Luigi's Mansion[lower-alpha 2] is a 2001 action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo. The game was a launch title for the GameCube and was the first game in the Mario franchise to be released for the console; it was released in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, in Europe on May 3, 2002, and in Australia on May 17, 2002. It is the third video game in which Luigi is the main character instead of Mario, after Mario Is Missing! and Luigi's Hammer Toss. Players control him as he explores a haunted mansion, searches for Mario and deals with ghosts by capturing them through a vacuum cleaner supplied by Professor E. Gadd.
Luigi's Mansion received a positive critical reception overall, with reviewers praising the gameplay, setting, and soundtrack, though its short length was criticized. The game has sold over 3.3 million copies, and is the fifth-best-selling GameCube game of all time. It was one of the first games to be re-released as a Player's Choice title on the system, and achieved a cult following.[1] The game was followed by two sequels – Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, released for the Nintendo 3DS in 2013, and Luigi's Mansion 3, which was released for the Nintendo Switch in 2019. A remake of Luigi's Mansion for the 3DS, co-developed by Nintendo and Grezzo, was released in 2018.
Gameplay
Beta screenshot of Luigi capturing Neville, the game's first "portrait ghost", using the Poltergust 3000. The number represents the ghost's HP, which must be reduced to zero in order for Luigi to capture it.
Luigi's Mansion's story takes place over four "areas", or sets of explorable rooms between boss fights. Players may also access a training room and a gallery at Professor E. Gadd's laboratory between areas or upon starting the game.[2] In each area, players control Luigi to explore the mansion's rooms and hunt down the ghosts within them, acquiring keys to get through locked doors and eventually fighting a boss ghost at the end of the area. To assist him in his task, Luigi uses a flashlight and two inventions supplied by E. Gadd – the Poltergust 3000, a specially modified, high-powered vacuum cleaner; and the Game Boy Horror, a play on Nintendo's Game Boy Color.
To capture ghosts, Luigi must first stun a ghost with his flashlight, revealing its heart. He then must use the Poltergust 3000 to suck them up, steadily reducing the ghost's hit points to zero, at which point they are captured. The more hit points the ghost has, the more time it takes for a ghost to be captured, giving them a chance to break free while leaving Luigi more exposed to harm. If Luigi's HP is reduced to zero from being hurt by the ghosts or other accidents, the game is over.[3] Along his journey, Luigi locates three elemental medals, each granting the Poltergust with the ability to summon and vacuum ghosts from fire, water, and ice sources and expel their respective elements to capture specific ghosts or solve puzzles.[4] In addition to capturing the regular ghosts in the mansion, Luigi must catch "portrait ghosts" from some rooms, each requiring a condition be met to make them available for capture. Rooms are usually dark upon initial access, and Luigi hums nervously to the music, but once all the ghosts are captured, it brightens up, and Luigi pleasantly whistles the melody.
Using the Game Boy Horror, players can access a map of the mansion, seeing which rooms they have visited, what doors are open, and which remain locked. When Luigi finds a key during his explorations, the Game Boy Horror automatically indicates which door it unlocks.[5] In addition to a map function, the device allows the player to examine objects (including the hearts of portrait ghosts, revealing clues about how to capture them), read profiles of captured portrait ghosts, and keep track of any treasure that Luigi has found. Rooms will usually have treasure hidden within, which can be either coins, bills, gold bars, or gems, hidden within objects and even in chests that appear when rooms are cleared. Luigi can gather these treasures by walking into them or vacuuming them; if a ghost harms Luigi, he will drop a few coins that he will need to recover before they disappear. After Luigi encounters a group of Boos hiding in the mansion, the GB Horror can be used to find each one hiding in a room through a beeper sound and a flashing yellow light on the device, which turns red when Luigi is close to one. Boos can only be located in cleared rooms.[5] Boos are trickier to catch, as they can plant decoys and traps within objects they can hide in that can fool the GB Horror and will escape into other rooms if they can.
