[DarkSamus993]

Also, I tried compiling it in my Linux PC, but for some reason I keep getting something like "xas.exe" (yes, xas) doesn't recognize the .asm and .nes file, and also it fails with the nes.cpu command (and everything after).

Can someone post the Hex values for the code here and/or the IPS so I can implement it?
Or maybe I should wait to see if the other modes can be implemented as with the File Selection menu DarkSamus posted.

That's odd, it's working fine for me with Wine on Linux Mint 19.1 in VirtualBox.

[DOWNLOAD] <-- source code + ips patch

Nothing big changed in this build, just restructured my build folder, added my current notes/documentation, and changed "ELIMINATION MODE" to "DELETE SAVE FILE":
   

----------------------------------------

It is definitely an improvement, but it is a shame you can't simplify it further, remove the register option, and just allow selecting the empty file and pressing start to enter the name entry screen.

If ShadowOne333 is alright with this, I'd like to try and simplify the file select menu as suggested, perhaps even add a "COPY SAVE FILE" mode. I'll save that until after I get the other menus functioning since those require less work.

[Shade Aurion]

Here is another hack that would make a great optional feature.  So, you know how a popular thing to do among Zelda II enthusiasts is playing a low level challenge?  Why not make it easier for them to do this?  With this hack, any time they select "cancel" in the level up menu, it will delete their EXP.  You can still level up if you wish, but now you can avoid leveling up completely! 

Here is the code:

At 0x1ECA, replace 20 CE A0 with:

20 D0 A8

Next, go to 0x28E0 and paste this code:  (or any available free space)

A2 02 A9 00 95 02 8A EA EA EA 7D 77 07 A8 AD 71 07 38 F9 70 96 AD 70 07 F9 58 96 B0 02 F6 02 CA 10 E0 A9 03 CD 4E 07 F0 01 60 A9 00 8D 75 07 8D 76 07 8D 55 07 8D 56 07 60

If you select the "Cancel" option in the level up menu, it will wipe your exp and keep the focus on your current stat without shifting to the next stat in the rotation.

Anyway, this could interest those who like doing low level challenges. 

Edit:
Actually, after giving it some thought, this is a pretty terrible idea, ha ha.  It would get rather annoying having to cancel a level up every time you gained 50 exp.  Oh well...


After looking through that document, I'm pretty sure it's for all generating enemies.  At least that's what the information given suggests.

It's still a cool idea. Perhaps you can rework your code into a challenge version of Redux where you simply don't get exp at all. Now that would be difficult but I guess there would be item and overworld upgrades to help offset it :3

[ShadowOne333]

That's odd, it's working fine for me with Wine on Linux Mint 19.1 in VirtualBox.

[DOWNLOAD] <-- source code + ips patch

Nothing big changed in this build, just restructured my build folder, added my current notes/documentation, and changed "ELIMINATION MODE" to "DELETE SAVE FILE":
   

Oh thanks for that! Having the IPS handy is really helpful. An IPS in the zip can really help when my PC just doesn't want to cooperate with me, sometimes Wine works strangely for me, but I blame my Gentoo setup for it hehe.
I did get it to work eventually, just some weird stuff on my side, but it's okay now

If ShadowOne333 is alright with this, I'd like to try and simplify the file select menu as suggested, perhaps even add a "COPY SAVE FILE" mode. I'll save that until after I get the other menus functioning since those require less work.

That sounds really good actually, I'm more than on-board with it.
Thanks for your help, DarkSamus!

[IcePenguin]

It is definitely an improvement, but it is a shame you can't simplify it further, remove the register option, and just allow selecting the empty file and pressing start to enter the name entry screen.

If ShadowOne333 is alright with this, I'd like to try and simplify the file select menu as suggested, perhaps even add a "COPY SAVE FILE" mode. I'll save that until after I get the other menus functioning since those require less work.

This would be rad!  It'd be like the Link's Awakening file select screen.  Looking forward to seeing what you come up with! 

