It's been a while since I've posted a formal devlog update, but I assure you I've been hard at work. So, what is in store for this v2.3 update coming soon?

Portrait Redesigns
The original portraits for the game are all based on the RPG Maker VX RTP, which had a maximum size of 300x300. This made adding additional expressions and making changes very hard, and made some portraits--especially Baldric's--look blurry and messy. These portraits have been re-drawn in 3000x3000 resolution to make them crisper. Oliver also got a redesign that matches his character sprite much better:

[Media deleted: Please check out the dev archive for the game's visual history!]

Bugfixes, Balancing, and Quality of Life
While I am very tempted to move on to major content additions to the game, I don't want to proceed too far until everything is just right. There were a lot of problems with combat, among some other bugs, that were addressed. Here are some highlights:

• Poison / Buffs no longer last forever in battle. They end after a set amount of turns.
• Skill speed properly scales with Finesse, as opposed to scaling with Mystic, which was only designed for spells. That means characters like Baldric, who have little Mystic but tons of Finesse, can use sword skills quicker in battle. Meanwhile, Oliver can't use sword skills as quickly, but can cast spells with haste.
• The "Unleash" icon now blinks when the Fury gauge is full, indicating that an Awakening can be used.
• You can now escape battle without enemies reengaging--there is a short invincibility period.
• Enemies stats / EXP were tweaked. 
• Some NPC dialog in town was improved, especially Lina's
• The ATB system settings are a lot less confusing. It has been configured to behave like Chrono Trigger, where a different ATB speed and style can be selected. You can now choose between an "Active" or "Wait" system, and the battle speed can be adjusted.
• Tileset graphics were improved slightly. 

Hopefully everything will be ready to go by this weekend!

Screenshots
Lastly, here are some screenshots showcasing the new portraits in-game:

[Media deleted: Please check out the dev archive for the game's visual history!]

Thanks for looking!