Mission: Impossible/Area 6

The first area to cross is very linear and relatively easy. You will have to proceed to the right by eliminating the enemies you encounter, none of which should cause you problems. In the next area, proceed between the crates killing the enemies, preferably without being seen, from behind the edges. Entering the first opening to the south you will encounter, you will find three new and very dangerous enemies. Even if they don't move, they will attack you with a flamethrower that does a lot of damage and it takes two hits to defeat them, so be careful. In the lower right corner there is a life saver, if you need it. Then go back and keep going to the right, ignoring the other openings to the south for now. Beware of the enemies throwing Molotov cocktails and the Neo Knight you encounter, it might be useful to use some secondary weapon against them. At the bottom of this area, enter right and then immediately exit south. You will enter a room with many lookout robots. Trying not to be seen, reach the bottom of the room and turn off the switch you will find. Go down the ladder nearby and kill all the enemies that throw Molotov cocktails, then go back.

Go through the room with the lookout robots again, until you return to the previous room. You will notice that it is not possible to reach the electronic gate to the north without taking a lot of damage, due to the Molotov cocktails thrown by the enemies on the right, which you cannot reach. Fortunately, there is a better path. Exit to the left, continue west and enter the first access to the south you will encounter. Don't get on the conveyor belts, stay on the edge and go right. Defeat the enemies, collect the case and climb the ladder. To move further into this room, you will need to have already turned off the first switch. However, you will have to pay attention to the flames: reach the ladder in the opposite corner between one blaze and the other. Go up and you will have the possibility to free a person, who will give you an ID card. Go back downstairs and quickly move away to avoid the flames. Go down again and go back outside, where there is water. Go slightly right and then north, where the path appears to be blocked by some crates. In reality, by detonating one of Max's bombs, you can destroy them and clear your way. You will also find a life saver.

Follow the path and go left. You will find three enemies with flamethrowers in succession, behind an edge, which you cannot hit directly. You can get past their attacks with timing, taking advantage of Max's agility, but be careful not to get hit, or you'll take a lot of damage. If you are unsure, use Max's cans or Nicholas' disguises. Keep going and go up the ladder to the north. Kill the enemies and go through the iron curtain to the right. You will now have to go down a long corridor with some holes in the floor. Be careful not to fall. You will also encounter enemies and some barrels. To kill enemies more easily, it can be helpful to detonate barrels. It is enough to hit them with a gunshot from Max, but stay at a distance or you will be damaged by the explosion. You will also meet two Neo Knights, try to interpose a hole between you and them to eliminate them easily and ensure that they cannot make you fall. Shortly before the end of the corridor there is also a case. Go through the iron curtain and go down the staircase to the south. Kill the enemies nearby and turn off the switch at the top.

You can also now open the electronic gate, but instead of going through it, go through the iron curtain on the right and kill the enemies who throw Molotov cocktails. Then go down the ladder nearby. If you have turned off the switch as described, the conveyor belts will all be stopped. You will now have to reach the north end of this long room. There are two paths. That is, you can go south and then go up from the opposite side (if you have eliminated the enemies that launch Molotov cocktails first, the path will be free), using Grant to quickly overcome the enemies that will shoot you. Or, you can go directly north from here. This route is much shorter, although to get through unscathed you'll have to sacrifice a few Grant cans or some Nicholas disguise. When you reach the upper end, kill the enemies and collect the life saver. Then go up the ladder on the right. In the next room, avoid the camera and use the pass to open the ID checkpoint. Behind you will find two life savers and a case. Then pass the iron curtain to the north.