It's still a cool idea. Perhaps you can rework your code into a challenge version of Redux where you simply don't get exp at all. Now that would be difficult but I guess there would be item and overworld upgrades to help offset it :3

Haha, thanks.  I thought about letting EXP build up, and cap it a 9999.  Then whenever you feel like spending it, open the menu to level up.  That would require a bit more coding, but could be very interesting.

February 15, 2019, 07:43:49 pm - (Auto Merged - Double Posts are not allowed before 7 days.)
Here is a new hack!   

This video shows it in action:

Video:
https://youtu.be/Ps7TyGBcRXI

This one changes how the EXP and leveling work.  It is more streamlined, and allows for more freedom - all while staying true to the original game.  Here is how it works.

Whenever you gain the required EXP to level up (50 exp for Level 2 Life), the game no longer prompts you to level up.  Instead, now you can continuously gain exp without ever seeing the level up menu.  I've set an EXP cap of 9999.  This will allow the possibility of doing a low level game, or leveling up as you normally would!

To level up, you'll have to open the level up menu manually.  You can do this at anytime by pressing UP then START.  Simple!  If you don't have enough Exp for a level, you can still open the menu to check how much exp you need, but you can't select anything to level up.  Also, the game will still display the smallest required Exp in the HUD.

Here is the code for this hack.


At 0x169D, you'll find the following code:

AD 76 07 38 ED 71 07 AD 75 07 ED 70 07 90 05 A9 01 8D 4C 07

Replace it with:

20 B0 A8 EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA

In the original game, this code here is constantly checking your current EXP, and if you have the required amount for a level, it will open the leveling menu.  You can then choose to level or cancel, etc.  We are removing this, so the game never prompts you to level up.

At 0x28C0, paste the following code:  (or any free space by changing the jsr above)

A9 27 CD 75 07 F0 01 60 A9 0F CD 76 07 30 01 60 A9 27 8D 75 07 A9 0F 8D 76 07 60

This is setting the Exp cap to 9999.


At 0x11B77, you'll find the following code:  8D 56 07

Replace it with:  20 F0 9E

At 0x11B80, you'll find the following code:  8D 55 07

Replace it with:  20 00 9F

At 0x11F00, paste this code:  AD 71 07 8D 56 07 60
At 0x11F10, paste this code:  AD 70 07 8D 55 07 60

This bit of code changes the functionality of Crystal Exp.  Now it will give you Exp equal to your required Exp, so you will always gain enough to level up, no matter what.


At 0x20DE, paste the following code:

EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA 60

The original code here determines what happens when you choose the "Cancel" option.  Normally, it will shift the accumulator, selecting the next level in the rotation.  Or it will prevent you from canceling if you can level all three levels.   We are removing this functionality completely, hence all the EA (NOP) opcodes.


Next, at 0x1DB7, you'll find the following code:  EE 24 05

Replace it with:  20 D0 A8

At 0x28E0, paste the following code:

A5 F7 29 08 D0 04 EE 24 05 60 A9 01 8D 4C 07 A9 03 8D 4E 07 60

This bit of code lets you open the leveling up menu, by pressing UP then START.  It's simple to do, and you can't accidentally open it, interrupting game play.  Wouldn't want an accident during battle, right? 

That's it!  With this new system, leveling up is more free, and allows you to level up at your own pace.  You can still level up at the same pace as the original game, or choose not to completely!  The choice is now yours.  Keep in mind, the EXP cap is now 9999, so if you reach that amount, you won't be able to gain anymore.

Also, placing a crystal in a palace works the same way.  Whatever your required Exp is in the HUD, it will give you that amount.  So if you want more exp, save the crystals for the higher levels, as normal.  You can then manually open the level up menu to claim your free level. 

[mdtauk]

Just some font ideas, smaller text and shared font design between Zelda 1 and 2

As for the frame around the letters, all that needs is the flipped bit to be set to fix those edges

[Shade Aurion]

I gotta say, the chubby Link Sprite might be a better overworld sprite. It might be worth changing. Speaking of last minute changes, ItemDrop is doing a winter themes AoL hack and was talking about some fundamentals. When I mentioned the health bar being hearts, he mentioned something in response I don't think anyone has that is so simple it might just work. Magic Bar being jars.. It would probably be easy and look fine too XD

[IcePenguin]

I gotta say, the chubby Link Sprite might be a better overworld sprite. It might be worth changing.

