Well, the timer is not a real "problem", it's a particular feature of the game, like the moving gameplay,
but I think this wouldn't be hard to add an option in the config menu to let us choose how much time we wish, add more rounds, configure the popularity system, etc.. So people could play the way they wish.
The unpleasant thing in this system is actually when players lose in an unfair way, like having almost all their life, the enemy being almost dead but having like 1% more popularity and win the game.
The basic concept is interesting, but the inequitable issues that you can encounter makes it quite special.
I think it would be better if the winner is not the one who simply has "the most % in popularity" but an average between the life ratio and popularity ratio... This would be more fair and pleasant to play!
By the way, I was wondering, am I the only one to find the popularity system too slow to raise?
Against the computer, you can hardly reach the 100% popularity when you're lucky, but against players who already know how to play, it's almost impossible.
It's a shame to make some very nice and good looking attacks like all the last words if it's almost impossible to use it in-game...
The conditions to manage to use the last words are too strict, with more time or more round, you could at least stand a chance to use it just once against people..
But maybe I'm experiencing some bugs? I know several people who have problems with their popularity, sometimes getting 100% without any reason, or going from 60% to -40% in 1 second.
(maybe that's normal and I didn't understand yet how the game works, but it looks like bugs)
PS: sorry if my English is not perfect, that's not my mother tongue.