Luigi's Mansion (Japanese: ルイージの邸宅 Ruīji no teitaku) (ルイージマンション Ruīji Manshon, Luigi Mansion) is a launch title for the Nintendo GameCube, released in 2001 in Japan and North America and in 2002 in Europe and Australia, and the first Mario game for the system. The game focuses on Luigi as he battles many ghosts in a haunted mansion to save Mario using the Poltergust 3000, a vacuum erected by Professor E. Gadd for sucking in ghosts.
Luigi's Mansion is also the first installment of the Luigi's Mansion series, and the game would receive a sequel in 2013, titled Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon. In 2018, Luigi's Mansion received a remake for the Nintendo 3DS.
Plot[]
Promotional artwork of Luigi making his way over to Luigi's Mansion
In the backstory, Luigi has been notified about winning a mansion in a contest he did not enter. He informs Mario and they agree to meet up outside the mansion that evening.
The game itself continues the story with Luigi following a map to the mansion, located in a dark forest named Boo Woods. Both the area and mansion itself are more sinister than is shown on the map itself. With Mario nowhere to be found, Luigi enters the mansion alone, beginning his journey in the Foyer.
After getting the first key dropped by a ghost, Luigi unlocks the doors to the Parlor, where he finds himself unexpectedly ambushed by a Gold Ghost. Suddenly, an old scientist saves Luigi by trying to vacuum up the Gold Ghost, only to be unsuccessful at it. The scientist introduces himself as Professor E. Gadd, who explains the mansion is supernatural in origin and that it only appeared a few days ago. E. Gadd tells Luigi that he saw Mario heading towards the mansion, but has not seen him since. Upon learning that Mario is Luigi's brother and because he is becoming too old to fight ghosts, E. Gadd entrusts Luigi with his ghost-hunting equipment, including the Poltergust 3000, the vacuum E. Gadd had used earlier, and a communication device named the Game Boy Horror. After receiving training from E. Gadd on capturing ghosts in the Training Room, Luigi re-enters the mansion to look for Mario.
As Luigi explores the mansion, he discovers that it is an illusion built by King Boo to shelter the Portrait Ghosts that E. Gadd had previously captured and turned into paintings with a large machine dubbed the Ghost Portrificationizer. King Boo subsequently created the false contest to lure both Mario and Luigi into a trap in retaliation for the Boos they defeated in the past.
After recapturing many ghosts and working his way through the mansion, Luigi confronts King Boo in the Secret Altar, which is also where the painting of Mario is being kept. King Boo pulls Luigi into the painting for their final battle, using a suit-like copy of Bowser to combat him in an arena resembling the mansion's Roof. Finding a way to blast the suit's head off, Luigi catches King Boo and escapes the painting. E. Gadd turns King Boo into a painting along with the recaptured ghosts, while Luigi uses the Ghost Portrificationizer's reverse function to convert Mario from a painting into his normal self.
After the mansion disappears, E. Gadd uses the treasure Luigi collected on his adventure to build him a new home where the mansion had previously appeared. The size of the mansion depends on how much treasure Luigi managed to obtain during his journey.
Gameplay[]
Gameplay screenshot of Luigi in the Parlor, one of the first rooms accessed, before its lights are turned on, which occurs in a room once every ghost is captured
A majority of the game is played in the mansion, except at times when Luigi has to visit Professor E. Gadd's Lab and areas connected to it, including the Training Room, Gallery, and Portrificationizer Chamber. After E. Gadd and Luigi first meet one another, the Lab is always the first location where Luigi starts out at.
In the mansion itself, there are four sets of explorable rooms known as "areas," all of which conclude with a boss ghost at the end. In each area, players control Luigi to explore the mansion's rooms and hunt down the ghosts within them, acquiring keys to get through locked doors and eventually fighting a boss ghost at the end of the area. To assist him in his task, Luigi uses a flashlight and two inventions supplied by E. Gadd, the Poltergust 3000 and the Game Boy Horror.
