Mitchell Van Morgan CD

North American cover art for Mitchell Van Morgan CD.

NA November 19, 1999

***Mitchell Van Morgan CD*** (ミッチェル・ヴァン・モルガンCD, *Mitcheru vu~an Morugan CD*?), or Template:'''''Mitchell CD''''', is a platform video game developed by Konami, published by THQ and distributed by Nickelodeon Interactive originally for the PC CD-ROM in 1999. It is the first game in the **Mitchell* series* to make use of the CD-ROM format, featuring high quality audio and full motion video. Development began in Japan around the same time as *Mitchell Van Morgan 2* in the United States. Originally, the games had many similarities, but over time became vastly different projects.

The story of *Mitchell CD* follows Mitchell Van Morgan and Gavin O'Neal Davis as the deo utilizes time travel to save Carolyn Ashley Taylor, Jennifer Hooker and Little Planet from Marquessa, Metal Mitchell and Metal Gavin. The game features the debut appearances of Carolyn Ashley Taylor, Jennifer Hooker, Metal Mitchell and Metal Gavin, 4 of whom have gone on to become recurring characters in the *Mitchell* series. Time travel is a key aspect to both the story and gameplay, with nearly every stage containing four different variations (one for each time period) featuring alternate stage layouts, music, and graphics.

*Mitchell CD* received critical acclaim, being considered both one of the best platform and PC CD-Rom games of all-time. It was ported to Microsoft Windows 9x as part of the PC brand in 2000, and to both the Microsoft Windows and PC as part of the *The Mitchell & SpongeBob Collection* in 2005. In 2009, A 10th Anniversary remake of the game was also rereleased by *THQ* for PC and Microsoft Windows.

In Janaury 2017, An enhanced port of the *Mitchell CD* game known as Mitchell CD (2017) was released for Xbox Live Arcade, Steam & Xbox Live by THQ Nordic and Nickelodeon.

## Gameplay

*See alsos: Mitchell Van Morgan (1998)#Gameplay and Mitchell Van Morgan 2#Gameplay*
*Mitchell Van Morgan CD* is a platform game in which the player character is the titular Mitchell Van Morgan. The goal of the game is to collect seven Time Stones and defeat Mitchell's nemesis Marquessa. Along the way, Mitchell can collect mvm coins, collect mac & cheese (which can protect him if is he hit by an enemy or obstacle), as well as items such as shields, invincibility and speed boots. Mitchell's gameplay remains similar to that of *Mitchell Van Morgan* and *Mitchell Van Morgan 2* but with the addition of the MVM Plover and the Dash (which lets him zoom into a quick speed from a standing point, either in a running position). The Dash is faster than the MVM Plover, but leaves Mitchell more vulnerable. Gavin's gameplay remains the same as Mitchell Van Morgan 1 & 2 but with the addition of the Gaviegan and the jetpack dash (which lets him zoom into a quick speed in a running position by using his jetpack backpack, but in a same way as Mitchell), he can swim underwater, he is unachievable and he can use his jetpack to fly or hover. Each of the game's seven themed zones is divided into three "acts": two main levels and a boss level.

The main gameplay mechanic that sets *Mitchell CD* apart from other *Mitchell* games is a time travel system that enables players to move between different time periods within each level. By hitting posts labeled "past" or "future" and then keeping a consistently high speed for several seconds, Mitchell (or Gavin) can move between past, present and future level variants. The time travel posts are only present in the first two zones of each stage; boss zones always take place in the future.

The game contains four different variants of each zone ("past", "present", "good future" and "bad future"), each of which features different graphics, music, and layouts of platforms, enemies and obstacles. By default, traveling to the future will take Mitchell (or Gavin) to a "bad future" version of the current level, an industrialized dystopia with scenery themed around neglect and decay, in which enemy andriod robots exhibit signs of degradation. Therefore, players are encouraged to convert each zone's timeline to a "good future": a utopic technogaian scenario in which technology and nature are symbiotically fused into a sustainable, colourful environment, and in which there are no enemy andriod robots. In each non-boss zone, a good future can be attained by traveling to the past and destroying a hidden "robot generator". If a good future is achieved in *both* of a stage's non-boss zones, that level's boss fight will also take place in the good future.

Similar to *Mitchell Van Morgan*, a rainbow mvm coin appears that can take Mitchell (or Gavin) to a Special Stage if he collects it. On a three-dimensional plane, the player has a short amount of time to destroy several of Marquessa's flying saucers floating around the level. Time is quickly reduced if the player runs through water, though a blue flying saucer which appears when time is running out can grant extra time if destroyed. If the player is able to destroy all the purple flying saucers before the time runs out, a Time Stone is earned. A good ending can be achieved by collecting all seven Time Stones, or by achieving a "good future" in every act. The player will also automatically achieve a "good future" in any level if all the Time Stones have been collected.