Once an area is completed, all portrait ghosts are restored to their paintings by E. Gadd, which the player can view in his laboratory's gallery,[6] at which point a result screen reveals the portrait ghosts Luigi has captured, along with the total amount of treasure he recovered for that stage. Once the final boss is defeated, the player is given a rank (A to H) after the end credits based on the amount of treasure Luigi has found. Completing the game once unlocks a second mode called the "Hidden Mansion", which features a stronger Poltergust and stronger ghosts. In the European version of this mode, the mansion appears as a mirrored reflection of the previous version, bosses are more difficult, ghosts and Portrait Ghosts are trickier to capture, and more ghosts appear in some of the rooms.[7]
Plot
Luigi has been notified about winning a mansion in a contest he did not enter. He informs Mario and they agree to meet up outside the mansion that evening. Luigi follows a map to the mansion, located in a dark forest, and finds it more sinister-looking than the supplied photo. With Mario nowhere to be found, Luigi enters the mansion alone. He encounters a ghost, which attacks him, but is unexpectedly saved by a scientist who unsuccessfully tries to suck up the ghost with a vacuum cleaner. They escape as more ghosts appear, and the scientist introduces himself as Professor Elvin Gadd, or E. Gadd for short. He explains the mansion is supernatural in origin and only appeared a few days prior.[2][8] E. Gadd tells Luigi that he saw Mario heading towards the mansion, but has not seen him since.[9] Upon learning that Mario is Luigi's brother, E. Gadd entrusts Luigi with his ghost-hunting equipment, including the Poltergust 3000 vacuum cleaner and Game Boy Horror communication device, and Luigi re-enters the mansion to look for Mario.[10]
As Luigi explores the mansion, he discovers that it is an illusion built by King Boo, to shelter the now-freed special ghosts that E. Gadd had previously captured and trapped in portraits with a large machine dubbed the "Ghost Portrificationizer"; King Boo subsequently created the false contest to lure the Mario Bros. into a trap in retaliation for the boos they defeated in the past. Working his way through each of the darkened floors, halls, and locked rooms, Luigi recaptures the escaped portrait ghosts and discovers that Mario has been trapped inside of a portrait by King Boo in a secret ritualistic altar in the basement of the mansion. While recapturing the last portrait ghost, Luigi finds the key that unlocks the door to the secret altar, confronting King Boo. Angered over Luigi capturing his fellow Boos, King Boo causes Mario's portrait to transform into an image of Bowser, which sucks Luigi into a hellish pocket dimension with a fiery sky. Using his powers of illusion, King Boo creates a suit-like copy of Bowser to combat Luigi in an arena resembling the roof of the mansion, albeit detached from the rest of the building.[11] Using the Bowser illusion’s abilities against it, Luigi is able knock the head of the Bowser suit off, forcing King Boo to emerge from within, leaving him vulnerable enough to be captured. Escaping the painting and returning to the real world, Luigi finds Mario unconscious but still trapped within the portrait, which he triumphantly carries out of the mansion.[12] Returning to the lab, E. Gadd informs Luigi that the mansion has disappeared, they trap King Boo in a portrait along with the last of the recaptured portrait ghosts, using the Ghost Portrificationizer's reverse function, Luigi and E. Gadd free Mario from his portrait.[13] The epilogue states that E. Gadd used the treasure Luigi collected on his adventure to build him a new house on the former site of the mansion. Its size depends on how much treasure the player gathered during the game.
