "Love" Math. Not in the "I think numbers are cool" kind of way, but more in the "I haven't used my calculator in years..." kind of way, then this is the game for you. ;P I have to say that the tying together of basic number management with an RPG shell is both novel and enjoyable. ^.^

I do think that a tool tip telling you what abilities did would have improved the experience wading in. I understand the idea that this is supposed to be an "Old School" RPG with a high level of challenge, but challenge should come from the game, and not the game system. Intentionally handicapping someone's ability to interact with a game is a backwards way of improving the difficulty. (I don't mean that as an insult, just as feedback. ;P)

Overall it's unique, fun, and I'd love to see the evolution of this idea.

Okay, so I'm no fan of the "Tower Defense" genre as a whole. Recently though "Defender's Quest" with it's RPG Elements brought me poking around at other titles that may pique my tastes. Enter GemCraft.

If you like the genre, you should be playing this game. If you don't like the genre, I don't think this game will win you over, but it's worth a shot. What sets this game apart is it's ridiculously deep customization for your play style. As the game progresses, you can build and rebuild your character to work with the ebbs and flows of each level. Added to that is the replay-ability of any level with ever changing elements, and you've got a game that is much bigger than it looks (And it looks pretty big. ;P )

Good Story

For me, the story tend to be the most important part of a game. (Well, a game that insinuates a focus on story anyway. :P ) The story here is very well done. On a personal level, I happen to enjoy stories that are wrapped up.
Much like SGDS has discussed the importance of poetry, I do not knock the importance of individual interpretation, but I still prefer a more literal story, even if it is an allegory. ;P

Mechanically, I don't think having a separate screen for inventory was necessary with the limited amount of items you use. An icon on the top would have served.
On the password combining, Once you start seeing the patterns, you begin playing around with the interface revealing the "Line it Up" mechanic. Perhaps not having the password overlap by default would have simplified that even a step further.

Overall, I enjoyed the game outside of the "Find your own Interpretation" angle. ;P

Maybe it's because I just played through it...

But this reminds me strikingly of Magus's Keep, done up all Halloweeny. Which is not a Bad thing. ;P