I know I sound like a freak for saying this, but that status bar really annoys me. I know no one is going to go through the effort to make one as beautiful as mine, though.
Also, looking at it now, the amount of forced blanking looks really pretty excessive, like Final Fight 3 levels, except there isn't nearly enough going on to warrant it. How much does your TV cut off? Mine cuts off a near exact 8 pixels on the top, 8 on the bottom, and none on the sides. I figure there's no point in not forced blanking there if it's not even visible.
Okay, now I'm just entering dick territory again, but the intense background mirroring is off putting. Surely I don't speak for myself when I say I'd update the tiles as the screen is scrolling, right?