Luigi's Mansion

Voices of: Charles Martinet, Jen Taylor, Darryl Phinnessee
Developer: Nintendo EAD
Publisher: Nintendo
Directed by: Hideki Konno
Rating: E
Genre: Action-Adventure
System: Nintendo Gamecube
2001

Times Completed:
Tim: 1

Summary: Luigi receives a letter stating that he's won a mansion- in a contest he never entered. He travels to the mansion to discover that his brother Mario has been imprisoned inside. He must fight his fears to save his sibling.

Review:
Tim: I have fond memories of completing Luigi's Mansion, a game I beat long before I started tracking my video games or writing about them. This was a launch title for the Nintendo Gamecube, way back in 2001. I owned a Gamecube and this game provided immense fun.

What I remember about this game is the novelty of Luigi having his own game. This had only happened once before, in the 1993 PC game, Mario is Missing! (a game which I also completed). So, for Luigi to star in his own game for the first time in 8 years and to actually get his name in the title felt like a big deal. His far more famous brother had already headlined countless video games, so it felt like a gamble for the little brother to get his chance to shine. It's a testament to the compelling strengths of Nintendo that they could successfully pull this off.

What I love most about this game is how Nintendo launched this very different franchise. This isn't the Mario platforming games we've all come to expect. This game delivered a totally unique experience. It introduced Professor E. Gadd and his invention, the Poltergust 3000. Luigi has to venture throughout the mansion, vacuuming up ghosts. This proves to be beautifully simple and yet challenging and complex. The ghosts absolutely do not want to be sucked up and will fight Luigi every step of the way. It's immense fun to wrangle a ghost and finally exhaust it, pulling it into the Poltergust. The game throws so many different ghost and obstacles at Luigi, it's immensely satisfying working through the mansion to complete each level. There's also hidden boos to capture along the way. The other intriguing aspect of the game is that the mansion is littered with money, which Luigi needs to suck up along the way. There's coins, dollar bills, gold bars, gems, etc. These all add to a running total that Luigi grows as he progresses through the game. I remember reading what you needed to collect to get the "A" rank and I certainly seem to remember accomplishing this. I beat the game long before I thought to take pictures of the games, though, so this will have to remain an unverified accomplishment.

I don't remember a lot of specifics of this game, but I remember that it was incredibly fun to explore the mansion, defeat the ghosts, and collect money. I really enjoyed seeing my total wealth increase as I played through the game. The bosses were definitely challenging and the final boss, (SPOILER) King Boo wasn't easy. This whole game felt like such a departure from what we'd usually seen, though. It took a secondary character, made him the star of his own game and it proved so inventive, so much fun, that it launched a brand-new franchise. That's an incredible achievement. Now, you also have to remember that the Gamecube had limitations as a system and there were occasional control issues. The 3D graphics were beautiful at the time, but the graphic limitations got in the way sometimes, too. Still, as a whole, I think you have to applaud this game for trying something so different and succeeding so brilliantly in crafting a brand new video game experience.

I've always had a soft spot for Luigi and I love that he got to be the star for Luigi's Mansion. This game further cements Nintendo as the video game king, creating a wonderfully entertaining game that is fun, challenging, and engaging. I was a big fan of my time playing this game.



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: N/A



If You Enjoyed This Game, We Recommend: Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, Mario is Missing!