Sonic Rush

Sonic Rush (ソニック・ラッシュ) is a platforming game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series for the Nintendo DS. The game was released on November 2005 and is developed by Dimps and Sonic Team. The game capitalizes on the 'dual screen' aspect of the Nintendo DS in multiple ways, utilizing two screens as one extended vertical screen for very steep climbs and drops. Sonic Rush centers around two parallel universes colliding, featuring Sonic the Hedgehog and a new character, Blaze the Cat. They respectively battle Dr. Eggman and a new foe named Dr. Eggman Nega.

The game is a 2.5D side-scroller, exploring both 2D and 3D venues. This include standard levels and gimmicks in 2D, as well as boss fights and playable characters entirely in 3D. In 2007, the game received a sequel, Sonic Rush Adventure.

Plot

 * For the scripts of the storylines, see Sonic Rush/Script (Sonic), Sonic Rush/Script (Blaze) and Sonic Rush/Script (Extra).

At the beginning of the story, Blaze the Cat, an antisocial princess from an alternate dimension, suddenly appears on Sonic's world. Her world had the seven Sol Emeralds—gems similar to the Chaos Emeralds—which it relies on for survival. However, they were stolen by Dr. Eggman and as Blaze was chasing him, she was engulfed in a light that brought her to this world. Blaze then makes it her goal to personally retrieve them from Eggman. Upon finding Eggman, the doctor flaunts a Sol Emerald, stating that he needs them to access ultimate power. Enraged, Blaze defeats Eggman and regains the Emerald, while Eggman escapes, though she remains determined to get the rest.

Confused and alone, Blaze ponders how she will get the Sol Emeralds back, and how to return home. She soon spots Cream the Rabbit and Cheese hiding in the bushes, and is surprised by Cream's politeness, the young rabbit eager to make friends with Blaze. Brought to Cream's home for a cup of tea, Vanilla and Cream convince Blaze to have the latter be her local guide after hearing her story. However, Blaze dismisses the family's advice to seek Sonic's aid, believing she can do this alone. Despite having Cream tag along, Blaze remains mostly indifferent to the young rabbit's efforts to be her friend.

Elsewhere, Sonic encounters Eggman during a run who boasts about how he will soon obtain the ultimate power. Upon defeating Eggman, Sonic finds a Sol Emerald that Eggman dropped, at which point Blaze appears and reclaims it, thanking Sonic for defeating Eggman before leaving. Confused, Sonic teams up with Tails to figure out what is going on while collecting the Chaos Emeralds.

Eventually, Sonic comes across a new foe—an Eggman-lookalike named Dr. Eggman Nega, who is bend on domination as well. After defeating him, Tails discoveres that the space-time continuum has been torn due to the Sol Emeralds residing in Sonic's dimension, resulting in a slow merging of both Sonic and Blaze's worlds which could spell doom for both worlds. Sonic grows suspicious of Blaze's alliance, and along with Tails, looks for her. Along their adventures, both Sonic and Blaze come across Knuckles and Amy. Blaze in particular starts to ponders who Sonic really is, as seemingly every new face she stumbles upon mentions Sonic in one way or another.

Eventually, Sonic and Tails find Blaze and Cream. Sonic questions Blaze about her nature, but she does not give any information, because she says it is her responsibility, and leaves with Cream. Not keen on letting Blaze bear this burden alone, Sonic and Tails follow her. While Sonic chases her, Blaze starts to soften up to Cream and begins to experience friendship for the first time in her life, something which she has never allowed herself due to her strict disciplin.

Sonic ends up follows Blaze to Dead Line, where it is revealed that Eggman and Eggman Nega are working together to collect both the Chaos Emeralds and the Sol Emeralds. Blaze declares that she will destroy both Eggmans and save both worlds on her own. When Sonic once again questions her intentions, she fights him, believing Sonic is getting in the way of her duty. During their fight, Blaze reveals her past about how her powers and duty "cursed" her to a life of solitude, which is why she has to be alone. After a final clash, Sonic makes Blaze see the value on having others to rely on and Blaze realizes the error of her ways. In the aftermath, Eggman kidnaps Cream, but Blaze goes after him while Sonic takes on Eggman Nega. After their fight, Blaze reunites with Cream, whom Blaze finally acknowledges as her friend. Meanwhile, Sonic watches their victory with a smile, but is alerted to a smitten Amy coming towards him, prompting Sonic to away run from her.

