Tallima: I dropped the snake's HP waaaaay down (400 to maybe 120 or something) and halved his attack. Some of the stats RPG maker add to him make their stats multiply and I haven't figured out exactly what does what yet. So if you hit a snake, run away! (1/4 chance run per use of a 300 gold accessory armor in the shop now)
Avogadro6: While that's certainly a positive change, I'm not sure lowering monsters HP makes that much of a difference when there's a serious chance of losing a party members each turn... the main problem with mobs in that area is the huge amount damage they deal.
Physical damage in particular is off the charts, magic damage on the other hand seems fine, so... quickest way to make the game less stressful IMHO is probably buffing plate armor, or introducing better protective gear. That should be way easier and quick than balancing monsters stats, I think.
By the way, A. can't upgrade her armor at all. I'm not really sure this it's intended, since she's the only character who can't.
For the tough guys, I recommend using Anna's defensive armor spell. That helps a lot (reduces damage by half). Elsa's cheap shield helps, too. But I agree. Most the enemies can 1-to-2 hit your guys to death. Keeping the stimulant potions handy will keep your guys alive. And of course, save and reload.
It's definitely still beatable. We've had many get through it and I got through it with an even harder difficulty than it is now. But I agree. It's a tough son-of-a-gun. It moved the problem solving from running around and figuring out what items to use on what to a different type of problem: keeping your guys alive and using saves and loads to manipulate your chances of survival.
Although a bit annoying, it is very passable with just a bit of diligence.