Development
The game was revealed at Nintendo Space World 2000 as a technological demo designed to show off the graphical capabilities of the GameCube.[14] The full motion video footage had scenes seen in later trailers and commercials for the game, but were not used in the final release. This footage includes Luigi screaming in horror at the camera, running from an unknown ghost in the Foyer, ghosts playing cards in the Parlor, ghosts circling around Luigi, and a gloomy-looking Luigi standing outside the mansion with lightning flashing. These were animated at three graphic houses to pay homage to the GameCube. Soon after its creation, Nintendo decided to transform the demo into a full-fledged video game. A year later, Luigi's Mansion was shown at the Electronic Entertainment Expo alongside the GameCube console. Development was led by Hideki Konno, Shigeru Miyamoto, and Takashi Tezuka.[15] A newer version of the game, more closely related to the final version, was revealed at Nintendo Space World 2001.[16]
The original plan for Luigi's Mansion involved a game where the levels revolved around a large mansion or complex. Tests were later done with Mario characters in dollhouses and such. Once it was transitioned into a GameCube project, Luigi was selected as the main character in order to keep the game original and new. The other gameplay ideas, such as ghosts and the ghost-sucking vacuum cleaner, were added later. Older concepts, such as a role-playing game-like system which made real-time changes to rooms, as well as a cave area located under the mansion, were scrapped due to the inclusion of the new ideas.[17][18]
Luigi's Mansion's music was composed by Shinobu Tanaka and Kazumi Totaka,[19] and as such contains "Totaka's Song", a song featured in almost every game that Totaka has composed.[20] It is found by waiting on the controller configuration screen at the Training Room for about three and a half minutes.[21] The main theme of Luigi's Mansion was orchestrated and arranged by Shogo Sakai for Super Smash Bros. Brawl.[22] The game featured voice actorsCharles Martinet as the voice of Mario and Luigi, Jen Taylor as the voice of Toad, and an uncredited Totaka as the voice of E. Gadd.[23]Luigi's Mansion received an award for its audio by BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards in 2002.[24]
All GameCube systems support the display of stereoscopic 3D, and Luigi's Mansion was planned to utilize this feature;[25] however, 3D televisions were not widespread at the time, and it was deemed that compatible displays would be too cost-prohibitive for the consumer. As a result, the feature was not enabled outside of development.[26]
Commercially, Luigi's Mansion is the most successful GameCube launch title and the best-selling game of November 2001.[56][57] It sold 257,000 units during its first week on sale in the United States.[58] According to Nintendo, the game was a large driving force behind the GameCube's launch sales and sold more copies in its opening week than Super Mario 64 had managed to sell.[59] Despite meager sales in Japan at around 348,000 units in total,[60] it became the fifth best-selling GameCube game in the United States,[61] with sales of roughly 2.19 million units.[61] In total it sold 3.33 million copies worldwide by 2020.[lower-alpha 3][65] It was also one of the first Player's Choice titles on the console, along with Super Smash Bros. Melee and Pikmin.[66]
Critically, Luigi's Mansion was positively received, with reviewers praising the game's graphics, design, and gameplay. GameSpot stated that Luigi's Mansion "features some refreshing ideas" and "flashes of brilliance."[42] The gaming magazine Nintendo Power praised the game for being "very enjoyable while it lasts, with its clever puzzles and innovative game play."[52]GameSpy said that the game features "great visuals, imaginative game design and some classic Nintendo magic."[67] The game was referred to as "a masterful example of game design" by GamePro.[68]Game Revolution stated that "the graphics are quite beautiful and the interesting game mechanics are enjoyable."[69] The American-based publication Game Informer praised the gameplay, and referred to it as "brilliant and up to par with Miyamoto's best."[38] The audio was praised by IGN, who considered Luigi's voice acting as "cute, humorous and satisfying",[46] and GameSpy, who declared that the soundtrack remains "subtle, amusing and totally suitable throughout the game".[67] The Japanese video game publication Famitsu awarded the game with a gold rating, and noted that the control system, while tricky at first, works well.[36]
