Yesterday, Luigi’s Mansion 3 was released for Nintendo Switch. I was a big fan of the original GameCube game (giving it a 8/10 rating), and I replayed it just last year. So it’s great to see the series vac again. Note: I have not played the 2nd game in the series, Dark Moon, on Nintendo 3DS.
The game starts out with Mario, Peach, the Toads, and Luigi (and his ghost dog) on a bus, heading to a fancy hotel for a nice vacation after Luigi was sent an invitation.
What’s Up with the Controls?
It isn’t long before Luigi discovers that the others have gone missing, and the hotel is haunted. Luigi initially has just a flashlight, but he soon discovers a Poltergust vacuum he can use to suck up the ghosts.
Pressing the right stick up moves your flashlight/Poltergust up, and pressing it down moves it down. That might sound fine, except for the fact that it was the exact opposite in the original game! I’ve played enough with the original’s inverted controls that it’s hard to unlearn them. And Luigi’s Mansion 3 offers no option to change them back!
Why are customizable controls not an option in this day and age? Especially when the defaults are the complete opposite of what they were in the first game? The game does support motion controls, so perhaps I can adjust to tilting the controller forward and back if I can’t switch the vertical axis.
Oh, the Horror!
In the original Luigi’s Mansion, Professor E. Gadd gave you a “Game Boy Horror” that displayed a map and offered other assistance. That tradition continues in a way that make you see red. Literally. The professor gives you a Virtual Boo, which is based on Nintendo’s failed Virtual Boy system from the 1990s.
And just like that system, the Virtual Boo’s screens are all red.
Sucking Gameplay
Luigi stuns ghosts with his flashlight, and then sucks them up with his Poltergust vacuum. Once you pull on a ghost long enough, you can sometimes press the A button to slam a ghost back and forth on the floor to reduce its health quicker. I’m not sure why the ghosts don’t just pass right through the floor, but it is an enjoyable and helpful tactic…particularly when multiple ghosts are in the area.
There are tons of hidden coins, gems, and other treasures to find along the way. And in fact, so far I’ve spent much more of my time searching for goodies than I have fighting ghosts. At least early on, many rooms don’t even have ghosts in them. So the game has a different feel from the original…although I’m sure that’s likely to change before long.
One very minor complaint is that ghosts don’t display their hearts like they did in the first game. Seeing a ghost’s heart, and the accompanying sound effect when you locked onto a ghost, was very satisfying in the original game. I’m a bit sad that didn’t return, but again, it’s not a big deal.
Let’s a Goo!
Within the first couple hours, you unlock Gooigi. He’s basically a clone of Luigi that’s made out of goo. Or slime. Or snot. Whatever he’s made of, Gooigi can pass through fences and grates that Luigi can’t. However, Gooigi will melt if he touches water…so some areas will be off-limits to him.
Gooigi can be used to help you reach new areas, and he can also be used as a second character for puzzles that require two things to be done at once. You can swap between Gooigi and Luigi at any time, or recall Gooigi to your slime tank when you’re done with him.
Departing Thoughts
The game seems to be considerably longer than the original, which is definitely a good thing. The original game’s short length was its biggest flaw, so I’m glad to see this game will suck even more of my time away. 😛
I’m about three hours into Luigi’s Mansion 3 now, and I’m definitely enjoying my time so far. And I still haven’t tried out the online play or other game modes yet. I’ll be sure to post a review once I beat the game and give those other modes a try.
Want to buy Luigi’s Mansion 3 at Amazon?
I’m getting Dark Moon for Christmas