Mystic Realm/Levels/Silver Cavern Zone

Single Player levels
Emerald stages
MAPAR: Silver Cavern Zone
MKZ RKZ LWZ BFZ	SCZ NCZ STZ ISZ DWZ
Extra levels

MAPAR, Silver Cavern Zone, abbreviated as SCZ, is the fifth emerald stage in Mystic Realm, containing the Orange Chaos Emerald. It is accessed by activating the Mystic Shrine in Midnight Freeze Zone Act 2. It is set in a series of partially frozen caverns. Slippery ice and death pits are common obstacles, while Buzzes appear frequently throughout the level, threatening to catch you off guard and knock you into a pit. With several sections that involve precision platforming over slippery ice platforms above a death pit, Silver Cavern Zone is one of the most difficult levels in Mystic Realm.

Walkthrough

You start the level in a cave with the floor covered in slippery ice. In front of you are the entrances to two tunnels, which lead to different paths.

First path split

Left path

Walk through the left tunnel. You will enter a larger cave, with the floor again mostly covered in slippery ice. Turn right and walk to the other side of the room, where you will come across a bridge passing overhead. Use the steps to your left to reach the top of the bridge, but be careful to avoid the hole in the ice. Walk across the bridge and jump to the tunnel entrance to your left. You will enter another room covered in ice, with a series of steps leading up to a higher entrance in the previous room. Walk across the ledge leading around the edge of the room and continue forward until you reach the first Star Post in a corridor covered in ice. Here the paths rejoin.

Right path

Walk through the right tunnel. You will enter a circular room whose floor is covered in ice. The ice has a hole in the center, from which a pillar rises. To reach the top of the pillar, you can either use a series of steps winding around the room to your left, or you can jump up the two ledges to your right to reach a yellow spring that you can use to reach the pillar. Turn around to find a tunnel entrance above the entrance that you came from. Jump to it and continue through the tunnel. After passing through a series of caves and tunnels, you will eventually reach the first Star Post in a corridor covered in ice. Here the paths rejoin.

Second path split

Continue along the corridor until you come to a cave with a large death pit in the center. Be careful to backpedal before you reach the edge to avoid overshooting. Before you continue, wait for the Buzzes in the cave to approach you and destroy them. Now you have to jump over the pit to one of two platforms on the other side, which lead to different paths. To reach them, you either need to use your special ability or jump across a platform in the right corner of the room.

Left path

Jump to the left platform and enter the tunnel in front of you to reach a room with a large death pit. Jump across the ledges leading upwards around the room until you reach one with a diagonal red spring. It will take you up to a high ledge on the other side of the room. From there, turn around and jump across the platform in front of you to a ledge with the exit and the second Star Post. Continue through the cave covered in slippery ice to your right. Jump down the large drop in the floor and continue through the tunnel in front of you. You will eventually reach another drop in the floor and the third Star Post. Here the paths rejoin.

Right path

Jump to the left platform and enter the tunnel in front of you. After passing through another corridor, you will reach a room with a large death pit. Make your way to the other side via the platforms leading upwards around the room. Be careful to avoid the Buzzes approaching you along the way. On the other side, you will reach the entrance to a corridor with the second Star Post. The corridor leads into a room with an ice bridge leading across a death pit. Carefully make your way across the slippery ice while avoiding the Crawlas and the Buzzes. Continue through the corridor on the other side until you reach the third Star Post. Here the paths rejoin.

Final section

After a right turn, you will enter a large cave with a death pit. To your left and right, you can see diagonal springs next to the edge of the pit. Around the room, you can see other platforms which also hold diagonal springs. To cross the room, you must bounce across these springs from platform to platform. Most of the springs only lead in the general direction of the next platform – if you let go of the controls and simply let the spring propel you, you will miss the next platform and land in the pit. Instead, adjust your momentum in mid-air by pressing the forward or backward key in order to steer towards the next platform. Be careful to avoid the Buzzes between the platforms. The last spring leads to a high platform with a tunnel entrance. Inside the tunnel is the fourth Star Post.

