The game more inspired by Secret of Mana (especially the little shrubs and flowers in the background), but a smoother moving. Would be cool if it would have a similar (or a more kirby-esque) local co-op feature in it.
I'm not sure about the whole 'director' function part. But the SNES style spriting sounds right up my alley, and I've been wanting to make some bucks on the side by throwing down pixels.
Be my guest and take a look at my uploads here. Then I'll go ahead and dump a collection of little custom pixel/animation stuff to your boss.
Troisnyx
Try asking @ScepterDPinoy -- I am not sure if he is able or has the time, but he is most certainly capable.