The game has also received criticism, mainly because of its length. GameSpot said that Luigi's Mansion "fails to match the classic status of Mario's adventures" and that the "short amount of time it takes to complete it makes it a hard recommendation." The review, however, also considered that the short length prevents the gameplay and audio from getting tiresome.[42] GameSpot later named Luigi's Mansion the most disappointing game of 2001.[70] GameSpy also criticized the game's length, saying that it could be beaten in about six hours.[67]Allgame declared that Luigi's Mansion "ultimately fails to deliver a cohesive gameplay experience over the long-term."[30] Fran Mirabella III of IGN felt that the game was sub-par, due to its "predictable, formulaic gameplay."[46]G4's TV show X-Play criticized Luigi's Mansion in their special on Mario games and media, calling the game a letdown for players waiting for the first Mario game on the GameCube.[71]Luigi's Mansion was awarded the 2002 BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Award for audio.[72] The game placed 99th in Official Nintendo Magazine's 100 greatest Nintendo games of all time.[73]
A direct sequel for the Nintendo 3DS, Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, was released in March 2013, almost twelve years after the release of Luigi's Mansion, to celebrate the Year of Luigi.[75] In 2015, Nintendo released Luigi's Mansion Arcade, an arcade game based on Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon developed by Capcom and published by Sega. The game uses the same plot as Dark Moon, but goes for a first-person, on-rails gameplay style, and utilizes a special vacuum-based controller. The game is mostly found in Japanese arcades, although some cabinets have been localized and released at select Dave and Buster's locations in the United States.[76][77] A third installment, titled Luigi's Mansion 3, was released for the Nintendo Switch on October 31, 2019.[78]
3DS remake
A remake of Luigi's Mansion for the Nintendo 3DS, co-developed by Nintendo and Grezzo, was announced on March 8, 2018, and released on October 12, 2018.[79][80]
Several years prior to the remake's official announcement as a commercial project, Shigeru Miyamoto designed a working prototype of the game running on a 3DS development kit to test the system's hardware and 3D functionality,[81] which ultimately led to the development of Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon. The remake has amiibo functionality and supports gyroscopic controls, the Circle Pad Pro accessory, the C-Stick on New Nintendo 3DS models, and stereoscopic 3D.[82] Four other new features were added as new content: local cooperative play in which a second player takes on the role of a doppelgänger named "Gooigi", a new control option that allows the use of the Strobulb flashlight from Dark Moon, an achievement list, and a boss rush mode where up to two players can attempt to clear boss fights as fast as possible. All regional releases of the remake also incorporate elements from the PAL version's Hidden Mansion, increasing the difficulty of the second quest in the North American and Japanese versions. If the player scores high enough in the Hidden Mansion, they will achieve Rank S, one level higher than A, and be shown an even more luxurious version of Luigi's new mansion after the credits. As of 2018, it has sold 90,410 copies in Japan, making it the third best-selling Nintendo 3DS release of 2018 behind WarioWare Gold and Detective Pikachu.[83]
Critical reception to the remake was generally positive; reviewers appreciated the effort put into the revamped visuals and many believe the core experience to largely hold up 17 years after the original release. Outlets also spoke positively about the implementation of stereoscopic 3D and the two screens as well as the new content such as the boss rush mode and the PAL Hidden Mansion.[84][85][86][87][88]
The Game Boy Advance (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, 2001, and in mainland China as iQue Game Boy Advance on June 8, 2004.
Dr. Mario is a 1990 puzzle video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Famicom, and Game Boy. It was produced by Gunpei Yokoi and designed by Takahiro Harada. The soundtrack was composed by Hirokazu Tanaka.
The GameCube is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, in Europe on May 3, 2002, and in Australia on May 17, 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (N64) and the predecessor to the Wii. As a sixth-generation console, the GameCube primarily competed with the PlayStation 2 and the original Xbox.
Mario Bros. is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo as an arcade video game in 1983. It was designed by Shigeru Miyamoto and Gunpei Yokoi, Nintendo's chief engineer. Italian twin brother plumbers Mario and Luigi exterminate creatures, like turtles (Koopas) and crabs emerging from the sewers by knocking them upside-down and kicking them away. The Famicom/Nintendo Entertainment System version is the first game produced by Intelligent Systems. It is part of the Mario franchise, but originally began as a spin-off from the Donkey Kong series.
