Zelda-Esque Mouse Adventure!

Alright, I'm working on a game, based on the graphical style of the Gameboy Color Zelda games, and the gameplay style of the DS Zelda games. However, it won't be a Zelda Fangame, it'll be an original story, and it won't necessarily follow the Zelda formula.

As of right now, I have a crappy little demo, but to prove it's being worked on, here are two screens:

I'm working on some sprites, but as the project evolves, I'll have less time for spriting and more attention on programming. I'm not asking anyone to do anything specific, but I'll accept any help that is offered. I particularly need help with the diagonal facing sprites, as most of these need 8 directions.

So far, I have few ideas for the story direction. The ideas I have so far are as follows:

The setting is Steampunk, so items and enemies may have pseudo-robotic qualities.

The villian is, in a nutshell, a "dark overlord of sorts", all of his minions are some form of undead.

Sprites:

Main Character:


I promise a demo by the end of the week. If I am absolutely required to include one, I can give you a really shitty pre-alpha build, but if you wait until the end of the week, I'll give you a good one.

If anyone is interested in helping, you can PM me or just respond here.