Macbeth

Updated: May 25, 2026 9:17pm UTC

Macbeth: Medium Route Mission

Macbeth
	Macbeth is home to Andross's war machine and weapons factories. This industrialized planet is crisscrossed by rail tracks.
Paths	Path 1: Defeat Mechbeth	Path 2: Divert Mechbeth
Condition	Defeat Mechbeth by shooting it down on the main path	Derail Mechbeth by flipping all switches and blow up the weapons factory
Boss	Mechbeth	Mechbeth
Status	Mission Complete	Mission Accomplished
Next Stage	Bolse	Area 6

Macbeth has two paths -- neither representing a failed mission. The higher difficulty exit path requires diligence and quick reactions to make for a more spectacular (but actually easier) finale.

The Forever Train

Most of your mission on Macbeth has you pursuing an industrial supply train protected by Cannon Cars. Each train car is destructible, but there's plenty of opposition to keep you from focusing your energy on your prime objective. Plus, you'll get more hits in if you focus your fire on the many airborne and ground-based enemies here. You have a choice to make right off the bat. You can attack the units on the right side (and possibly get a Bomb by hovering to a destroyed gun turret) or go for easy train car kills to make the next stretch a little easier.

If you opt for the latter, attack the train first. As you start off, you've got several ore cars in range. Simply pursue the train and blast away at the last attached car. Destroying these cars will prevent them from dumping boulders in your path.

Should boulders get dumped in front of you, rapid-fire at the ones in front, or hit your boosters and hover over them.

If you've got bombs, you can blow up the Cannon Car, too, but once two (or three) cars are destroyed, turn your attention to the attacking forces and gun towers. It's much harder to hit the car when it's at an angle above you.

Lock and shoot down airborne attackers and blast trackside turrets, which will drop Rings to replenish your shields. Remember to hit both boosters to hover up to power-ups. Look for a Bomb on the left side of the track.

If you didn't take out all the ore cars, blast or boost over a few more boulders being dumped from the train. Lock on and destroy the Tripod fighters in the sky. If you take out all five, you'll get a Gold Ring.

If the Cannon Car is still operational, it'll now toss some more boulders into your path by shooting the canyon walls above.

You can blast away at them, but it's just as easy to hit your boosters and just float over them when needed. As you approach a tunnel ahead, save Falco's hide by locking on to his pursuers.

As you enter the tunnel to pursue the train, the driver will trigger girders to obstruct your path. Hover over them to get through unscathed while firing at the train. You should be able to destroy multiple train cars as soon as your view is clear.

As you emerge from the tunnel, you'll face a new challenge. But first, drive through the Checkpoint Ring. If you're trying for the alternate, harder route exit, you'll want to be able to stop from here and not redo the entire beginning part.

There are gates with opening and closing doors ahead of you. Time yourself to drive through them to get Rings and Bomb upgrades. You can't shoot the automatically opening/closing doors, however. Use your brake and boost to get through when they're open. After driving through the first two gates, choose the left of the two side-by-side gates. That one you have to shoot open -- and it rewards you with both a Gold and a Silver Ring.

You have to decide which path you want to pursue. If you want to take the easy path to the boss, ignore the large, numbered railway track switches. If you want to take the hard route (albeit with an easy end to the Macbeth mission), you need to shoot each switch and they all have to display a green light.

Select your path below and follow the instructions.

Path 1: Defeat Mechbeth

Requirement: Ignore the switches (don't hit all eight) and battle the Boss

If you're going for the switches, we recommend following the train and sticking to the track. But since you don't care about them for this exit, note that there's an alternate path through the gate zone where you can hover up to an elevated track to the right -- but while it'easier, you'll miss out on power-ups by taking it.

Instead, get the Gold Ring you get from the longer tunnel that requires you to hit the brakes, then drive to the right underneath the elevated path and you'll find a hidden Bomb. This path makes it a little harder to get to one of the switches -- it's still possible, but it might take some practice -- but it's a great choice for this path.

It's time to take on Mechbeth, the floating mech tethered to the supply train. The battle bot has three attacks: an energy beam that you need to avoid by moving and hovering around, a tail attack that you can avoid with a quick flip-roll, and a barrage of big metal poles that will cause damage if you collide with them.

Fire at the poles in front of you, then focus your laser on Mechbeth's head part. Blow it up.

After that, it's time to shoot at the arms, which are also vulnerable to your fire. Peppy may get himself into trouble, so take a short break to lock on to his pursuers and get him in the clear.

After you cause enough damage, a control panel on the train at the bottom of Mechbeth's tether will open. Lock on and concentrate your fire there. You'll finally be able to bring the annoying combat kite down for good.

Mechbeth

Mission Complete

You've destroyed Mechbeth and can continue the easy path to Bolse.

Macbeth

Path 2: Divert Mechbeth

Requirement: Shoot all eight switches and derail the train

If you're going for the switches, we recommend following the train and sticking to the track. You can blast the last two train cars as you get closer (toss a Bomb to speed things up for the second one). Peppy drops a hint as to your optional objective.

The first two gates, 1 and 2, are over to the right. Hit them both until they flip and turn green.

You can lock on and destroy the Tripods overhead once they're both activated. But keep firing ahead as the 4th switch is up on a pedestal right ahead of you.

Aim left immediately -- if you destroyed the train cars, you'll have an easy shot at switch #3, as it's parallel to the fourth one.

If the cars are in the way, hit the brakes and bank left to get to the third switch in time. Once it's green, return to the right side of the track. Head for the gate.

To make things more stressful, you also have an Incoming ROB64 call. Hit the button fast for a Supply Crate to appear behind the next gate on the right side of the track. Shoot it open and grab the power-up.

The next switch, #5, is on the left side of the track. Head back to the right side of the track immediately. You'll see a closed gate ahead.

Fire at the gate as you get close to open it and you'll spot the sixth switch behind it. Shoot it.

The next switch is on the other side again. Ignore the boss, but shoot the pole obstacles he puts in your path to get through without taking damage. The switch matters most, though, so concentrate on hitting it and flip switch #7.

You'll have to move fast for switch #8. Shoot the metal barricades and you'll find it on the right side of the track next to the tower.

Shoot it to flip it to green. A display panel will show you if you've hit all switches (or which one's you've missed). If it's all green, it'll open up and reveal a large mechanical switch.

Shoot it to switch the track. You've now diverted the train pulling the Mechbeth battle machine off to the right. It'll cause the whole convoy to crash into the weapons factory and blow up.

Mechbeth

Mission Accomplished

Macbeth

This path leads to Area 6.

Macbeth Medal Rewards and Requirements

Destroy the ore cars attached to the train for 7 hits, but focus your fire away from the car when smaller enemies are swarming.

Macbeth Medals
	150	Macbeth N64 Medal
	150	Macbeth 3DS Medal
	150	Macbeth Expert Medal
All three wingmen must be present to qualify for a medal. On 3DS, a medal becomes shiny and sparkles when completing a stage without using the Suspend feature.