Every gamer with older siblings will know the pain of not
getting to the first choice, always having to deal with using the unofficial
controller or not being able to choose the character they want, the epitome of
this is Luigi, ‘Super’ Mario’s oft-overlooked younger brother, whilst taller
and able to jump higher, he is more often than not relegated to the position of
second-fiddle, appearing as an aide to Mario, generally the sidekick, never the hero.
That is until 2001, Luigi’s Mansion was a launch title for
the Nintendo Gamecube which shone the spotlight on our emerald sibling, having
won a mansion in a contest he didn’t enter, Luigi arrives at said mansion to
find Mario has been trapped in a painting by King Boo so with the assistance of
Professor E. Gadd, Luigi is armed with a ghost vacuum and sets off clearing the
house of the pesky spectres in the hope of freeing his brother.
I for one, loved Luigi’s Mansion, it was different to what
we had been used to with Nintendo titles and still remains one of my
favourite Gamecube games, a sequel was released for the 3DS in 2013, this time Professor
E. Gadd has summoned Luigi to assist in recovering the pieces of the Dark Moon
crystal to put a stop to King Boo’s mischief, along the way he finds himself exploring
new environments, gaining new abilities, and even adopting “Polterpup” a friendly
and playful ghost dog.
Halloween six years later, we’re finally treated to a third instalment
in the spooky saga, Luigi’s Mansion 3 opens with Luigi, Polterpup, Mario, Peach and an entourage of Toads on a bus winding its way along a road towards the luxurious high-rise "Last Resort" hotel having all been invited to stay, but it’s only upon
checking in and settling in for the night that Luigi discovers it was all a
trap by the hotel owner and King Boo, who have once again confined his brother
and friends within paintings.
After narrowly managing to escape King Boo’s clutches by diving into a laundry chute, Luigi explores the basement and is soon directed to an item of interest by Polterpup, recognising it as one of the Professor’s "Poltergust" ghost vacuums, Luigi straps it on and heads off to help his friends, upon entering the elevator however, he discovers that all but two of the buttons have been stolen by ghosts and he can only travel between the basement and the lobby.
These two floors give us chance to get to grips with the controls, each containing various items that can be activated and/or vacuumed, small puzzles
often ejecting cash on completion, a couple of ghosts appearing to
put you through your paces, until eventually Polterpup leads you to locked door, a small nearby puzzle grants you access and upon
entering it is revealed that Professor E. Gadd has also been captured, once
freed he sets up a lab in the basement, provides the usual exposition and equips Luigi with additional
equipment for the task ahead.
Our reluctant hero’s standard abilities are his torch with
the Strobulb, for activating certain switches and items, and stunning any
ghostly attackers, the Darklight which can reveal hidden items, and of
course the Poltergust G-00, with its suck and blow functions, stun a ghost with
the Strobulb, then suck that nuisance with the Poltergust, direct the analogue
stick in the opposite direction to what they’re pulling in and your slam bar
with fill, once full, press A to slam the ghost, eventually whittling down
their health and completing the capture, those who’ve played Dark Moon will
recognise the addition of the slam over the continued tug of war from the
original Gamecube title.
New additions to Luigi’s arsenal are a plunger he can fire
from the Poltergust, which once attached to items, means they can be sucked by
the vacuum and gives added leverage to yank, slam or open whatever it’s
attached to respectively, secondly Luigi gets himself his own player two in the
form of Gooigi, able to be controlled by the player or a second person, Gooigi
is a jelly-like clone of our protagonist with the exact same abilities, but
with the added benefit of being able to pass through large vents or grills,
incredibly handy, but being comprised of goo does make him weaker, fortunately should he lose all his health or dissolve following contact with water, Elphaba Thropp-style, give it a couple of seconds for Luigi's tank to refill and Gooigi can be reproduced again ready to lend a gelatinous hand.
My initial thought on Gooigi was that of apprehension,
turning my nose up at the idea of yet another tacked-on attempt at multiplayer,
but knowing now how integral Gooigi is to discovering certain secrets or other
areas of progression blows away that fog of doubt I had, whilst playing
cooperatively may not add anything to the story itself, the thought of exploring areas and uncovering things together with a weaker but
essentially-immortal partner is absolutely perfect for when my six year old son
wants to join in.
Investigating every possible inch is the key to progression
through the hotel’s seventeen floors, which start out fairly ordinary, lobby, kitchens, shops, until you find yourself in the Garden Suites with enormous vines
and overgrown vegetation, the film studios “Paranormal Productions” with subtle
Nintendo-ified parodies of popular Japanese films, or the Tomb Suites replete
with wall-to-wall sand and Egyptian pyramid, each contain their own unique
puzzles to solve and eventual big-bad to face off against in an effort to get
the next Elevator button and a step closer to rescuing everyone.
You’d be forgiven for doubting how you could get such a
variety of environments within the singular location of a hotel, but each floor
has its own character and whilst they share similarities in their art-deco fixtures
and fittings, no two are alike, the brightly lit and beautiful music hall, the
boiler room strewn with pipework and glowing furnaces, or the Fitness Centre
that finds you making your way through the changing rooms and gym, into a yoga
studio and on to the steam-filled showers, there’s a level of detail poured
into each area that would put most games to shame.
I’m not just talking about the design of the rooms either,
the dressing of each excels within Luigi’s Mansion 3 too, pretty much
everything you can see can be vacuumed in some way, toilet paper, curtains, tennis
balls, I’d be here all week listing the inordinate amount of objects dotting
around that are suck-able, but moving one thing can often reveal another that
can be activated or manipulated in some way to produce money for Luigi’s
coffers, or one of that floors’ six collectible gems, so it pays to point your
Poltergust at every possible nook and cranny.
Digging in bins, rummaging under every cushion and pulling every curtain from its rails will always yield some form of money for Luigi's ever-bulging pockets, which you can choose to keep aside for post-game boasting/rainy days, or a quick visit to the Professor allows you to spend your coinage on Boo or Gem Finders, both of which highlight the locations of these hidden collectable extras on the map, and come in the form of Virtual Boy-alike cartridges, additionally you can purchase Gold Bones which call Polterpup to your aid should your health reach zero as you journey through this hostile hostel.
Financial reward isn’t the only benefit of aiming your
equipment at every corner of the rooms, as you point your torch or Darklight at
your surroundings, there are some fantastic effects and shadows produced, lights
bounce off reflective surfaces, and glow softly through translucent objects
like the ghosts and Gooigi, even the environmental lighting or ghost-auras react
against the characters and scenery realistically, giving everything a great physicality,
much like the recent remake of The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, like
you’re playing with toys rather than something digital.
There’s such an array of clever ideas, imagination and humour that
have gone into it, that screenshots simply do not do it justice, it might not stretch far beyond the previous entries, but the story is a joy from start to finish and coupled with co-op options
and additional multiplayer modes, it’s got a whole lot more longevity than its
predecessors, Luigi’s Mansion 3 is Ghostbusters if it were made by Aardman Animations, an all-round adventure full of wit and charm, able to be enjoyed by the whole family, and perfect for Halloween, or any season for that matter.
Luigi's Mansion 3 releases 31/10 on Nintendo Switch