It’s October once more, and you know what that means! Yet another Halloween-esque game analysis (as I don’t really go for horror games, I’m admittedly starting to run out of these, but not this year, at least)!
A couple years ago, I analyzed the first Luigi’s Mansion. A good game that has not aged terribly well. Luigi’s Mansion 3 (LM3) is a drastic improvement over that first entry of nearly twenty years ago (wow…), yet it retains much of what was established in the original. That said, I will not be spending much time on certain mechanics that, at this point, are series mainstays. I’d rather focus on what makes this game unique, and how it has vastly improved the experience overall (while, admittedly, stumbling a few times along the way).
LM3 starts out in a much similar vein to the original. Luigi (and friends) are called away to a lavish place that seems too good to be true (naturally, it is). Only this time, instead of winning a mansion, Luigi and co. are invited to stay at a luxurious, posh resort hotel named “The Last Resort” (subtle).
After a rather long, but mostly entertaining introduction (most can be skipped, if that’s your jam), Luigi discovers that the golden, beautiful resort is all a facade, revealing a grotesque, haunted hotel. Of course, by this point, Mario, Peach, and the Toads have all been captured and thrown into portraits by King Boo, and his new underling, the ghostly hotel owner, Helen Gravely.
After some frantic running away, Luigi finds himself in the hotel’s basement parking garage. This is where he finally finds his new Poltergust G-00. Anyone who’s played a game in the series before will find that all the basics are still there. But, because this is a new game, they need to be taught, regardless. Luckily, they’re taught in a very straightforward (and adorable) way. Polterpup, Luigi’s friendly (despite his eyes once more being pupil-less…) ghost dog, will simply show button prompts over his head, allowing Luigi to practice on him.
All the basics are there, as I said. Suck up with vacuum, blow out with vacuum, flash charged light from your flashlight, and so on. As this game has returned to a proper console, the twin stick mechanics are back, making everything much easier to aim and control. An added benefit to the controls, though, are that most all Poltergust mechanics are mapped not only to the face buttons, but also to the shoulder buttons, making aiming anywhere but straight ahead much easier.
There is one new basic mechanic worth mentioning, though. Pressing both Zl and ZR will cause Luigi to let loose a blast of air from the Poltergust, sending him flying upwards, and pushing away anything nearby (including ghosts or environmental objects). It’s an interesting idea, but needed so infrequently that during my first playthrough last year, I often completely forgot it existed. And during the times when I was in a fight or trying to solve a puzzle, where that was the solution, I often found myself stumped, forgetting I could even perform that move.
It can also be used to make Luigi jump, usually only in certain fights. Unfortunately, even though Luigi is generally known for his amazing jumping ability (SMB2 anyone?), this particular mechanic is far too slow and unwieldy to be a reliable “jump.” More often than not, I was taking damage, because the mechanic was just too slow to respond to the precise timing needed.
Mechanics from Luigi’s Mansion Dark Moon also make a reappearance. The darklight (while not available immediately, but comes soon after getting the Poltergust) returns, allowing Luigi to reveal invisible objects, ghost “footprints,” and to make certain portraits shoot out their contents (like money or Luigi’s trapped friends).
The targeting system has also returned. Sucking up large, usually round, objects will get them stuck in the vacuum. Luigi can the shoot out said objects like projectiles. Unfortunately, despite being in a game with much better control and aiming, the aiming of shooting these projectiles is still absolutely terrible. Often times, it will try to auto target, however, I found this to be more detrimental, than helpful. Often targeting the wrong thing entirely. A shooter, LM3 is not.
This is made all the more frustrating when you consider that they’ve added onto this shooting mechanic. When Luigi has nothing sucked up at all, he can still shoot plungers from the Poltergust G-00 (makes sense…). These plungers have ropes attached to them, meaning that anything a plunger can stick to (usually flat surfaces), can be pulled at by sucking up the rope and tugging on it.
This is often used in puzzles, requiring Luigi to rip off some grate or similar object blocking his way. However, it’s also used in combat. Some ghosts like to use shields (sometimes literally) to block Luigi’s attacks. Attaching a plunger and pulling at the shield will rip it out of their hands, leaving them vulnerable.
Speaking of combat, things have changed yet remained the same, there, too. The basics are the same. Flash a light at a ghost to stun it, then suck it up with the Poltergust, using the twin sticks to pull back like a fishing minigame. However, there’s a new twist to sucking up ghosts. While sucking, a small circle meter will appear. When full, you can press the A button (multiple times) to smash the ghost on the ground dealing massive damage, like Hulk smashing Loki.
If you’re able to finish off a ghost via smashing, you’ll get bonus money from the catch (yes, once again, this haunted place is full of cash). More so if you have multiple enemies tethered in a single catch attempt. Besides, that, though, it’s just a really satisfying mechanic. It feels good and it’s fun. Plain and simple.
