Mystic Realm/Levels/Nitric Citadel Zone

Single Player levels
Emerald stages
MAPAS: Nitric Citadel Zone
MKZ RKZ LWZ BFZ	SCZ NCZ STZ ISZ DWZ
Extra levels

MAPAS, Nitric Citadel Zone, abbreviated as NCZ, is the sixth emerald stage in Mystic Realm, containing the Red Chaos Emerald. It is accessed by activating the Mystic Shrine in Sunken Plant Zone Act 2. It takes place in a factory filled with green acid which damages you on contact. Turrets and Pop-up Turrets are used as enemies in this level, and many sections require careful platforming over pools of acid while dodging Turret fire.

Walkthrough

First half

You start the level in a small room with two pools of acid to your sides. Walk up the staircase in front of you. Now the path splits, with one exit in front of you and another to your right.

Forward path

After a short corridor, you will enter a room with a narrow walkway over a pool of acid. Quickly run along the walkway, since there is a Turret to your right that will fire at you. If necessary, you can take cover behind the pillars, but you should be able to clear the room without being hit if you just keep moving. After another corridor, you will reach a room with a platform in the center and four beams hanging overhead. Take care to avoid the shots of a Pop-up Turret behind the platform. Make your way up via the platform and the beams to reach an exit to your right. A hallway leads into a room that is crossed by both paths. You can either jump down to your right to switch to the right path or turn left to reach the first Star Post.

After walking up a staircase, you will enter a large room covered in acid that periodically rises and falls. A Turret shoots at you from the left; you can take cover behind the pillars. Walk forward across the ledge you entered from until you reach a descending staircase to your left. Wait until the acid starts lowering and then walk down the staircase. Keep moving to avoid the Turret fire. At the bottom, enter the corridor to your right. Make your way through the corridor as quickly as possible, jumping across the gap at the start and up the steps afterwards, before the acid rises back up. You will know you're on safe ground once you've reached a Pop-up Turret. After a right turn, the corridor leads into a bridge that crosses a room with an acid pit. A Turret sits on a pillar next to a gap in the bridge. Wait until the Turret has stopped firing and then quickly run over the bridge and jump over the gap. If you try to jump over the gap while the Turret is firing, it will hit you in mid-air and you will fall into the acid. On the other side, you will enter a corridor with the second Star Post.

Pass under the low ceiling in front of you to reach a red spring that will push you down into a room with another acid pit. After landing, jump to the platform to your right and walk up the staircase. Jump to the beam crossing the room and follow it to the left, taking care to avoid the shots of the Pop-up Turret on the other side. In the middle of the beam, jump to the pillar to your right and from there to a ledge on the other side of the room with a yellow spring. Use the yellow spring to reach a high ledge to your right that leads out of the room and to the third Star Post. Here the paths rejoin.

Right path

After taking the exit to the right, you will pass through a room with a pool of acid and a Turret firing at you from the left. Quickly run across the walkway in front of you without stopping, or the Turret will hit you. On the other side, turn left and then right to enter a room covered in periodically rising and falling acid. When the acid is at its lowest point, it reveals a bridge leading to the other side of the room. Jump down to the bridge as soon as the acid uncovers it and then run across it quickly and take the springs on the other side before the acid comes back up. After taking the springs, turn right and continue forward until you come to a descending staircase, which leads into another room covered in acid. Jump across the platforms in front of you to reach a ledge on the other side of the room. Turn right and pass underneath the bridge crossing the room overhead. If you look to your right after a bridge, you will see a Turret on a high pillar that fires at you. Keep moving to avoid its fire and jump up to the platforms in the corner in front of you. If necessary, you can take cover behind the pillars next to these platforms. Turn right and jump to another set of platforms in the far corner. There is a pit of acid behind the lower of the two platforms, so be careful not to overshoot. Again, you can use the pillars for cover before moving on. From the second platform, you can reach the top of the bridge, which holds an Elemental Shield. Hide behind the short wall in front of you until the Turret has fired and then quickly walk across the bridge to an exit on the other side. Make sure to avoid the Pop-up Turret in your path. After a left turn, you will reach the first Star Post.

In the next room, jump across the platforms in the acid leading to your right. You will reach another room covered in acid, with a Pop-up Turret on the far end of the platform you enter on. Turn left and jump through the gaps in the pillars to a platform on the other side. From there, jump to another platform to your right, which holds a Pop-up Turret. Destroy it and then take the row of springs to a ledge at the top of the room. Turn left to reach the second Star Post. Here the paths rejoin.

Second half

Follow the turns of the corridor until you reach a room with a floor that periodically rises and lowers. In the middle of the room is a low ceiling that the floor crushes against when moving up, so be careful not stand under it. In front of you is a passage which also has a low ceiling that the floor crushes against. When the floor starts lowering, start walking through the passage. You will reach a dead end, with the path continuing to the left. The ceiling in the area with the left turn is higher, forming a safe spot where you can stand while the floor rises. Once it starts lowering again, continue to your left and follow the turns of the corridor. You need to move quickly to make it to the other side before the floor crushes you, but don't move too fast or you will crash into a wall and lose time. Eventually, you will reach a safe, non-moving floor with a staircase leading upwards. The staircase continues after a right turn, with a Pop-up Turret and a Super Sneakers Monitor in the corner.

