I'm really happy with the grapple changes! Grappling was always a big draw of the game (and where some of the most fun content was..), so all the new mechanics and complexity is VERY welcome.

Making progress in a grapple progressive, and possible to undo, could make the grapples feel more dynamic (and dangerous!..) The button mashing and other such really gets the player involved and feels FAR more immersive than before.

Speaking of immersion, having the different minigames correspond to the opponent's tactics was awesome (and exciting for potential..) It just adds extra oomph to know the flavor of your struggle is 'overpowering' your foe and then failing to do just that, or that you're trying to 'outmaneuver' them and they pull a fast one on you. I love that you're trying to flesh this out mechanically and put more player input into the equation.

The spritework is gorgeous too. This isn't to diss your old ones, but WOW, the level of clarity and incredible attention to detail is just on a different level. All of them (especially Grove himself) are a massive upgrade.

In short, the new mechanics were a LOT to learn, but all amazing. In the final build, I feel should be introduced more gradually, layer by layer.  I see you were trying to do this with the different encounters within the nightmare, but I feel there should be more space between them, and more time to practice and familiarize oneself with the newly learned mechanic before moving onto another one.

One way to do this MIGHT be to have some minigames the player can encounter for rewards or such.. which, coincidentally, use the same system. Think, like, Grove is trying his luck on a strength tester to win mythical apule ore for his apule upgrade, so he has to 'overpower' the machine by hammering down 'at the right time.' Or have it be involved in some of the puzzles. Just one of few ways that could help.