Thank you for taking the time to write a detailed review and beating the game, I think you're the third person to ever beat the game. The C/V control scheme was an oversight from me, originally I was intending to have every character use Z/X for special abiltiies, but that got discarded and the rest of the controls never changed.
As for the bird, I planned it to be like a reward for playing up to that point, I wanted it to feel like you had the freedom to go wherever you wanted since at that point you can already beat the game. (you have all characters and can get the full code)
I still don't know how to make a game themed around journey, though I'm glad you think it fits. Maybe banging my head against a wall for the first two weeks influenced me subcontiously?