Slamming can also be used as a defensive mechanic. If you slam a ghost into a ghost that isn’t currently getting sucked up, you’ll damage it, too, in addition to temporarily stunning it.
As for what you’ll be fighting, most of the standard enemies are pretty similar to Dark Moon’s ghosts. Visually upgraded, but mechanically, largely the same. There’s your standard run of the mill grunts, your giant brutes that can only be caught from behind, sneaky invisible dudes that grab you from behind, jerks that hide in objects and throw projectiles at you, etc.
There are a few new additions here and there, but nothing too great, in my opinion. They’ve added tiny versions of the standard ghosts. They don’t put up any kind of fight when getting sucked up, but try to overwhelm with sheer numbers. There’s also a new ghost that hides in doorways, grabbing Luigi in a surprise attack. The only way to deal with this ghost is to double team it (more on that in a bit). But he’s only use, I think three times, total? The scarcity of it certainly leads to genuine surprise when it does show up. But, it also makes it rather pointless, being so rare as to be completely forgotten.
Finally, there’s new “living furniture” enemies. Again, these things are scarcely used, but for this I am grateful. It is not remotely clear, during your first encounter with one of these things, how to defeat it. I tried almost everything to no avail, during my first attempt. Finally, I had to go the the elders of the internet for advice. Turns out, after you stun the object (which I had figured out how to do), you needed to shine your darklight on it, causing weird purple ghost orbs to shoot out. Suck those up, and the object becomes normal again… As these things were never invisible, the darklight was the furthest thing from my mind as a solution. This was one of the few moments in the game that left me truly frustrated, due to the fact that there was not even a hint of a hint in how I was supposed to tackle this garbage can that was suddenly attacking me… But, like I said, it was, thankfully, rarely used.
So, yeah, overall, when it comes to your standard enemies, nothing too different. But, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, I suppose. I mean, Goombas haven’t changed in thirty-five years, and it hasn’t seemed to damage the Mario brand in the slightest.
The Boss Ghosts, on the other hand, are a different story.
Boss fights are where the series really shines the brightest, in terms of combat, and LM3 is no different. Bosses start simple, but, naturally, get more complex as you progress through the game. More often than not Boss fights are more than just fights. They also have (usually) clever puzzle elements that need to be solved while fighting, always keeping players on their toes and always thinking.
For example, King MacFrights can only be caught after you’ve figured out the exact moment when he’s vulnerable inside that massive suit of armor. Meanwhile, Johnny Deepend can only be caught after figuring out how to drain the pool he’s hiding in.
Clever fight/puzzle mechanics aside, they’re also deliciously themed according to their levels. As each floor of the hotel contained a vastly differently themed area.
And I gotta say, I loved this concept. Instead of individual rooms of a mansion, each being themed yet samey (like in the original Luigi’s Mansion), or the awfulness of five differently themed mansions that had to be explored over and over again (like in Dark Moon), the Last Resort Hotel offered a wide variety, with just the right amount of it per floor.
And don’t get any misconceptions by the “hotel” monicker. Many of these “floors” defied all laws of physics, being far larger than they should. Containing things that shouldn’t be possible. One floor might have Luigi exploring a massive desert with an even more massive pyramid in the center of it all. Another might contain a film studio with multiple movie sets (and the greatest Punch-Out!! easter egg I have ever seen). While another still will have Luigi battling it out with a pirate shark ghost aboard a haunted galleon in the open seas of a Blue Bayou inspired restaurant (quite possibly the best sentence I have ever written in an analysis…).
It all offers amazing variety, with tons of potential for fun combat and clever puzzles. It’s also very well paced, as Luigi cannot visit a new floor until he collects the elevator button for that floor (all of which are kept guarded by boss ghosts, naturally).
Of course, navigating this massive hotel can be a bit daunting. Luckily, good old Dr. Elvin Gadd is back once more to help Luigi out, providing more worthless amazing inventions. Making use of old Nintendo tech, as is his way, E. Gadd provides Luigi with the “Virtual Boo,” now with cutting edge all red graphics!
In essence, the VB is the game’s menu screen. You can check maps, check in with E. Gadd for advice (which he’ll constantly offer, even if you don’t want it… [despite the fact that there is an option to turn off his advice]), warp back to the professor’s lab, and so on.
Admittedly, the all red screens, while undeniably juicy, can be a bit irritating to look at for any extended period of time. And that’s coming from someone who owns an actual Virtual Boy.
E. Gadd’s portable laboratory (located in the parking garage basement) also acts as Luigi’s base of operations. If you want to check the gallery, get the latest gadget from Gadd, or go online for multiplayer (which, sadly, I will not be covering as I have never had the chance to try it out), you gotta go there.