After Sonic and Blaze have collected all the Chaos Emeralds and Sol Emeralds, Blaze has the Sol Emeralds stolen from her by Eggman and Eggman Nega, who drain the Emeralds of their power. Sonic soon after meet up with Blaze, who despairs over failing her duty and failing to restore balance between the two worlds. However, Sonic and his friends help Blaze realize the meaning of friendship, which in turn recharges the Sol Emeralds and turns her into Burning Blaze. With Sonic using the Chaos Emeralds to transform as well, Super Sonic and Burning Blaze confront the Eggmans and defeats them, foiling their plans to built an Eggmanland dominating both dimensions. As their worlds are restored, Sonic and Blaze chat about how they and their friends will miss one another. Blaze says it is for the best she leaves like this, but thanks Sonic for his help and friendship. Before Blaze leaves, Sonic promises her that they will meet again and the two shake hands just before their dimensions pull them back to their rightful worlds. Back in her world, Blaze realizes that carrying the world's weight on her own shoulders could lead to irresponsibility, and so she vows to live life with a more open heart. Later, on Sonic's world, Cream is crying because she misses Blaze, but Sonic cheers her up by telling her that Blaze promised to return someday.

Gameplay
Sonic Rush is a 2.5D platformer game, similar to earlier games in the series as well as later ones like Sonic Advance. The player controls either Sonic the Hedgehog or Blaze the Cat (Blaze becomes playable after defeating the Egg Hammer Mega). Each character may differ in terms of abilities, but share otherwise similar moves for exploration and combat. Like the tradition of Sonic games, the goal is to reach the end of each Act of a Zone (a level in the game) in ten minutes. During regular Acts, Both of the Nintendo DS's screens are used to display the area, with the playable characters moving between them when they reach certain heights or depths. After clearing the Boss Act, the progress is saved automatically and the player can proceed to the next Zone on the Zone Map.

A new feature introduced in Sonic Rush include the "Tension Gauge" on the left side of the screen. The energy it generates allows the player to use the Super Boost and Fire Boost for Sonic and Blaze respectively, new moves which give them a boost in speed while moving and allow them to plow through enemies without harm. When overcharged, the Tension Gauge will have unlimited energy for a short time. The Tension Gauge is filled by performing Trick Actions, defeating enemies, passing Checkpoints and certain power-ups. The first is an expansion of the Mid-Air Trick Actions introduced in Sonic Advance 2, and allows the playable characters to pulls off acrobatic stunts on Grind Rails or when sent flying into midair by gimmicks like the Springs or Ramp. Performs such trick combos lets the player rank up energy for the Tension Gauge and points. Certain tricks also allow wider movements. However, they will fail if interrupted.

Sonic Rush also introduces the Ranking system from the console Sonic titles on the handheld for the first time. After completing an Act, the player receives a rank (C being the lowest and S being the highest) based on the total of Time, Trick, Ring and Speed Bonuses in the Act.

The player can collect Rings as a form of health. Like the traditional Rings, they give an extra life after collecting 100 of them, award points, and protect the player from damage. When taking damage, the player will drop all their Rings. However, a unique mechanic in this game compared to previous 2D games is that the more the player gets hit, the further the Rings will scatter. Taking damage without any Rings at all will cost the player a try. The player will also lose a try if the playable character spends too long underwater without replenishing their air supply (air underwater lasts for 18 seconds), falls into a bottomless pit, gets crushed or run out of time. Losing a life makes the player start from the last Checkpoint they passed, or from the beginning of the Act if they have not passed any Checkpoints. If a character loses a try when the number of tries remaining is zero, the game is over.