Ha ha, chubby.  Having it side by side with the sprite from Zelda II certainly does make it seem that way.  Never crossed my mind before!   

As for using it, not so sure that would be a good idea.  That'd be like using toon Link, from Wind Waker, in a more realistic game like Twilight Princess.  While that may be a bit of an exaggeration, seeing how these are a few pixels, the art style is just too different.  Anyway, that's just my thoughts on it.  Still, though, it would be quite amusing!

[AdamDravian]

Ha ha, chubby.  Having it side by side with the sprite from Zelda II certainly does make it seem that way.  Never crossed my mind before!   

As for using it, not so sure that would be a good idea.  That'd be like using toon Link, from Wind Waker, in a more realistic game like Twilight Princess.  While that may be a bit of an exaggeration, seeing how these are a few pixels, the art style is just too different.  Anyway, that's just my thoughts on it.  Still, though, it would be quite amusing!

I agree with IcePenguin. While I'm not a big fan of Link's overworld sprite in Zelda II, using the Zelda 1 Link would feel too out of place. I tend to think of the Zelda 1 Link sprite as representing "child Link" while the Zelda II sprite is "adult Link."

[IcePenguin]

Here is another little "bug" fix you could do.  The alphabet cursor in the register name screen overlaps with the bottom most border.



At 0x1787D, change the value from FF to C7.  This is the tiles used for the cursor.

Then tile edit these unused tiles in bank 1. 



This is what it will look like after. 

[itemdrop]

damn that's a nice "bug" fix. very clean.

[IcePenguin]

Actually, I ran into another bug: if you save from the overworld via Up+A on the pause menu, the screen doesn't undim until you pause again in the overworld, which is a bit annoying. It's nothing game breaking really, but it's still a bit of an issue.

Found a solution to the dimming bug when pausing, as well as the bug reported by Danny.  Now the dimming effect should be fully functional!  I did a lot of testing with this new version, and I couldn't replicate the bug at all.     First, we are going to modify the saving code a bit, so the dimming effect is reset when you save on the world map.  (thanks for providing your notes on this!  it helped a lot!)  Second, we are going to replace the code from the old pausing hack.


At 0x21C3, paste the following code:  20 A0 A8 EA EA

We are relocating the data here so we can add onto it.

At 0x28B0, paste the following code:  A9 1E 8D FE 00 A9 05 8D 36 07 60

This is resetting ($FE) the dim effect when you open the save menu on the world map.


At 0x226D, paste this code:  20 A0 AB EA EA EA EA EA EA 60 EE 24 05 60

At 0x2BB0, paste the following code:

Spoiler:

A5 F7 29 10 F0 07 C5 00 F0 03 4C B0 AB 60 FF FF A9 00 CD 27 07 F0 04 EE 24 05 60 A9 58 8D 44 02 A9 89 8D 45 02 A9 01 8D 46 02 A9 70 8D 47 02 A9 58 8D 48 02 A9 8B 8D 49 02 A9 01 8D 4A 02 A9 78 8D 4B 02 A9 58 8D 4C 02 A9 8D 8D 4D 02 A9 01 8D 4E 02 A9 80 8D 4F 02 A9 58 8D 50 02 A9 8F 8D 51 02 A9 01 8D 52 02 A9 88 8D 53 02 A9 58 8D 54 02 A9 91 8D 55 02 A9 01 8D 56 02 A9 90 8D 57 02 A9 58 8D 58 02 A9 93 8D 59 02 A9 01 8D 5A 02 A9 98 8D 5B 02 EE 24 05 A9 18 CD FE 00 F0 06 A9 18 8D FE 00 60 A9 F8 8D FE 00 60

This is new chunk of code will replace the old "PAUSE!" hack.   We are using the same space as before, but now it should work proper!

That's it!  Let me know how it goes.   