The tunnel leads to another cave with a death pit. This time, you must jump across small platforms made of slippery ice to make your way across the pit. The key to surviving this section is to adjust your momentum carefully after each jump. Because the platforms are slippery, coming to a halt after landing is even more difficult than usual. Backpedal carefully, but don't overcompensate or you will lose control and steer into the pit. Buzzes are placed between the platforms, approaching you while you are making your way across. If you want to avoid the risk of getting hit by a Buzz during platforming, simply spindash in place at the start of the room and wait for them to approach.

At the start of the room, you have a choice between two platforms. The left one is generally the safer choice, since it is much larger. After jumping across another platform, you will reach a platform with a hole in the center, which you must avoid. To your right, you must jump over a very small platform to reach the exit. Trying to come to a halt on this platform isn't worth it, since it's so small, so jump off again immediately after landing on it and aim towards the platform with the exit. Walk through the tunnel in front of you, but be very careful! As the tunnel makes a right, a portion of the floor to your left is missing, revealing a hard-to-see death pit. Go very slowly to avoid losing control and follow the right turn to the fifth and last Star Post.

The next room is similar to the previous one, but even harder. Towards the end, the platforms become very small, and one of them has a Crawla on it. You can try skipping this platform and jump directly to the one behind it. Otherwise, you must backpedal very precisely after landing to avoid crashing into the Crawla. After the platform with the Crawla, a large pillar will block the way. There are small platforms to both sides which you can use to jump around it. Behind the pillar is the entrance to a tunnel. Again, be careful in the tunnel since there is a hidden death pit to your left. The tunnel leads into the final room with the fifth Chaos Emerald and the Level End Sign. Walk slowly to avoid losing control on the ice and crashing into the Level End Sign before you've collected the emerald.

Points of interest

• Take the left entrance at the start to enter the left path. In the following cave, pass underneath the bridge and look in the corner to find an alcove with an Elemental Shield.
• Take the left path at the second path split. Directly after the second Star Post, look in the corner to your left to find a Super Sneakers Monitor.
• Take the left path at the second path split. After the second Star Post, you will reach a large drop in the floor. Instead of jumping down to the bottom, jump down to a slightly lower ledge to your left. Turn around to find an extra life in the corner.
• Take the right path at the second path split. At the second Star Post, turn around and look towards the pillar to your right. The side facing the wall has a small alcove with an extra life that you can reach from the platform you are standing on.
• In the room with the diagonal springs between the third and fourth Star Post, take the right spring at the start and then the spring after that. The next platform holds a Whirlwind Shield.
• An Invincibility Monitor is located next to Sonic's emblem.
• In the room with the diagonal springs between the third and fourth Star Post, there is a part where you bounce across a vertical yellow spring. Take the diagonal spring after that, but instead of taking the following spring, land on the ledge and jump to a slightly higher ledge next to it. Turn around to see an even higher ledge with an extra life nearby.

Emblem locations

Sonic

In the room with the diagonal springs between the third and fourth Star Post, take the left spring at the start. Instead of taking the next spring, land on the platform holding it and jump to the higher ledge next to it. From there, a series of ledges leads around the outer wall of the room, ending up at a ledge with an invincibility monitor and Sonic's emblem.

See image

Tails

In the room with the diagonal springs between the third and fourth Star Post, look to your left from the entrance to see a large pillar leading up to the ceiling. Fly up and around that pillar to find the emblem floating behind it, near the ceiling.

See image

Knuckles

Take the left entrance at the start to enter the left path. In the following cave, jump up to the bridge. Before crossing it, look up to see the emblem floating near the ceiling on the other side. Climb up to reach it.

See image

Technical data

Note While the next level is Nitric Citadel Zone according to the level header, a custom exit in the map changes the actual next level to MAPAF – Midnight Freeze Zone Act 3.