Aside from Rings, Sonic Rush features Item Boxes and their balloon variants which contain the basic power-ups. This include Ring Bonuses, Barriers, Magnetic Barriers, Invincible and 1 UPs. The game also introduces the Tension Bonus and Max Tension Bonus power-ups which can fill up the Tension Gauge.

For the first time in the series of 2D games, Sonic Rush has 3D rendered models for playable characters and other aspects of the game. Despite the game set on 2D side-scrolling action, there are multiple sections in the game heavily on based around gimmicks that progresses the gameplay style for three-dimensional sections with limited controls. A separated, Boss Acts for each Zone are also rendered on 3D models with Blaze fighting against Dr. Eggman and Sonic an Eggman's doppelganger named Eggman Nega. The game also features 3D-modeled Special Stages, which are exclusive for Sonic after gaining enough of rotation speed from the Special Generators via Super Boost. In order to unlock the extra Zone in the game, the player must collect seven Chaos Emeralds and clear both Sonic's and Blaze's playthroughs.

Character movesets
* Cannot be performed in Boss Acts.

Other moves

 * Grinding: A technique where the characters automatically slide down a Grind Rail they stand on. The player has to land on the rail to grind on it and jump to get off it.
 * Boost Mode: A technique that enables the characters to run at maximum speed. The player has to either run at top speed for a few seconds or use gimmicks like the Dash Panel or horizontal Springs to enter the Boost Mode.

Items
* Ring Bonuses with question marks grant randomly 1, 5, 10, 30, or 50 Rings.
 * Rings
 * Item Boxes (Normal & floating types)
 * Ring Bonus (5, ?*)
 * Barriers
 * Magnetic Barriers
 * Invincible
 * Tension Bonus
 * Max Tension Bonus
 * 1 UPs
 * Checkpoints

Playable characters

 * Sonic the Hedgehog
 * Blaze the Cat

Non-playable characters

 * Dr. Eggman
 * Eggman Nega
 * Miles "Tails" Prower
 * Cream the Rabbit & Cheese
 * Amy Rose
 * Knuckles the Echidna
 * Vanilla the Rabbit
 * Chao (cameo)

Bosses

 * Egg Hammer Mega
 * Egg Turtle
 * Egg Scarab
 * Egg Libra
 * Egg Eagle
 * Sonic the Hedgehog/Blaze the Cat (Dead Line)
 * Egg King
 * Egg Salamander

Zones
Sonic Rush consists nine Zones to complete. Most of Zones are split into two Acts with separated Boss Act featured in the end. Both Sonic and Blaze go on separate adventures as the player goes through same Zones in only a slightly different order and eventually two characters cross paths several times. The ninth, extra Zone becomes available after getting all Chaos Emeralds and clearing both Sonic's and Blaze's stories.

The player progresses from next Zone to another in the Zone Map. The Top Screen shows the player's progress and the Touch Screen displays the player's point on the map. Pressing can give the player an opportunity to view further sections of the map and turn back to normal by pressing. Pressing START gives the player an option of returning back to the title screen. The player can also utilize Nintendo DS Stylus for Touch Screen to tap on the Zone icon to move the playable character towards it. If the player has already clear the Boss Act from the Zone, he/she can tap on the Zone again to view separate menu for selecting any Act from the Zone to play it separately.

All Zones in Sonic Rush are listed for each playable character on following order:

Special Stages
When playing as Sonic in Sonic Rush, each Zone contains Special Generators floating around on different places. When the player has filled Tension Gauge enough, Sonic has perform the Super Boost to swing around the gimmick long enough to create dimensional portal in order to enter one of seven Special Stages. Each Special Stage can be only entered by using the Zone's specific Special Generator.