Luigi is a fictional character featured in video games and related media released by Nintendo. Created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, Luigi is portrayed as an Italian plumber and the younger fraternal twin brother and sidekick of Mario. Defined by his kind-hearted, yet cowardly demeanor, Luigi appears in many games throughout the Mario franchise, oftentimes accompanying his brother.
Super Mario Sunshine is a 2002 platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. It is the second 3D game in the Super Mario series, following Super Mario 64 (1996). The game was directed by Yoshiaki Koizumi and Kenta Usui, produced by series creators Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka, written by Makoto Wada, and scored by Koji Kondo and Shinobu Tanaka.
Mario Is Missing! is a 1993 educational game developed and published by The Software Toolworks for MS-DOS, Nintendo Entertainment System, and Super Nintendo Entertainment System, later released on Macintosh in 1994. The player controls Luigi, who must travel around the world to find and return stolen treasures as part of a quest to find his brother, Mario, who has been captured by Bowser. Mario Is Missing!, part of a series of educational Mario games, was Luigi's second starring role in a video game, following the 1990 Game Watch game Luigi's Hammer Toss and preceding the 2001 GameCube game Luigi's Mansion.
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga is a 2003 role-playing game developed by AlphaDream and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance. It was re-released for the Wii U's Virtual Console in 2014, Nintendo Switch Online Service in 2023, and remade for the Nintendo 3DS as Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions in 2017. In the game, Mario and Luigi travel to the Beanbean Kingdom in order to combat Cackletta and Fawful, who stole Princess Peach's voice for the purpose of harnessing the power of a special artifact called the Beanstar.
Mario Party is a party video game series featuring characters from the Mario franchise in which up to four local players or computer-controlled characters compete in a board game interspersed with minigames. The games are currently developed by NDcube and published by Nintendo, being previously developed by Hudson Soft. The series is known for its party game elements, including the often unpredictable multiplayer modes that allow play with up to four, and sometimes eight, human players or CPUs.
Mario is a Japanese multimedia franchise created by Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto for video game company Nintendo, which produces and publishes its installments. Starring the titular Italian plumber Mario, it is primarily a video game franchise but has extended to other forms of media, including television series, comic books, a 1993 feature film, a 2023 animated film, and theme park attractions. The series' first installment was 1983's Mario Bros., although Mario made his first appearance in 1981's arcade game Donkey Kong and had already been featured in several games of the Donkey Kong and Game & Watch series. The Mario games have been developed by a wide variety of developers, including Nintendo, Hudson Soft, and AlphaDream. Mario games have been released almost exclusively for Nintendo's various video game consoles and handhelds, from the third generation onward.
Toad, known in Japan as Kinopio, is a character from the Mario franchise. The character was created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, and is portrayed as a citizen of the Mushroom Kingdom and one of Princess Peach's attendants. Toad is typically a non-player character who assists Mario and his friends, but he occasionally appears as a protagonist.
Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon is a 2013 action-adventure video game developed by Next Level Games and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. It is the sequel to the 2001 Nintendo GameCube game Luigi's Mansion, and the third Mario franchise game where Luigi plays the lead role instead of the usual protagonist, Mario. The story follows Luigi as he explores a series of mansions in Evershade Valley, capturing ghosts using a specialized vacuum cleaner invented by Professor E. Gadd. In order to restore peace to Evershade Valley, Luigi must collect the pieces of the Dark Moon and recapture the main antagonist, King Boo.
Nintendo Land is a party video game developed and published by Nintendo as a pack-in launch title for the Wii U home video game console in 2012. The game was first announced at E3 2012 during Nintendo's press conference.
