Talk:King Arthur & the Knights of Justice

Maps

When I have more time available (unless someone beats me to it), I'll try to put together maps of the unused areas. That unused hallway between the Stone Gardens and the Town of the Dead is going to be a REAL pain, though, because you can't walk through the floor tiles, so the only way to see the whole thing is to warp back to the room one screen north and east of Area FF, move up or down slightly, and then warp back to the Hallway, and to repeat until you get all the way across it. I don't know if a no-clipping code would help for that situation, but so far none exists.

There's also more unused text that I didn't find because it was compressed. Ladyabaxa's journal, that I linked in the article, has a complete dump of everything. I'll have to eventually go through it and pick out the stuff that's not used. --Flying Omelette 08:06, 21 May 2010 (EDT)

I don't know if this would help, but while I was messing with the save state trying to get those item icons, I apparently *really* messed things up beyond that... but in a *good* way. Somehow, my attempt at "hacking" screwed with some sprites, but also removed all the enemies, and more interestingly, removed clipping. If there's a code to warp straight to that area, you might be able to do it with that glitched save state... -YK 14:34, 21 May 2010 (EDT)

Assuming that warping doesn't reset the collision boundaries, that would probably help. The only problem is that I know of no way to warp directly to that screen. It was Ladyabaxa who figured out that to warp to areas higher than FF in the list, you have to first go to that screen, then move one screen north and one screen east, and then warp again. So far, that's the only method I'm aware of to get to that unused hallway. --Flying Omelette 14:39, 21 May 2010 (EDT)

Nope. I'm messing with it now. Not only does whatever I did to the save state allow you to walk through anything, even after warping, opening menus, and even returning to the castle, but it also enables you to warp anywhere normally possible via the overworld map. I don't have any webspace, so I'll get a friend to upload the save state later. It should prove *very* handy for mapping out *some* of the unused areas, at the least. -YK 15:08, 21 May 2010 (EDT)

Protip: You can upload RARed savestates. --Xkeeper 15:09, 21 May 2010 (EDT)

All right, I uploaded it: File:Koj-glitchedsave.rar. After a little more messing around, I discovered that going to the screen with the big lake (where you get Arthur's sword) will cause the wall-walking glitch to break. I don't know why that is, but try to avoid that screen. -YK 15:22, 21 May 2010 (EDT)

Success! I used the codes and method you provided (you need to explain how the codes *work* on this page, though; I had to check your site for that) and was able to warp to that hall. With my glitched save, you can explore it at your leisure. I see no reason it shouldn't work just as well for exploring the other unused areas. -YK 15:30, 21 May 2010 (EDT)

In fact, no warping is even required, actually. That hallway is on the same screen as the gate to the Stone Gardens, and via that save, you can just walk up through the walls to see it. -YK 15:32, 21 May 2010 (EDT)

Fun fact: I actually discovered the free-move mode in Link's Awakening via glitching the game badly, then using a Lua bot to figure out what address triggered it. --Xkeeper 15:33, 21 May 2010 (EDT)

Awesome! When I get some more time (maybe next week), I'll try to get those maps put together. Sorry about forgetting the detail on how to use the codes. That's what happens when I try to do too much at once. =P --Flying Omelette 15:51, 21 May 2010 (EDT)

Debug menu!

Hey, YK! I was messing around with that save state of yours and this popped up when I was walking around that room with the unused hallway:

It looks like a debug menu. I'm not sure what most of that stuff does, but the "SONG" part cycles through all the music in the game (hey! I can finally match those song titles up correctly!) and the "FX" part cycles through all the sound effects in the game. I wonder if "Battle Triggers" being set to "Off" is why there are no enemy encounters... "Unlimited Special" sounds like it means you get unlimited special attacks without the use of orbs. "BG Attr." being "Off" might be why there's no clipping...

