Hello Enthusiasts,
I love Luigi to a fault, he is by far my favorite Nintendo character and potentially my favorite in all of gaming. He's kinda shy, realistically terrified of all the crazy stuff happening around him, and super nice. He's usually given back seat to his more famous brother, but every once in a while he gets to shine on his own. Today I'll be reviewing what is probably his most well-known solo adventure, Luigi's Mansion for the Nintendo Gamecube. As always, there will likely be some Spoilers Below.
The game begins with Luigi following directions to a creepy mansion, which he enters tentatively. As it turns out, this home is infested with restless spirits, which begin to assault our hero in the green hat. He's saved by Professor E. Gadd, who is wielding his ghost-catching backpack, the Poltergust 3000. He brings Luigi back to his lab, where we learn that Luigi won this mansion as part of a contest that he never entered, and that the mansion popped up out of nowhere a few days ago. We also find out that Mario stopped by the mansion a few days prior and hasn't been seen since. So it's up to Luigi to capture the ghosts and find his older brother with the help of E. Gadd and his wacky equipment. I don't want to give away more of the story if you haven't played this one yet, but it is a good one.
As is the case with a lot of the older mainline Nintendo games, this title still holds up today. While the graphics are dated, Nintendo hasn't ever taken the super-realistic approach to their visuals, so even the dated games still don't look that bad. The controls could do with some improving, but they are mostly solid and straightforward. The game isn't as easy as one might think, as there are a lot of details to pay attention to between capturing the boss ghosts and checking the map before you try to enter a door to ensure that it's not a false door that will hurt you. Some of the boss battles are a lot of fun, and the actual mechanics of catching ghosts is one that I still enjoy to this day and it surprisingly doesn't get monotonous. Other abilities are acquired as you progress, such as shooting fire or ice from the Poltergust, and these are used to find and defeat some ghosts, as well as for problem solving.
My biggest complaint with this game has to do with the health system that's in place. If Luigi gets hurt, there isn't always a good way to recover without hunting around for hearts in the furniture. This can get especially frustrating when you defeat a difficult boss and then have to walk down hallways that are still infested with hostile spirits. I understand not making it too easy to heal, and I wouldn't be opposed to the system of finding hearts if there were more readily available after some of the more difficult battles. Also, while I don't find catching the ghosts to be dull, there are small ghosts such as mice and bats that get annoying. They take no work to catch, but there are so many of them that it can be annoying. Plus, if they even touch you they cause damage, so you'll often have to walk through some hallways with your Poltergust constantly on to suck them up before they touch you. It can take away the feeling that there might be something about to pop out at you and replaces it with the feeling that there are constant annoyances.
Overall, this is still a solid title that has provided me with several hours of entertainment. While I would love to get more Luigi-focused games, I'm okay with only having one series for the character since this is it. While it isn't flawless, you could do a whole lot worse. It's a game that I would recommend to almost anyone, and I can't wait for the newest installment to come out later this year.
I give Luigi's Mansion an 8.5 out of 10.
Sincerely,
The Bored Enthusiast
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