Luigi’s Mansion 2: Dark Moon (2013) [Nintendo 3DS]

“I always loved ghost stories and haunted house stories, whether they were done in a fantasy way or done in a realistic way.”-Gillian Flynn

Throughout all the vast and rich history of video games, I believe that no icon is more iconic or homogeneous than that of Mario from Super Mario Bros. Like Mickey Mouse or Superman, the pint-sized plumber from Brooklyn has certainly ingrained himself within the annals of pop-culture immortality. However, I would like to draw attention to the “Bros.” part of the above mentioned brand, as Mario is only one half of the fictional family unit; the other (and less popular, I might add) half the proverbial coin is of course Mario’s brother: Luigi. As the emerald clad member of the super siblings, Luigi has always served as second banana to his brother Mario, the Remus to his Romulus, the Johann Christian to his Johann Sebastian Bach, the Paul Wahlberg to his Marky Mark. With such a checkered track record, would Luigi ever hope to move out of Mario’s shadow?

Enter Luigi’s Mansion; released in 2001 for Nintendo GameCube, it shows the player in the role of Luigi as he proceeds through a spooky haunted house to find his wayward brother Mario. The GameCube release might not have been Luigi’s first attempt at a solo outing, but it nonetheless made the lesser-known Mario Bro ride high on the Rainbow Road under his own merits, garnering him a plethora of fans old and new. One of the most appealing aspects of the game for me was how it broke the formula of typical Mario games involving platforming, power-ups, and Koopa crushing; here you were in a singularly isolated location with hostiles around you, and a deepening mystery to be solved.

You can imagine to my great delight, when I found out that there was a sequel entitled Luigi’s Mansion 2: Dark Moon, which was released in 2013 for the Gameboy 3DS. The sequel once again puts you back in the overalls of Luigi as he receives an urgent message from Professor E. Gadd to investigate five mansions in the Evershade Valley; each haunt contains a shard of the Dark Moon, an eerie celestial body which keeps the local sectors in check. The concept alone had me sold.

In recent years, I’ve delved deep into the Carnacki, The Ghost-Finder collection by William Hope Hodgson. The novella tells the tale of a “Ghost Detective” investigating remote haunted houses with experimental technology in order to banish hostile spirits.

As a result, I was immediately drawn to Luigi’s Mansion 2: Dark Moon for its wide variety of environmental signs, its spooky yet fun atmosphere, and its unique soundtrack. With the recent release of Luigi’s Mansion 3, does Dark Moon still register on the Ectoplasmic Radar? Let’s find out!

Visuals: 9/10

I’ll carry it to the Boo’s Grave, the Nintendo GameCube still holds up fairly well in terms of graphical content; so then it’s even more so for the Nintendo 3DS. As a purely handheld experience, Dark Moon looks pristine in its Nintendo. The Canadian-based Developer Next Level Games truly put their best work into making this game look the best it can on the 3DS. It’s no small wonder why Nintendo wanted to get the same developer to work on Luigi’s Mansion 3.

Every minute detail of this game seems so well crafted, from the billowing wind effect on curtains and rocking to chairs, to the clever use of reflective surfaces such as mirrors, glaciers, and gemstones. The use of shadows and light fixtures help to convey the game’s beautifully rendered décor which varies from Gothic to Steampunk depending on the locale.

Perhaps the most integral part of the game is the use of air currents, and how the environment reacts naturally to Luigi’s vacuum cleaner (The affectionately named “Poltergust 3000”.) either blowing or sucking objects around the various rooms and hallways that Luigi explores.

Utilizing the 3DS’ split-screen as both a Map/HUD overlay in tandem with the main game screen reinforces my belief that the 3DS is one of the greatest handheld video game systems of all time; the mobile system retains the dual-screen function of the original DS whilst pushing ahead with higher 3-D output ratio, effectively using the best of both worlds. Dark Moon clearly pushes the 3DS to its limits.

My one drawback is the lack of ghost designs. The use of color intuitively distinguishes ghost types (Green-Standard, Red-Aggressive, Blue-Telekinetic, Purple-Stunners, and Yellow-Bonus), but they still retain the same look throughout all the levels which are far more varied by contrast. Indeed, the Boss Battles are unique in their function, but beyond that, you’ll only find one or two mid-Boss ghosts that show any type of distinction whatsoever. Still, Dark Moon did give us “Polterpup”, who is the most adorable thing I’ve seen prior to Baby Yoda (I have spoken!), so I’m willing to let them off the hook.