Proceed to the right. On the sides of the room there are steam jets, flamethrowers and air vents. If you stand exactly in the middle of the corridor and use Grant, you can just walk to the right without ever changing your position. You will never be hit by either the steam or the flames. Then go up the ladder at the bottom. The next room is very tricky. It is a long vertical corridor, completely empty. The screen will automatically move upwards. Along the way you will encounter many enemies with flamethrowers, with nowhere to hide. You will therefore have to move so that you are never in front of their attacks, but slightly to the side. This way, you can hit enemies diagonally. You will also have to eliminate them quickly, or you will risk finding yourself surrounded. If you're in trouble, don't hesitate to use Grant's cans or Nicholas' disguises. About two thirds of the way down, there are a life saver and a case. However, if these items are hit by enemy flamethrowers, they will be destroyed. At the bottom, go up the ladder. In the next room you will encounter two robots similar to the ones you saw in Area 1. This time, however, there are no switches to disable them. You will have to destroy them with your weapons, while the screen will automatically move to the left. Use Max's gun to shoot them while keeping your distance. If one of the robots grabs you, it will drop you into one of the holes in the floor. It takes several hits, so hurry up. After destroying the robots, go out through the exit at the end.

Now you will have to go through a long room, in which there are many enemies shooting at you and magnets, similar to the ones you saw in Area 3. So be careful, because your bullets will be deflected. Go south and reach the first exit on the right. In this room you will find a person who will tell you that you have to deactivate an illusion device by destroying a red wall. Go back, go slightly south and enter the next door on the left. Avoid the cameras and talk to the person inside to get another ID card. Go back and continue south. Ignore the next access on the right (by talking to the person inside you will be attacked) and enter the next access on the left. Here, you can have Grant open an electronic gate and destroy the panel behind it, to remove the light from the previous room. Go back. Now that the enemies can't see you it will be much easier to proceed. Reach the next access on the right. Avoid the lookout robot and turn off the switch. Go back and reach the last access on the left. Avoid the cameras and turn off the switch at the top left. Proceed south and reach the bottom of the room. There is a life saver on the right, but to reach it you will have to pass near some steam jets and it is easy to suffer some damage. Then go through the iron curtain to the south.

You will notice that you have returned to the room with the air vents. Cross it again, until you reach the ladder. Now you have to go through the treacherous corridor where the enemies with the flamethower were. If you have killed them all before, the corridor will be deserted, otherwise the remaining enemies will attack you. In the next room you will have to destroy the two robots again. At the bottom, destroy one of the red panels on the north wall to find the illusion device. Turn it off and the room will change. Now you will have to reach the right end. Along the way you will encounter many enemies similar to the Area 3 boss. Fortunately, they are easier to defeat, but as there are quite a few, it is best to quickly cross the room using Grant and ignoring them. Climb the ladder at the bottom.

You will now have to cross another rather treacherous room. The floor will gradually disappear, from right to left. Therefore always keep as far to the left as possible. Along the way you will encounter enemies in a row that you must eliminate, or avoid until they fall into the void. If you want, you can enter the second iron curtain to the south. If you have disabled the switches described above, there will be no gas in this room and you can find two life savers and two cases. Then exit to the top right, paying attention to the enemies throwing Molotov cocktails. Then follow the path that goes around the room. There are several enemies shooting so be careful. Eventually, you will return to the hallway with the floor disappearing. Continue to the left being careful not to fall. There are also two Neo Knights in this corridor, if they try to push you to the right quickly use a sleeping gas can. At the bottom, exit to the left. Move carefully, avoiding the holes in the floor and another Neo Knight. Take out the enemies with the machine gun and ignore the north staircase, as it will send you back to the room with the magnets. To the south, use the ID card to get through the checkpoint and quickly kill another Neo Knight. Exit to the right to meet the boss.

The boss will tell you that the world is about to end, then he will attack you. Nothing to fear, a single attack will be enough to kill him. When you try to reach the exit behind him, however, you will inevitably fall into a floor pit that you will not be able to avoid in any way. By falling into this pit, many elements of this level will reset and many enemies you killed earlier will reappear. However, you will only fall this way once, if you manage to return to this room, the next time the pit will be gone. After falling, you will find yourself in the room with the prisoner who told you to deactivate the illusion device. Exit and walk through the room with the magnets again, to the south. Ignore the first two side entrances, but you'd better go into the others to turn off the switches and remove the light. The life saver will reappear at the bottom, take it if you need it, then exit south.

