Luigi's Mansion 2 Review

When Gamecube first released, everyone was expecting the launch window to include the next Super Mario 64 or Ocarina of Time. Nintendo surprised everyone with the offbeat smash hit Luigi’s Mansion, the first game to star Mario’s Brother as the lead. Luigi’s Mansion was quirky, atmospheric and downright fun. Years later we have a sequel, only instead of arriving on a home console, Luigi’s Mansion 2 comes to us in hand held form on the 3DS.

Story

Poor Luigi, he always seems to draw the short straw compared to his brother

For his latest adventure, Luigi is pulled from the comforts of his own home by Professor E.Gadd when then dark moon crystal is shattered. This causes the once docile ghosts to go into a frenzy, causing havoc amongst the many mansions of Evershade Valley. Each Mansion is varied, with their own stories and mysteries to uncover, along with many secrets. The story sets up the main quest as you hop from mission to mission to in order retrieve fragments of the dark moon crystal from each of the mansions bosses.

Gameplay

Different enemy types will require a different tactical approach before you can  vacuum them up

Those who have had the pleasure of playing through the first Luigi’s Mansion will be familiar with Luigi’s trusty ghost busting vacuum, now equipped with a flashlight add-on! The bulk of the combat revolves around stunning your enemies with a flash and sucking them, tug-of-war style, with the vacuum. Each enemy type behaves differently, which spices up the combat and causes you to think strategically on the fly. Different gadgets mix this up as well, in particular the dark-light attachment for your flashlight that reveals hidden objects and ghosts.

There are a number of context sensitive scenarios that are scattered plentifully around the environments. There are also heaps puzzles that will put your vacuum to good use in innovative ways. Quiet moments will see you searching rooms for secrets and treasure as you progress through each stage. Gameplay is broken up into missions that suit the 3DS pickup and play style, with the average mission lasting around 20 mins. At the end of each mission you are ranked on collectables found, enemies defeated and damage taken. This adds to the  replay value of the game as you try and best your previous score.

Presentation

You'll want to explore every mansion from top to bottom 

Presentation is where Luigi’s Mansion 2 really shines. Everything is amazingly detailed, the atmosphere is spooky, animations are smooth and varied... In short this is one of the best looking games on the 3DS and one could argue that it is very close to a console quality experience. Music and sound design is also top-notch. Ambient tracks add to the spooky atmosphere, and small touches such as Luigi’s DS ringtone in game add a great sense of character and immersion. Menu's are well designed and themed appropriately, jumping into a level and checking up on your progress is simple and straightforward.

Conclusion

Luigi's Mansion 2 is quite simply one of Nintendo's most refined adventure games in recent history. I never expected such quality out of a handheld title. I was constantly surprised and delighted by gameplay additions and the level of presentation. The pacing was spot on, with great action mixed with the right amount of exploring and searching. I cannot recommend this game enough!

Story: 8

Gameplay: 9

Presentation: 10

Overall: 9 out of 10