Thanks, jsherman. I tried to credit anyone that gave feedback for any issues I posted asking for help on, and I'm sure that list will grow as this project progresses. I ended up changing the scope for the demo and cut out the boss fight that I originally planned to use that would teleport, but your feedback on that worked like a charm.
I do plan to finish this game, as making a NES game is something I've always wanted to do. Unfortunately, I won't be able to sink as much time into it as I have this past month, but it will progress slowly and as I get new areas added I will be sure to update this post and the file link.