You will have to cross the room with the air vents for the third and last time. Exit to the right. You will now have to go through the corridor with the enemies with the flamethrower, who have unfortunately reappeared. Be careful. Go up the ladder to the north. Fortunately, the illusion device has remained deactivated and you can go directly to the staircase to the north. Now you will have to go again through the corridor with the disappearing floor. Like the previous time, if you want you can go through the iron curtain to the south to get two life savers and two cases, then go back. Get to the end of the corridor without falling into the void and exit to the left. Go through the next room, paying attention to the enemies and the holes in the floor and go back to where you met the boss. This time the hole in the floor behind the chair will be gone and you can exit to the right.

The next room is very tricky. You will have to follow a path made up of very precarious tiles, just like those in the room where you met the boss of Area 3. You will have to reach the staircase at the top. Entering the access below, you would return to the room adjacent to the corridor with the floor disappearing and you would have to go all the way again. There are three shooting enemies and a Neo Knight in the room. The latter will create many problems for you. You will have to avoid both being pushed into the void and staying still in the same spot. Try to eliminate him with a bomb from Max, perhaps after having stunned him with a can of Grant or after having distracted him with a Nick disguise. Going up the ladder, you will come to a huge checkerboard room similar to the one you went through in Area 3 before reaching the boss. However, there will be no lookout robots patrolling it, but the most fearsome enemies with the flamethrower. You will need to reach a staircase at the bottom right. You should always stay close to the perimeter walls of the room, because in the center there are some floor pits that would take you back to the room with the gas. Feel free to use all the secondary weapons you still have to reach the ladder, you are now almost at the end of the line. Go up the ladder and go left. In this room, you will encounter only a few minor enemies. Reach the ladder at the far left and climb it, to finally get to the room with the computer that you will have to use to stop the launch of the nuclear missile.

As soon as you enter, your agent will go directly to the computer. As soon as you log in, a timer will start. You will have to finish all the operations before the time runs out, so you would do well to hurry. First, you will need to enter the code that Doctor 0 gave you: MTKN. Enter it quickly, like when entering a normal password. On the next screen, the only selectable option is "GAME", after which, you will have to select "MADELINETTE". Trying the other options is useless, so you should not do it, to save time. In this game, each player must move their pieces so that the opponent can no longer move theirs. You control the red pieces and the computer the blue ones. You will have the first move. You will then have to select the piece to move with the control pad and then press to confirm. There is only one empty space in the playing area, so the move will be automatic. If you miss the game, or run out of time, Jim will inform you that you have failed your mission and it will be game over. If both players play perfectly, no one can win in this game and that is precisely your goal. When the pieces are all returned to their original position, the words "WINNER NONE" will appear and the game will restart. There is a trick to get this result quickly, which is to simply press each turn, without ever selecting another pawn. The third time there is no winner, the computer will go crazy and after a while Jim will inform you that you have managed to block the launch and have successfully passed the mission. You will be able to watch the final movie and you will have completed one of the most difficult games released for the NES. Congratulations!

Alternative method
There is also a slightly faster method of completing the level, as some of the paths described above aren't necessary:

1. Proceed through the first area as described in the walkthrough above.

2. Once you get to the second area (the one with water), do NOT enter any zones to the south at first. Instead, keep going to the right (east) until you reach the end of this area. Enter the passage to the right, and, on the next screen, go immediately through the southern passage.

