Dr. Cossack's Citadel

Dr. Cossack's Citadel
Series Information
In-game Appearances	Mega Man 4 Mega Man (Game Gear)
Theme Music

Dr. Cossack's Citadel, also known as Cossack Castle (コサック城, Cossack Castle), is Dr. Cossack's fortress in Mega Man 4. After the defeat of all eight Robot Masters, Mega Man must go through the castle, which consists of four stages. Mega Man fights against the bosses Mothraya, Square Machine, Cockroach Twins and Dr. Cossack inside the Cossack Catcher. After Dr. Cossack's defeat, Proto Man appears with Cossack's daughter, Kalinka, and it's revealed that Dr. Wily captured Kalinka to force Dr. Cossack to work for him.

This citadel also appeared in the Game Gear Mega Man. Although the beginning of the final stage shows the Wily Castle from Mega Man 4, the ending shows Cossack's Citadel exploding instead, being possibly a mistake from the game.

Stages

Cossack Stage 1

In the first stage, Mega Man first spawns outside the walls, in a snowy forest. This is the game's ice stage, and features terrain unique stage. While in the forest, there is thick snow that slows down Mega Man's walking speed. The floors of the castle are coated with ice, where ice physics are applied. In addition to slipping around, Mega Man takes much longer to accelerate to his walking speed while on ice. The stage starts out at bright daytime, though once the player gets on the roofs, the blue sky gets a little dimmer and a whole city of Siberian buildings can be seen in the background. After climbing up further, the sky turns black and it starts to snow, though this does not affect Mega Man's movement. A new gimmick is introduced near the end of this climb: Ladder Presses. There are 2 of them patrolling the ladders, moving up and down the ladders on the sides and clamping shut every now and then. The stage's boss is Mothraya.

Enemies

Image	Enemy
	Mothraya (boss)
	Tom Boy
	Mono Roader
	Skeleton Joe
	Up'n'Down
	Togehero
	Ladder Press
	Jumbig

Valuable pickups to look out for:

• E-Tank: On the very first screen, this pickup is hidden inside the snow on the far left, invisible. Simply walk left until you hear the item collecting jingle.

Cossack Stage 2

The second stage is set inside the main halls of the citadel, and several windows reveal that it is still snowing. Ladder Presses return from the first stage, though they are only found in 2 ladders across this stage. Shortly after the start, there is a long area full of spikes that Mega Man can only cross by using Rush Jet. A unique gimmick is introduced in this stage: two-sided spike platforms. These platforms always have 2 spikes on, either on the vertical or horizontal sides, and alternate every 5 seconds or so. This stage also introduces breakable walls, which can only be destroyed by Drill Bomb. The stage's boss is Square Machine.

Enemies

Image	Enemy
	Square Machine (boss)
	Ladder Press
	Minoan
	Docron
	Togehero
	Garyoby
	Battonton
	Mono Roader

Valuable pickups to look out for:

• E-Tank: Near the end of the stage where the second Ladder Press is. There are a bunch of optional goodies to the side, but this pickup is at the top and is protected by a breakable wall.
• 1-UP: In the final room, this pickup rests at the very top, and using a utility like Wire will be your best bet. There are a couple of two-sided spike platforms leading to it, but you do not have to platform on them to reach the 1-UP.

Cossack Stage 3

The third stage takes place in the clouds above the citadel in daylight. This is the only area of the game that has an autoscroller, which takes up the bulk of the stage and moves at a very slow speed. There are enemies waiting to ambush Mega Man if he tries to hug the right side, so the player should go patiently. A new gimmick is introduced in the first autoscrolling room, the Birees. They simply along the surface of platforms to interfere with the player's jumps. The second room also introduces a new gimmick, which is unique to this stage: golden platforms. They appear out of nowhere and remain stationary until the player jumps on them. Once that happens, they will sink slowly from the player's weight, and rise up into the sky when the player jumps off, tasking the player to keep a balance before jumping to the next platform. The stage's boss is the Cockroach Twins.

Enemies

Image	Enemy
	Cockroach Twin (boss)
	Biree
	Pakatto 24
	Jumbig
	Garyoby
	Togehero
	Ring Ring

Valuable pickups to look out for:

• E-Tank: At the very end before the boss gate, this pickup is tucked away inside a slide gap above ground level. The only way to get it is to use a Balloon to rise slowly upwards, then slide as it brings Mega Man closer to the ceiling (it won't crush you).

Cossack Stage 4

In the fourth stage, the action returns to inside the citadel, now at nighttime where the moon can be seen. Birees return to protect platforms, especially ones that you can slide under. At one point, the path splits in two, and Mega Man must choose to take either the upper route or the lower route. The upper route goes back outside and is simply accessed with a ladder. The lower route is blocked by a barrier that can only be opened up by blasting it with a Drill Bomb, but is much shorter and easier. The stage's boss is Cossack Catcher.

Enemies

Image	Enemy
	Cossack Catcher (boss)
	Pakatto 24
	Jumbig
	Biree
	Batonton
	Tom Boy
	Shield Attacker
	Docron
	Helipon
	Up'n'Down

Valuable pickups to look out for:

• E-Tank: After the first 2 Pakatto 24s, this pickup is blocked off by a breakable wall. Simply use Drill Bomb to claim it.
• 1-UP: If the player takes the upper route, this pickup rests at the end of the outside room. Simply slide inside a gap to claim it.
• E-Tank: If the player takes the lower route, this pickup is blocked off by a breakable wall. Simply use Drill Bomb to claim it.

Other media

Dr. Cossack's Citadel in Mega Man Megamix.

In the manga Mega Man Megamix, the citadel is the home of Dr. Cossack's family. However, during the Return of the God of Death story arc, it is attacked by Skull Man (Clad in a black cloak and scythe, resembling a Grim Reaper) and Reggae leading an army of Skeleton Joes into the Citadel, kidnapping Dust Man, Pharaoh Man and Drill Man in the process. Ring Man goes after Mega Man to ask for help and warn about Skull Man, but he learns Dr. Cossack was captured by Skull Man while giving an interview in the TV. Mega Man and Roll use Item-2 to travel to Cossack's citadel and find it in ruins. The two find Kalinka, Dive Man, Bright Man and Toad Man in the citadel and leave the area to find Dr. Cossack and his captured robots.

Gallery

concept art

See also

• Wily Castle
• Proto Man's Castle
• Mr. X's Castle

Trivia

• There is at least one E-Tank and at least three big weapon energy pickups in every stage of the Cossack Citadel.
• The long spike bed in Cossack Stage 2 can actually be crossed with Balloon instead of Rush Jet, though it requires extreme precision by purposefully getting hurt by the Togeheros as to quickly advance along the spikes.
• Due to Dr. Cossack's Russian heritage, it is possible that the citadel might be located in Russia, with backgrounds featuring sites of Russian citadels in the first stage, along with Dr. Wily's castle.