[ShadowOne333]

Oh wow.
I really should pop in more consistently, at least once during weekends.
I tend to not get online during weekends, so that's my reason why you mostly don't see me posting once a Friday afternoon arrives

With that, said, let's get this going:

If ShadowOne333 is alright with this, I'd like to try and simplify the file select menu as suggested, perhaps even add a "COPY SAVE FILE" mode. I'll save that until after I get the other menus functioning since those require less work.


This would be rad!  It'd be like the Link's Awakening file select screen.  Looking forward to seeing what you come up with! 

Haha, thanks.  I thought about letting EXP build up, and cap it a 9999.  Then whenever you feel like spending it, open the menu to level up.  That would require a bit more coding, but could be very interesting.

February 15, 2019, 07:43:49 pm - (Auto Merged - Double Posts are not allowed before 7 days.)
Here is a new hack!   

This video shows it in action:

Video:
https://youtu.be/Ps7TyGBcRXI

This one changes how the EXP and leveling work.  It is more streamlined, and allows for more freedom - all while staying true to the original game.  Here is how it works.

Whenever you gain the required EXP to level up (50 exp for Level 2 Life), the game no longer prompts you to level up.  Instead, now you can continuously gain exp without ever seeing the level up menu.  I've set an EXP cap of 9999.  This will allow the possibility of doing a low level game, or leveling up as you normally would!

To level up, you'll have to open the level up menu manually.  You can do this at anytime by holding START when you close the inventory menu.  You can also open it by holding START when closing the level up menu, so you can level up multiple times in succession.  Simple!  If you don't have enough Exp for a level, you can still open the menu to check how much exp you need, but you can't select anything to level up.  Also, the game will still display the smallest required Exp in the HUD.

Here is the code for this hack.


At 0x169D, you'll find the following code:  AD 76 07

Replace it with:  20 B0 A8

At 0x16A4, you'll find the following code:  AD 75 07

Replace it with:  AD 97 07

In the original game, this code here is constantly checking your current EXP, and if you have the required amount for a level, it will open the leveling menu.  You can then choose to level or cancel, etc.  We are removing this, so the game never prompts you to level up.  We are loading RAM address $797 into the accumulator, because it is never used and is always 0.

At 0x28C0, paste the following code:  (or any free space by changing the jsr above)

A9 27 CD 75 07 F0 01 60 A9 0F CD 76 07 30 01 60 A9 27 8D 75 07 A9 0F 8D 76 07 60

This is setting the Exp cap to 9999.


At 0x11B77, you'll find the following code:  8D 56 07

Replace it with:  20 F0 9E

At 0x11B00, you'll find the following code:  8D 55 07

Replace it with:  20 00 9F

At 0x11F00, paste this code:  AD 71 07 8D 56 07 60
At 0x11F10, paste this code:  AD 70 07 8D 55 07 60

This bit of code changes the functionality of Crystal Exp.  Now it will give you Exp equal to your required Exp, so you will always gain enough to level up, no matter what.


At 0x20DE, paste the following code:

EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA EA 60

The original code here determines what happens when you choose the "Cancel" option.  Normally, it will shift the accumulator, selecting the next level in the rotation.  Or it will prevent you from canceling if you can level all three levels.   We are removing this functionality completely, hence all the EA (NOP) opcodes.


Next, at 0x1D3FC, you'll find the following code:  20 C3 8D

Replace it with:  20 B0 FE

At 0x1FEC0, paste the following code:

20 C3 8D A9 10 CD 44 07 F0 01 60 A9 01 8D 4C 07 A9 03 8D 4E 07 60

This bit of code lets you open the leveling up menu, by holding START when you close the inventory menu.  It's simple to do, and you can't accidentally open it, interrupting game play.  Wouldn't want an accident during battle, right? 

That's it!  With this new system, leveling up is more free, and allows you to level up at your own pace.  You can still level up at the same pace as the original game, or choose not to completely!  The choice is now yours.  Keep in mind, the EXP cap is now 9999, so if you reach that amount, you won't be able to gain anymore.