--Xkeeper 20:29, 21 May 2010 (EDT)

Whoa! I've never seen *that* before... All right, looks like my glitched save has answered *some* questions, but opened up a few more. Namely: How can we access that menu *without* screwing with save states? =P At any rate, did you make a save with that menu opened? If so, and if it actually functions (and isn't just a glitched background overlay), by all means, upload it! -YK 20:13, 21 May 2010 (EDT)

Oh yeah, it's definitely functional. I'm able to move the cursor around and I could cycle through the music and sound effects and turn the other things on and off. Here's a savestate:

File:Koj-debugmenu.rar

I don't know how I got it to come up, though. It just randomly appeared as I was started to walk around. --Flying Omelette 20:20, 21 May 2010 (EDT)

I'm messing with it now, but I've already discovered a few things. First, you were right on the money about "BG Attr." affecting clipping. I also discovered that setting "Teleports" to "No" disables all exits in an area. I'll continue experimenting, as I'm sure you will as well. What a find! -YK 20:23, 21 May 2010 (EDT)

Aaaaand, indeed, "Battle Triggers" toggles whether or not monsters appear. -YK 20:25, 21 May 2010 (EDT)

RAM address $0F1F toggles debug mode. Set it to anything non-zero and press Select on controller 2 to bring up the menu. This address is normally set to zero when the title screen loads; you can change the STZ $0F1F at SNES address 9CFC08 to STA $0F1F to make the code permanent. w00t. --BMF54123 02:48, 22 May 2010 (EDT)

That's excellent news, except... I... honestly have no idea what that means. My "hacking" skill is limited entirely to opening files in hex editors and changing values. Neither the ROM itself nor save states have a zero value at offset 0F1F, so obviously you aren't talking about that... Can you make a Game Genie code or something to enable it? -YK 03:14, 22 May 2010 (EDT)

Way ahead of you, check the page again. Also, please don't refer to Pro Action Replay codes as Game Genie codes, they're completely different (GG can't modify RAM). Either use the term "code" or "PAR code," thanks. --BMF54123 03:17, 22 May 2010 (EDT)

So I see. Also, I know GG and PAR codes are different, I just wasn't sure *how*, except that they're different devices; hence why I said "or something". I'm no hacker, as I said. I have only a rudimentary knowledge of the inner workings of video games. When it comes to GG/PAR codes, all I know is that I input codes of either variety and they do stuff. Sorry. =P -YK 03:21, 22 May 2010 (EDT)

I'll bet the second set of coordinates that can be changed with Controller 2 were originally meant for a second player. I've always been suspicious that a second player was meant to control one of the other knights Arthur can take with him (and possibly an option for a third player to control the other Knight with a Multitap accessory may have been planned, too, a la Secret of Mana). --Flying Omelette 08:23, 22 May 2010 (EDT)

The debug mode is now accessible via button code on the license text screen. JLukas 19:38, 1 August 2010 (EDT)

Hmm. This debug mode explains *most* of what was going on in that glitched save, but there's still one thing I can't explain. In that glitched save, no matter where you move the shield marker on the world map, it never goes dark, as it would normally when you move it to an invalid area. Now, trying to enter most of the areas you wouldn't normally be able to (such as anywhere on the ocean) doesn't do anything... But it turns out you can warp to various places in the Dark Forest and Stone Gardens, which as I recall, isn't supposed to be possible (I could be mistaken, though; it's been quite a while since I last played through the game). Whatever the case, there doesn't appear to be a debug mode option that allows free world map travel, so... yet another mystery to unravel, I suppose. -YK 14:27, 22 May 2010 (EDT)

That's correct - Normally you can never warp to any location beyond Hadrian's Wall (ie, the Dark Forest or Stone Gardens). That's what makes it such a pain when you lose to the final boss because then you have to walk all the way back through both areas to get back up to her again. (Which actually makes me glad they removed that crypt hallway.)

--Flying Omelette 16:21, 22 May 2010 (EDT)

Black Shield

Here's something weird I found while exploring using that glitched save: a shield with a black palette. Because the sprites are all messed up in that save, I'm not sure I'd consider this a valid dummied graphic, but it's interesting enough that I figured I'd note it here, at least. -YK 21:32, 21 May 2010 (EDT)

Hm. I think I figured out what the deal is with this black shield. I have no easy way of checking this in a non-glitched save, but it seems that shields (and keys) turn black if you're wearing the Warlord Armor... at least that's what happens in that spectacularly glitchy save. Guess it's nothing special. -YK 00:17, 8 June 2010 (EDT)

Castle Sanguine

This map is crude and not drawn to scale, but I believe it to be pretty close to what the map for Castle Sanguine was originally designed to look like. I took a look at the hand-drawn map on my site and noticed that (1) it looked very much like the blue portion of this map and (2) that the unused hallway - represented by the red portion - was practically a mirror of the hallway on the east side. I think the upper corridor with the doorway to the maze below the castle is longer than the upper corridor of the unused hallway, which means the unused room is probably right to the east of it. This would explain why exiting through the east wall of that room puts you one room in front of the boss room (at the top). The weirdest part is that the path to the unused room is backwards, as exiting at the bottom of the unused corridor shoots you back up there. --Flying Omelette 20:59, 23 May 2010 (EDT)

That makes perfect sense. I guess they decided they didn't need that hall, because it's just filler... but then again, given all the other useless dead ends in that game, it makes one wonder why they bothered leaving *that* one out.

