Recent Comments

Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon game review

The last time Luigi starred in a Nintendo game was back in 2001’s Luigi’s Mansion, which was made for the ancient GameCube. Mario’s cool twin brother really deserves more starring roles. The GameCube offering was good, but the recently released Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon is even better.

LUIGI’S MANSION: DARK MOON
(Nintendo for 3DS)
luigi-box
Gameplay: 8.9
Graphics: 9.0
Sounds: 8.0
Replay Value: 9.5
Overall Score: 8.9

Pros: Wonderful game design. Super-nice graphics. Varied online multiplayer rocks.

Cons: Insanely hard at times. You can’t save when you want. Story needs more depth.

LUIGI: BRAVE HERO

Why root for Luigi? He’s the underdog, and face it: Mario is a little overexposed. But the reason I liked Luigi in Dark Moon is that although he gets mocked by his mentor and he’s scared to enter each haunted mansion, he does it.

Luigi fights through his fears and eventually becomes the hero — even though he doesn’t know he’ll be a hero. That’s courage everyone can aspire to in real life.

POLTERGUST 5000

At the beginning of this artful 3DS game, Luigi meets the wild-eyed, bespectacled Professor E. Gadd. He says that you need to find all the pieces of the Dark Moon to stop the ghosts from taking over with their mischievous haunting.

The nutty professor gives Luigi a vacuum cleaner-like device called the Poltergust 5000. This fun and upgradeable weapon sucks up almost everything in its path, including ghosts big and small.

luigi-1Using the Poltergust takes some getting used to. To get a ghost, you have to aim the Poltergust at them. This isn’t that intuitive because it involved tilting the 3DS in the direction of the thing you want to eliminate.

Then you switch on a bright light to blind your enemy. You grab them and pull them toward you with the circle pad. They’ll fight like crazy, but they’ll lose steam eventually. Then capture them by pressing the A button. It takes an hour or two to get used to all this, but then you’re a pro.

As, you use the Poltergust 5000, you’ll also admire the game’s creepy graphics. Dark Moon is one great Halloween-like jaunt in 3D. Red spiders come out of vases. Bats fly into rooms through window cracks. Red-eyed mice creep along the floor. And they’ll all take a bite of your health — if you don’t suck them up first.

EVERYTHING IS GAME

luigi-2While Dark Moon is one of the better 3DS games, this is not an easy game, especially if you want to find everything in a level. Really, the only way to do this is to examine everything every inch of the way. You’ll lift rugs, suck up ancient wallpaper, even gaze into mirrors to find the reflection of a gem tucked secretly in a corner of a windowsill.

The weird thing is, it doesn’t get old. The puzzles are pretty compelling: How exactly do you get inside that aquarium early on to get the goodies? Believe me, it takes some serious thinking.

The variety of ghosts is good, although some repeat as more powerful ghosts — the Greenie becomes the Strong Greenie, for instance. Watch out for the Polterpup. The nasty little dog will steal your stuff, like the valuable gold bone you found.

MADDENING MANSIONS

luigi-3Sometimes you have to defeat a team of three strong ghosts to move forward. It’s hard because they spew goo that diminishes your health. Treacherous Mansion, the last level, is the most difficult. The paranormal readings there, E. Gadd tells Luigi, are going bonkers.

In certain areas of the mansions, you have to use the 3DS to balance yourself on beams. There’s too much of this. These balancing portions were the only times that I found the game to be less than fun.

But the most maddening part of this ghost-wrangling game is the lack of automatic saves during a level. Mid-level saves don’t happen automatically. And you can’t force the game to save, either. Yes, the dog bone you may have found will revive you if you die. If you haven’t found it and the ghosts get you, you have to start the level all over again. That’s a waste of time.

MULTIPLAYER AND RUSH MODES

luigi-4Dark Moon also sports a challenging online multiplayer component, a feature you don’t often see in kids’ games. Check out the ScareScraper multiplayer portion after you complete mission A-4 in the game.

