There's gold in them there hills... black gold gold!
The City of Gold is a hidden level somewhere within Area 4. It requires several items obtained from the first three Areas to access.
Item Chain
Accessing the City of Gold starts in Area 1 with the Big Chest and Key, which grant you the Udjat Eye when combined. The Eye must then be used in Area 2 to find the location of the Black Market, which sells the Ankh. Because of the way shopkeeper anger persists, you will face a horde of angry shopkeepers in the black market if you've killed any in previous levels. The Ankh's high cost ($50,000!) will most likely prohibit you from buying anything until after you've obtained it, and finding the Black Market requires at least one bomb (unless you are ridiculously, incredibly lucky and a frog explodes right next to the entrance), usually two or three. The Ankh is used in Area 3, on a level with the Ankh Statue, a giant blue Moai head with an ankh carved into its forehead. Dying from anything but a bomb on that level will respawn you inside the Moai with four hearts. Sitting inside the Moai is the Hedjet, which must be used with the Scepter found off the Mummy in Area 4 to unlock a semi-hidden Golden Door to the City of Gold.
Reviewing:
- Locate the Big Chest and Key in Area 1.
- Use one on the other to obtain the Udjat Eye.
- In Area 2, the eye will blink and play a sound to denote the location of the Black Market. Find it and bomb it open.
- Purchase the Ankh at the Black Market for $50000, or brave the vengeance of at least seven Shopkeepers.
- Locate the Moai Ankh Statue in Area 3. Kill yourself in that level from anything but a bomb or spikes.
- Acquire the Hedjet from the room you've respawned in.
- Locate the Mummy in Area 4 on level 13 and kill it to obtain the Scepter.
- Find the Golden Door somewhere on floor 14.
- Use the Scepter (along with the Hedjet) to open the door and enter the City of Gold. Note that this consumes the Scepter.
Contents
The City of Gold is special in that all of the stone blocks in the level are made of gold, giving it enormous potential for reaching high money totals. As of v.99.8, the level invariably contains a giant golden statue filled with large amounts of gold and jewels, including diamonds. Aside from this, the level is nearly identical to others in Area 4, including the deadly Mummies.
However, REACHING the City of Gold demands a lot of heavy costs to access: finding the Black Market is difficult and can use numerous bombs, the Ankh costs $50,000 to purchase and its fantastic ability is almost wasted in acquiring the Hedjet, and the Scepter is LOST upon entering the City of Gold, stripping you of the best weapon in the game - which you can't get back even if you do kill another Mummy. Demolishing the City of Gold to get the gold from out of the walls is another problem, since doing so requires many, many bombs and a lot of mobility to collect it all.
Ultimately, the City of Gold is only worth visiting when attempting to get a high money total, or simply for bragging rights about reaching it. When visiting for score, the City of Gold is only particularly worthwhile with several dozen sticky bombs and a Jetpack or Climbing Gloves and a Cape. Since getting this sort of stock of items from supply crates or from legitimate shop purchases is extremely unlikely, the best way to make the City of Gold worthwhile for score is to rob your way through the Black Market - an extremely risky move. However, it can be quite worthwhile if you succeed.
Another strategy for recovering as much gold as possible from the City is to kill and sacrifice creatures throughout your journey. If you can earn enough Favor from Kali, she will fill your bag with bombs. A jetpack and shotgun are useful accessories for this strategy.
Of course, all the above is made way easier once you've unlocked the Tunnel Man as a playable character. Mining your way through the levels will net you enough gold to purchase any equipment necessary, and retrieving the gold from the walls no longer becomes a problem.