The Year of Luigi was the 30th-anniversary celebration of the fictional character Luigi. He was created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto for the 1983 arcade game Mario Bros. and has appeared frequently as a minor or supporting character in the Mario franchise since. Due to Nintendo's decision to develop Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon and Mario & Luigi: Dream Team at the same time, they declared 2013 the Year of Luigi. According to Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto, Nintendo staff members also had the urge to develop games focused on Luigi, and considered the character underrepresented compared to Mario. It was announced via Nintendo Direct on February 14, 2013, by Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata and ended on March 18, 2014.
Mini Mario & Friends: Amiibo Challenge is a 2016 puzzle-platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. The seventh entry in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series, the game was free to download on the Nintendo eShop, but requires Nintendo's Amiibo lineup in order to play. It was released in Japan in January 2016 and worldwide in April.
Paper Mario is a video game series and part of the Mario franchise, developed by Intelligent Systems and produced by Nintendo. It combines elements from the role-playing, action-adventure, and puzzle genres. Players control a paper cutout version of Mario, usually with allies, on a quest to defeat the antagonist, primarily Bowser. The series consists of six games and one spin-off; the first, Paper Mario (2000), was released for the Nintendo 64, and the most recent, Paper Mario: The Origami King (2020), for the Nintendo Switch.
Luigi's Mansion 3 is a 2019 action-adventure video game developed by Next Level Games and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is the third installment in the Luigi's Mansion series following Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon. The game sees players taking on the role of Luigi who must explore a hotel run by ghosts, incorporating different themes on each floor, and save his friends after the group is tricked into visiting it for a vacation by King Boo.
↑ Nintendo EAD (November 18, 2001). Luigi's Mansion (Nintendo GameCube). Nintendo. E. Gadd: So, you believe the mansion really exists, then.... Strange. I've been living here since I was a lad of twenty or so, and I'll tell you: that mansion appeared just a few days ago! The spirits have fooled you!
↑ Nintendo EAD (November 18, 2001). Luigi's Mansion (Nintendo GameCube). Nintendo. E. Gadd: Now that I get a look at you, I just recalled... A guy with a red hat kind of like yours went up to the mansion without even stopping to chat....and he never returned.
↑ Nintendo EAD (November 18, 2001). Luigi's Mansion (Nintendo GameCube). Nintendo. E. Gadd: What? That guy was your brother? Oh no! That's horrible! He wouldn't stand a chance against those ghosts without my help! You have to go after him! Here's the plan: I'll teach you to deal with ghosts so you can rescue your brother, Luigi!
↑ Nintendo EAD (November 18, 2001). Luigi's Mansion (Nintendo GameCube). Nintendo. King Boo: Don't imagine that I'll flee... I'll fight you like a true Boo!
↑ Nintendo EAD (November 18, 2001). Luigi's Mansion (Nintendo GameCube). Nintendo. E. Gadd: Luigi, you did it! Truly remarkable, my boy! I supplied the Poltergust 3000, but you ran with it all the way to the top, sonny!... What's that? You found King Boo? He jumped into a painting of Bowser, you say? He even blew fire at you?
↑ Nintendo EAD (November 18, 2001). Luigi's Mansion (Nintendo GameCube). Nintendo. E. Gadd: ...Right, well, anyhoo, Luigi! Grab your brother's painting and bring him to the lab!... I'll get the machine ready to return your brother to his former state, all righty?
↑ "Iwata Asks: Nintendo 3DS". Archived from the original on February 13, 2012. Retrieved January 11, 2011. Iwata: To go back a little further, the Nintendo GameCube system actually had 3D-compatible circuitry built in [...] Itoi: Nintendo GameCube did? And all the Nintendo GameCube systems around the world? Iwata: Yeah. If you fit it with a certain accessory, it could display 3D images. [...] Iwata: We already had a game for it, though - Luigi's Mansion, simultaneously released with Nintendo GameCube. Itoi: The one in which Luigi shoulders a vacuum cleaner? Iwata: Yeah, that one. We had a functional version of that in 3D.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
