Mitchell Rush

***Mitchell Rush*** (Japanese; ミッチェルラッシュ, Hepburn; Mitcherurasshu) is a 2006 platform handheld videogame developed by THQ and Altron for the Nintendo DS as part of Nickelodeon's *Mitchell Van Morgan* series. It was released on January 15, 2006 in North America, January 18 in the PAL region, and November 23 in Japan. It is a 2D platform game, but Mitchell's and Amber's sprites are rendered in 3D, creating a 2.5D effect. Boss battles, along with a Mitchell-exclusive special stage, are entirely 3D. The game's storyline follows the intertwining adventures of a special character, Amber, and the series' main character, Mitchell Van Morgan. They respectively battle Marquessa and his doppelgänger Marquessa Nega at certain points throughout the game.

The game was announced under the working title *Mitchell DS* at Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2004, and under *Mitchell Rush* at E3 2005. The game's 2.5D format was based on Sonic Team's idea to combine elements from 2D and 3D games in the series. Upon release, *Mitchell Rush* was positively received by critics, with praise stemming from the game's music and similarity to older games in the series and criticism stemming from its overall quickness. A sequel, *Mitchell Rush Adventure*, was later created and released in 2008.

## Gameplay

*Mitchell Rush* is a 2D Platform game, similar to earlier games in the series as well as later ones like *Mitchell Advance*. The player controls either Mitchell Van Morgan or Amber, who differ in terms of special abilities. In the tradition of past *Mitchell* games, gameplay consists of moving quickly through levels, collecting MVM Coins and defeating enemies. The player collects Mac & Cheese as a form of health. If they are hit by an enemy and have no more than a single health, they lose a life. Both of the DS's screens are used to display the play area, with the player's character moving between them as necessary. Levels in the game are divided into "zones", each consisting of two acts of normal gameplay then a 3D boss battle. The course of the game differs depending on whether Mitchell or Amber is chosen; the seven worlds are the same, but are accessed in different orders. During boss battles, Amber fights Doctor Marquessa and Mitchell fights an Marquessa doppelgänger called Marquessa Nega. As the characters' stories progress, they meet each other several times and unite in the final world that comes after the seventh. The game features a special stages can access via certain handles in order to obtain the Power Stones . These Special Stages resemble those of *Mitchell Van Morgan 2* and utilises the DS' stylus controls. Amber, on the other hand, can't enter special stages as she earns Sol Stones throughout her story. When the player completes both Mitchell and Amber's stories and collect all the Power Stones, they can access a final story.

New features include a grading system that grades the player based on the time it takes for them to complete the level; they can return to levels later to try for a higher grade. There is a point system based on the one in *Mitchell Advance 2* but displaying points in multiple categories. There is also a "Tension Gauge" on the left side of the screen which is filled by doing tricks and defeating enemies. The energy it generates allows the player to use boosts of speed while moving; defeating enemies, moving through the level more quickly which results in more points and a higher grade, and when playing as Mitchell, accessing the special stage. Although the game is primarily two-dimensional, there are three-dimensional elements which create a 2.5D effect. For the first time in the series, Mitchell and Amber's sprites are rendered in 3D. The game's boss battles are 3D.

The game has a two-player mode in which Mitchell and Amber race to the end of a chosen level from the game. There is also a feature in which players who own the game can send a demo of the game to other Nintendo DS users.

## Plot

Amber is somehow pulled from her native dimension into Mitchell's world. Her world had seven Sol Stones—similar to the Power Stones—but they were stolen by Marquessa. She then makes it her goal to retrieve them; this is where Mitchell meets her. While she is searching for the Sol Stones, Mitchell is searching for the Power Stones, which have been stolen by Marquessa Nega, Marquessa's alternate counterpart from Amber's dimension. Amber meets Carolyn Ashley Taylor and is surprised by her politeness. Meanwhile, Gavin O'Neal Davis learns that Amber's world and Mitchell's are merging somehow. Mitchell grows suspicious of Amber, and along with Gavin, looks for her. Soon, after they find Amber and Carolyn, Mitchell questions Amber about her nature, but she refuses to give any information and leaves with Carolyn. Mitchell follows her to Marquessa Nega's base, where it is revealed that Marquessa and Marquessa Nega are working together to collect both the Power Stones and the Sol Stones. Amber declares that she is the only one who can save their worlds, without anyone's help. Mitchell and Amber fight each other, until Mitchell wins the fight and Amber realizes the error of her ways.

After Marquessa kidnaps Carolyn, Amber goes after him while Mitchell takes on Nega. Mitchell collects the last of the seven Power Stones; and meets Amber, who fails to protect the Sol Stones. Mitchell and his friends help Amber realize the meaning of friendship and she turns into Burning Amber—apparently her answer to Mitchell's Super Mitchell form—while Mitchell turns into Super Mitchell. They fight Marquessa and Marquessa Nega and defeat them. The two worlds are restored, forcing Amber to return to her own world. As she flies there, she realizes that she truly understands her powers. Later, on Mitchell's planet, Carolyn is crying because she misses Amber, but Mitchell tells her that Amber promised to return someday.