3. The purpose of going into this room is to disable the moving flamethrower wall that is an obstacle on your way to obtaining the 1st ID card - by flipping a switch at the south corner of this room. You can avoid the robots, but the faster way is to immediately get noticed and, as Max, drop an explosive charge and detonate it once the clawed enemies come near (it kills them instantly and the explosion lingers on the screen long enough to kill two or even three since they are coming one after another). It usually takes two charges to clean the enemies spawned by the alert. Once they are gone, security robots, cameras and laser tripwires will be gone until you leave and re-enter. But since you literally don't need to re-enter any of the "alarm rooms" and have little purpose for Max's explosive charges on this level, this is one way to quickly go through those. Do not enter the room to the south - you will not interact with those molotov throwers anyway, and going to the room south will respawn all the patrol bots - you'll need to use the explosives again and you don't want to waste them.

4. With the switch flipped off, you want to return to the second area (mentioned in step 2).

5. Now it's time to get the first ID. From where you re-enter the area, move west towards the first southern exit and enter it. Do not go on the conveyer belts. Instead, move to the right (east) going by the edge of the room. Kill the two guards (since there's a Suitcase near, you may want to use Nicholas' camuflage since you're adviced to refill it anyway). Now, go up the stairs and into the room containing the now-stationary flamethrower wall. Position yourself directly below the staircase and go up immediately after the flamethrower shoots to avoid taking damage. In the next room, kill the SMG guard and obtain the ID.

6. Now it's time to go back to the room mentioned in step 3. Once you enter it, do not go immediately south this time. Instead, use Nicholas' camuflage and pass the two guys throwing Molotov coctails. Switch to Grant, hack the code, go through the door and immediately turn left to avoid getting hit by a Molotov. You can easily kill both of the molotov guards with Max and his rifle - the first one from a distance, and the other by simply walking towards the opposite corner and shooting him. He'll throw a molotov once you're in range, but will always miss and will not be able to throw a second one if you shoot him asap. Now, go through the door leading south (other than the one you just came through to get here), clean the enemies and move east. This is way easier and faster than going around through the northern parts of second area AND the dangerous corridor with many enemies described in the walkthrough above - for the price of a single camuflage charge.

7. You'll enter a long room with disabled conveyor belts. You have to move all the way north. Nicholas' boomerang can kill many of the enemies here safely if you manouver him properly after throwing it. You'll want to use a camuflage charge to get past two enemies constantly shooting bullets from both corners.

8. You'll finally enter the room with the ID checkpoint and a camera. It's recommended to refill camuflage charges again. Heal whomever is wounded and move forward.

9. In the large room with fans and flamethrowers, pass the steam jets first and, upon reaching your first flamethrower, position yourself in the middle of the screen with Grant, wait till both flamethrowers fired roughly at the same moment and just run through the airvent section without stopping. Then pass the steam jets again and move to the next area.

10. This is the most dangerous room on the entire level. There are several different strategies you can do here, but what is most reliable is to use Grant and approach the flamethrower dudes from an angle. Hit them twice to kill, then move to the next one, and if there's more than one, it's best to use Grant's gas cans against them first. It's very important to remember that you cannot allow them to approach you directly from left or right (because they WILL hit you this way) or go off-screen because they WILL follow you despite being off-screen and probably kill you with an attack from behind. Once you reach the first aid kit and the suitcase, you may as well switch to Nicholas, activate his camuflage, pick up the suitcase and just go through the remaining parts of the level this way - once his camuflage is about to run out, just mash the "B" button to reapply it and try not to do it in sight of flamethrower dudes.

11. In the next room, quickly shoot the robotic arms as Max, then move west to the next screen.

12. In the large hallway filled with magnets, it's a good idea to kill the first two guys with Max using his rifle, then switch to Grant and move south, killing enemies quickly as they show on screen. Don't worry about losing some life here, you'll regain it soon. Move down punching enemies all the way to the 2nd passageway to the left (west), counting down, and enter it.

13. Kill the SMG guards with either Grant or Nicholas, then destroy the fuse box to turn of the light in the corridor with magnets. This way your enemies can't see you and you can kill all remaining enemies risk-free.

14. Now you'll want to go back up the "magnet corridor" and enter the 1st passageway to the lest (west). Instead of wasting time with the cameras, you may want to trigger the alarm and blow up the clawed enemies with Max's C4 charges just like you did in step 3. Get the second ID card in that room.

