Even I supported this during my misguided babyface run, where I felt I should support my fellow indies more than anybody ever supported me to "break the cycle." Nothing but red flags since those early days... 🤷♂️
Holds may be less sophisticated than they were 3D, but they are at least MORE sophisticated than they've ever been in 2D - allowing you to rock forwards or backwards from a central position, with every possible transition along the way...
It's easy to forget that it wasn't possible to hold multiple objects at all in older 2D games, but now objects like belts have more in common with 3D and can be customized with any design and folded into any shape: 🙌
If you insist on walking around at 100% health as well as 200% stats, another solution is to set "Sleep" as your transformation, with "Regeneration" as your innate power, and "Healing" focused on yourself: 💪