Luigi's Mansion

aka: Luigi Mansion
Moby ID: 5501
GameCube Specs
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Description official descriptions

Luigi's Mansion pits you as Luigi, Mario's forgotten brother.

Luigi, while checking his mail, found out he won a mansion in a contest. What's weird, is he never entered any contest to begin with. Being the curious person he is, he calls up his brother, Mario, and asks to meet him at the house.

Luigi sets forth through a dark and scary jungle to find the house, but sees that Mario is nowhere to be found. Puzzled, Luigi enters the mansion, only to encounter ghosts. He meets up with a scientist, Professor E. Gadd, who explains the situation and hands over the Poltergust 3000. Luigi must now make his way through the mansion's many rooms, sucking up as many ghosts as he can.

As you explore, you must solve mysteries, collect cash/gems/jewels/coins, and encounter boss characters. Luigi's vacuum has the ability to suck up ghosts that have inhabited this strange mansion. However, the ghosts will not give up so easily. You must struggle with them and pull them back to catch your prey with your trusty vacuum. As you continue to your goal, you must face off with the deceased denizens of the house and the boos that haunt it, and unlock new rooms with the keys you find along the way. You can also gain special abilities for your vacuum, such as the ability to shoot fire, water, or ice. Remember though, treasure is scattered everywhere. Check all the objects for coins and paper money, and who knows, you may just make enough money for Luigi to buy a mansion of his own...

As you explore the strange mansion, the plot slowly unravels and it becomes apparent that something more sinister is going on in that haunted house. Will you ever see your lost brother Mario again?

The 3DS version has some difference from the Gamecube original. Changes include coins lasting longer before disappearing after being hit, the addition of local co-op with another player being able to control a character named Gooigi, a new control option that allows the use of the Strobulb flashlight from Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon , an achievement list, and a boss rush mode, among other tweaks. The 3DS version Hidden Mansion follows the adjustments made in the Gamecube's PAL version

Spellings

  • ルイージマンション - Japanese spelling

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Credits (GameCube version)

93 People (92 developers, 1 thanks) · View all

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 80% (based on 62 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.9 out of 5 (based on 83 ratings with 7 reviews)

A beautiful, humorous twist on the traditional Mario formula...while it lasts

The Good
--> A good launch title for the Gamecube, good graphics overall with stunning lighting effects.

--> Music is appropriately creepy and dynamic. Sound effects are good as well.

--> Humorous story and ghosts, it's very entertaining watching the cowardly Luigi's reaction to the events unfolding around him.

--> Fun action-adventure gameplay

--> It's fairly cheap now, at $20 or under. A good title for the budget-minded gamer looking to expand their GC library.

The Bad
--> It's pretty short, an experienced gamer can get through the game in under 10 hours, though you may want to play through the game a few times to obtain the best ranking.

--> While a decent challenge, even the most casual gamers should have little problems with this game once adjusted to the Resident Evil-esque control scheme

--> The final boss, while cool, wasn't quite as challenging as a final boss should be.

The Bottom Line
After years of playing second banana to Mario, it's finally Luigi's turn in the limelight. After receiving a notice that he has won his own mansion, Luigi excitedly calls his brother to tell him the good news. While trying to find his way to his new mansion, Luigi becomes lost in a strange wood. Soon he happens upon his mansion, and discovers it wasn't exactly what he bargained for, it's infested with ghosts! Worse yet, they have kidnapped his brother Mario! Luigi talks to Professor E.Gadd and is equipped with the professor's invention: a vacuum equipped to suck and contain ghosts. Slowly he proceeds into the mansion to rid the infestation, and save his brother...

    Gameplay consists of proceeding through the halls of the mansion, sucking up low-level ghosts, and invading the haunts of the tougher portrait ghosts, exploiting their weaknesses (found by gazing at their heart) and sucking them up to gain access to locked doors, eventually leading you to a boss ghost for the area. 
    The analog control stick is used to control Luigi, the C-stick is used to aim the vacuum or flashlight(used to freeze ghosts), the Right and Left triggers are used to suck up ghosts and expel elements (fire, water, ice).


   The graphics are very nice with detailed textures, cool lighting and reflections, and detailed models. The coolest effect in the game is how the objects in the environment react to your vacuum, such as sucking the tablecloth off of a table, open curtains, or having to suck piles of dust to clear a path. The animation of Luigi and the ghosts is very fluid and often humorous. Every type of ghost has a unique personality, some like to sneak up on you, some are found of throwing bombs, and some just like to be gluttons, leaving the remnants of food behind. Each portrait ghost has a unique personality as well, from the musician to the couple dancing on the rotating dance floor. While not a system showcase to the degree of say Metroid Prime, this title is still a decent representative of the Gamecube's power.
     The music is spooky, atmospheric and often funny. It's nothing to write home about, but still, very nice. Sound effects, from Luigi's calls to Mario, to the clink of coins and the yelp of a startled ghost are are well done and appropriately cartooney.

     With a few improvements, primarily the length of the game, this game could have gone from good to outstanding. As it stands, however, I recommend this title to any Gamecube owner looking for a good adventure game, or a unique gameplay experience. Now that the game is selling for $20 and under, there is no reason you shouldn't pick it up. A very entertaining game, while it lasts.

