The Maestro spoke! Thank you so much for commenting and taking the time to write ALL of this down. Commitment, once again lol
I think you can learn a lot from the past. It's a great reference when you work this way. Through analysis, trial and error, you can achieve at least partially what you're aiming for.
The Bond motif is a must have for dungeon levels, apparently 😅 It was kind of cliche, but it just ended up being in my improvisation, so I just left it in. I mean, it works, it worked since, what, Final Fantasy VI? Hahaha
I really can't notice the crackling... It must be some kind of "interference" between two plugins, probably. Or maybe just some fx creating "sonic artifacts" (?).
Thabk you sooo much for your feedback 🙏