Also, on a side-note... this page is looking quite awesome, if I do say so myself. It started out so small, and gradually, we worked it into what it is now. If this wiki did "Featured Articles", this one would be a shoe-in for one of them. This is one of my favorite pages on this wiki. All right, I'm done rambling. =P -YK 03:41, 24 May 2010 (EDT)

I find it amusing that it's more fun to dissect this game than it is to actually play it. I also just learned something about this game I never knew before. I thought the best way to show the missing warps on the Blinder's Way map would be to make a full map of the area for comparison. What I didn't know is that all the warps don't automatically load when you enter a section of Blinder's Way. The only warps that load are the ones closest to your entry point. This means that in order to get a map showing the warps that exist, I'll have to first make the map, and then warp through and take screenshots of each set of warps and plug them in the appropriate places. --Flying Omelette 06:50, 24 May 2010 (EDT)

I'm afraid that little gem is going on the main article. It's too great to pass up. --Xkeeper 07:07, 24 May 2010 (EDT)

Staff Pieces & Iron Scraps

Noticed this today. The sprite used for the "Iron Scraps" in the inventory menu looks like it was originally intended to be the top part of the Staff of Rhiothamus, as it sort of matches up with the other graphics for the staff. Here's the three pieces (the Iron Scraps, the normal Staff Piece, and the unused staff piece graphics):

And what they may have looked like put together:

--Flying Omelette 23:59, 7 June 2010 (EDT)

Hmm. I never noticed that... but I always thought the "Iron Scraps" looked really strange and decidedly...*not* Iron...Scrappy... or whatever. Looks like earlier in development, the staff pieces looked different, and they just decided to re-use one when that idea was cut. Makes me wonder if that staff was supposed to be a lot more important than it ended up being. -YK 00:08, 8 June 2010 (EDT)

I had always thought the Iron Scraps looked like the hilt of a sword, but the tell-tale green glow on the bottom side, and seeing it next to the Staff Piece in the inventory screenshot, is what made me realize it was part of the staff (normally, you would never have both of those items in your inventory at the same time). --Flying Omelette 00:16, 8 June 2010 (EDT)

Hey, further examination of that full inventory screenshot reveals something else interesting... or maybe I'm just crazy. But right next to the staff piece and iron scraps is the bread; the so-called "Staff of Life" you mentioned on your site (...maybe?). I have no clue whether or not it's any connection, or if I'm just reaching here, but it seems likely that the third staff piece would've occupied that space on the inventory... Weird coincidence, at any rate. -YK 00:21, 8 June 2010 (EDT)

Just a quick note here - the palette for the item pieces is likely incorrect. The bright green is a default palette color (along with an eye-destroying bright pink) and is used as a placeholder value and space filler. As a fun fact for the day the staff's name may be a deliberate reference to this Riothamus. -- Abaxa 16:34, 23 January 2011 (EST)

Codes Wanted

If anyone is capable of coming up with an enemy modifier code or a sprite modifier code or boss modifier code (you get the idea), it would be greatly appreciated. With as much unused crap as there is in this game, I'm guessing there might be unused enemies or possibly other characters. I'm also wondering if anyone could shed some light on that list of bosses in the ROM data - is it really just a list of bosses, or could it possibly be some sort of debug feature? --Flying Omelette 19:11, 24 July 2010 (EDT)

There's a valid pointer table for the text strings located right above them, but nothing was seen that loads it... JLukas 19:38, 1 August 2010 (EDT)

Someone might want to look at the code at 033dd0 and 037ff4. The first contains an ASCII reference to an external file and the second contains the additional debug messages. (Addresses are for a non-headered rom). --Flying Omelette 22:34, 1 August 2010 (EDT)