Visually, this is a well-polished game that more than exceeded my expectations for a handheld sequel.

Audio: 7/10

I can safely say that by listening to the soundtracks alone, you’d believe that you were playing a survival horror game. While some tracks put emphasis on anxiety-inducing tension such as “Garage” or “Cellar”, others usually merely convey the mood of that particular level; Treacherous Mansion uses organ music, Clockworks features industrial rock tempo, and Secret Mine has whimsical beats on par with Danny Elfman.

While I can say that the music more than conveys the mood of the various haunts of Dark Moon, I feel as if there is less memorable beats as its predecessor. Indeed, it feels as if it copies and pastes the main themes from the original to pad out its own soundtrack instead of trying to cranking out an original theme song of its own. For example, the music played while conversing with the Professor both at the Bunker and on mobile is the original theme song from Luigi’s Mansion.

Ambient sounds like wind, doors creaking, and random bangs heard in the background set the mood for the game, and they are used to great effect. Ghosts will use sound to confuse, confound, and generally creep you out; this is a testament not only to the game but its role as a survival horror-inspired Nintendo entry.

Last but not least, I want to bring up the voice acting, which is used sparingly, yet go a long way to showcasing the characters. It would be a misnomer to label Luigi (and by extension his brother Mario, as both are voiced by Charles Martinet) as a “silent protagonist” due to the fact he will occasionally yell out: “No!”, “Okay!”, or “I did it!” at various intervals in the game; this is far from the mere grunts and wails that a similarly green-clad adventurer from Hyrule puts out. Luigi is one who I would call a “seldom speaking protagonist” as he only really speaks when it is of importance to the gaming audience. This kernel of voice acting may be spartan, but it defines the character not as a surrogate player, but one of familiarity and personality, in which we’ve all grown to love in his solo outing.

Gameplay: 8/10

Having recently played Ghostbusters The Video Game: Remastered, I’m certainly on a ghost hunting kick, and in Dark Moon “‘Bustin’ makes me feel good!”. Luigi’s 3DS jaunt ports over the rudimentary 2-step process of spotting and sucking up ghastly ghosts, and even streamlines it in several ways.

The flashlight has been overhauled to that of a charged burst to stun ghosts; I feel as if this is a better method than tracking them from the original game. In addition to that, Luigi has new ghostbusting he acquires as he proceeds through the game. Upgrades can be made available by accumulating cash scattered about in every nook and cranny of the various mansions. Perhaps my new favorite ability is the “Dark Light” ray, a rainbow-colored beam that reveals hidden objects as well as secret Boos that hide in the background.

Perhaps it’s because of the similarity to the Legend of Zelda that I gravitate more to the Luigi’s Mansion series, comparative gameplay mechanics include locating keys for locked doors and boss rooms, and using puzzle mechanics from each distinct level to proceed. One can see a lot of commonality between these two Nintendo properties.

Dark Moon features probably one of the most oddly satisfying methods of dungeon crawling, cleaning up with a vacuum cleaner; there’s a strange sense of catharsis when I vacuum up all the cobwebs, loose drapes, and rotted drywall that litter the quasi-dilapidated haunts, I never feel bored traveling from room to room, scouring, and busting any ghosts that come about.

Outside of combat and exploration, Luigi will also have to accomplish several escort missions for the Professor’s Toad assistants being held captive. Thankfully, these moments are fleeting and don’t become an incessant pitfall that many games fall into.

Although the 3DS entry is a marvelous game overall, it still has a few issues that sadly never get resolved. A major gripe I have with this game would be with the full motion control of the 3DS; ordinarily, I enjoy the photo scanning ability with this function, but I get extremely frustrated with the high beam balancing our intrepid plumber is faced with constantly. The context is so sensitive that I keep falling at almost every opportunity.

Another glaring issue I take with Dark Moon revolves around the lack of save states, or even checkpoints. As a game that features mission-based levels that average in at about 15-30 minutes each, but at no time do you have a chance to do a quick save or a point that saves your mid-game progress. I’m not sure if this was due to the 3DS’ limitation, or a conscious decision on the part of the developers to make the game more anxiety-inducing, but I for one get annoyed when I have to constantly recharge my handheld out of fear of losing my progress. Other games such as Devil May Cry and Brave Fencer Musashi had either mission-based levels, or areas that had to be traversed and then backtracked to, but they always had either a save point, or a mini-save that would bring you back to you most recent checkpoint. Other than a dog bone that counts as an “extra life”, Dark Moon offers no such saving grace.