15. Back at the "magnet corridor", you'll want to enter 3rd passageway to the right (east). You don't need to trigger the alarm here since there's just one sentry bot here with a very simple pattern. Bypass him, flip the switch and move out. Now, in the "magnet corridor" again, enter the 4th passageway to the right (east) and either bypass the cameras or trigger the alarm and blow the enemies with C4 as usual, then flip the switch.

16. If Grant is wounded, you'll want to pick the first aid kit before leaving this room. Even if you completely fail dodging the steam jets, you'll at worst lose only 2 lifebars after healing up, which may be an acceptable trade.

17. Exit through the southern door. You'll end up in the area with vents and flamethrowers again. Go through it the same way you did in step 9.

18. You'll have to go through the dangerous corridor again. Enemies you killed will stay dead... for now. Either use Grant and his remaining cans, or, if you're not feeling comfortable with this method, just use whatever camuflage charges you're left with to bypass the enemies once again.

19. Retrace the step 11 and destroy the two arms with Max's rifle again (they unfortunately respawn). Once you reach the red blocks, punch the 4th one (counting left) on the northern wall to reveal the illusion device and activate it.

20. Once the room changes, just run past the Ninjas as Grant, since there's way too many of them to fight and they are far too durable. Go north up the stairs.

21. It's important to notice that neither Max, nor Nicholas can move quick enough to avoid the disappearing platforms, so be sure to have Grant selected as you enter this room. Quickly move to the left (west) and punch the enemies. You should see the line of SMG guards already - you can either kill all of them from a distance with Max's gun, or kill the 1st one and approach the rest from an angle with Nicholas, which seems to avoid them spotting you. Once they're gone, you should enter through the door to the south.

22. In this room, there will be 2 first aid kits and 2 suitcases. Make sure both Grant and Nicholas are healthy (if Max is heavily wounded, you may consider giving him the first aid kit instead, but keeping Grant healthy is absolutely crucial). Refill Grant's gas cans with the 1st suitcase. Before taking the other suitcase with Nicholas, activate camuflage. Now, quickly pick up the remaining suitcase and go through the door in the upper right part of the room. If you're still camuflaged, you will not have to worry about the two molotov guards standing there & you can dispose of them quickly. Now move south through the corridor. Nicholas is especially useful here to kill the enemies without alerting them by proper usage of his boomerang. Use Grant's cans rather than Nicholas' camuflage to go past the two guards that constantly shoot bullets near the end of the room - you'll need it.

23. Back at the auto-scrolling corridor with disappearing platforms, use whomever you feel comfortable with to deal with the next two waves (melee guys, then basic shooters). I find Nicholas works best. Just kill the first guy, then approach the rest one by one at an angle to prevent them from noticing you. After they bite the dust, move to the southern wall and keep yourself close to the left (east). Once a security guard with the shield spawns, he'll charge at you but will only pin you to the wall and not push you down, as long as you're properly positioned. It's recommended to use Max here since he doesn't take damage when being pushed by those particular enemies. Shoot him down, then allign yourself so that you're as far to the left as possible & constantly attacking (preferably with Grant). This way you'll kill the Molotov guard that spawns right next before he has a chance to shoot. Dispose of the rest or ignore them, then move to the left again - hug the upper wall this time. Another security guard with a shield will spawn - you may not have time to shoot him, so use Max's C4 charge this time. Now, quickly switch to Nicholas and activate camuflage - this will save you from the annoying wave of SMG guards that are placed in such a manner that you can easily activate several of them at once and take heavy damage with bad positioning. Either kill them, or just move towards the passage and leave the room.