To capture ghosts, Luigi must first stun a ghost with his flashlight, revealing its heart. He then must use the Poltergust 3000 to suck them up, steadily reducing the ghost's HP to zero, at which point they are are vacuumed into the Poltergust 3000. Ghosts with more hit points take a longer time to be captured, giving them a chance to break free while leaving Luigi vulnerable to harm. Aside from regular ghosts, Luigi also has to catch Portrait Ghosts in some rooms, each requiring that a condition be met before they can be captured. Portrait Ghosts also have more HP than regular ghosts. Rooms are usually dark at first, during which Luigi hums nervously to the music, but once all the ghosts are captured, it brightens up, and Luigi pleasantly whistles the theme.
A screenshot of Luigi in the Laundry Room, after its lights have been turned on
Like the ghosts, Luigi also his own set of HP, indicated by a heart icon and number at the bottom-left corner. Luigi's HP can go as high as 100, and if he is hit by a ghost or other obstacle, Luigi loses some HP, the amount of which can vary depending on the ghost or obstacle. There are hearts placed along the mansion that can restore Luigi's health. If Luigi's HP runs down to zero, it is a Game Over.
The Game Boy Horror allows Luigi to view a map of the mansion, seeing which rooms he has visited as well as which doors are open or locked. Whenever Luigi obtains a key, this is automatically followed by a scene where the Game Boy Horror indicates which door it unlocks. Aside from its map function, the Game Boy Horror keeps track of any treasure that Luigi has obtained in the rooms, where they are usually hidden inside of objects. Three of the most common treasures as coins, bills, and Gold Bars, which are even displayed on the Game Boy Horror at the bottom-right of the HUD. Clearing certain rooms even causes a green treasure chest to be revealed; unlike blue treasure chests, which contain a key, the green ones contain several treasures inside, often including the more elusive gems. Luigi can obtain treasures by either walking into them or vacuuming them. If a ghost harms Luigi, he drops a few coins that he has to recover before they disappear.
After Luigi encounters a group of Boos hiding in the mansion, E. Gadd installs the Boo Radar into it, which can be used to find a Boo hiding in a room through a beeper sound and a flashing yellow light on the device, which turns red when Luigi is next to a Boo. Unlike other ghosts, Boos can only be located in rooms where the light is turned on, and a Boo's HP goes down very slowly in dark rooms, and cannot go down below 1 HP. Boos often either plant a decoy of itself or even a bomb that the Game Boy Horror falsely detects as the Boo when Luigi taps the furniture item. When a Boo is revealed, it tries to escape into another room if possible.
Along his journey, Luigi locates three Element Medals, each granting the Poltergust 3000 with the ability to summon and vacuum ghosts from fire, water, and ice sources and expel their respective elements to capture specific ghosts or even defeat them. Some rooms require that a certain Element Medal be used to solve puzzles in it.
Once an area's boss is defeated, thereby completing the area, there is a sequence where E. Gadd runs the ghosts through the Ghost Portrificationizer to return them into portrait form. Following this is a result screen that shows which Portrait Ghosts Luigi has managed to capture, along with the total amount of treasure he recovered for that stage.
Spoiler warning : Don't you even dare read the spoiler! Because if you do… Hoo hoo hoo hoo hoooooo… A horrible fate awaits you.In the ending, after the final boss, King Boo has been defeated and following the ending credits, the player is given a rating (A to H) based on how much treasure Luigi has acquired during his journey in total. Completing the game once unlocks a second mode called the Hidden Mansion, featuring a stronger Poltergust 3000. In the European version, the Hidden Mansion is expanded upon to be a harder variation of the original, notably by the entire mansion layout being a mirrored reflection of the original and rooms having different ghosts in them.
Spoiler ends here: You looked! Even if I told you not too!Ghosts[]
Species[]
These are the ghost species encountered in the mansion. All of them are enemies except the Elemental Ghosts.
