Acid Peaks is course 13 in Super Mario 74 Extreme Edition.
To get here, Mario has to enter a pipe behind the rightmost door of the Plasma Temple in the third overworld, but he can only open this door after first collecting 80 stars.
This level is the Extreme Edition remake of Molten Treasure Chest from Super Mario 74. This stage is mirrored and the red lava is recolored to be yellow acid (though it's functionally identical to lava), but the major change between this stage and Molten Treasure Chest is the removal of the Wing Caps that Mario used to get around safely. In place of the Wing Caps, there are three spinning hearts in this course as a minor way for Mario to preserve his health level as he lava bounces across the map.
If Mario has trouble safely reaching some points in this stage, a Metal Cap is hidden inside of the biggest mountain, which will give him more time to reach any corner of the map.
In Super Mario 74 - Ten Years After, this level is merged with Molten Treasure Chest and is folded into the level Sea Salt Peaks and has evolved into a tropical, refreshing, shallow, oceanic archipelago.
Stars[]
Star 1: Welcome to the Acid Swamp[]
This star is high in the air over the star platform in the far corner of the map. Mario should immediately turn left and, after running through the nearby heart to make it spin, lava bounce towards the rock arch sticking out of the mountain in the distance.
Right past this arch, Mario will be able to see a strange yet familiar stone structure sticking up high out of the acid. Mario will have to long jump onto the far leg of this structure and wall kick back and forth between the two parallel legs of this arch, eventually climbing up and over the top of it.
After landing safely on the top of this arch, he has to repeat the process to climb a higher arch to his right, and then an even higher arch to his left (Falling at any time throughout this process will cause Mario to land in the acid below, likely resulting in death). At the very top of the highest arch is the Bob-omb Buddy, which will open the cannon on the exact opposite side of the course. Maneuver Mario back over there to the cannon's island, and simply aim the cannon right and shoot into the star.
Star 2: Eye to Eye []
It might not have been apparent during the previous star, but the five mountain peaks of Acid Peaks each have a Mr. I on them. Considering how small these peaks are, that doesn't give Mario much space to run around and defeat these Mr. I enemies. Of course, each of these peaks is also a secret spot, so Mario will have to cross the swamp repeatedly without dying and manage to either defeat the Mr. I on each peak or else jump over them accurately enough to trigger the secret without taking damage and being knocked back by the enemy's hitbox.
The five mountains are easy to find (one in each corner and one in the middle of the north wall, left of the star platform from the previous mission). After all of them are visited, the star will appear on a small island on the very south edge of the map.
Star 3: Acidproof Boxes[]
Mario's goal here is the location of star 5 in the original game, the 'Hot and Spicy' mountain. This is the mountain to the left of Mario's starting orientation, but he should first run through the spinning heart in the central platform before trying to cross the acid to reach it.
On the far side of this mountain is a small rock he can stand on, with a Purple Switch behind it. This switch will spawn multiple timed boxes in the acid to form a path through the inside of this mountain, but each box has a Kuromame on it, and they will not last for very long before disappearing.
Mario must hurriedly cross them and watch out for the flamethrower hidden out of sight that shoots across the box in the gap between the two rooms of this cave. If he crosses it in time, he'll reach the star at the back of the second room.
Star 4: In the Big Cave[]
A comparatively easy star for how late in the game it is found, this star is unsurprising located in the big cave. Specifically, it's inside of the biggest mountain (the one on the exact opposite side of the map from the previous star).
Mario has to climb to its peak and then drop down its opposite side with enough health to lava bounce onto one of the platforms within it. A Metal Cap is on the platform to the right, but the star is freely available on the platform to the left.
Star 5: Another Climbing Challenge[]
Just like before, get mario into the big cave that held star 4 and get the Metal Cap.
This time he has to press the Purple Switch on the far ledge, which will spawn a stack of timed boxes near the central pillar in the cave. Flamethrowers shoot across the base and top of this stack, but Metal Mario can completely ignore them. Simply long jump into the central pillar, then wall kick back and forth between it and this stack of boxes until Mario reaches the platform on top of the pillar. This star sits right on top of that platform.
Star 6: Lava-Colored Glitter[]
Even with the spinning hearts in this stage, having to cross all corners of the map to reach these red coins will put Mario at regular risk of death. Keep his health level in check and plan your route out ahead of time to ensure that you don't run out of health partway through. The locations of the red coins are as follows:
The star spawns in the mountain with the rock arch sticking out of it after all of the red coins are collected.
Enemies[]
- Mr. I
- Kuromame
- Chuckya
- Goomba
Trivia[]
- There is a pipe leading to the Castle Courtyard in a secret area of this stage. After running through the spinning heart, quickly go into the mountain with the tunnel running right through it, and lava bounce to a hidden ledge about halfway through this tunnel. The pipe is on this ledge, along with a 1-Up Mushroom and the Banjo-Kazooie cartridge from Super Mario 74.