Special Stages of Sonic Rush involves the player running through a wide and endless three-dimensional half-pipe route (akin to Special Stages of Sonic the Hedgehog 2). The basic goal is to collect required amount of Rings before hitting the next Checkpoint or the Goal in order to be rewarded with the Chaos Emerald. The game requires to use Nintendo DS Stylus to move Sonic around the half-pipe route on the Touch Screen. The player has to avoid Bombs or enemies for losing Rings and utilize different gimmicks on the half-pipe route such as Trick Springs, Dash Panels and Switches which summon lines of Rings. Hitting enemies few times grant small amount of Rings.

Sol Emeralds also appear as collectibles for Blaze, necessary to reach the extra Zone, but Blaze collects these through the games' default Boss Acts and not through the Special Stages.

Battle Play
Battle Play is the main component of Sonic Rush, allowing multiplayer gaming for two players in total. Two Nintendo DS handheld consoles are required to play the Battle Play mode with one or both players having Sonic Rush cartridge. There are two ways accessing to play Battle Play mode, Single-Card Play or Multi-Card Play. These options do not make differences in terms of the gameplay.


 * DS Wireless Battle: An option to play with Multi-Card Play. One player has to create room for other player, who has to join it after its creation. Choosing the Multi-Card Play saves time to set up the game.
 * DS Download Battle: An option to play with Single-Card Play. Choosing this option makes the game automatically create the room for participants. Players have to download the game by using the Nintendo DS Wireless Communications feature and pick up "SONIC RUSH" (Player 1) or "SONIC RUSH (BATTLE)" (Player 2) to enter the Battle Play mode.

In Battle Play mode, two players have to choose Sonic and Blaze in one of selected Acts of each Zone. The goal is to race to the end of the Act with both player having abilities or Item Box power-ups to obstruct each other. In-game HUD around the screen shows Ring counter, Timer, Tension Gauge and the position during the race. There is no life system during the Battle Play mode, as getting hit without Rings sends the player back to latest Checkpoint or the beginning of the section. Item Box power-ups to use for the player's advantage or against the opponent include Attract, Confusion, Max Tension Bonus, Random Ring Bonus and Slow. Performing moves into the opponent does not make him/her lose Rings but stun down for brief moment.

Top Screen of Nintendo DS shows the playable character, while Touch Screen only shows the player and opponent in form of icons. Pressing SELECT switches the display of both screens. The first player who passes through the Goal Ring, wins the race or draw, if players do not reach to the end of the Act before the time limit expires. After the race, players can try again to race in different Zone or Act.

Time Attack
Time Attack mode in Sonic Rush intends for the player to clear the selected Act in the fastest time possible. The mode features both regular Zone and Boss Acts separately. Top five fastest time records will be saved for each Act. Time Attack mode becomes available once clearing the main Gameplay mode either as Sonic or Blaze.

Options
Options is the settings menu for Sonic Rush. It should be noted that the Language Settings for the game can be done only in the Nintendo DS's Menu Screen before starting the game. The following options are:


 * Player Data: Presents the player's name (The player does this when starting to play the game for the first time) and shows the Battle Play Records done in the multiplayer mode. Names can have up to seven letters.
 * Difficulty: Changes the difficulty level of the game. There are two levels, "Normal" and "Easy" (Easy mode decreases the hitting points of bosses from eight to six).
 * Time Limit: Select whether or not running out of time causes characters to lose a try.
 * Sound Test: Listen to the various music tracks and sound effects used in the game. Becomes available once clearing the main Gameplay mode of the game as Sonic or Blaze. Tracks 110-127 become available in the Sound Test after unlocking and clearing the extra Zone.
 * Delete Save Data: Delete all game data. After doing this, the player progressed back to the title screen.
 * Download Demo: Allows other players to download a Demo version of the game by using Nintendo DS's Wireless Communication feature.