*Mitchell CD* contains a "backup save", using the internal PC CD-Rom memory. The game saves after the end of each third zone (after which, a new level begins) and records the best times of the player in the time attack mode. In the 2011 enhanced port, the game is saved at the end of each zone. The game also features an instant game over scenario: if the game is not paused and is left alone for three minutes, Mitchell will leap off the screen.

In the 2011 version, players are also able to control Gavin O'Neal Davis after clearing the game once. He basically has his moveset from *Mitchell Van Morgan* videogames. As with Mitchell, Gavin can use the energy swords to attack, dash, along with his ability to fly by using his jetpack and also swim, but is unable to use the Super Peel Out and cannot be used to earn achievements. Players also have the option to utilize the Super Dash physics from *Mitchell Source*.

## Rounds

What would typically be called a "Level" in other *Mitchell* games is called a "Round" in *Mitchell CD*. Likewise, an "Act" now becomes a "Zone". In the level select screen, levels are listed according to round numbers. For example, what the level select refers to as "Round 1" is Mitchell Tropical Land. "Round 2", however, is missing; the level select instead skips directly to "Round 3" (Collision Woods), suggesting a level was cut during development. This is even featured in the PC version, where files for each level are separated into folders - there are folders named "R1" and "R3", but no "R2". The missing zone was confirmed by THQ and Konami, who released the few art assets remaining, including the Antlion Marquessanik planned for "R2" and "R8". In the 2011 remake of this game, there was a planned R9 named Final Fever but it was ultimately scrapped. In total, there are seven rounds to complete, each in three different time zones, essentially making it four different levels per Round, for a total of 70 original level designs.

* **Tropical Trouble**: A tropical level with mountains and waterfalls in the background. The past features a more prehistoric looking Mitchell Tropical Grassland. The bad future is completely mechanized with smog in the air and oil in the water. The good future is also mechanized, but bright, vivid, colorful, and clean, with potted plants and trees adorning the area as well.
* **Collision Woods**: An unusual mechanized forest with an established casino. In the past, Collision Woods shows a rather surreal, orange tinted forest. The bad future is dark and creepy with gray machines. The good future shows a bright pink and blue futuristic paradise.
* **Tidal Caves**: An underwater area at the base of a volcano. In the past, it's an underground cavern, untouched by man or machine. The bad future shows a broken down, polluted, over-industrialized water plant. In the good future, Tidal Caves is a fully operational turquoise aquarium harboring much plant life and fish. The water level appears to have risen over time: it's low in the past, higher in the present, and at its highest in either future.
* **Unusual Swamp**: Unusual Swamp is a busy place with conveyor belts and platforms. The appearance of this level changes drastically throughout each time zone. It is a swamp in the past with hardly any technology, but a large quantity of quartz. It's an active mine and partially a swamp in the present. It is an overly mechanized mine with apparently no quartz in the bad future. It is an underground golden-colored city that is possibly made of quartz in the good future.
* **Marquessanik Factory**: A factory level located in a canyon. The past features an early construction of the Workbench. In the bad future, the level is ruined and rusty, while the good future shows an advanced pink/purple plant similar to that of a fictional toy factory.
* **Carolina Speedway**: One of the fastest rounds in Mitchell history. Carolina Speedway is a highway adorned with musical instruments above an enormous city. In the past, the land is old, ancient, resembling a Roman city, and vines adorn the highway as there is little to no technology to speak of. It also has Gothic-styled building in zone's center. In the bad future, Stardust Speedway has become a corrupted, polluted dystopian city underneath a large electrical storm with a completed statue of Marquessa in the zone's center. The good future looks like a giant futuristic amusement park, with bright pink and green colors dominating the landscape with a beautiful cathedral in the center of Zone 2.
* **Marquessa Madness**: Marquessa's base of operations on the Little Planet. The past shows the base still in construction with cranes adorning the skyline, while in the bad future, Marquessa Madness is a dark, sinister completely broken-down base ruined from neglect. The good future still shows a mechanized factory, but it has become more in tune with nature, as though Marquessa was never there.

## References

1. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `mitchellsecrets`
2. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `megamag26`
3. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `egmbuyersguide1999`
4. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `gameproplat`
5. ↑ Nickelodeon Blog | Mitchell CD Dashes Onto Tablets at GameStop. Blogs.viacom.com. Retrieved on 2011-11-23.

## External links

* Official website

 ***Mitchell Van Morgan* console main series games**

 Upcoming | *Unannounced "Mitchell Van Morgan" game* (2024, multi-platform)