24. Once you enter the next room, be careful not to fall down the pits. Use Max and, while staying near the entrence you just came in, snipe the SMGs and the Shielded Security guard that are within your reach, then move a bit and shoot the rest. Once you move through the 2nd ID checkpoint, be aware that another Shielded Security guard is waiting for you just past the door. It may be wise to use Grant's can and punch the guy to death instead of wasting Max's C4s, as you'll still need them and you're probably running low if you've followed this walkthrough. Use Nicholas to safely kill the two SMGs, then move east.

25. Shoot a single bullet to kill the "boss". You'll now unfortunately fall into a trap - there's no way of avoiding it. This repopulates some of the rooms you've already cleaned - unfortunately. The game designers decided the game is not difficult enough as it is, probably, and added this little "twist".

26. You'll end up in a room that is, in fact, the 1st room to the right (west), counting down, in the "Magnet corridor" of step 12. Kill the guards, then exit. Be warned that roughly 5 enemies are really close to that exit. If you're not comfortable with quick and precise movements to kill them (Grant is recommended for this), you may want to throw a can of gas to disable some of them as soon as you enter the room.

27. Repeat steps 12 and 13 - move to the room with circuit box, killing everyone on the way there, and destroy it again to disable the lights in the "magnet corridor".

28. You don't need the ID card, so there's no need to repeat step 14. Instead, repeat step 15 - flip both switches 3rd and 4th rooms to the right of the "Magnet Corridor" using the same tactics as before. Finally, repeat step 16 if Grant is wounded - the first aid kid will fortunately respawn if taken before.

29. Exit to the south, ending yet again in the corridor with fans and flamethrowers. Repeat step 9 and beat it as usual.

30. Now you'll have to go through the auto-scrolling corridor with flamethrower dudes yet again. Unfortunately, all of them have respawned. So repeat step 10. You won't have much use for Nicholas' camuflage after this, so you may as well use it extensively to bypass roughly half of this dangerous part.

31. Fortunately, you don't need to hit the illusion generator again. Instead, just move up ASAP as Grant north. If a ninja spawns directly in front of you, you may want to do a little circle and avoid the Shurikens. Then move north.

32. You'll have to repeat steps 21 through 24 again, exactly like last time - move through the auto-scrolling corridor, heal and resupply, move through the room with pits and get back to the room of the "Boss". The "Boss" remains dead, and the trap is, fortunately, gone, this time. You're three rooms away from the final segment.

32. It's not a bad idea to activate Nicholas' Camuflage before going to the other room, but you may as well activate it instantly upon entering. You're now on the frustrating "breaking floor" you may remember from the boss fight at Mission #3. The best way to progress is, while being camuflaged, to quickly move forward killing the two guys in progress. Now, there are two ways to deal with the frustratingly placed Security Guard (with a shield). One is to deliberately hit him with a boomerang as you move along the corridor. He'll activate and move towards you. Let him push you to the very edge, switching to Max as you're really near - you'll both fall. It doesn't matter at this point, Max isn't needed to beat the game and you don't have use for him anyway. If you don't like to sacrifice any agents, or if you're doing a no-death run, you may want to use Grant's can to stop him from moving and then quickly change to Max, place a C4 if you have any left (hopefully...), detonate it and quickly change to Nicholas to avoid falling down. It takes strict positioning and timing, though, so sacrificing Max is the easier way. Either way, kill the last soldier on the way and move to next screen.

33. Now you're two screens away from the end. Use Grant for this and just move south hugging the wall, then left (east) hugging the wall till you reach the door. Whenever you see a flamethrower dude, toss a can at him and beat him up. Takes a minimum of 5 cans, so make sure you have that many. You may also use Nicholas to sneak through if you prefer, using camuflage charges.

34. One screen away. All that is left here is a pair of melee goons, and then, two pairs of SMG goons. You can use remaining gas cans or camuflage to get past if you're feeling paranoid, otherwise, just kill them and proceed to the final room...

35. ... which turns out to be a ripoff from "War Games". Enter the password 1st ("MTKN"), then select "GAME", then select "MADELINETTE", and then just spam the "A" button. And that's it. A pretty anticlimatic ending to a very clever level and a very good game!