This is technically the 3rd or 4th time I've beaten the game, but the first time I've played it on the 3DS. It's a game I have a lot of nostalgia for the original Gamecube game, but I have a lot of anxiety these days about buying Gamecube games with how temperamental Gamecube discs can be (and I don't like buying them second-hand because of that reason), so I was excited (albeit a little confused) to hear that it was getting a 3DS port. It was on sale on Japanese Amazon last week, so I thought it was the perfect time to finally pick up what I think will be a rare game in the future. It may not quiiite be a definitive version, but it's damn close. It's a fantastic port whose biggest problems are even then not that bad. I got every Boo and it took me a little under 6 hours playing on the Japanese version.
The game itself is Luigi's Mansion as it's ever been: A kind of Resident Evil meets Ghost Busters with a Nintendo twist. It's a horror game for those just starting to be able to play scary games. You go around a mansion as Luigi, trying to save Mario from ghosts who have kidnapped him. All you have his your trusty Poltergust 3000 (ammusingly called the オバキューム in Japanese) and a flashlight to combat 26 special ghosts and a handful of generic ghost types. As a concept, it still holds up as well as it ever did, even if it is a little short at the end of the day. The main features the port adds are a menu to the touch screen (you can see the Game Boy Horror on the lower screen so you have a map, your ghost info, and your inventory to look at quickly whenever you want) and, more importantly, a co-op feature. If your friend has their own copy of the game, you can explore the mansion side-by-side as Luigi & Gooigi. I have no friends to play with, nor do I have a second copy of the game, so this wasn't something I could test. However, if your friend doesn't have a second copy of the game, you can still do the time-attack modes against the special ghosts and boss battles via Download Play. It's a pity the whole game can't be played via download play, but that would be a LOT to download at one time, so I get it :b The other unavoidable thing this port changes are the controls, and this is likely going to be where most people either gel or don't with the game. The game does have NEW 3DS compatibility, as LZ is a duplication of the interaction button, and ZR is a duplication of the flashlight button (both of which are also on the face buttons). The C-stick on the NEW 3DS can also be used, and I would recommend using something with a second joystick if you're going to play this. The game does have the ability to use the 3DS gyro to aim up and down while using the vacuum, and that works alright (not as good as a proper C-stick like the Gamecube has, but it's fine), but you can't aim left and right that way. The NEW 3DS's C-stick has always kinda sucked, and it still kinda sucks here. One day I shall blow a bunch of cash on another 3DS and a Circle Pad Pro (which are absurdly common in Japan) to give playing it that way a try (as I imagine that's by far the best way to play this), but on a normal NEW 3DS, this is a compromise from the Gamecube version. There's no way around that. It still plays fine, but it is a noticeably hampered experience. Verdict: Recommended. With Luigi's Mansion 2 also being on 3DS and being far cheaper and Luigi's Mansion 3 on the way for Switch this October, this port is definitely a steep ask for the price you're likely going to have to pay for it. Unless you're someone who either has nostalgia for it or fancies going through over and over to try and beat the harder mode and get better cash scores, you are likely going to be disappointed in just how short this game is when so many longer games are cheaper and equally long games are cheaper. That said, this is still a great game, and this is a great port of it if you've always wanted to experience Luigi's first spoopy day out~
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AuthorI'm an avid gamer who likes to detail their thoughts about what they play in the hopes it might aid someone else's search for a game to play. Archives
April 2024
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