The staircase leads into a room with a periodically rising and falling bridge leading across a pool of acid. Except for the start and the end of the room, the ceiling is low, so the bridge will crush you against the ceiling if you stay on it for too long. Making things even more difficult, there are also four Turrets in the room, forcing you to keep moving quickly to avoid getting hit and losing valuable time. From the entrance, wait until the bridge starts rising before jumping down to it, to avoid getting hit by the first Turret. Walk up to the part of the bridge where it makes a left turn and wait for it to lower again. Once it starts lowering, quickly start moving along the bridge and follow its zig-zag pattern while avoiding the Turret fire. If you do get hit, quickly recollect at least one ring and continue. If you start approaching the end of the room and the bridge is still at a fairly low point, start slowing down a bit by only tapping the forward button instead of holding it, since there are two Turrets near the exit that will hit you if you just stand next to the exit while you wait for the bridge to reach it. Once the bridge reaches the top, walk through the exit, but don't slow down yet. The next room has two Turrets whose fire can already hit you from the start of the corridor. Quickly run through that room before the Turrets start firing and only take a rest once you've crossed it. After a few more turns, you will reach the final Star Post.

In the next room, simply walk around the acid pit in the center. You will reach an outdoor room where you pass under several beams attached to a building to your left. Walk through this room and enter the building on the other side. Turn left again immediately to reach a similar outdoor area, except this time most of the floor is covered in rivers of acid and the ledge in-between are guarded by Pop-up Turrets. Carefully jump across these ledges to reach the other side, but don't stay on any ledge too long or the Pop-up Turrets will start firing at you. Walk through the passage on the other side to reach a helipad. Walk up the staircase to your right to re-enter the factory. You will reach a room with a large pool of acid. Walk around the outer rim to the other side and turn right to reach a room with the sixth Chaos Emerald and the Level End Sign.

Points of interest

Extra lives

• Take the right path at the start. In the room with the rising and falling acid, take the yellow springs on either side of the bridge to reach one of the beams overhead. Jump across the beams to reach a ledge attached to the left wall with an extra life.
• Take the forward path at the start and follow it until you reach the room with the rising and falling acid after the first Star Post. At the bottom, instead of entering the corridor to your right, look to your left to see a platform with an extra life below the Turret. Jump to it while the Turret is not firing. You're safe from its fire on the platform itself.
• In the second half, after the room with the moving bridge, you will pass through a room with two Turrets. Look below the bridge that leads across the room to see a beam above the acid pit. Jump down to the beam while the Turrets are not firing and look below the bridge to find an extra life. Diagonal springs to either side of the beam will push you back up, but only take them while the Turrets are not firing.
• After passing the helipad and re-entering the factory, you will enter a room with a large pool of acid. A pillar with an extra life sits in the center of the acid, surrounded by four pillars with Super Ring Monitors. Carefully jump to one of the pillars with a ring monitor and bounce off it to reach the pillar with the extra life.

Shields

• In the room with the path split at the start, there's an alcove to the left with an Elemental Shield.
• Take the forward path at the start. At the first Star Post, turn around and jump down to the left beam to reach an Attraction Shield.
• Take the forward path at the start. In the room with the bridge guarded by a Turret, you will come across an Elemental Shield in plain sight at the start of the bridge.

Invincibility

• In the room with the moving bridge, there's a pillar with an invincibility monitor midway through. To collect it without falling into the acid, jump through it while aiming towards a later part of the bridge.
• After the last Star Post, after passing the first outdoor area, there is an invincibility monitor in the far right corner of the next room, between two Pop-up Turrets.

Super Sneakers

• Take the right path at the start. In the corridor after the room with the rising and falling acid, you will come across a Super Sneakers monitor in the corner.
• In the second half, between the section with the moving floor and the room with the moving bridge, you will come across a Super Sneakers monitor in plain sight.
• In the room after the last Star Post, look down into the acid pit in the center to see a pillar with a Super Sneakers monitor. After collecting it, you can use the springs on the nearby beams to get back up.

Emblem locations

Emblem	Game info/hints	Description
File:Emblem-MR1.png	Sitting on top of the first turret you see when you go to the left.	At the start of the stage, take the staircase to the left and you'll find the Emblem floating above the Turret. Wait until the Turret has stopped firing before you grab it.
File:Emblem-MR2.png	Double trouble bridge. Jump down to get to safety, and grab some goodies.	After the second Star Post, you'll encounter a bridge where there are Turrets situated on pillars firing at you. Just past this room, you'll find two Turrets adjacent to each other. Once they stop firing, land on the block bridge beneath to find the Emblem sitting between an Invincibility Monitor and an extra life.
File:Emblem-MR3.png	Acid flowing out of the building near the end. Better bring a shield.	At the start of the stage, there is an Elemental Shield Monitor. Once you break it, make your way through the level until you reach the room where there are seven acid falls. The Emblem is hidden in the fourth slot of the acid falls. Alternatively, you can enter the room where the acid is flowing out and jump inside the acid to get the Emblem.

Technical data

Note While the next level is Starlight Temple Zone according to the level header, a custom exit in the map changes the actual next level to MAPAI – Sunken Plant Zone Act 3.