Also, placing a crystal in a palace works the same way.  Whatever your required Exp is in the HUD, it will give you that amount.  So if you want more exp, save the crystals for the higher levels, as normal.  You can then manually open the level up menu to claim your free level. 

Holy shit, this is by far the most extensive ASM hack I've see you done for Redux, IcePenguin, this is quite something!
I'll keep tabs on this, as I think it might take me a while to add it.
Just as a thought, have you given a thought about changing the button input for changing to the Level Up menu from Holding start to pressing Select once in the Spell menu? I believe Select is not used in the menus, is it?
If not Select, you can make use of the Left/Right inputs from the D-Pad to switch between menus, too. That could make it feel more natural. Either Select or the Left/Right options I feel might be better than holding Start, but let me know what do you think.

Here is another little "bug" fix you could do.  The alphabet cursor in the register name screen overlaps with the bottom most border.



At 0x1787D, change the value from FF to C7.  This is the tiles used for the cursor.

Then tile edit these unused tiles in bank 1. 



This is what it will look like after. 

Ah this is something I did notice when trying to make the Button remapping for the menus, I just didn't mention it here.
Nice little bugfix, IcePenguin, added too

Found a solution to the dimming bug when pausing, as well as the bug reported by Danny.  Now the dimming effect should be fully functional!  I did a lot of testing with this new version, and I couldn't replicate the bug at all.     First, we are going to modify the saving code a bit, so the dimming effect is reset when you save on the world map.  (thanks for providing your notes on this!  it helped a lot!)  Second, we are going to replace the code from the old pausing hack.


At 0x21C3, paste the following code:  20 A0 A8 EA EA

We are relocating the data here so we can add onto it.

At 0x28B0, paste the following code:  A9 1E 8D FE 00 A9 05 8D 36 07 60

This is resetting ($FE) the dim effect when you open the save menu on the world map.


Next, at 0x2273, paste the following code:  C5 00 F0 03 4C A0 AB 60

At 0x2BB0, paste the following code:

Spoiler:

EE 24 05 A5 F7 29 50 D0 01 60 A5 F7 29 D0 D0 01 60 A5 F7 29 F0 D0 01 60 C5 00 D0 01 60 AD 27 07 F0 01 60 A9 58 8D 44 02 A9 89 8D 45 02 A9 01 8D 46 02 A9 70 8D 47 02 A9 58 8D 48 02 A9 8B 8D 49 02 A9 01 8D 4A 02 A9 78 8D 4B 02 A9 58 8D 4C 02 A9 8D 8D 4D 02 A9 01 8D 4E 02 A9 80 8D 4F 02 A9 58 8D 50 02 A9 8F 8D 51 02 A9 01 8D 52 02 A9 88 8D 53 02 A9 58 8D 54 02 A9 91 8D 55 02 A9 01 8D 56 02 A9 90 8D 57 02 A9 58 8D 58 02 A9 93 8D 59 02 A9 01 8D 5A 02 A9 98 8D 5B 02 A9 18 CD FE 00 F0 06 A9 18 8D FE 00 60 A9 F8 8D FE 00 60

This is new chunk of code will replace the old "PAUSE!" hack.   We are using the same space as before, but now it should work proper!

That's it!  Let me know how it goes.   

This, as well, has been implemented.
I tested it for a while and it seems like it doesn't suffer from the same bug as before.
So far, so good
Not even the previous bug appeared so far, even better! I will keep this as-is, hopefully this should be it for the PAUSE screen on the overworld.

[IcePenguin]

Ah, I'm happy to know that bug fix worked for you.  That bug was about to drive me crazy, ha ha.  And, yes, I think it's safe to say that the pause display is final! 

Just as a thought, have you given a thought about changing the button input for changing to the Level Up menu from Holding start to pressing Select once in the Spell menu? I believe Select is not used in the menus, is it?
If not Select, you can make use of the Left/Right inputs from the D-Pad to switch between menus, too. That could make it feel more natural. Either Select or the Left/Right options I feel might be better than holding Start, but let me know what do you think.