- Bat (purple and yellow)
- Blue Blaze
- Blue Twirler
- Bowling Ghost
- Ceiling Surprise
- Elemental Ghost (Fire, Water, Ice)
- Flash
- Flying Fish (pink and green)
- Garbage Can Ghost
- Ghost Guy
- Gold Ghost
- Gold Mouse
- Grabbing Ghost (light-pink, red, turquoise, and purple)
- Mouse (blue, purple)
- Mr. Bones
- Purple Bomber
- Purple Puncher
- Shining Ghost
- Spark
- Speedy Spirit
- Temper Terror
- Waiter
Portrait Ghosts[]
These are the portraits of every Portrait Ghost, separated by the area of the mansion where they appear. At the bottom are the fifty boos that appear throughout the mansion.
Area One[]
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Neville ,the Bookish Father |
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Lydia, the Mirror-Gazing Mother |
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Chauncey, the Spoiled Baby (Area Boss) |
Area Two[]
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The Floating Whirlindas, the Dancing Couple |
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Shivers, the Wandering Butler |
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Melody, the Beautiful Pianist |
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Mr. Luggs, the Glutton |
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Spooky, the Hungry Guard Dog |
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Bogmire, the Cemetery Shadow (Area Boss) |
Area Three[]
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Biff Atlas, the Bodybuilder |
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Miss Petunia, the Bathing Beauty |
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Nana, the Scarf Knitting Nanny |
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Slim Bankshot, the Lonely Pool Shark |
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Henry and Orville, the Twin Brothers |
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Madame Clairvoya, the Freaky Fortune Teller |
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Boolossus, the Jumbo Ghost (Area Boss) |
Area Four[]
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Uncle Grimmly, the Hermit of the Darkness |
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Clockwork Soldiers, The Toy Platoon |
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Sue Pea, the Dozing Girl |
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Sir Weston, the Chilly Climber |
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Jarvis, the Jar Collector |
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Vincent Van Gore, the Starving Artist |
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King Boo, the Final Boss and king of the Boos. |
Throughout the Mansion[]
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50x Boos | They have varying amounts of health throughout the Mansion to catch. | For the full list of Boos in the house, click here |
References in other Mario games[]
Luigi's Mansion had a large impact on the Mario series in general. Professor E. Gadd and his inventions have recurring roles in the series (i.e. Super Mario Sunshine, Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, Mario Party Advance), and the mansion has become a recurring area in the Mario sports titles (i.e. Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, Mario Kart DS, Mario Power Tennis, Mario Hoops 3-on-3).
- In Paper Mario (2000), Luigi's diary wishes that he would have his own game, with his name in the title. He also mentions in it that he would loathe being in a mansion full of ghosts, which refers to Mario's experience in Lady Bow's mansion. Overall, the diary likely referred to Luigi's Mansion itself.
- In Super Mario Sunshine (2002), during the third shine of Sirena Beach, one of the Hotel employees working on the ducts claims that the ghosts in there are annoying and he wishes that "Someone would come and suck them away with a vacuum or something", a reference to the game.
- In Mario Kart: Double Dash! (2003), around the first bend of the Luigi Circuit, the A-rank mansion can be seen in the background. There is also a Battle Stage named Luigi's Mansion.
- In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (2003), during one of cut-scenes in the Starbeans Cafe, E. Gadd comes riding in on a vacuum cleaner named the Super Poltergust 3001. In similar cutscenes, the professor shows up by videophone on a giant Game Boy Horror.
- In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (2004), a crow says he was going to make his own website and call it Luigi's Mansion, but other crow he's talking to says that the name was already taken.
- In Mario Power Tennis (2004), Luigi's Defensive Power Shot is the Poltergust Return, which gives him the ability to suck in the ball if it's far away from him. There is also a tennis court named Luigi's Mansion Court, which is styled after this game, complete with ghosts, music, and the mansion in the background. The Luigi's Mansion Court has a minigame titled Terror Tennis, in which the ghosts have to be pushed back into their paintings by whacking tennis balls at them; a difference is that unlike Luigi's Mansion, these ar,e of regular ghosts, not Portrait Ghosts.
- In Mario Kart DS (2005), one of Luigi's personal karts is the Poltergust 4000, modeled after the Poltergust 3000. One of the race tracks introduced is Luigi's Mansion.