GameCube · by Ryu (50) · 2004

it's not your typical Mario game, but it's still tons of fun

The Good
The graphics and sound were absolutely stunning when it came out. Very colorful, very whimsical, very, well, Mario-ish. The gameplay is fun (you control Luigi while he walks through a haunted house and suck up ghosts with your vacuum, just like in Ghostbusters). All the different rooms and ghosts are different, with different graphics, and somewhat different strategies used to proceed. The sound is just as good, everything's technically very neat and tidy.

The Bad
The controls took a while to get used to (you use one set of controls on your joypad to control Luigi and another one to control your vacuum). Took me a while to get used to it but a more experienced action gamer might feel differently. But if the game is designed for young kids (it's Mario, after all), then it might be a tad too difficult.

There's zero replay value. Seriously, nothing to unlock really so the second game is essentially the same as the first.

Also, the game feels too short. Even though the graphics are stunning and every room of the house is different, it's still the same house and it doesn't have the same feel as most Mario games, where you discover entire worlds.

The Bottom Line
This is NOT a typical Mario brothers game. Keep that in mind.

Remember the original Mario for the NES? It came with the system (along with Duck Hunt), just to showcase the system. They should have done the same with this game and the GameCube. Hey, this is a short, not too demanding game that'll show you exactly what your new system can do. But as a seperate purchase it's still nice to own and more than adequate, but I can't shake the feeling that it would have been a better rep if it came bundled with the GameCube. Still, it's been republished under the "Player's Choice" budget games, and for that price it's a nice pickup if you like the whimsical colorful Mario stuff (and really, who doesn't?)

Of course, the problem with games that make you "Ooh" and "Aah" when you first get it because of their technical standards have one major problem: you won't "Ooh" and "Aah" any when you get the game for the first time years after it's release and more impressive stuff is on the market when you first see it. But so far, time's been kind to it - I can still fire it up and consider it a beautiful game. Ten years from now my opinion might be different.

GameCube · by Gothicgene (66) · 2006

Luigi finally gets his own game, but he has to rescue ... Mario???

The Good
For everyone who ever thought that Luigi ought to have his own game, this is the one. Luigi's first chance at solo stardom. That alone is enough to make me like the game, but even more, it's pretty fun in a Ghostbusters kind of way. The game controls are easy to master, and the graphics are beautiful, particularly the various rooms of the mansion.

The Bad
For starters, the game is just too short. Most people will get through it in about six hours, and after that, if you really want to, you can play through the "Secret Mansion" really the same mansion with extra traps, but most people won't have the patience to do that, particularly in light of the game's other two major flaws: clueless AI and terrible camera angles. Admittedly, the clueless AI really isn't that bad. However, the bosses and tougher ghosts have exactly one method of getting Luigi; the follow him relentlessly. That's it, nothing more complex than that. As for the other problem, the camera is likely the most irritating thing in the entire game. It is essentially fixed in a flat 3rd-person view, on level with Luigi. While it occasionally moves, the inability to view an entire room without resorting to the "Gameboy Horror" is incredibly irritating.

The Bottom Line
Despite it's flaws, Luigi's Mansion is a pretty fun game. By this time, you should be able to pick it up in the used section for a reasonable amount of money, and it's worth having in your library. For everyone who wanted Luigi to have his own adventure, this is a must have. Let's just hope that next time Luigi will get his own princess to rescue, instead of having to save his brother the glory hound.

GameCube · by Shadowcaster (252) · 2002

[ View all 7 player reviews ]

Trivia

1001 Video Games

Luigi's Mansion appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Hidden Mansion

The Hidden Mansion mode was adjusted in the PAL releases of the game. The main difference is that the mansion is mirrored in the PAL releases but keeps its original orientation in the NTSC releases. Other notable differences include: * Ghosts from later in the game will appear earlier in the PAL hidden mansion, but will not do so in the NTSC hidden mansion * Boos are more agile and have higher HP in the PAL hidden mansion * 45 boos are required to reach the final room of the game in the PAL hidden mansion, as opposed to 40 in the NTSC hidden mansion (and, by extension, the normal game mode)

Many features of the PAL hidden mansion would later make their way to all hidden mansions in the 3DS remaster.

Launch game

Luigi's Mansion was not only a launch GameCube game, but the first GameCube game ever shown. On August 24, 2000, when Nintendo showed the first demo reel for their new system, Luigi was the first thing shown. At the time he was without his backpack and it wasn't announced as an actual game, though, with popular conjecture being it was part of the newest Mario platformer.

Lighting Glitch

There is a lighting glitch in the game that occurs in the telephone room which appears to make Luigi's shadow look as if it were hanging itself.

Lawsuit

Shortly after the game's release, Nintendo was sued by the production company of Ghostbusters, claiming that using a vacuum to suck up ghosts infringed on the movie. The case was dropped.

Other regional differences

  • Luigi makes a different damage noise in the Japanese version of the game compared to international versions
  • The Japanese version uses the same music for catching standard ghosts when catching portrait ghosts, whilst international releases have a new track created for this
  • In the Japanese version some audio sequences suffer from delays, and overs don't play at all
  • In the Japanese version the music tempo randomly speeds up at times, suggesting it might not be locked to the game's framerate
  • The Pikmin trailer is absent in the Japanese version

Information also contributed by JPaterson and Thomas Dowding.

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  • MobyGames ID: 5501
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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by JPaterson.

Nintendo 3DS added by Rik Hideto.

Additional contributors: Joshua J. Slone, gamewarrior, Grandy02, FatherJack, Deleted.

Game added January 9, 2002. Last modified January 17, 2024.