Another new feature to the lab worth mentioning is the E. Gadd Shopping Network. Yes, after all this time of Luigi collecting coins, dollars, gold bars, and pearls, Luigi can finally spend them (total money does still count towards your final game score, too, so spend wisely…)!
Admittedly, the items for sale aren’t anything super groundbreaking. There are gold bones, which give Luigi an instant revive if he loses all health. Then the Gem and Boo finders. These items (brilliantly designed to look like Virtual Boy cartridges) will show Luigi locations on his map where to find hidden Boos and gems.
Just like in past games, there are hidden boos and hidden gems all over the hotel. Collecting them all is hardly required, and, in my opinion, hardly worth it. Netting you a boo-faced projection on your flashlight and a crystal plunger, respectively. Also, in this day and age of the internet, if someone really needed a hint, they’d probably just go there to find the answer, as opposed to wasting valuable money. Still, the effort is appreciated by the completionist in me. And for those who just want hints, instead of everything being spelled out for them, I’m sure.
As I mentioned earlier, the lab is where to go to get new gadgets from E. Gadd. And there are really only two more that need discussing. Of course, in a game with so many new iterations, tweaks, and improvements, two more is plenty.
The first, is the biggest and most obvious addition to the series: Gooigi. An identical clone of Luigi, made entirely of green goo. Due to his unique composition, Gooigi can move through grates/bars/anything that isn’t completely solid, but would block normal Luigi. He can also slide into, and move through, small pipes. He’s also immune to spikes, arrows, and the like.
He’s not all powerful, though. He can take damage from enemy ghosts (and his health is much smaller than Luigi’s, granted, he can be re-summoned almost instantly, at any time). Fire will also kill him. But, most of all, water is the bane of Gooigi. If Gooigi so much as steps into a precariously place puddle, or if there’s water dripping down from above, it’s curtains for the creepy doppelgänger.
Often times, Gooigi is used for unique puzzle solving. He has all the abilities of normal Luigi, after all, so, if there’s a switch that needs constant vacuum suction to keep a door open, Googi’s your man. If there’s an object that needs to be plunger’d and pulled, but Luigi isn’t strong enough to do it on his own, Gooigi teaming up with Luigi will get the job done. If there’s a hidden collectible out of reach due to a metal grate blocking the way, send in Gooigi! You get the idea.
Gooigi can also be used in combat. Again, he has all the abilities Luigi does. But he is usually only needed in specific circumstances, as it is often difficult to manage a fight with Luigi and Gooigi. This is due to the fact that, in single player mode, only one or the other can be controlled at any given time. Controlling one will leave the other standing in a daze. When Gooigi is not needed, though, he can be stored away in the aptly named Poltergust G-00.
I will note that Gooigi can be controlled by a second player, constantly, via local co-op. Sadly, once more, I have not had the chance to try this out for myself. So, I’m not sure how well it works. But, in theory, it sounds like a blast.
Finally, we have reached the final mechanic of the game. Added in so late, and used so infrequently, I question the necessity of it at all: Super Suction. Very late into the game, E. Gadd will have you backtrack to a particularly awful floor (they’re not all winners…) to rescue a Toad you’d already rescued, and collect a new part for the Poltergust G-00. After an annoying escort quest (yay…) in an area you’ve already mostly seen, Luigi will be rewarded with the Super Suction upgrade.
The Super Suction is much as it sounds. It powers up the Poltergust to suck things in with the power of a full on tornado. I will admit, it adds a terrific “wow!” moment to the game. It’s awesome. And it feels awesome. Nothing is safe from its power. Furniture. Ghosts. Walls. Nothing.
There’s only two problems with it. First: It’s limited to a tether, attaching you to an outlet. You cannot travel further than the outlet allows, which is not far. This is understandable, though. I mean, you can’t just run around destroying the entire hotel completely. Fun as that would be…
Second: It is used a grand total of three times in the entire game. And two of those times are secret, hidden, and not at all required. Meaning the average player will see it once. I understand not wanting to overdo super cool moments in video games. But to limit it so severely is insulting to the player. It makes that wow moment completely inconsequential, and feel unnecessary. It reminds me of the piton in Uncharted 4. While that was hardly a “wow” moment, it too was added very late in the game, and used very little, making me wonder why bother adding it in at all?
Grumbling aside, LM3 truly is the quintessential Luigi’s Mansion game. The mechanics have been iterated upon to the point of near perfection. The level design is (mostly) superb. The combat is fluid and fun. Basically, Next Level and Nintendo took the first two games, ripped out the bad, found the fun, and put forth the best iteration, yet, of this wonderful series.
