Luigi's Mansion (3DS) Review - A Spooky Good Time That Shows its Age



Luigi, there's something behind you... [Nintendo ©, Image Source: Polygon]

Luigi’s Mansion as a series is one that stretches back to the GameCube days. Owners of the system undoubtedly had a copy or knew a friend who had a copy. It was something of a departure from a traditional Super Mario game (besides the fact that you played as Luigi) as it had a well-structured plot, a unique set of game mechanics and a metroidvania semi-open world (Metroidvania is a term that refers to a game with sections that are inaccessible until you retrieve an item or upgrade later in the game). Ours wasn’t a GameCube household, we stuck to Sony and PlayStation for my childhood, so I only got the opportunity to play Luigi’s Mansion when it was rereleased for the Nintendo 3DS. While I did enjoy playing through this classic with an updated set of visuals, I’m afraid that was all that was updated for the rerelease.

I don’t want to show this game in a bad light so I’ll get my biggest gripe out of the way first, but fans may be happy to know that it’s my only gripe. Now, I played this version on a New 2DSXL (the versions with that little nubbin they claim is an analogue stick) so I can only speculate based on my experience how the game plays on a different system. If it weren’t for my systems second analogue stick, I would have likely given up on finishing the game because the developers relied too heavily on the 3DS motion controls when they put the game together. The original GameCube controller had two analogue sticks so I imagine aiming was a touch easier than having to aim by tilting the system all over the place. Using the New 2DS stick wasn’t as difficult but not as easy as it would have been to have a proper analogue stick. It virtually doesn’t move so it’s difficult to register if you’re actions are being carried out. Not to mention how uncomfortable the things is to manoeuvre. This is starting to sound more like a hardware complaint but as mentioned above, I can’t speak to how normal 3DS users would have managed using motion controls effectively. Really, they might have been better to alter the controls to incorporate the bottom screen or ported the game to the Nintendo Switch instead (although that might not be too far off with the third entry out this year).

But that’s the negative out of the way. I probably don’t need to spend time here telling people how good a nearly 18 year old game is at this point, but Luigi’s Mansion is definitely a good game. The story isn’t massively complex but Mario games rarely feature a deep narrative and this is no exception. Luigi has won a mansion in a contest that he didn’t enter (which should have thrown up a bunch of red flags but oh well) so he and Mario agreed to meet up there. He arrives to find it looking nothing like how it was supposed to (again, immediate red flags) but still ventures in regardless. He doesn’t find Mario, instead finding ghosts and meeting Professor E. Gadd who saves him with the games primary mechanic, the Poltergust 3000. Luigi helps E. Gadd to fight the ghosts and eventually find his brother Mario. Like I said, not majorly complex but sufficient enough to carry the game.

You capture ghosts with the Poltergust by first stunning them with your flashlight, only then can you suck them up. There are numerous of the standard level ghosts (blue, gold etc.) but each different section has a number of special ghosts that range from physics and weightlifters to babies and creepy twin children. They’ll throw a different challenge at you in order to capture them, some of which will act as boss fights for that particular chapter like the aforementioned baby ghost. The more you capture, the further you get into the mansion and the story. I couldn’t say how long my playtime ran up to, but Luigi’s Mansion has something in the way of replay value and that’s its ending.

Now I’m not referring to the ending where you find Mario and get the F out of dodge, but the after credits moment were the game grades you on how much money you found. In every room and throughout the entire mansion, you will interact with objects and creatures that will drop money. While the currency earned doesn’t seem to serve a purpose at first, it is all tallied together for the end of the game to buy Luigi a real mansion but the quality and size of that mansion depends on the money saved. It isn’t the biggest drive to replay the game unless you did thoroughly enjoy it, I’m pretty sure my score was on the lower end of the chart and afforded me a simple house instead of a mansion. While it is possible to save money into the millions, I didn’t find any drive to do so as the money didn’t go into any kind of upgrades, only the end game grade.

If you’ve played Luigi’s Mansion back when it first released, you likely already have an opinion on the game and nothing I can say will sway you. A series doesn’t get three entries across 3 different systems and generations having no fan base, so it’s definitely a game worth looking at. If you have a 3DS/2DS then I’d definitely suggest getting this game in order to experience a slice of gaming history, however my money is still that this game and the sequel, Luigi’s Mansion 2: Dark Moon, will probably be ported to the Nintendo Switch. If and when that happens, then definitely buy them for that platform. Otherwise, keep this game firmly under the sale category if you want it for 3DS.