Yes, I acquired them in the graveyard without cheats; I just waited for night to get the bomb bag upgrade and somehow it gave me that too. The only time in Calatia that I cheated was trying to beat the Bola Gleeok in Seline Tower, and it was only the Level 2 cheat. Speaking of, cheats bug out weapons. In particular it screws with the Beetle, the Power Bracelet and the Roc's Cape.
Re: The Charge Ring Cave. First I used the Spell Spell to turn the Unira into a Gel, then I just kinda flailed the ball and chain around until the Gel ran into it. I didn't have any bees to use.
Though I would have loved to explore more of Old Hyrule, I completely understand your reasoning for doing just parts of it. This game has been enormous, and it's understandable that at this point in development, your creativity would have been exhausted pretty much. I still think it was clever to hide keys in parts of Old Hyrule though.
Though tbh, I was honestly somehow expecting the Master Sword under the grave. It's always baffled me that the Master Sword isn't present in the first two games. Granted they hadn't come up with it yet, and the Magical Sword's not even a requirement to beat Ganon; and it doesn't even have any real backstory like the Master Sword. It's just...there. It exists. Some dubious lore claims that the Magical and Master Swords are one and the same but that's unlikely; the Magical Sword has way too many different designs whereas the Master Sword sticks with one basic design that's barely changed except for the ALTTP upgrades to the Tempered and Golden Sword.
Re: Money. Oh yeah, I had TONS of money left over. Back in Calatia, in one of the rooms of Seline Tower, I discovered an exploit with the Strong Zols (the tribble Zols?). I would split them up and let them reform several times; this not only maxed out my money, but allowed me to level up all my levels to 8 after several trips back to the room.
I had no idea the Valiant Comics writer had even passed away; that's a clever little tribute to him; really the whole game is, and in game form, his whole concept of Calatia doesn't at all feel out of place. In fact, all these little tributes to the various cartoon and game staff, and even the Calhoun room you can't really access well- absolutely genius; the only one I ever picked up on was Miyahon Palace. You can't hide that one from me! ;D
I know I keep spewing out high praise for this project; but it's my honest opinion. This feels like a true Zelda game straight out of the late NES/Early Super NES era, even with its goofy extra modes thrown in for giggles. I'm now almost finished with the game, save for that post game Uncool Discotech part, and it was a real pleasure playing through this. Honestly, though Nine Villages was one of the first ZC quests I was interested in, this hooked me in even more than that quest, and it's given me an appreciation for Zelda II, despite its flaws.
I have to ask, after such a daunting project like this, do you have any plans for any future quests? If not, hey, that's okay- you worked your tail off on this, and given how well received its been in in this rather self contained community (I never see anyone really outside of a couple let's players and ZC sites talking about ZC), you should be proud of what you accomplished with Panoply of Calatia.
Edit: 9/11/17: JUST beat Ganon after 3 tries and dying. That was hard but oh so satisfying! That truly was the most amazing Zelda Classic quest I've ever played and the most engaging. I'm just at a loss for words. And this secret sorcret Uncool Discotech? WOW! Those platforms make you insanely OP. Which I went for since I died against Uncool Ganon? That was a hilarious bonus twist. Even with all its silly little bonus things and non-Zelda music, this game was absolutely incredible. I know I keep repeating myself, but it stands to reason.
Edited by OkamiTakahashi, 11 September 2017 - 07:13 PM.