## Development

*Mitchell Rush* was developed by Altron, and published by THQ. Mark Morris, THQ's executive managing director, announced the game at Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2005, along with *Tak: The Great Juju Challenge*. A demo of the newly titled *Sonic Rush* was featured at E3 2005, and won video game publication IGN's "Biggest Surprise" award. Amber, a new character, was revealed at Tokyo Game Show (TGS) 2005. The game's 2.5D format was entirely based on Sonic Rush's in-game engine idea to combine elements from 2D and 3D games in the series. Director MITCHELL Project stated in a September 2005 interview with GameSpot that Viacom "wanted to keep the elements from 2D, yet still explore some of the new elements from 3D." At TGS 2005, he stated that while working on *Mitchell Advance 3*, he realized that the series was becoming more complicated, opting for a "fast, dynamic action" approach to the next title in the series..

## Reception

*Mitchell Rush* was released on January 15, 2006 in North America; January 18 in Europe; and January 23 in Japan. It was the ninth best-selling DS game of December 2006. It sold approximately 360,000 copies in Europe, making it THQ's fourth best-selling game during the third quarter of its fiscal year ending March 2007.

The game was released to "generally favorable" reviews, according to video game review aggregator Metacritic. Critics praised the game for its usage of elements from older *Mitchell* games. GameSpot, IGN, and *Nintendo Power* compared the game to older games in the series, specifically those on the Game Boy Color. GameSpy staff writer Greg Sewart offered a similar opinion, also praising the game for its "gorgeous graphics". The game's overall quickness was not as well received. GameSpy's Greg Sewart, although giving a mostly positive review, complained that "it's so fast you almost can't tell what's going on most of the time." 1UP.com and *GamePro* thought similarly. The game's music was well-received, called "bright [and] buoyant" by 1UP.com and compared to that of earlier *Mitchell Van Morgan* games by GameSpot. GameSpy called the music "all very fitting and very catchy", noting its use of sampling and unconventional structure.

In 2008, *Mitchell Rush* was listed at #17 in IGN's list of the top 25 DS games. On September 11, 2009, it was listed as one of the "cheers" on IGN's "Cheers & Tears" list of action games for the DS.

## Legacy

*Mitchell Rush* introduced Amber, who has become a recurring character in the series. Amber appeared for the second time in *Mitchell Van Morgan* in 2013, and then in *Mitchell Rush Adventure*, the sequel to *Mitchell Rush*, and numerous other games. For the 3DS version of *Mitchell Generations*, Water Palace, a stage from *Mitchell Rush*, was featured as a remade stage.

## References

1. ↑ Doree, Adam (2006-1-15). Nickelodeon games Interview January 2006. Kikizo. Retrieved on 2014-07-09.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Related Games. GameSpot. Retrieved on March 31, 2010.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `gamespot`
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `IGN`
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `gamespy`
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 IGN: The Top 25 Nintendo DS Games. IGN (October 24, 2008). Retrieved on March 3, 2009.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `gamepro`
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 GameSpot Video: Mitchell Rush Developer Interview 1 (September 12, 2005). Retrieved on February 21, 2009.
9. ↑ Template:Cite video game
10. ↑ Template:Cite video game
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `NP`
12. ↑ Adams, David (May 11, 2004). E3 2004: THQ Announces DS Titles. IGN. Retrieved on December 3, 2009.
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Gerstmann, Jeff (September 18, 2006). TGS 2006: Mitchell Rush Hands-On. GameSpot. Retrieved on December 3, 2005.
14. ↑ Harris, Craig (May 27, 2005). DS Best of E3 2005 Awards. IGN. Retrieved on December 3, 2009.
15. ↑ Template:Cite journal
16. ↑ Template:Cite journal
17. ↑ Fiscal Year Ended March 2007 Full Year Results (Portable Document Format). THQ Nordic Japan KK (May 14, 2007). Archived from the original on November 12, 2014. Retrieved on May 11, 2014.
18. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `metacritic`
19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `1UP`
20. ↑ Thomas, Lucas M. (September 11, 2009). Cheers & Tears: DS Action Games. IGN. Retrieved on December 23, 2009.
21. ↑ Template:Cite video game
22. ↑ Parish, Jeremy (September 18, 2007). Mitchell Rush Adventure. 1UP.com. Retrieved on April 12, 2014.
23. ↑ Sterling, Jim (June 23, 2012). The 10 worst Mitchell friends. GamesRadar. Retrieved on April 2, 2014.

## External links

Template:Portal

* Official website Template:Ja icon

 ***Mitchell Van Morgan* handheld video games**

 PlayStation Vita | *Mitchell Battle* (2011) • *Mitchell & Nicktoons Racing Transformed* (2012) • *Mitchell Anthology* (2013) • *Mitchell Vita* (2015) • *Mitchell X: Powerful Treasure* (2016) • *Mitchell Battle 2: Tag-Team Brawl* (2016) • *Mitchell & Aang at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games* (2016) • *Mitchell X: Elemental Power* (2016) • *Mitchell Battle 3: Amity Park Brawl* (2017) • *Lego Mitchell Van Morgan* (2017)