I did some different tests with other button combos, but found that Start was just the easiest to implement, coding wise.  The level up menu can't be opened until the inventory menu is closed, otherwise it glitches the menu.  The reason I settled on Start is because it already closes the menu, and since you have to push Start to close it, just holding it seems to be the simplest way to open the level menu.  Once you try it yourself, you'll see how simple it really is.  Plus, the Start button is already associated with opening the menu, so it's easy to remember.

However, another button could be possible.  It would be challenging to implement, though.  Some things would need to be considered first - For example:

If you wanted it to be Select, I'd have to add functionality to the Select button to close the menu first (this would fairly easy actually), then open the leveling menu.  Then I'd have to add condition checks for the Select button to not open the leveling menu during game play, because you'd end up opening the menu while casting magic.  Same is applied for a directional button inputs.

With the Start button, all those conditions checks aren't necessary since it's only purpose is for opening the menu.

I'll send you an IPS patch for it, so it'd be easier for you to try out. 

[ShadowOne333]

Yeah I just saw your mails
Sorry!
I am going through them and implementing stuff as I go along.

Thanks for the patches, seriously!
All of the bug fixes you have posted have been included so far, only thing remaining should be the New Exp system you made.

[IcePenguin]

No problem!    Let me know what you think of the Start button opening the level menu.

Also, I wanted to ask you...

Since extra life upgrades are now permanent, that will give players 9 lives after collecting them all.  If a life is gained after that, using the level up menu, it'll temporarily increase beyond 9, showing glitched tiles.  Like most NES games do when a counter goes beyond a certain limit.  So should the extra life from leveling up past Level 8 be removed?  Or possibly changed to something else?  What are your thoughts on that?  It's fine by me either way, but if it could be improved, I'm willing to look into it! 

[Chicken Knife]

Do I understand correctly that every link doll is going to give a player an extra permanent life every time they boot up the game? This seems like another change that would make the game vastly easier. While I've been incredibly excited about this project since the beginning, if the balance of the game shifts too far in the direction of easy it would discourage me greatly. Would it be possible to make an easy mode and a hard mode that would align closely to the original challenge while providing all the other great improvements?

[IcePenguin]

Do I understand correctly that every link doll is going to give a player an extra permanent life every time they boot up the game? This seems like another change that would make the game vastly easier. While I've been incredibly excited about this project since the beginning, if the balance of the game shifts too far in the direction of easy it would discourage me greatly. Would it be possible to make an easy mode and a hard mode that would align closely to the original challenge while providing all the other great improvements?

Hmm, I wouldn't say it makes things any easier, only more convenient.  Like the restart in palace hack, it just prevents the tedium of having the travel long distances regularly.  The Link dolls do provide the same effect as the original, but not just limited to a one time use.  As Shadic said in an earlier post, he would collect all the Link dolls at the end of the game, before tackling the Great Palace.  It's somewhat the same thing, but with them being permanent, makes them more meaningful for the entire game.

I do see how it could be a controversial change, but overall, it feels like a much needed improvement.  And for those wanting more challenge, they could be avoided as they usually are.  I always say more options is a good thing, but of course, it's up to ShadowOne.  Anway, that's my thoughts on it. 

[Chicken Knife]

Hmm, I wouldn't say it makes things any easier, only more convenient.  Like the restart in palace hack, it just prevents the tedium of having the travel long distances regularly.  The Link dolls do provide the same effect as the original, but not just limited to a one time use.  As Shadic said in an earlier post, he would collect all the Link dolls at the end of the game, before tackling the Great Palace.  It's somewhat the same thing, but with them being permanent, makes them more meaningful for the entire game.

I do see how it could be a controversial change, but overall, it feels like a much needed improvement.  And for those wanting more challenge, they could be avoided as they usually are.  I always say more options is a good thing, but of course, it's up to ShadowOne.  Anway, that's my thoughts on it. 

Convenience and ease of play are one and the same. That seems to be the general trend these days for all video games, and it is a far cry from what I would describe as the good old days of challenge. But thank god for hard modes because I couldn't enjoy most games released today if those options didn't exist. Old fashioned gaming is all about using every tool the game gives you to its greatest possible benefit. I can't respect or enjoy a game where I have to actively avoid power ups or equipment. I know my thinking is against the current trends but we are talking about retrogaming here. I never found Zelda 2 to be overly difficult to begin with and I can't be the only one who feels this way.