Development
Before Sonic Rush was released, a short demo, Sonic E3 Demo, was developed. The gameplay involved rubbing the DS's touch screen to make Sonic run along a predetermined path and trying to complete a simple race course. The demo was rendered in 3D, but only one level could be played. After the demo was finished, Sonic Team began work on Sonic Rush. Developer Akinori Nishiyama said in an interview that Sonic Team wanted to make Sonic Rush two-dimensional, as the Sonic Advance trilogy had been, but add some three-dimensional elements. Nishiyama said that "for [the] Sonic DS title, we wanted to keep the elements from 2D, yet still explore some of the new elements from 3D. So we wanted to try to find a way to somehow marry both elements from 2D and 3D. After the release of Sonic Rush, a sequel, Sonic Rush Adventure, was developed and released on 18 September 2007.

Music
The music of Sonic Rush was written by acclaimed Sega composer Hideki Naganuma. It was released in Japan as a CD, Sonic Rush Original Groove Rush, on 23 November 2005 through Wavemaster Studios. The CD has 45 tracks, seven of which are digital remixes rather than master tracks. There are two pieces of music for each zone, one for when Sonic is running through the zone and another for when Blaze is running through it. There is also a Sound Test feature where you can listen to the tracks, level BGM and character voice recordings.

Reception
Sonic Rush was released on November 15, 2005 in North America; November 18 in Europe; and November 23 in Japan. It was the ninth best-selling DS game of December 2006. It sold approximately 360,000 copies in Europe, making it Sega's fourth best-selling game during the third quarter of its fiscal year ending March 2007. The game was released to positive reviews, with a Game Rankings score of 83% and a Metacritic score of 82%. Critics praised the game for its usage of elements from older Sonic games. Gamespot, IGN, and Nintendo Power compared the game to older games in the series, specifically those on the Sega Genesis. 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 Jet Set Radio by GameSpot. GameSpy called the music "all very fitting and very catchy", noting its use of sampling and unconventional structure. Official Nintendo Magazine scored the game with 92%, along stating to be "The Best Sonic Game Ever!".

In 2008, Sonic 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.

Re-releases
In 2009, Sega re-released Sonic Rush along with another Sega game Super Monkey Ball Touch and Roll in the compilation title Sega Fun Pack: Sonic Rush & Super Monkey Ball: Touch & Roll.

Trivia

 * There is a mistake on the back of the box: "Includes wireless play and new a [sic] mysterious female companion created exclusively for Sonic Rush!", which is supposed to read "a new mysterious female companion".
 * This game marks the debut of Blaze the Cat and her Super form Burning Blaze, as well the recurring villain Eggman Nega.
 * Ryan Drummond was originally going to be voicing Sonic in this game, as voice clips of his voice were heard in the E3 demo build.
 * This is the first Sonic game for the Nintendo DS and for a seventh generation video game console.
 * Including Sonic Heroes, Sonic Advance 2 and Sonic Advance 3, Sonic Rush is one of the few Sonic games in which Cream has an important role to the games' plot.
 * If the player taps the character during gameplay on the Touch Screen, the character will do strange movements. Sonic will turn to the player and do stretches, while Blaze will jump like a scared cat, then turn her back at the player, tapping her foot. This also happens in Sonic Rush Adventure and Sonic Colors.
 * In the final cutscene of the game where Blaze returns to her dimension, the color of the skies appears green. However, in the sequel, Sonic Rush Adventure, its color is sky blue. It could be possible that she entered her world at a high altitude or that it was just either sunrise or sunset (or she might have been flying through Sky Babylon to her world, as the sky is green). Another possibility is that the green sky seen in the end of Sonic Rush was used only to emphasize the differences Blaze's world may have from Sonic's world, but was later mostly abandoned in favor of a blue sky in the game's sequel Sonic Rush Adventure.
 * In the Japanese version of the game, Sonic's vocal work is in English.
 * This game marks the introduction of the Sonic Boost. It is later used in Sonic Unleashed, Sonic Rush Adventure, Sonic Colors and Sonic Generations.
 * This is the first game where Sonic performs Trick Actions, which came back in Sonic Colors and Sonic Generations.
 * Water Palace, one of the Zones in Sonic Rush is represented as an playable Stage in the Nintendo 3DS version of Sonic Generations.