These two problems aside, the Luigi sequel has pretty tight controls and an immersive atmosphere that almost anyone would find enjoyable.

Challenge: 7/10

The simplified game style leaves plenty of repetition for Dark Moon, so there isn’t much as far as challenge. That being said, there is a multiplayer function (thankfully, both online and local for added convenience) called “ScareScrapper” which features level-based missions akin to that of Four Swords where each player plays as a different Luigi in order to proceed to the next level. Objectives and layouts are random, so there’s plenty of surprises involved.

As far as single-player challenges, there are “Secret Missions” that are primarily time-based; these missions can only be accessed once per playthrough of a specific level, so failing them would require you to start the whole level over.
I’m fairly certain that the level of challenge would be based on each player’s individual approach to the game, but the main story is fairly straight forward and without too much trouble apart from the final levels.

Replayability: 6/10

While the fun factor of Dark Moon is enough to keep me enthralled, I don’t feel there is enough to keep me interested in a second playthrough of the game other than for Halloween showcasing. Perhaps it’s because of the mission-based level design or the lack of save states, either way, there’s not much aspiration to go back through the single-player campaign other than for treasure hunting.

There exists a slew of gemstones throughout each mansion; these stones can be accessed via secret areas, or by completing the secret missions in the game. Likewise, secret Boos can found in the game as well.

Narrative: 7/10

It still amazes me how Nintendo flagship franchises can tell a story with very little dialogue or exposition. All we receive is a short introductory cut scene of the Dark Moon being shattered, and the ghosts running rampant as a result. Despite the brevity, that’s all you need to know about the plot. As far as textual dialogue, the Professor, Toads, and Boos are the only scraps of communication which are encountered in the game. To put it mildly, the game could function to that of a silent cartoon short, especially the scenes revolving around Luigi and his ghostly pup.

  Themes: 8/10

As with most of the ghost busting games starring Luigi, I feel that Dark Moon shows the whimsical, yet spooky atmosphere of haunted houses and things that go bump in the night. Similar to the 1937 Disney short Lonesome Ghosts or Filmation’s 1975 TV series The Ghost Busters, the 3DS Luigi game offers us this kind of surreal supernatural story in a fun and clever way.

One other theme I’d like to touch upon is the concept of the “Everyday Hero” as it relates to Luigi. In contrast to his brother Mario, Luigi is not the pinnacle of a traditional hero; he’s easily frightened, anxious, talks to himself, and is extremely introverted. I don’t see any of these qualities as detrimental to him, if anything, it makes him more of a hero because he masters his fear of the unknown to accomplish his mission.

Luigi also shows a tremendous amount of compassion for adopting “Polterpup” by the game’s end in one of the most endearing moments of the game. There is no standing ovation, or praise and adulation; what we get instead is Luigi mounting a picture of him and his friends, and then reclines on his favorite chair with the adorable ghost pup curled in his lap. It’s that kind of ending which I find to be the most profound, one in which is the average person accomplishing the impossible, only to return to their normal lives as a reward.

My Personal Grade: 8/10

The Teal Time Mage as Luigi

I firmly believe that Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon is a gorgeous, fun, spooky (if simple) romp with our beloved Mario Bro Luigi. I see it more as a companion piece rather than an outright sequel (similar to other such handheld entries such as Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories or Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation) but is nonetheless a welcome addition to the Luigi’s Mansion franchise.

I’m thankful that this game series exists, and is able to fully branch off and do its own thing apart from the more mainstream releases featuring Mario. More so, I’m glad I can play a spooky game at Halloween with my nieces that’s not gory or gratuitously lewd (sorry Fatal Frame and Silent Hill). I wholeheartedly think that the haunted house sub-genre of survival horror can be handled in a more child-friendly atmosphere, and this game more than succeeds in that regard.

Aggregate Score: 7.5

The Teal Time Mage lives at a fixed point in time that is set between 1991 and 1997. Outside of his time vortex of nostalgia, he writes horror short stories, cosplays, and coordinates for various charity groups. Find him on Twitter @ArosElric, on Facebook @ArosElricCosplay, and on Final Fantasy XIV’s Cactuar Server under the name “Aros Erlic”.

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