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Almost immediately after finishing the Luigi’s Mansion
rerelease for the 3DS, I wanted to get the second game Luigi’s Mansion 2 (Or
Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon for our American readers) which speaks to how much
of an impact the first game had on me. Unlike the first game though, this isn’t
a rerelease and was intended to be played on a 3DS system. As such the controls
are ideal and, to be frank, so much better than the port of Luigi’s Mansion.
Had they copied over the control system from this title to the first, then it
would have been a perfect port in my opinion. But getting back on topic, Luigi
is back at it again, hunting ghosts with Professor E. Gadd in a more structured
level based game that lasted much longer than the first. Oh and there’s a ghost
dog, so that’s reason enough to play this game!
The game is set in Evershade Valley which features the
titular dark moon, a big crystal looking creation that has a pacifying effect
on the ghosts in the valley. Many of these ghost were helping Professor E. Gadd
with his research when the moon is shattered and all the ghosts go nuts. So, E.
Gadd calls upon Luigi to venture into the various settings of Evershade Valley
and find the pieces to restore the dark moon. Straight off the bat, the story
has more structure that the first game did as you’re aren’t simply playing
clean up in a haunted mansion but are instead trying to restore order in the
valley. You’ll travel to the different locations of the valley, each with a
large open ended map full of secrets to find and ghosts to capture. Each area
has around 5 levels each, ending in a big boss fight and retrieving a piece of
the dark moon. Similar to the first game, money and cash can be found throughout
the map, however unlike the first game the money actually serves a purpose. You
aren’t graded at the end of the game based on how much money you gathered,
instead the money you saved goes into upgrading the Poltergust, so I actually
felt some incentive to gather up as much as I could.
Going back to the topic of controls, I so much prefer the
control scheme for this game then the first. Obviously the option is here for
motion controls to be used, however Luigi’s Mansion 2 also allows for aiming
using the X and B buttons for up and down respectively. This makes the game far
easier to control over trying to use the little nubbin stick or moving the
system around wildly. Luigi can run too which is very handy when you get
surrounded. The Poltergust even has a new feature by way of a power meter, so
after pulling at a ghost for long enough you’ll build up power to give one big
pull and suck the ghost up. The aforementioned money upgrades go into
increasing the power and size of the bar and, once you’ve reached the max
upgrade the normal sucking power of the Poltergust is noticeably faster making
catching ghosts that much easier. It’s a welcomed upgrade that really gives the
player incentive to scouring the area to find as much cash as possible.
Besides the new controls and level structure, Luigi’s
Mansion 2 plays almost identical with the first game. You’ll still have to hunt
down as many ghosts as you can find in each level and find the hidden Boo ghost
just like in the first game. What is different though is the addition of a new
type of flashlight called the Dark Light Device. This new toy reveals hidden
objects in the environment and revives paintings that feature coins and Toad
assistants throughout the game. These hidden items will be secret collectable gems
or where you’ll find the hidden Boos. There is also a multiplayer function in
the game, but I never went anywhere near it so I can’t comment on how well it
runs or doesn’t run (One thing I rarely touch on a game is multiplayer).
There really isn’t much more I can say about this game. I
like it though, it’s a very good game and a good sequel. To paraphrase Zero
Punctuation’s Yahtzee Crowshaw, “A good sequel uses the original concept as a
jumping off point to explore new horizons, but a bad sequel just wallows in the
first games filth going nowhere”. Luigi’s Mansion 2 does, in my opinion, make a
good sequel and if anyone had even a remote passing interest in the series then
I’d highly recommend this game be played. I’d even go as far as to say that you
could pay full price and still be satisfied. Depending on how invested you need
to be in a series, you could probably start playing this game without playing
the first game as the only things to carry over are Luigi, E. Gadd and the
Poltergust.
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