- In Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time (2005), the E. Gadd of the past, after the destruction of his first research lab due to the eruption from the volcano in Thwomp Volcano states he would set up his next research somewhere in Boo Woods and continue his studies there.
- In Mario Hoops 3-on-3 (2006), one of the basketball courts takes place in Luigi's Mansion.
PAL differences[]
A mirrored Bathroom (1F) in the Hidden Mansion of the European version of Luigi's Mansion
In the European and Australian versions of Luigi's Mansion, notable changes can be found throughout the level. This has been done due to players complaining that the Hidden Mansion has generally no differences in the Japanese and North American versions. The differences are as follows:
- Everything is now mirrored, as opposed to the Japanese and North American versions which have the layouts the same.
- More normal ghosts can be found in the area.
- Chauncey's rocking horses are much bigger and curve from left to right when sent out. He also moves more quickly when bouncing around.
- Speedy Spirits and Gold Mice always release Silver Diamonds when defeated.
- This is due to getting the A rank requires a minimum of 150,000,000G
- Rooms are darker in this mansion, unlike the first mansion with rooms being brighter.
- Although the rooms got brighter in the PAL release, so they made the rooms as dark as International and Japanese releases.
- Luigi rides the Poltergust 3000 as the Boolossus boss battle takes place, making the battle much more slippery.
- Boo's stats are increased.
- Forty-five, instead of forty Boos, are needed to fight King Boo.
- Vincent Van Gore now sends out five ghosts at a time instead of three.
- Boos have been altered
- Boos are much more agile and quicker.
- Most Boos also have more or less HP
- Heart placements have been altered, along with the 50 Hearts being removed entirely.
Reception[]
Luigi's Mansion has been met with generally positive reviews. IGN gave this game a 7/10 and GameSpot gave a 7.9/10. They were criticizing the game for its short gamespan and repetitiveness, but the game was praised for giving Luigi the starring role.
Trivia[]
- An error in the manual for the game has Professor E. Gadd speaking in Japanese on the thirtieth page.
- Similarly to the Wario Land games, there are alternate endings depending on how much treasure Luigi has collected, with more treasure yielding a better ending.
- The cover is resembles the key artwork for the film Home Alone.
- Fire strangely does not appear in mirrors in this game.
- Totaka's song can be heard when waiting for three minutes and fifteen seconds in the training mode's menu.
- In the E3 2001 build, the Game Boy Horror has a built-in timer that stops at 1:30 in the beta before getting booted to the title screen.
- Peach, even though she doesn't appear in the game until the third installment, is mentioned by a Toad, who also mentions that Mario had left when he heard that Luigi had won a mansion, and he never returned.
- The Spaceworld 2000 demo reel shows three ghosts playing cards in the Parlor. These three ghosts can be seen in a graphic on the Ghost Portrificationizer during a scene where Mario gets turned back.
- This is the first game where Mario, Luigi, Toad, and Bowser receive a revamped appearance from the Nintendo 64 era to their current appearances onward though Bowser retains his vocal effects from the Nintendo 64 era. The next two are Super Mario Sunshine and Mario Party 4.
- Additionally, this is this the first game to give Luigi his current qualities and characteristics.
- Despite Daisy not being in Luigi's Mansion, the player can find an image of her that's taken from Mario Tennis for Nintendo 64 in the game's files. This may make it possible that Luigi was originally meant to save Daisy instead of Mario.
- Likewise, the official art for Mario was taken from Mario Golf for Nintendo 64.
Gallery[]
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To view Luigi's Mansion (Nintendo GameCube)'s image gallery, click here.
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| Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix (2005) • Luigi's Mansion (2001) • Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour (2003) • Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (2003) • Mario Party 4 (2002) • Mario Party 5 (2003) • Mario Party 6 (2004) • Mario Party 7 (2005) • Mario Power Tennis (2004) • Mario Superstar Baseball (2005) • Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (2004) • Super Mario Strikers (2005) • Super Mario Sunshine (2002) • Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001) | ||