You can certainly take on ScareScraper alone. But it’s more fulfilling and less frustrating with some help from your pals. Up to four can ascend floor by floor in an effort to get to the top and beat the big boss called The Brain. At a whopping 300 health points, he has more health than most ghosts.

And there are other ways to play, too. Rush Mode, for instance, asks you to move through each floor before time elapses. You’ll get bonus items and upgrades, too, like Dark-Light Goggles, which let you see things that are invisible to Luigi’s naked eye.

It’s nicely made games like Dark Moon that make you happy you own a 3DS. Here’s hoping we’ll see more of Luigi as the star of the show now that his ghostly game is a real hit.

36 Comments on Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon game review

  1. eh…. I still prefer the Gamecube version over this one, but hey, this one added way more cool new features, so if you can, play both! 😀

  2. I want it

  3. no no no no no Gamecubes better… I own it

  4. i want the wii u that comes with mario 3d land.

  5. Check out my channel 6969jg1 I do Luigi’s Mansion Dark Moon and more!

  6. this is awesome

  7. greenguy07 // June 7, 2013 at 7:45 am // Reply

    i have the game and its COOL!

  8. Mariobro#3 // May 28, 2013 at 8:27 am // Reply

    Try pressing the + pad as Luigi grabs a gem or opens a door. This is a really cool glitch and does not affect your game in any way other than the 5 seconds that you can laugh at Luigi.

  9. I have it and I am stuck on the 3rd boss but I looked up the ending and when you save Mario, he talks quite a lot!

  10. cat weirdo // May 17, 2013 at 4:16 pm // Reply

    epic game.

  11. you know the only people who read the reviews are rich people who can actually buy the game!!!!!!!!!!!!

  12. Trickster9 // May 14, 2013 at 4:44 pm // Reply

    I don’t have the game, but this review makes me wish I did.

  13. This is one of the games I got the 3ds for and I was not disipointed, 5 stars!

  14. I don’t have it, but I want it for my birthday. (which is in June.)

  15. seriosly the game reviews stay on boys life longer then the games

  16. I have it, and I’m glad I did. I defeated King Boo at the end, unfortunately had to look up some of the game. Accidentally figured out every boss, and never had to look them up!

  17. A.S.F.3961 // May 1, 2013 at 4:27 pm // Reply

    Most recommended. Played 50 hours of it. Got every gem and boo. Still working on ghosts. Get this game. Let’s say it’s A-W-E-S-O-M-E!!!!

  18. super duper cool

  19. =) says says says says // April 29, 2013 at 5:56 pm // Reply

    Cute =).

  20. sounds awsome

  21. I have not gotten the game yet but from your review I am certain that I’m going to get it for my 3Ds!!

  22. Awesome

  23. Even though I don’t have a 3ds I think that Luigi’s Dark Mansion is pretty cool. I agree that Luigi is pretty cool.Mario is cool too but he is taking up most of the fame in the Mario bros. DS game.Both of them are really cool,even if this game is better than most of the other Mario games.This review describes a lot of the stuff in the game, I know that because it wouldn’t be this long.This guy is good.

  24. 19rodeo41tx // April 24, 2013 at 4:50 pm // Reply

    awsome!

  25. gavinpoppop // April 24, 2013 at 9:22 am // Reply

    Awesome it’s like Luigi is kind of a detective and you have to find clues to unlock new ones and complete the game. If you ask me every one should buy it. I think it should be available on more than just the 3Ds though because then you are very limited. So that would show why it isn’t my favorite video game but besides that I give it a thumbs up based on the article and on my experiences with it.

  26. wiimaster101 // April 24, 2013 at 8:45 am // Reply

    how do u unlock surprise and endless mode on scarescraper?

  27. My brother has a 3DS,and he wants it B-A-D!

  28. creepy!

  29. i really want that game but i don’t have a 3ds but i have a dsixl

  30. The awsomeone // April 22, 2013 at 9:18 pm // Reply

    It’s not as good as the first one for the gamecube

  31. Minecraft man // April 22, 2013 at 5:00 pm // Reply

    Very cool game!

Leave a Comment

Please don't use your real name.