Luigi's Mansion

Luigi's Mansion is a third-person action game that was released as a launch title for the Nintendo Gamecube in 2001. As one of the first games featuring Luigi as a standalone hero, Luigi's Mansion has some exceptionally quirky and new ideas for the familiar brand. By borrowing elements from classic horror franchises, Luigi's Mansion offers players a family-friendly adventure packed with spooky themes. Armed with a specialized vacuum designed to eliminate feisty spirits, Luigi must clear out his new mansion and save his brother from certain doom. While it might not be everyone's cup of tea, Luigi's Mansion is a simple and satisfying treat for those who enjoy the creepier side of Nintendo games.

Main Game Features

• Fun mix of exploration and light horror
• Dozens of unique ghosts to capture
• Over 50 collectible Boos

Story

Like the rest of the games in the Super Mario universe, Luigi's Mansion has a simple yet interesting narrative. After winning a contest that he never remembers entering, Luigi goes to collect his reward: a brand new mansion.

When he arrives, the mansion looks abandoned and creepy, covered in shadows and looking particularly ominous. After a few moments inside, Luigi discovers that the mansion is severely haunted, full of dangerous ghosts. Luckily, Luigi is saved by Professor E Gadd, a mad scientist with an invention perfect for the job. The Professor provides Luigi with the Poltergust 3000, a high-tech vacuum capable of containing rogue spirits. With his new weapon on his back and a flashlight in hand, Luigi heads into the mansion and attempts to eliminate the spirits within.

Gameplay

Luigi's Mansion follows a simple and straightforward formula that's easy for even the newest of gamers to understand. Playing from a third-person perspective, you control Luigi as you explore the many themed rooms of the mansion. Most of the doors are locked at the start, limiting where you can explore. You can find room keys by clearing other unlocked rooms of ghosts, using your vacuum to suck them up. The structure of the game feels reminiscent of horror games like Resident Evil, while providing wacky antics more similar to a Ghostbusters game. There are over 45 rooms to explore, with some rooms containing unique “portrait ghosts”, each with a distinct personality and backstory. For example, you'll do spectral battle with the ghosts of a fortune-teller, a butler, and many more. There are also 50 Boo ghosts to catch, hidden in various items around the house. You'll rarely get lost in the three-story mansion, thanks to a handy map that you can pull up at any time.

As you work your way through the mansion, you'll find precious gems, cash, and gold coins to collect. You can also discover three runes, each one imbuing Luigi with the ability to control a different element, including fire, water, and ice. Towards the end of the game, you'll be given a rating depending on how many valuables you collect, so it's always good to check every nook and cranny. For those who can't get enough ghost-hunting, a bonus “hidden mansion” unlocks after you finish the game, offering more challenge but better rewards.

Conclusion

There's a lot of charm to Luigi's Mansion, even though it has its roots in the horror genre. The detailed map, the straightforward objectives, and the creepy atmosphere make it feel like a child's take on a scary game, but that's not really a bad thing. Hunting down ghosts with the Poltergust 3000 is fun and tactile, and each room in the mansion feels handcrafted and original. The only big downsides to Luigi's Mansion are its somewhat shallow progression and predictable story, along with the brief length of the overall game.

Pros:

• Unique ghost-catching gameplay
• Charming and spooky atmosphere
• Succinct and satisfying exploration

Cons:

• Bosses can be frustrating
• Lack of guidance at times
• Controls feel clunky at first

How can you not love Luigi's Mansion? This is just such a charming game and a game I have played through many times. I remember getting this with my Game Cube back in 2002 and I had a blast with it. I will say that the version they released for the Nintendo 3DS is the best way to play this game, why that was not ported to the Switch is beyond me. Anyway, I wanted to talk about this classic today and reminisce about all of the things that I found so much fun with it.

Is It Really A Prize?

Charming is the best way to describe Luigi's Mansion and that starts with the plot. Luigi thinks that he is in luck as he has been told that he has won a mansion! He tells his bro, Mario and they agree to meet. Well, Luigi gets there a little late and discovers that this place is creepy as hell. Making his way inside, Luigi realizes that it is haunted and Mario is missing! However, Professor E. Gadd gives him the Poltergust 3000 and the Game Boy Horror to help him get through the mansion, find Mario, and capture the ghosts!

Mario!!!

The visuals of Luigi's Mansion are great and they actually hold up very well to this day. While the 3DS version is a bit sharper, the Game Cube original still looks so very appealing. Luigi has a ton of personality and the way he will hum to himself, call out for Mario, and bang on stuff always makes me smile, as does the way he freaks out when he gets scared. The ghosts in the game have a very cool translucent effect to them and they all have a cartoon look which I always get a kick out of, well apart from the creepy as hell baby that is one of the first bosses. Also, for a fun and lighthearted game, it is kind of dark that we have the ghost of a baby to deal with!

Who You Gonna Call?

The core gameplay of Luigi's Mansion sees us needing to capture all of the ghosts, explore each of the four areas, get upgrades for the Poltergust 3000, and defeat bosses. There are light puzzle elements here and there too as well as money to find. Luigi controls well enough, you have a flashlight in one hand and you need to use this to stun the ghosts. Once you stun them, you can then use the Poltergust 3000 to capture them. Ghosts have health, the more health they have, the harder to catch they will be. You have to wrangle them, moving the control stick from side to side in order to make the timer go down.

Short, But Very, Very Sweet!

One of the criticisms that is often thrown the way of Luigi's Mansion is that the game is very short. To be honest, this is a game that you can easily finish in a couple of sittings. When I first got my GameCube all those years ago, I remember beating it the same day I got it! Now, that is clearly not a huge plus in the game's favor, but I will say that the game is so charming and so much fun, that it makes it the kind of game that is a lot of fun to play through time and time again. The Nintendo 3DS goes a little way to fix this adding in a boss rush mode as well as several achievements for you to try and obtain.

Pros:

• This is one of the most charming games around
• Catching ghosts is fun!
• I just love the whole spooky style the game has
• The Nintendo 3DS version adds a few cool things and has better visuals

Cons:

• There is not much of a challenge here
• The game is very short