[ShadowOne333]

Convenience and ease of play are one and the same. That seems to be the general trend these days for all video games, and it is a far cry from what I would describe as the good old days of challenge. But thank god for hard modes because I couldn't enjoy most games released today if those options didn't exist. Old fashioned gaming is all about using every tool the game gives you to its greatest possible benefit. I can't respect or enjoy a game where I have to actively avoid power ups or equipment. I know my thinking is against the current trends but we are talking about retrogaming here. I never found Zelda 2 to be overly difficult to begin with and I can't be the only one who feels this way.

No worries, if you still want the game to behave the same way as it did before for the Dolls, all you have to do is reinsert the original bytes to the following two locations:

At 0x1E82A, you'll find the following code:
EE 00 07

Next, go to 0x1C368 to find the following code:
A9 03 8D 00 07

One of the things I like about this hack is that most changes have been documented throughout the thread, so if there is one particular change one person is not too fond of, one can simply search for it in the thread and undo it.

No problem!    Let me know what you think of the Start button opening the level menu.

Also, I wanted to ask you...

Since extra life upgrades are now permanent, that will give players 9 lives after collecting them all.  If a life is gained after that, using the level up menu, it'll temporarily increase beyond 9, showing glitched tiles.  Like most NES games do when a counter goes beyond a certain limit.  So should the extra life from leveling up past Level 8 be removed?  Or possibly changed to something else?  What are your thoughts on that?  It's fine by me either way, but if it could be improved, I'm willing to look into it! 

Interesting point you bring up.
I didn't even know there were that many Link Dolls spread around in Zelda II.
I can think of two things:

• Make it so the Exp counter simply stops once you have maxed out all of the levels to avoid gaining extra lives.
• Add a hack to implement >9 lives in the counter. However, I feel as if this would be really obnoxious. Perhaps only keeping track of the counter in RAM instead of having to depict anything above 9 in the "xlives" counter and also in the Spell menu. One workaround could be to still let the game have additional lives (>9) but letting the counter cap at a maximum of 9, and only go lower once the counter in Ram does hit 8. (I believe some games did this to avoid handling numbers above 9)

[IcePenguin]

Convenience and ease of play are one in the same. That seems to be the general trend these days for all video games, but it is a far cry from what I would describe as the good old days of challenge. But thank god for hard modes because I couldn't enjoy most games released today if those options didn't exist. Old fashioned gaming is all about using every tool the game gives you to its greatest possible benefit. I can't respect or enjoy a game where I have to actively avoid power ups or equipment. I know my thinking is against the current trends but we are talking about retrogaming here. I never found Zelda 2 to be overly difficult to begin with and I can't be the only one who feels this way.

On the convenience part I'd argue against that, but everything else, I feel the same way you do.    I love having challenge in video games, and I think, like you, actively avoiding power-ups to make it harder isn't the best choice for design.  Though some people do enjoy that for challenge runs - like avoiding leveling to do low level runs.  As for Zelda II, it has never been that challenging for me, as well.  That's one of the reasons my Zelda II hacks are so hard, ha ha.

Interesting point you bring up.
I didn't even know there were that many Link Dolls spread around in Zelda II.
I can think of two things:

• Make it so the Exp counter simply stops once you have maxed out all of the levels to avoid gaining extra lives.
• Add a hack to implement >9 lives in the counter. However, I feel as if this would be really obnoxious. Perhaps only keeping track of the counter in RAM instead of having to depict anything above 9 in the "xlives" counter and also in the Spell menu. One workaround could be to still let the game have additional lives (>9) but letting the counter cap at a maximum of 9, and only go lower once the counter in Ram does hit 8. (I believe some games did this to avoid handling numbers above 9)

Hmm interesting, setting a visual cap on the counter could work.  Good idea!    I'll do some tests with it, and see if anything happens.