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Mad Matrix is one of the five fourth stages. It is located near the bottom of the map, so it is one of the "hero" stages, and it requires semi-hero gameplay to reach it. Mad Matrix can be reached by completing the Hero mission of Prison Island, or by completing the Normal mission of Circus Park.
After either assisting Charmy Bee in stealing the five disks on Prison Island, or simply retrieving the Chaos Emerald from Circus Park, Shadow enters a part of one of Dr. Eggman's bases, and runs into Team Chaotix while they are trying to hack Dr. Eggman's computer. Shadow assists them in hacking the computer (by smashing the keyboard), and goes into the cyberworld himself, just before Espio goes in. Shadow finds himself in the Blue Network of Eggman's Mad Matrix, and plans to go to the core because he believes "the Doctor must know something". Inside of the Blue Network, Espio asks Shadow to help him extract data from all four terminals. Just outside the blue terminal, Doom's Eye informs Shadow that bombs have been set along the circuitry and instructs Shadow to detonate them all, as this will destroy the Doctor's mainframe. The player can then either choose to help Espio re-activate the computer terminals, escape the cyberworld, or help Doom's Eye destroy the cyberworld.
Throughout the level, Espio instructs Shadow to leave the Egg Pawns alone, lest they attract the notice of not just antivirus programs, but Eggman himself. Regardless of the route Shadow takes, Eggman eventually ambushes the intruders with his Egg Breaker.
Keys locations
This one is in the blue area next to a Light Speed Circuit that connects the green area.
This one is in the Yellow Tower. After jumping on the rising and descending blocks, line up the colors, and as the platform rises, the key will come to you if you are on the correct side.
While riding the second platform in the green tower, deactivate the first shield by lining up the colors, and maneuver behind the switch that you just hit to get the key.
It's the first of two in the Red Tower. When you see the two Egg Pawns on the platforms to the right and left, Destroy them and a block will come out from below. Ride it to get to the key.
In the final area of the Red Tower, you can float around. Float all the way to the back behind the warp hole, and you will see a lone block with key on it.
All bombs are in the area where you exit from the Blue Tower. They are all on the Light Speed Circuit, and finding them can be confusing. You can easily get an A-Rank score by not losing a life.
Tips: It is merely required to make it all the way through each terminal to access it. The Blue Tower is accessed when the first part of the stage is completed.
Tips: Use the springs around the area to reach the higher level above the boss, where there are Egg Pawns with Egg Guns. The Egg Guns are more effective on the Egg Breaker than the Egg Pawns' RPGs in the bottom level. Also, using Chaos Control can quickly finish him off.
Ranking:
Rank
Time (Mins)
A
≤ 3:20
B
4:00
C
4:30
D
5:00
E
> 5:00
Behind the Secret Door
The Secret Door is located on the two-toned 'mini-tower'. inside is an alternate and much quicker route leading directly to the Red Terminal. Absolutely nothing along the way.
Trivia
Despite the fact Espio is hero character, he attacks the Egg Pawns, and you get Dark points. This is especially ironic considering that when you destroy them, Espio will often tell you not to.
In this level (in Expert Mode), instead of going straight to the goal, you have to activate all the terminals like in the hero mission. This is probably due to the goal being too easy to access.
Also in Expert Mode, Omega "challenges" you to access the terminals instead of wishing you good luck like every other character via hint ring.
During the boss battle, if Shadow destroys Egg Pawns, Espio tells him to stop because they may attract the attention of Eggman, despite the fact that Eggman clearly already knows that they are there.
When Eggman appears, Espio says "Damn, we've been detected".
